Monday, March 25, 2019

ACP 2018 Results - interesting highlights

Every year the Audax Club Parisien compiles its results - with commentary from the program administrators - into a brochure. Here it is for 2018:


On the back, they list each program and when it was created.


Many of the events are domestic (France), such as the Fléchette Vélocio (for younger riders) and the Relais de France. But for the international ones, it's interesting to compare among countries, and trends. Also to see the rich tradition of event types.

BRM Events

The Brevets Randonneurs Mondiaux events are the ACP brevets we ride.
  • The US is fourth overall in number of (finishers') kms over the past six years; Japan is first. 
  • We were at 1,823,700 for 2018, but 2,219,000 for 2014, the previous PBP year.
  • The US is fifth overall (after India) for 2018.
Flèches Nationales

The Flèches Nationales events are the flèche events outside of France. In France, the event is the Flèche Vélocio.
  • Max team distance was 635 km in France, 642 km in Sweden, 639 km in Slovenia; the highest in the US was 421 km (Flèche NW). As we've seen, this reflects two different philosophies of riding the flèche.
  • Japan had the greatest number of teams (65), followed by the US (56).
  • The US had the greatest number of women (44, followed by Japan with 40), and by far the greatest number of tandems (10, followed by Canada with 2 and Sweden with 1 - no other countries had tandems).
Traces Nationales

2019 will be the first year RUSA regions (seven of them) will be offering a Trace.
  • Riders of the Trace are termed traceurs at least in the Results. 
  • The Traces Nationales were started in 2010.
  • In 2018, France and three other countries had Traces: Canada, the UK, and Romania, with team counts in the single digits (52 teams in France).
  • In 2019, additional countries are Japan and the US.
  • Totals outside of France include 15 women and one tandem, according to Sophie, who administers the Traces Nationales.
  • Team distances spanned 203km to 234km ... so no team was riding a Flèche distance (360km) under the rubric of a Trace (which is the possible upper limit under the rules).
  • As of 2018, teams are no longer prohibited from riding between 10pm and 6am, but the intent is that the Trace is a daytime event.
  • It will be interesting to see how our Trace teams and organizers fare, and how popular this event format will be.
Super Randonnée 600

These are 600 km+ permanents sanctioned by the ACP, requiring 10,000 m. (31,000 ft.) of climbing, with a time limit of 60 hours. The ACP official who created this program lives in a mountainous region, aiming to inspire riders with a climbing, backcountry challenge.
  • There are currently 59 routes, including 16 with US ownership and 9 with Spanish ownership.
  • Only 2 new routes were created in 2018, one each in US and Spain.
  • In 2018, there were 24 finishers in both France and the US (placing fourth in the ratings). Spain had 93 finishers. [One fourth of the finishers came from the Colorado Front Range SR 600.]
  • That finisher count in France made it a "very small year" for the program in France, historically a big draw for riders. Five of the 24 finishers of French routes chose the Tourist option.
  • There is a photo of riders on the Lone Star Road route in Humboldt County, CA, a route that is 30% gravel, it says.
  • These details - as with the Trace - courtesy of Sophie Matter, who created and administers this program.
On a local note, we had a huge upswing in ridership for the Colorado Front Range SR 600, with six finishers, including one group of three and another of two. Four were from out of state. Extending the time limit to 60 hours was a factor in enticing some of these riders.

- - -

It's always good to look beyond our own borders to see the difference in styles, the growth trends, and the scale of randonneuring in the world!

-jle

Saturday, March 2, 2019

Colorado Rando Awardees - 2018 Round-Up!

Here are Colorado randos who've earned RUSA and ACP awards in 2018!

We recognize you, our friends, because you have decided on this or that challenge, and through commitment, persistence, and discomfort, have managed to achieve it!

For most of these awards, you need to apply to be recognized. You don't need to purchase the physical award. What's important is the goal and the accomplishment. For some, the physical award adds a nice momento.

Some are challenges within the current year or a twelve-month period. Others recognize achievement over a number of years.

We congratulate our fellow randos for their persistence in achieving their goals!

You can see our cumulative awardees across the years here:
Super Randonneur · R-12 / P-12 · R-5000 · Others


One-Year Awards
ACP Super Randonneur
R-12
P-12
American Randonneur  
Challenge
K-Hound
Multi-Year Awards
RUSA Cup
ACP Randonneur 5000
Ultra Randonneur
Coast-to-Coast
Mondial
Ultra R-12
American Explorer
other awards not covered here
RUSA Distance Awards
Ultra K-Hound
Ultra P-12
Galaxy

Super Randonneur
Complete brevets of 200km, 300km, 400km and 600km in one year.

That's 21 of our fellow randos!

Andy Albershardt
John Lee Ellis
Tim Foon Feldman
Chris Grealish
Scott Griffith
Dustin Harding
Nate Hartokolis
Jim Howell
Oksana Kovalenko
Pascal Ledru
Beth Long
Mark Lowe
John Mangin
Brent Myers
David Nelson

Ray Rupel
Catherine Shenk
Jeremy Shlachter
Mike Turek
Don Ward
Corinne Warren




R-12
Complete a 200km or longer RUSA ride in each of 12 consecutive months.
[1] means first-time R-12 - welcome!

John Lee Ellis [12]
Paul A Foley [5]
Scott Griffith [1]
Jim Howell [1]
Pascal Ledru [1]
John Mangin [1]
Catherine Shenk [10]
Henry Snavely [4]
Corinne Warren [3]



Ultra R-12
Complete ten R-12's (need not be contiguous).

Catherine Shenk *
* ridden in 120 consecutive months!



P-12
Ride a 100km to 199km RUSA ride in each of twelve consecutive months.

John Lee Ellis
Malcolm Fraser
Earl TeBockhorst



ACP Randonneur 5000
Ride 5000km in events including Paris-Brest-Paris, a Flèche, and 200km, 300km 400km, 600km and 1000km brevets within 48 months. (An Audax Club Parisien award, not RUSA.)

None in 2018.
Paul Foley and Mike Turek in 2017.



And now for RUSA awards that randonneurs can work towards over multiple years ...

American Explorer
Cover at least ten different U.S. states and territories on RUSA rides.
New to the American Explorer award:

Malcolm Fraser
AZ, CA, CO, DC, FL, GA, MD, MN, OH, UT





RUSA Cup
Complete at least one of each type of RUSA event, accumulating at least 5000km over a two-year period.

John Lee Ellis



Ultra Randonneur
Complete ten Super Randonneur series over any number of years.

Vernon Smith




Coast to Coast
Complete four different RUSA 1200km or longer events over any number of years.

Paul Foley
2016 Cracker Swamp 1200
2018 Blue Ridge to Bay
2018 Great Lakes Mac 'n Cheese
2018 Florida Tip to Tail 1600

Vernon Smith
2011 Colorado High Country 1200
2013 Texas Rando Stampede 1200
2013 Taste of Carolina
2016 Cracker Swamp 1200



Mondial
Complete 40,000km in RUSA rides - a lifetime achievement award.

— none new in 2018 —



American Randonneur Challenge
Complete two or more RUSA 1200km or longer events in one season.

Paul Foley
Pascal Ledru



Courtesy Randonneurs USA


K-Hound
Complete 10,000 km or more in RUSA events in one calendar year. You can also count foreign Grand Randonnées if needed. Paul Foley's first K-Hound!

John Lee Ellis
Paul Foley [1]




A Final Thought

RUSA has created these awards over time to give you more and more diverse goals to shoot for. Maybe you don't have the personal time to achieve K-Hound mileage, but have the grit to complete an R-12 ride each month for a year in hot and cold, sun and snow.

Set your own goals, and let your imagination and determination be your guides!

You can find details on each of these awards via the RUSA Awards page
including all those who've applied for recognition.

Bonne route!
-jle