January 2021 200k/300k Brevets Postponed

The 200k and 300k brevets scheduled for January 16-17, 2021 are postponed. The pandemic is out of control and there is no evidence that it will continue to be anything other than out of control six weeks from now.

While I remain committed to the principle that your safety on these rides is ultimately your responsibility, not mine, I am equally aware of my duties to public safety and public health as an event organizer. There are a finite number of doctors, nurses, and other health care workers and a finite number of paramedics and other first responders who can bring you to them. People get hurt on brevets and over the years a number of riders have required paramedic and hospital services, including in-patient care. We will not organize brevets at a time when doing so risks adding to the historic overburden on our healthcare system and runs the unacceptable risk that you or someone else doesn’t get prompt care or care that they would have otherwise received were we not in the midst of a once-in-a-century public health crisis.

We will reschedule the 200k and 300k if possible, in the Spring if we’re lucky and in the Summer or Fall if we’re not. You’ll still get ACP credit for them: the ACP has been wonderfully flexible with rescheduling because of the realities of the pandemic. Our first event, then, will likely be the March 6 400K. March is hopefully far enough away that the holiday surge of sickness, hospitalizations, and death is waning and that a more responsible, selfless public response to the directions given by healthcare professionals has lessened the public health and safety risks associated with organized cycling events.

No one is more disappointed by this decision than I am. This will be my 17th season riding brevets, which is longer than almost everyone reading this, and I miss our organized events terribly. But doing the right thing isn’t about feeling good or making people happy or giving people what they want. Doing the right thing is usually hard and it makes people upset and disappointed. I share your frustration.

In the meantime, by all means, get outside and ride your bike. If you’re desperate for organized rides and RUSA credit for riding your bike, ride in other regions or ride permanents. Please continue to be smart. Now more than ever, be attentive and mindful of your safety and the safety of anyone you’re riding with or around. Be well, stay safe, and see you on the road.

Paul