15 years a Randonneur!

I became a member of Randonneurs USA in 2006 as RUSA #3100, just 8 years after the organization was formed. The things that initially drew me to randonneuring were simply the idea of riding my bicycle over long distances, often through new and interesting countryside and usually with a good friend at my side. The traditions of the sport, the self sufficiency, determination and resourcefulness required to do these rides were characteristics that I valued and admired. But, over my years of participating in the sport I’ve noticed that some things are changing and it has me thinking…..

My riding partner Clair Jensen on the Central Coast in 2006

Prior to randonneuring I had already been a long distance cyclist for many years. I did my first century ride in the mid 80’s and my first double century in 1988, eventually completing over 50 doubles in the California Triple Crown series of events. In the late 80’s I had also been doing some off-road metric centuries on my MTB which were being run by Chuck “Bodfish” Elliott in Northern California. Beginning in the 90’s there were 5 participation’s in the 129 mile Death Ride out of south lake Tahoe and in the late 90’s I was doing races on my MTB. In 2003 I became event director for a Double Century in southern Utah, the Desperado Dual Century. Moving into riding the longer distance of randonneuring events on my road bike just seemed like the natural thing to do.

The evening start of the Davis 600 km brevet in 2008

In 2006 I became the Regional Brevet Administrator for Randonneurs USA in Utah and started organizing my own series of events. During that time I was also attending brevets in many other regions and experienced a lot of how other RBA’s organized their own rides. I continued as RBA for Utah until 2012, after which I started to back off doing some of the harder core events.

A changing landscape

Over the years of both riding and organizing events I began to notice some changes in attitude among randonneurs. The casual and social character of non-competitive long distance riding began to stray from what I had originally experienced and enjoyed as a rider. I began to see more emphasis on faster times, more mileage and even began to hear regularly about riders who talked of “winning” a brevet event. Also, many of the new routes being offered were becoming more and more difficult, often with ridiculous amounts of climbing and in remote locations with little access to services. The emphasis was shifting towards a more extreme version of the sport. To be sure there were still many “entry level” events out there but the direction of these events was clearly changing.

Me, on the climb to Salisbury Pass in Death Valley

I have taken some time to consider the challenges that randonneuring is currently facing. My thoughts on the key things that are influencing change in the sport follow below:

Awards program

As a fresh faced and eager rider I was one who was motivated by awards. In fact I believe that I was the 17th rider to earn the RUSA R-12 award, for completing a 200 km event or longer in each of 12 consecutive months. Over the years I also earned a “Super Randonneur,” an “American Explorer,” a P-12 award and a few lesser mileage awards. The list of available awards kept growing and perhaps is part of the reason for the ever upward spiraling quest to achieve more and more in the sport. With some riders racking up annual awards for 40,000 kms in RUSA events, or 10 Grand Randonnee’s in a single year it started to seem a little ridiculous to me. Adjectives like Ultra and Super had begun to creep into awards program and suddenly randonneuring was beginning to feel like a competition to get the most awards!

Unintended consequence of using Google Maps

The popularity of Google maps as a route planning tool emerged in the early 2000’s. It was in fact a great help for planning routes but it suffered one major drawback. Often times route planners who relied on Google maps did not follow up with an in person check to see if all of the necessary street signs actually existed. For any brevet a cue sheet was still required with the distances and critical turns accurately noted. A directional sign that appeared on Google maps may not actually exist during the period when the ride occurred. On an event that I rode in 2009 (apparently planned with G maps but not checked in person) there were several critical directional signs missing on the route. I ended up as a DNF for that event, in part I believe due to the lack of route verification. The use of Google Maps as a primary planning tool is leading to a reduction in the accuracy route sheets. Route planners using Google Maps who do not check every turn in person contribute to this decline.

The intrusion of GPS

In the mid 2000’s GPS units started to become more common as a navigational tool for cyclists. I myself was an early adopter as I am for many such tech devices. For me personally as it turned out the device added a layer of complexity that I did not appreciate during a ride. Paying attention to the device, maintaining it’s charge and keeping it safe from weather were now additional tasks during a ride. GPS units also proved to be unreliable and twice during an event my device crashed and all data was lost. Since I considered a cue sheet to be an essential tool, the GPS device soon became an unneeded extra burden to me and I stopped using them on the bicycle.

The march of technology continues however and soon enough there was much talk in the rando world of using GPS as a primary navigation tool and even as proof of passage for an event, eliminating the need for a brevet card altogether! How this would affect traditional navigational methods seemed to be left out of the conversation. The inevitability of technology was the need that must be met, some proponents said! Bringing more young riders (who live on their phones) into the sport was the reasoning being used and the argument continues today.

The death of permanents

The withdrawal of the RUSA Permanents program (even if temporary) was a startling wake-up call to randonneurs. It came on the heels of the pre-virus cancellation of many other large cycling events in many states, both recreational and professional due to issues of red-tape. Liability concerns along with ever more burdensome permitting requirements have contributed to this issue and are a sign of things to come for all cycling events. I do not think that we can expect these issues to go away anytime soon. For me personally I would never be willing to act as an RBA again. The level of personal risk that an event organizer must assume these days is simply unacceptable for most of us.

Squabbling over the rules

Every sport has its rules, and randonneuring is no exception. The rules adopted by RUSA are rooted in tradition which is appropriate given randonneuring’s heritage. I have witnessed over the years an increase in discussions about modifying the rules to suit a more modern ethic. Everything from eliminating brevet cards to allowing photographic proof of passage and even using a digital GPS track as proof of completing a given event are topics that are being discussed. People often get petty and spiteful when articulating their position and can sometimes forget what the sport is really about at it roots. I have removed myself from most of the groups where these discussions occur since they often devolve into non-productive bickering. Tradition is at the heart of randonneuring and that should not be forgotten.

A prognosis of change?

Most recently the pandemic of the Wuhan virus has shut down all virtually cycling events nationwide. As we figure out how to proceed in the future I fear that many of the voices calling for change will find some traction in this new environment. Tradition versus change, that will be at the heart of the coming discussion. Do we abandon the traditions of randonneuring and embrace a more virtual version of the sport? Responding to the current crisis is one thing, but using a crisis to fundamentally change the sport is something else. I hope that does not happen!

The halfway point on the Arrivaca 400 km brevet, 2006. John, Liz and myself l to r.

Parting thoughts

Randonneuring is a sport that many people have still not heard of and perhaps even fewer understand. It has a tradition and a history which are as old as cycling itself. The cue sheet and the brevet card are a fundamental part of the randonneuring experience. The calls to replace these tools with a more modern equivalent should considered guardedly. I applaud the elected officials of RUSA for resisting some of the current pressure to change randonneuring into something it has not been before however I suspect that the calls for change will continue.

I believe that the awards program should continue but there should be a greater emphasis on the lesser achievements as opposed to mainly aggrandizing the mass accumulation of awards. The rider who completes their first 200 km event is often overlooked in favor of a guy who completed his 10th 1200 km event for the year. Continuously praising over-achievers while virtually ignoring the less accomplished rider feels a lot like patting ourselves on the back excessively and it seems wrong to me.

Maintaining traditions seems to be something that is looked down upon these days. Too many people want to affect change, often for personal reasons and usually not for the greater good. I am not as active in the sport as I used to be, but I will continue to be a supporter of randonneuring in the traditional sense as I know it.