Delaware Leap Frog Bicycle Tour

Saturday, June 19, 2010. 8AM Rain or Shine

Registration Fee

$15 until June 17th; $20 after and on event day. Check in starts at 7:00 AM. With your registration, you will receive a water bottle, a map and marked course, and food/rest stops. You can download the application as a PDF document or here as HTML and send it with your check. Make checks payable to the Downstate Delaware Striders and Riders, and mail to P.O. Box 1379, Dover, DE, 19903. Registration is closed until 2010. Please check back then.

A look back on the interesting tour of 2009

Start & Finish

All loops begin and end at Lake Forest High School, Felton, Delaware.

On route 13 (South Dupont Highway) follow the signs to Killens Pond State Park on Killens Pond road. This road is between Felton to the south and Harrington to the north. The high school is located on the right side of the Killens Pond road. Ignore the red brick school on the left. If you pass the state park you've gone too far. The elementary school located in Felton at the light is the wrong school.

Please start when you're ready, there is no mass start. Support for the ride stops at 2:30PM so please don't arrive too late to register. Registration closes at 10AM.

Distance

Enjoy one of two rides of 1/2 metric century (50k or 32 miles); a challenge for beginners and intermediate riders, or the full metric century (100k or 64 miles).

Ride Route

The course laid out to offer a unique look at the beautiful wet and dry scenery of central and lower Delaware. Ride routes are mostly flat. Two rest stops are strategically located on both routes and support vehicles patrol the the route. An emergency number is provided for assistance. Some photos of the route are found below.

Both routes are defined by the yellow frog markings on the road. The cue sheets may be in error but the frogs are always correct! Trust the FROGS! Sometimes we have to make last minute changes to the route and the frogs will be adjusted but the cue sheets may no longer be correct. There is a picture of a frog marker on the road below.

The two route splits are well marked by both frog markers, distances and signs. You don't have to decide which route you'll take until the first route split at about 14 miles. You may vary your distance at either point. You might find that the long route is really much too long in which case you can follow the short route back at the second split at about the 50 mile mark with about three miles to go.

One year we discovered that a road was freshly chipped two days before the ride and we didn't know if a railroad crossing in Milford would be completed until 4:30 the day before the ride. The cue sheets were a bit confused. But the frogs were correct!

There are four or more frogs marking each turn. A warning frog before the turn, another warning frog near the turn and a frog marking the turn. A further confirmation frog always appears after the turn. On one zig-zag turn there is not enough room for the far warning frog. Follow the frogs.

We have been asked why we don't use different colored frogs for each route. Well, there are about 240 frogs marking both routes and it takes about 14+ hours to paint them all. To add different colored frogs for the shorter route would add about two thirds more frogs (about 160 more frogs and about ten more hours of painting).

Safety

Helmets are required and it's your responsibility to ensure your equipment is in sound mechanical condition prior to starting this event.

Rider Support

Phone equipped support (also known as SAG) vehicles will continuously patrol the loops for riders with physical or mechanical problems. Technical assistance will be provided. Ride support starts at 8:00AM and ends at 2:30 PM.

Food and Rest Stops

There are two rest stops for the full metric century ride and one for the half metric century. Food drink and potties will be available at all stops and at the finish.

The stop in Milford is now at the "Walnut Street Building" across from Bikes Etc store and Good News Natural Foods in downtown Milford. There is a farmers market, and the Dolcè Bakery featuring good coffee north along Walnut St.

Leap Frog Route Photos

Ponds on the Leap Frog long route:

Diamond Pond, Milton
Wagamons Pond, Milton
Reynolds Pond, on Route 30
Clandanial Pond, Jefferson Rd
Cubbage Pond, Cubbage Pond Rd
Swiggetts Pond, On Fleatown Rd
Haven Lake, Milford, Evergreen Rd
Silver Lake, Milford
Coursey Pond, Carpenter Bridge Rd
Killens Pond, on Killens Pond Rd
Andrews Lake, Andrews Lake Rd
McGinnis Pond, McGinnis Pond Rd
Blairs Pond, Blairs Pond Rd
Griffiths Lake, Griffiths Rd
Abbott's Mill Pond used to be on the route (photo below) and was one of the best features of the ride is now bypassed due to a failing bridge. We'll see if it's been repaired for 2010.

Abbots Mill Pond