All-

It’s only August, but the 2027 brevet season (and qualifying for PBP) starts on November 1, so it’s coming up fast. Here’s some early information; more details to follow:

— We’ll host an early ACP 200K on the Saturday after Thanksgiving (November 28). The route will start and end at my home and tour Pinellas County. Get an early jump on qualifying for PBP and work off that turkey.

— We’ll host our usual 300/200 ACP brevets on MLK Jr weekend, out of Dunnellon.

— The 400K and 600K ACP brevets are still TBD for exact time and location, but you can expect them spaced 3 to 4 weeks apart in March/April. They’ll either be out of Dunnellon or, more likely, Eustis/Tavares.

— We’ll also have some last-minute/last-chance brevets in May and possibly early June for those who will still need to qualify for PBP (as in, hypothetically speaking, if you don’t get home from your freshman year away at college until mid-May…) and those who just want some riding opportunities for training, awards, or pure fun. These will be completely unsupported brevets–truly, you’ll be on your own. Distances and locations TBD, but most likely we’ll offer a 400, a 600, and possibly other distances.

— Check out what you can be doing now to get ready for PBP here.

The ACP revealed the controls for the 2027 Paris-Brest-Paris at their recent awards banquet. All the information is here, including a video of the presentation.

This is the most significant redesign of PBP since the ’90s, when it was moved from Paris to the suburbs and route that most of us have done for decades was put in place and saw little change. The biggest changes for ’27 are the routing in-bound to Mont Saint-Michel, which if you’ve never seen it, is truly spectacular, and to Chartres, where we’ll undoubtedly have a fantastic view of the cathedral there. The new controls eliminate significant amounts of out-and-back routing, which means we won’t get to greet and cheer on those ahead of us on the road nearly as much. It should relieve some control pressure, and it means we won’t have peoples’ overly bright lights in our eyes. The routing to the north will pass through flatter terrain, which will be most welcome. It remains to be seen how the routing between Brest and Callac is done; there are many steep hills over there. The final stage from Chartres to Rambouillet, though, gives us a welcome  respite from the forest and its hills at the end. It’s flat from Chartres to the finish.

Look for the release of the route in early 2027. Until then, see you on the road!
Paul

The 2026 Brevet season is almost here! By the time you eat your turkey and unstuff your stocking, it’ll be too late to dust off the bike and prepare to ride! So, get on the stick and get ready for these exciting events!

• January 17, 2026–300km ACP Brevet (Dunnellon, FL)
• January 18, 2026–200km ACP Brevet (Dunnellon, FL)
• March 7, 2026–400km ACP Brevet (Tavares, FL)
• April 11, 2026–600km ACP Brevet (Tavares, FL)
• June 6, 2026–4th Annual San An 100K (San Antonio, FL)
• July 24, 2026–Up! All Night! San An 200K (San Antonio, FL)

This upcoming year is a special one in the randonneuring world. It’s the year before Paris-Brest-Paris, which will be held for the 21st time in August 2027. It’s not only a time to train and work out fitness/comfort/nutrition issues in advance of the Big Dance, but it’s also the year in which the registration priority for PBP is determined. Historically, everyone who has qualified for PBP has been able to ride it, but registrations take place in the order of the longest event completed in the year before PBP. That’s 2026. Those completing 1200/1000km brevets this season register first, followed by those whose longest brevet is 600km, etc. So if PBP is on your radar, the more (and longer) brevets you do in 2026, the better off you’ll be in terms of being ready and locking in your place.

Registrations and information for all brevets are linked above and also under the Events tab.

We are sad to report that Dan Schreck, RUSA# 9310, passed away May 27, 2025, from pancreatic cancer.

Dan began his randonneuring journey in 2014 by completing a full ACP brevet series in the run-up to Paris-Brest-Paris. Dan qualified for and attended PBP ’15 but did not finish after getting off route and then behind time.

Dan still had a great time and grand adventure in France and was soon making plans to return in 2016 for PBP-Audax, which is the UAF version of PBP that was then held every five years. This was our club’s introduction to the audax formula, in which all of the riders “Start together, ride together, and finish together” in a mutually supportive, communal environment. Due to a crash during the first night’s riding that injured his shoulder, Dan was unable to complete the ride but once again returned to France for a third time for the 2019 PBP-Randonneur. However, by Brest on his second try at PBP-Randonneur, Dan had fallen behind schedule due to assisting other riders to the point that he would not be able to finish officially. But, in testament to Dan’s character and honoring the spirit of PBP and randonneuring, Dan carried on and completed the ride anyway, cycling every meter of the course back into Rambouillet. Dan’s determined solo journey is a celebration of the indominable randoneuring spirit and Dan’s fortitude.

It was the audax formula, though, in which Dan truly shined and radiated joy as a cyclist. Returning from France in 2016, Dan helped Central Florida Randonneurs organize, support, and lead the first audax brevets in the United States in two decades. Dan served as a Capitain de Route on every UAF brevet ever organized by Central Florida Randonneurs and then continued in this role when RUSA introduced UAF brevets in 2022. Being a Road Captain means riding at the front, setting the predetermined, steady pace, taking the wind, and safely and correctly navigating the route to ensure that the entire peloton completes the stage at the appointed time. Seeing others finish tough rides because of his efforts brought Dan immense happiness and belonging. Because of Dan, 97% of our riders finished the audax brevets they started.

French audax tradition holds that the premier Road Captain is listed second on the finishers’ list (the organizer is listed first). All of Dan’s CFR results bear this distinguished mark. The photo above shows Dan wearing his trademark whistle (he was also in charge of keeping the riders on time at the stops!) with Josh, Paul, Susan, and Mary.

Dan, we raise our bottles to you and we’ll see you down the road.

Paul Bacho, RUSA# 472, passed away on Christmas Eve. Paul rode brevets with Central Florida Randonneurs for many years as part of the Ohio horde seeking refuge from long, cold, wet, dark winter days.

I first met Paul soon after he completed his Paris-Beijing tour in connection with the 2008 Olympics. What an amazing adventure! What an amazing guy! Sometime around then I found out that he — in a tie with two others — held the American record for participation in Paris-Brest-Paris. I recall riding with him a bit on one PBP (it might have been 2011? 2015? I can’t recall…). And I distinctly recall chatting with him in line (a wet, cold, and muddy line at a foul-smelling sheepfold) to check-in for the 2019 PBP.

Paul was a memorable guy because he was always smiling, happy, excited, interesting…. He was living life to the fullest, all the time, even when things kind of sucked. I remember on one difficult, hilly, and hot 400K (Route 555, for those who know), Paul was pulled off the roadside, having a rest and cooling off, just a mile short of the lunch control. I was really concerned — who stops a mile short of the control? A guy who really knows what he’s doing and knows his limits, that’s who. And a guy who was dedicated not only to getting the job done, but to having fun, too, and keeping things civilized while still having a grand adventure. That was Paul.

Sad news of Paul’s passing brought further revelations about him, about which I had no idea: Wine making? Lived in a log cabin? Carpenter? Trainer for a pro ball team? Marathoner? Diver? What an amazing guy!

Paul, we’ll miss your adventurous spirit, your good nature, your kindness, and your healing presence. Ride on, into the next great adventure!

All–

Audax Kansas City (Spencer Klasseen) is hosting the first-ever UAF-sanctioned audax 600K held in the United States on May 24-25, 2025. This is Memorial Day weekend, which may make travel easier for some. More info on the ride and an “interested riders” sign-up can be found here. Audax is a common-pace (22.5 km/h) group randonnee that is truly a civilized form of randonneuring. Ride together, eat together, rest together, finish together. It’s the best of randonneuring camaraderie. Several Central Florida audax alumni will be among those attending and we hope that you can make it, too! Questions? Holler at me.

Paul

We’ll organize a full ACP brevet series in 2025 and a few other events, too. Here’s what’s currently on tap:

ACP Brevets
300km — January 18, 2025
200km — January 19, 2025
400km — March 1, 2025
600km — April 26, 2025

Other Brevets
13th Annual San An 100km — June 7, 2025
Up! All Night San An 200km — July 18, 2025 (Friday, 8pm start)
What About UAF Audax brevets?  TBD. Stay tuned.

The 400km will start and finish in Dunnellon and be run on the Dunnellon-St. Augustine route that was the first day of the 2024 Cracker Swamp 1200. The 600K is out of Tavares and is Tavares Pine Island followed by Tavares-Flagler Beach. Registrations and information for all brevets are posted under the Events tab or by clicking the links above.

All–

Our French overlords — the ACP — have decreed that intermediate control times are . . . no longer a thing. The control itself IS still a thing–you’ve still got to verify passage through every control, including the intermediate ones without exception–but with this change you’re now allowed to arrive and depart intermediate controls (meaning, not the start and not the finish but every other control point on the route) whenever you want.

This really isn’t relevant to us. In 13 seasons of being an RBA hosting over 1000 riders on brevets in those years, I have never had a rider “out of time” at any control, including the finish control (one rider came within two or three minutes and several have been within 10 minutes, but I’ve never had an HD/ DNQ rider). I’ve also never had a rider (other than someone in a velomobile on the 2016 Cracker Swamp) able to “ride ahead” of a control opening time, even to the first control (one of you came within 4 minutes once, which was impressive). So, while there won’t be opening and closing times enforced for intermediate controls, I’ll still print those times on the cue sheet and brevet card to help in planning/pacing your ride.

All this said, nothing changes with the start and finish of the brevets: You cannot start early (brevets are mass-start at the designated time) and you cannot finish late. Doing either of those things = DNF. Otherwise, enjoy the additional freedom in how you pace yourself around the course. Personally, I’m looking forward to more rest and sleep on the 600K and longer events, especially on the last night of a 1200K. I’d rather finish in 88-89 hours with 8 hours of sleep that last night than in 85 hours because I had to leave out early to make it to some gas station at 1050km by 6am. Woo hoo!

Paul

All y’all–

Here’s some news on the impending brevet season:

(1)  Big picture: We have 11 events on tap in 2024, including a full ACP brevet series, the San An 100K, the San An night ride, a UAF audax brevet, a fleche, and — wait for it … — the Cracker Swamp 1200 (with a 1000/200 option).

(2)  COMPLETED – Event registration for the 2024 season is being posted over the next few days; the 300/200 on MLK Jr weekend is already up. We’re sticking with the format of running the 300 first, based on a lot of success with that last year; the shorter ride on the second day is just … nice. The 300/200 will be run out of Tavares.

(3)  COMPLETED – The fleche is returning this year; it’ll be the first one held since 2019. Details are on the event page for that ride. It’s an event with unique rules, so if you’ve got questions about it, shoot me a note. The fleche is perhaps my favorite randonneuring event. Of all the randonneuring “stories” I tell, it seems like a disproportionate number of them are from the fleche.

(4)  COMPLETED – We’ll offer just the one audax brevet this year on 2/3/2024 — from my house to Tarpon Springs and back — but if you miss it, you’re really missing out. An audax brevet is like a big fleche: everyone riding together, very social, good food. Audax brevets count toward RUSA awards and the medals for them are just fantastic.

(5)  After an eight year absence, the Cracker Swamp 1200K is returning, November 7-10, 2024. Stuff that’ll be the same: the clover-leaf route design, interesting roads, great community and camaraderie, BBQ, scotch, and a 1000/200 option for those needing those rides for a RUSA cup or ACP 5000/10000 award. Stuff that’ll be different: the start/finish location. More info and registration information will be posted this Winter.

(6)  Look for your brevet cards and a year-end letter in the month of November.

See you on the road,
Paul

We are sad to report Jacquie Schlitter’s recent passing after her fight with cancer. Jacquie became a randonneur in 2011 and completed a full series that year, culminating in a joyous and successful, if somewhat sleep-deprived, Paris-Brest-Paris (a result of “Too many French cafés”). That little vignette, which she shared with me as we approached Villaines-la-Juhel, typified Jacquie’s awesome nature. Jacquie would be in the middle of doing something really tough, really extraordinary, and totally wiped out and yet there she was, despite being on the edge, with a huge smile on her face and not only having a good time, but spreading positive energy to everyone she came in contact with no matter who they were. Anytime you saw her pig-tails flying in the breeze (usually up the road!), you knew you were witness not only to one of the strongest riders ever to put a bike on the line, but to someone who knew how to have a great time and always supported others.

Several years later, Jacquie completed the infamous beer-and-wine-soaked loop-style 1000K we ran in October 2014 to gauge interest in such a route design. Would returning to the start/finish each night be too boring? Or would riders enjoy having a basecamp and starting each day together? Leave it to Jacquie to prove the concept of an event that emphasized camaraderie (see above, taken after Day 2). The ride and route design were huge successes in no small part thanks to Jacquie and John whose enthusiasm for ultracycling and sharing its joy with others were positively infectious. Jacquie completed the 2016 Cracker Swamp in the same grand, enthusiastic style.

Jacquie, we sorely miss your spirit, your speed, and your hugs. May all your roads from hereon out be freshly paved and the wind forever at your back.