Date: 7 May 2017 (Sunday)
Start Time: 0700
Starting Location: Inn on the Green, 700 E Burleigh Blvd, Tavares, FL 32778 — 352/343-6373. Call to reserve your room for the discounted rate of $55.99+tax, but do it fast, before they sell out.
Cue Sheet (as of 3 May 2017): here (Excel). The route is updated to reflect lunch at SYC.
Preliminary Route Track/GPS: here
Route Information: The original plan was to ride to San Antonio and have lunch at the Local Public House. Sadly, they went out of business, so we’re changing direction and traveling to New Smyrna Beach and plan to have lunch at Jason’s Corner SYC. There is approximately 2,000 feet of climbing and none of it is difficult. There are two large sections — SR 46 outbound and SR 44 inbound — on which we may encounter some traffic and that may require riding single-file.
Cost: $45. This includes your lunch & drinks at Smyrna Yacht Club, event insurance, swag, and post-ride beverages and snacks, but it does not include your snacks/beverages during the ride (other than at NSB/lunch). Register below. Advance registration and payment is required.
Registered Riders: 23, as of 5 May 2017: Anderson, Bartolin, E Bennett, Betancourt, Bol, Gramling, Jensen B, Jensen D, Kehler, Kusters, Longley, McCarley, Meredith, Padilla, Perez, Pierce, Portelli, Rozelle, Schreck, Smith, Stephens, Thompson, and Williams
Audax Rules: Please review our club’s Rules for Riders first. In addition to those rules, there are two critical rules for audax rides. First, we must ride as a group. Passing the route captain is forbidden and may result in disqualification. Similarly, voluntarily riding behind the peloton without leave of the route captain is not permitted. Second, the group rides together at a predetermined pace of 22.5km/hr, and stops together for predetermined times. These are indicated on the cue sheet. There are other rules and traditions, which will be explained and detailed later, but those are the two big ones. Please make sure that you are interested in and will support this style of riding, and at this pace, before registering. Additional information on audax is given below the registration.
How do I make sense of the cue sheet? Study it with a map beforehand. Of course, if you follow the rider in front of you, you will be on route at all times. The most useful information on the cue sheet for riders is the designation of when, where, and for how long the stops will be taken. This permits riders to plan their activities — bathroom, filling bottles, getting snacks — and to move efficiently through the controls.
What if I get a flat or other mechanical? The peloton will not stop. At the direction of the route captain, a few riders will be dispatched from the peloton to assist you and to pull you back to the group.
Is there support or SAG? No. Like all randonnees, you and your bike must be well equipped and in good shape. Please ensure that you have the proper tools and talent for handling all repairs and the proper food, hydration, and apparel for the ride. If you or your bike cannot be restored to functionality, you will need to arrange for your own transportation back to the start.
Are there brevet cards? Yes, and they look different than those you are used to. The organizer or his designee will carry all riders’ brevet cards and have them validated at the controls.
Interested in volunteering? If you are, or you have a spouse, partner, friend, or sworn enemy who might be, please contact me. The more help; the more awesome it is!
Important! This is a brevet, but it is NOT a RUSA-sanctioned event. If you’re looking for RUSA credit, you will not get it. This event will not count for an R-12, a K-Hound, or any other RUSA award, credit, or program. That said, audax is an awesome and different style of randonneuring. This is the first audax ride in the United States in nearly two decades. Do it, and you’ll make history.

Registration

There is no day-of-event registration. You must register and pay in advance of the ride, by no later than Thursday, May 4.

There are two steps to completing your registration.

Step 1. Please fill in the information here.

Step 2. Send in your payment. Please make your $45 check payable to Paul Rozelle, and mail it to:

Paul Rozelle, Central Florida Randonneurs 1300 Friendly Way S, St. Petersburg, FL 33705

What is Audax? Audax is the oldest form of randonneuring. It is still practiced in parts of Europe, but is largely unknown in the United States, although the word is common (Audax Atlanta, Audax U.K., etc.). What you are familiar with is allure libre randonneuring, or free-paced randonneuring. There are time cut-offs for the controls and the event overall but, within those very liberal constraints, a rider can proceed along the route at his or her own pace.

Audax cycling, by contrast, is a group ride. The audax cycling motto is, “Start together, ride together, finish together.” An audax ride is conducted under the auspices of a Ride Captain, who is charged with maintaining the common group pace between each control, which is 22.5km/hr (that’s 14mph). Passing the Route Captain is forbidden and the riders must stay together. Everything possible is done to ensure that riders do not fall off the back or are not dropped for mechanicals, but voluntarily riding a pace slower than 22.5kph without leave from the Route Captain is forbidden.

Audax cycling is social and accessible. It is an especially good way to introduce people to randonneuring who might not otherwise be familiar with it or who might be concerned about riding alone (never!) or worrying about navigation (just follow the guy in front of you; impossible to get lost).The pace is very moderate, especially in our flat terrain. Audax rewards keeping everyone together and working together to achieve a common goal … together. The finest route captains are those who accomplish this goal. The best achievement is to finish 100% of the riders who start.

Like the riding, stops are conducted together, at and for a predetermned time. There is a sit-down meal, which is an integral part of the audax tradition. There are other audax customs and traditions, which you will discover on the ride.

You can read more about audax here, which is the website for the Union des Audax Français.

Last updated: 17 March 2017

Date: 12 January 2019
Start Time: 0700
Starting Location: The Bikery, 2222 1st Ave S, St. Petersburg
Cue Sheet: coming
Route Track: coming
Route Information: This is similar to the RUSA 20th Anniversary route and is a new route for audax. The route starts in St. Pete at a fantastic bike shop/coffee bar, goes through downtown, out to Fort Desoto, and then up the barrier islands to Clearwater, where we get on the Pinellas Trail to Tarpon Springs. We’ll have our sit-down communal lunch at the sponge docks at mile 80 and then turn around and ride the trail back to St. Pete, where we will take a quick lap through Lakewood before finishing up at The Bikery. This route is flat — the only climbing is the causeways on and off the barrier islands — but it can be windy.
Cost: $45. This includes your lunch & drinks in Tarpon Springs (venue TBD), event insurance, and finishers’ medal, but it does not include your snacks/beverages during the ride (other than at Tarpon/lunch). Register below. Advance registration and payment is required.
Registered Riders: 1, as of 2 October 2018: Rozelle
Audax Rules: Please review our club’s Rules for Riders first. In addition to those rules, there are two critical rules for audax rides. First, we must ride as a group. Passing the route captain is forbidden and may result in disqualification. Similarly, voluntarily riding behind the peloton without leave of the route captain is not permitted. Second, the group rides together at a predetermined pace of 22.5km/hr, and stops together for predetermined times. These are indicated on the cue sheet. There are other rules and traditions, which will be explained and detailed later, but those are the two big ones. Please make sure that you are interested in and will support this style of riding, and at this pace, before registering. Additional information on audax is given below the registration.
How do I make sense of the cue sheet? Study it with a map beforehand. Of course, if you follow the rider in front of you, you will be on route at all times. The most useful information on the cue sheet for riders is the designation of when, where, and for how long the stops will be taken. This permits riders to plan their activities — bathroom, filling bottles, getting snacks — and to move efficiently through the controls.
What if I get a flat or other mechanical? The peloton will not stop. At the route captain’s direction, a few riders will be dispatched from the peloton to help you and to pull you back to the group.
Is there support or SAG? No. Like all randonnees, you and your bike must be well equipped and in good shape. Please ensure that you have the proper tools and talent for handling all repairs and the proper food, hydration, and apparel for the ride. If you or your bike cannot be restored to functionality, you will need to arrange for your own transportation back to the start.
Are there brevet cards? Yes, and they look different than those you are used to. The organizer or his designee will carry all riders’ brevet cards and have them validated at the controls.
Interested in volunteering? If you are, or you have a spouse, partner, friend, or sworn enemy who might be, please contact me. The more help; the more awesome it is!
Important! This is a brevet, but it is NOT a RUSA-sanctioned event. If you’re looking for RUSA credit, you will not get it. This event will not count for qualifying you for PBP or for an R-12, a K-Hound, or any other RUSA award, credit, or program. That said, audax is an awesome and different style of randonneuring.

Registration

There is no day-of-event registration. You must register and pay in advance of the ride, by no later than Thursday, September 6.

There are two steps to completing your registration.

Step 1. Please fill in the information here.

Step 2. Send in your payment. Please make your $45 check payable to Paul Rozelle, and mail it to:

Paul Rozelle, Central Florida Randonneurs 1300 Friendly Way S, St. Petersburg, FL 33705

What is Audax? Audax is the oldest form of randonneuring. It is still practiced in parts of Europe, but is largely unknown in the United States, although the word is common (Audax Atlanta, Audax U.K., etc.). What you are familiar with is allure libre randonneuring, or free-paced randonneuring. There are time cut-offs for the controls and the event overall but, within those very liberal constraints, a rider can proceed along the route at his or her own pace.

Audax cycling, by contrast, is a group ride. The audax cycling motto is, “Start together, ride together, finish together.” An audax ride is conducted under the auspices of a Ride Captain, who is charged with maintaining the common group pace between each control, which is 22.5km/hr (that’s 14mph). Passing the Route Captain is forbidden and the riders must stay together. Everything possible is done to ensure that riders do not fall off the back or are not dropped for mechanicals, but voluntarily riding a pace slower than 22.5kph without leave from the Route Captain is forbidden.

Audax cycling is social and accessible. It is an especially good way to introduce people to randonneuring who might not otherwise be familiar with it or who might be concerned about riding alone (never!) or worrying about navigation (just follow the guy in front of you; impossible to get lost).The pace is very moderate, especially in our flat terrain. Audax rewards keeping everyone together and working together to achieve a common goal … together. The finest route captains are those who accomplish this goal. The best achievement is to finish 100% of the riders who start.

Like the riding, stops are conducted together, at and for a predetermned time. There is a sit-down meal, which is an integral part of the audax tradition. There are other audax customs and traditions, which you will discover on the ride.

You can read more about audax here, which is the website for the Union des Audax Français.

Last updated: 5 May 2018

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

All–

We have two 600Ks on tap in the next month.

The first is the ACP-sanctioned 600K brevet our of Dunnellon on April 15. You can get the details and register for it here. The route is a new one — it’s the same 400K that we did in March plus a 200K dog-leg on the Withlacoochee Trail. It’ll get you qualified for Paris-Brest-Paris. It’s also a great route with some of the best cycling roads we’ve seen here in a long time.

The second is a UAF-sanctioned 600K brevet, which — hopefully! — will be the first audax 600K run in the United States. Ever. I say “hopefully” because we need FOUR bikes to officially start the event and THREE of those are required for anyone on the event to be an official finisher. Right now, we only have three  people registered, so the event is at risk of cancellation. If you’re looking for a great time — think of a two-day fleche, but without having to stay up all night! — then consider this event. If you’re looking for some extra practice riding a disciplined pace before PBP, then consider this event. And if you’re looking to be a part of randonneuring history, then definitely consider this event. Further information and registration are here.

Hope to see you on the road!
Paul

Randonneurs!

I hope you are excited about this weekend! Here is some information to update you on what to expect:

— The final cue sheets have been posted to the Events page for each ride. We’ll have printed copies at the start. Please let me know if you have any questions.

— Expect it to be colder than we’re used to. Saturday’s start-time temps will bottom out at freezing in the countryside and it will struggle to warm into the 50s. For our slower riders, be prepared for a chilly night Saturday night, too. On the plus side, you’ll have 95 miles of tailwind to Avon Park. On Sunday, the 200K will start in temps in the 30s. Dress appropriately.

— Please arrive in plenty of time to check in, futz with your bike, hit the head, etc.  Brevets start on time, with or without you. There will be pre-ride announcements five minutes before the ride, and then we’ll be off, on-time.

— Lights and a reflective vest or sash are required on the 300K, which starts in the dark.  Please set your tail light to solid, non-flashing.  Flashing tail lights are illegal in Florida (they are not legal on PBP, either). Lights/reflective stuff is not required on the 200K, but you will be disqualified if you ride in low-light or dark conditions without using those items.

— Scotch?  Yes, by God.

— It’s not too late!  Bring a friend or three. Just be sure to have them register by this evening!  And if you registered but can’t come, that sucks, but please drop a note to let us know not to expect you.

— Upcoming rides!  Our next event is an audax (UAF-sanctioned) 200K brevet on February 11. It’s at my house and there will be amazing food, beverages, and a new lunch spot.  If you’ve not done an audax brevet before, please join us!  The rest of the ACP and UAF rides (and a 100K RUSA populaire) are up on the calendar. Check ’em out and come ride!

See you this weekend,
Paul

All–

Our neighbors over in the brand-new Florida region — Northeast Florida Randonneurs — are hosting two randonnees this upcoming weekend — a 200K on 11/12 and a 100K populaire on 11/13. Head over to their website (linked above) and check it out! They’re also hosting a brevet week in February, which is a great way to get some additional riding in or meet some or all of the PBP qualification requirements.

See you on the road,
Paul

All y’all–

After two years of relative dormancy, here’s where we’re at:

(1)  Our first proper brevets were held over the MLK Jr. long weekend. We had 27 complete the 200K and 9 hardy randonneurs completed a seriously wet, windy, and cold 300K the next day.  100% finish rate on both rides. You guys are awesome!

(2) Next up for the ACP brevet calendar are the 400K in March and a 600K in April. Registrations are either up on the website or soon will be.

(3)  We’re also playing host for the Gainesville club this year, administering their 200, 300, and 400.  Thank you to Scott Manning and Susan Gryder for stepping up and being the boots on the ground to run these events. Please support them by riding those events and offering your help to them if you can spare it. Florida is best served by having three independent, healthy randonneuring clubs offering brevets and whatever we can all do to help keep it that way, the better off we — and the sport — will be.

(4)  We had our first audax brevet in two years earlier this month.  Seventeen folks including some brand-new to randonneuring enjoyed a glorious day and even some ouzo in Tarpon Springs. Next up on the UAF (audax) calendar is a 400K in March and a 600K in May.  Those are special rides. The 400K rides like a large fleche. We did one three years ago and it drew 16 people. It was a total blast. There has never, ever been a 600K audax held in the United States (and I believe one has not been held outside of France).  So that will be a very special ride. It’s 2x300K, with a legitimate overnight and meals, all in under 40h.  If you miss this, well . . . you’re doing randonneuring wrong.

(5)  Speaking of special stuff, PBP is next year. It sounds like it’s far off, but it’s not.  Your ability to participate will be determined, in part, by the longest ACP brevet you complete in 2022. So if you want to do PBP, I recommend that you ride at least a 300K this year to ensure yourself a spot on the ride.

(6)  I know I have a ton of stuff to send back to you all.  Medals, brevet cards, … it’s an impressive stack on my desk.  The weather sucks today and so I’m diving into that. It’ll take weeks to get through it, but it’s coming. I’m going in; wish me luck!

It is less than three months until the Cracker Swamp 1200 and registration still hasn’t opened. I wanted to update you on why that is and to let you know the status of the ride.

Executive Summary: The go/no-go decision on the Cracker Swamp will be made on August 31. Either registration will open that day or the event will not be held in 2021. If it is not held in 2021, the next Cracker Swamp will take place in Fall 2024.

Why the Delay and Uncertainty? I really thought that widely available vaccines would have brought us to a good place where normalcy would prevail and we could move forward without the constant pandemic umbrella hanging over our heads at every turn. I never anticipated that the vaccination rates would be so low and the pandemic is back, or remains as the case may be, with a vengeance.

As a result, Central Florida’s hospitals and EMS systems are currently overwhelmed. As of yesterday, according to our medical director, my county had several hospitals at or beyond capacity with ER bed wait times at seven hours. Nearly 50% of admissions to a floor are for COVID; more than 96% of those admissions are unvaccinated. Our EMS can no longer transport from a call to the hospital; fire/rescue is providing that service and they are at capacity. Conditions are worse, in some cases much worse, in the parts of the state the Cracker Swamp runs through.

There are consequences to an uncurbed pandemic. The consequence of full emergency departments, overflowing hospitals, and potentially delayed EMS response is that it would be irresponsible, in my opinion, to hold a four-day ultracycling event when it’s foreseeable that someone might need medical care and help either wouldn’t be there or we’d be taxing an already overburdened system. Overnight brevets, where people are riding at night, sometimes alone, and sometimes without the best situational awareness after days in the saddle, present heightened risk. In the face of at- or near-capacity medical and EMS resources, those risks are unacceptable to me. If the Cracker Swamp were taking place in August or September, it’d be cancelled for this reason alone.

But who knows what November will bring. The pandemic has taught me that predicting the future is a fool’s errand. However, we’re fast approaching a time when significant money must be firmly committed and an educated guess about the impacts of the pandemic on rider and community safety must be made. That deadline is the end of this month.

Give It to Me Straight; What Are the Odds? Not good. Unlike during the previous spikes in pandemic-induced hospitalizations, this time there are no state or local efforts to try to curb the spread of the disease. The other downer, of course, is that infectious disease doesn’t respect state boundaries or care about politics. What’s raging in Central Florida right now will soon enough be coming to your communities, too, and that could negatively impact the prospects of holding the Cracker Swamp, even if things begin to improve in Central Florida.

Why Not Hold a No-Frills/DIY/Rider-Capped Cracker Swamp?  Principally for the same reason. While reducing or eliminating volunteers, food, swag, overnight support, on-course support, and other organized aspects of the Cracker Swamp would move the go/no-go date slightly later, it would not change the fundamental calculus when it comes to the impact of an unchecked pandemic on our first responders and hospitals.

Secondarily, the Cracker Swamp is not a no-frills ride or a permanent. It was conceived as a large social event that emphasized community and camaraderie and not just as another bike ride or excuse to bag miles and medals. Preserving the character of the event is key, second only to making reasonable decisions about participant and community safety.

This Sucks. Tell me about it.

Got Any Good News? Absolutely. Keep things in perspective: This, too, shall pass, (although I sure thought it would have by now). Randonneuring isn’t going anywhere. Paris-Brest-Paris survived two invasions and a pandemic. What the ACP and their forbearers and the early organizers of PBP didn’t do, though, was try to run big, long cycling events during wars and out-of-control pandemics.

If you’ve read this far, thank you and thank you especially for your patience and understanding. If you have questions, please contact me. If you would like to be taken off this distribution list, or know someone who would like to be added to it, please let me know that, too.

Thanks and stay safe and healthy,
Paul

Y’all–

Long time, no events. Some good news, all around:

(1)  San An 100K this Saturday, 8am. No fee; registration required. Hope to see you there. This likely didn’t make it on to many of your calendars and that’s fair. So we’ll do it again toward the end of the month.

(2)  Up! All Night ACP 200K registration is also posted. Hope to see you there.

(3)  Cracker Swamp? But of course. Registration and Details coming June 15, 2021.

(4)  What about other brevets? Make-ups likely in the Fall. Stay tuned.

(5)  Audax? Yes, returning in January 2022. And it’s not just a Florida thing anymore.