Last night, I received an email from the Tour of Hope confirming the route highlights that I mentioned in a previous article:
- Start: Georgetown Prep School, North Bethesda, MD,
- Restage: Irish Inn, Glen Echo, MD, at approximately mile 18,
- Finish: The Ellipse, Washington, DC, at mile 27.3.
What I didn’t know is that the restage was specifically requested by the DC Metro Police. They will hold riders at the Irish in until approximately 10:15am, then let them ride as a single peloton to The Ellipse.
I guess we have to hope that riders don’t have any equipment failures on this ride, because the route announcement says:
Any cyclists who arrive {at the restage location} after 10:15 AM or fall outside of the ride enclosure during this first leg of the ride will be required to complete the ride in a SAG wagon. The re-staging is required and will be strictly enforced by DC Metropolitan Police.
The organizers also suggest that Georgetown Prep be used primarily as a drop-off point. We had wondered if family members unfamiliar with the Washington DC area would be able to make it to The Ellipse in time to see the peloton arrive. If they have over two and a half hours from the start of the ride to reach The Ellipse, this shouldn’t be an issue.
The announcement also talks about the possibility of riders using the Metro to get to Georgetown Prep for the start, but doesn’t provide details. The Grosevnor-Strathmore Metro Station on the Red Line is very close to Georgetown Prep, as indicated on this neighborhood map.
More details are supposed to arrive in a Rider Registration Packet, which all registered riders will be sent during the week of September 27.