Severna Park 200K

The DC Randonneurs organized the Pastries and Coffee 200k on Saturday, March 14th starting and ending in Saverna Park, Maryland. It was rescheduled from the 7th due to snow on all the roads. Here's a brief report with some pictures.

Weather was low 40's with a light steady rain at the 7am start. Rain continued until about 1pm with temps steadily rising into the upper 50's. Rain recommenced at 3pm and lasted until 5:30pm.

Ride start @7am

Things that worked?

1. Wool, Wool, Wool. Everything wool that I was wearing was great: socks (feet were a little chilly when soaked, but tolerable), gloves, hat, sweater, knee warmers. Other people had waterproof shoecovers and their socks were still soaked. Sometimes, less is more.
2. Waxed handlebar bag. Everything stayed dry and I was able to carry some backup clothes I didn't end up needing but gave me some peace of mind.
3. Full Fenders and mudflaps. I had to fiddle with my front mudflap a little before the start since it was scooping water up instead of directing it down to the ground. After that was solved, they worked beautifully. My feet still got soaked, partly from other riders who didn't have fenders, but the rest of me (jacket, and from the knees down) stayed a lot drier because of the fenders. And I'm sure other riders behind me appreciated the extra long coverage on the rear. I chose to keep riding with another person in part because they had similarly complete fenders and mudflaps.
4. Tweezers. Had to use them twice to pull tiny (very, very tiny) shards of glass out of tires. Thanks for the tip Jan Heine.

Things that didn't?

1. Could use a little more gear range in my drivetrain at the low end for longer or steeper hills, currently 35 inches, hoping to change to 27. But I've known this for a while, and change is imminent.
2. Some knee pain, not sure if it due to pedals or saddle adjustment. May trying changing pedals first.
3. Glue in the patch kit had dried out. Make sure to check your glue or replace glue every year or so.

Rode with Nick who had 4 flats. First was on the front tire. Second was on the rear, third was on the rear and was probably the same piece of glass as before that we didn't find. Fourth was on their car after finishing the ride. Two cans of fix-a-flat/inflator seemed to solve that enough to get home.

 Flat #1, on the front

Flat #2 on the rear. Near BWI Airport

What a day.

Post ride drop-off on New York Ave. in DC