For some time now I have been considering the idea of holding some sort of brevet or randonée ride around Eugene. If you don’t know what I am talking there are some great resources about it. RUSA.org (Randonneurs USA), and Bicycle Times Magazine #16 (March 2012, current issue) has two great articles on Paris-Brest-Paris (PBP) and and “What is Randonneuring”. Here is my quick description of what randonneuring is. Long distance, non-competitive bicycle “races”, self contained, with checkpoints, in a specific time limit. Normally ranging between 200-1200km (124-745miles), That can be extreme for a lot of people, myself included. Rides that range in 100-200km (62-124miles), and easier distances go by the name “Populaires”. This is what I would like to hold. This is not an actual race, maybe more of a slow paced club ride. It is not competitive, and there are no places given out to individuals (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.). It’s kind of like childhood events where you would get a “participant” award.
I have talked with a couple people around town about it that seem interested, and with the great articles in Bicycle Times hopefully it will increasing the interest in randonneuring. The first one I would like to try to organize would be a “populaire” being about 62miles, and held around late May – early June. Depending on how I can get everything figured out, and organized, as well as the interest in a ride like this, will determine if I try to do more. Hopefully there is interest, and there can be more. I would really like to be able to hold a couple throughout the summer and maybe into the fall. There are some things I would still like to look into. To have an official Randonneur I believe it has to be approved by the Randonneurs USA. I am not quite sure how that works or if I can get that done this short of time. As I figure out more I will keep things up to date.
If you have any ideas, would like help, or just want to show your interest in doing an event like this please leave a comment or send me an email.
BreadBike [at] gmail [dot] com
Bread Bike 