Randonneurs USA

Les Randonneurs Mondiaux
Rèal Prèfontaine, President
#4 - 35035 Morgan Way
Abbotsford, BC, Canada
V2S5T7
Tele: (604)853 9594
Fax: (604)853 4466

President's Letter #3
October, 2000

"Ever diligent in fostering randonneuring's growth, les Randonneurs Mondiaux are happy to congratulate the riders who completed this unprecedented event --a feat exceptional for its duration, its originality, and the sheer impossibility of it ever being done again." R.Lepertel (translation by J. Bertrand)

A. The Millennium Challenge
Denmark and Canada accepted the Millennium Challenge. A total of 44 randonneurs representing six different countries completed this unique event. All finishers received les Randonneurs Mondiaux medal, a 2000k RM pin and a diploma with the above noted citation. To all participants our hearty congratulations.

In addition to the 2000k brevets, three brevets of 1200k were recorded this year. The Rocky Mountain 1200k in Canada with 35 qualifiers; the Boston Montreal Boston 1200k in USA with 104 qualifiers and the Perth Albany Perth 1200k in Australia with 23 qualifiers. Eleven different countries were represented making these events truly international in scope.

Several randonneurs completed more than one 1200k brevet this year. One of these deserved special mention. He is Jack Eason from AUK, who at 75 years young completed the Denmark 2000k within the overall time limit but due to mishap missed three controls and thus was disqualified. Following his Denmark attempt, he successfully completed the Rocky Mountain 1200k in July, the BMB in August and the PAP in October. Jack is certainly and inspiration to us all and truly deserves the title of "Randonneur of the Millennium".

B. Randonnées of 1200 km or more
During the year, as President I was asked by several "newcomers" organizing a randonnée of 1200k or more for directives on what is required to have these randonnées recognized by les Randonneurs Mondiaux. The general guidelines for these events remains the rule of the Brevet de Randonneurs Mondiaux promulgated by Audax Club Parisien. However it is important for the President to have assurance that these randonnées are properly organized and conducted. In the absence of specific rules for these randonnées the following guidelines have been used until a more specific protocol is developed by les Randonneurs Mondiaux.

For randonnées of more than 1300k the global time is based on an average rate of 12k per hour. For brevets of 1200k the 90 hours rule applies with the opening and closing time of control points based on the formula used for PBP.

The Registration cost of the brevet must provide for the cost of an RM medal ($8.00 US) or a pin ($7.00 US). Minimum information to be submitted to les Randonneurs Mondiaux are:

1. Name, Location and Date of the event.
2. Name, Address, Telephone of the Organizer. [Fax number & E-mail if available]
3. List of ALL control points, to include opening and closing times and distance between each control.

C. les Randonneurs Mondiaux structures
As mentioned in Letter #2 an "Ad Hoc group" to develop a "Constitution" and "Handbook of our modus operandi" has been formed. The work has not gone beyond the formation of the Ad Hoc group. The randonneurs activities during the summer month has taken precedence to putting "pen to paper".

D. les Randonneurs Mondiaux Jersey
Don Briggs, RM Vice-President, has finalized a design for a "Randonneurs Jersey". He is now in the stage of obtaining a quote from manufacturers. The March 2001 "President's Letter" will have information on the cost and process to follow to purchase the jersey.

E. Annual Fees
A reminder to all members that the annual membership fee to les Randonneurs Mondiaux is due before the end of March. The amount is minimal and it will greatly facilitate the task of our Treasurer, Robert Lepertel if membership dues are paid early.

F. Here and There

Russia
Four Clubs have organized BRM in 2000 with more than 80 randonneurs participating. For 2001, Valery Komotchov (Orion Club) and Andrej Knannolainen (Baltic Stars Club) are organizing a 1000 km brevet "Around Ladoga Lake". They issue an invitation to all randonneurs to join them on this challenging brevet, (40 km are on unpaved road). For more information on this brevet contact Valery Komotchov.

Italy
In September 2000, for the first time since becoming members, S.C. Coop. VALPELLICE organized a 1000 km along the Sicilian coast. Bob Lepertel attended this event and will surely have interesting comments.

United States
Randonneurs USA, formed in 1998, is still organizing foundational structures. A visit to http://www.rusa.org will prove interesting. The significant event of RUSA is the BMB 1200k which this year was attended by over 150 participants from 11 different countries.

Canada
Canada organized three 2000 km brevets. Thirty-five randonneurs from six differents countries completed the scenic Rocky Mountain 1200 km. The B.C Randonneurs Cycling Club was the most active club this year, with 154 randonneurs completing 346 brevets for a total of 186,600 km.