For those who have never heard about the sport of randonneuring, let me give you a quick introduction. Randonneuring is long distance self supported cycling. There are five event distances which are ridden. Being this sport originated in France all distances are in kilometers, which I will translate for you. All events which are known as brevets (BRA-Vay) are not races against other riders, rather you are racing against the clock as each event has a set maximum allowed time, and strangely enough, a time which you can not go faster than.
The events are a 200 kilometer (125 mile), 300 kilometer (186 miles), 400 kilometer (250 miles), a 600 kilometer (373 miles) and for the big boys and girls as whopping 1,200 kilometer (745 miles) event.
Like I said, there are also time limits for each event, as I am not a fast rider I will ignore for now that criteria, but the clock is always ticking and for a 200 kilometer event the clock runs out at 13 and a half hours. For the 300 kilometer event the clock runs out at 20 hours. For the 400 kilometer event the clock runs out at 27 hours. The 600 has a time limit of 40 hours and for the 1,200 kilometer event the clock has a 90 hour limit.
My plan is to write about the sport in general terms as well as feature the St. Louis Missouri series which begins on Saturday March 14 this year. For more information check out the RUSA website and my website for more information. I hope I will see you out on the road this year. In the mean time, ride safe and ride smart.
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