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)  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