Oregon Cycling Magazine

by Ellee Thalheimer

Willingly, happily, and resignedly, they cycle for incredible stints of time, day and night, taking “ditch naps,” nursing caffeinated beverages, meticulously following time and route regulations, and cheering each other on. They call themselves randonneurs. They don’t race each other. A randonneur competes with no one but his or herself. They ask the question, “Can I do it?” And they doggedly pursue the answer, “yes.”

Both valiant and insane, randonneuring is a strain of organized cycling that is quickly gaining popularity in the United States. As of 2006, due to the efforts and organization of Region Brevet Administrator Susan France, Oregonian randonneurs have transformed from a loose community of cyclists to a club officially recognized by Randonneurs USA. Incidentally, membership has skyrocketed in the last year.

Randonneuring (literally meaning to “walk,” “ride,” or “ramble”) first began in the late 1800’s when Frenchmen started to cycle the 1200 km out-and-back Paris-Brest-Paris bike ride over dirt and cobblestone roads. This ultimate test of human endurance initiated what would become an international lineage of cycling crazies who follow the randonneuring tradition.

Here’s how it works. Randonneurs across the world participate in brevets (pronounced breh-VAY) and literally meaning “certificate,” “patent,” or “diploma” in French. Brevets are rides of various lengths—200 km (125mi), 300 km (190mi), 400 km (250mi), 600 km (375mi), 1000 km (625mi), or 1200 km (750mi)—that have to be finished within given time constraints. Sections of the brevet are marked by controls, or checkpoints, and a rider has a set amount of time to reach each control. Randonneurs carry around a passport-like route card that has to be checked off at each control.

Completing a successful brevet means one’s ride has been certified and registered in France. The rider’s name is added to a roll of honor that acknowledges successful randonneurs all the way back to 1921. Randonneurs also participate in an event called a Dart. In a Dart, teams of 3-5 people start at various locations and cycle to a common finishing spot. They ride their self-made route within the specified amount of time while meeting a certain distance requirement. During the last two hours of the Dart, riders have to cycle at least 25 km, thus the any competitive aspect is squelched.

Susan France, who has been involved with randonneuring on and off for 20 years, noted that randonneurs are distinctively non-competitive. Frequently, randonneurs will encourage each other, help each other out on the route, and rejoice in the success of other riders. France also mentioned the different styles of randonneuring. In a brevet, the “Hammerhead” minority pound the route as fast as they can. Yet, there are also randonneurs who will decide to hang out and play the slots at a control stop or to lounge on a beach sipping micro-brews. In the end, the ride times and placings of the randonneurs are not recorded or posted.

Randonneuring is more about riding in beautiful places, creatively pushing the edges of personal limits, and being in a like-minded community of jovial masochists. “They’re real geeky,” France says affectionately of randonneurs, “They’ll talk about lighting set ups for 6 hours.”

Geeky…maybe. But they are a most tenacious brand of geek. During 24-hour or multi-day brevets, post office floors are after-hour nap hot-spots for randonneurs. One can also find them snoozing in 24-hour mini-mart booths, on stacks of bark dust, or flat out in a ditch or shoulder of a road.

I am assured that randonneurs are a most welcoming bunch, so if you are a cyclist strong of heart, you might want to join the festivities and try a populaire, a shorter unofficial ride meant for training or introducing new riders to the joys of randonneuring. To find out more information about the Oregon Randonneurs and their schedule of events visit www.orrandonneurs.org.

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