Why are you a randonneur?

[Commodus]

I like randonneuring because the guys in the club know so many more nice roads than I do. I mean it would take a lifetime to figure out all these great routes. Joining the club and going on these rides gives me instant access to decades of this accumulated route knowledge.

It's also nice for the safety aspect. Sure I can go on long rides by myself - and I often do - but I appreciate the safety aspect of having a large group of folks who know where you're going and approximately when you're going to get there. If something catastrophic happens, I have that bailout option of calling the route organizer and getting a ride somewhere - or if something really bad happens, at least I know there will be people looking for me who can find me.

And the people are great! Frankly, I rarely meet people who I am interested in talking to, in daily life. On rando rides, I almost always do! These nuts are just really interesting people, with interesting lives and interesting views on stuff. What better way to get to know someone than a 10 hour bike ride?

Another nice thing, it represents a good balance between just riding along, and a more sporting aspect. I don't always want to flog myself around a track for 45 minutes sweating blood and turning myself inside out, nor do I always want to wander along smelling the flowers. Randonneuring is a good middle ground that suits me very nicely.

[surreycrv]

"You keep your own score in golf"
Not really. The only time you keep your own score in golf is when it is equivalent to a bicycle JRA. As soon as it becomes a real competition, your opponent or a judge is keeping your score, or keeping a duplicate score, and if you sign your score-card with a wrong stroke count on it, you are disqualified.

see that's just wrong on all counts. I played with a guy once who used the excuse, "We're not on the Tour, so I am not going to ruin my club or take a stroke" for the root he moved his ball away from. So if you need the crutch, then you have no right to ever compare scores, or in the rando world, time you completed, let alone if you actually did complete the course.

yes there are many scorekeepers on the PGA, but the only card that matters is the one carried by the player himself, which he signs then another person countersigns. Same thing in the rando world, lose your card, you dnf'd. Doesn't matter if the club kept a log of all the control points of your arrival and departure. Why, because that's the way brevets work.

[lhbernhardt]

Back in the late 70's when I first started, nobody else was doing it in Canada - probably even in North America. It was interesting and fun riding all night in the rain with a small group, or by myself. It's probably the utlimate experience for the non-racing cyclist. I was racing at the time, so it was bad for my training to be doing 600-km rides, so four of the guys I rode with went to Paris to ride PBP and I stayed home and kept racing. It wasn't until about 2007 or 8 when I stopped racing that I drifted back into being a randonneur, although I pretty much do the minimum necessary to qualify for awards and, in 2011, for PBP.

So I guess I do this mostly for the challenge. If I were younger I might have gone all out to try to finish with the fastest guys in PBP, but at my age (61), it's enough just to finish the ride on a fixed gear! I like the accomplishment, I like knowing that I am officially an "ancien" of PBP, and having ridden it on fixed, I feel a kinship with the hard men who actually raced it back in the 30's and before, when they rode it on fixed gears, and on rough, unpaved roads.

Of course, stopping every now and then at some gas station and asking the attendant to sign your route card is an inconvenience, but it's an accepted part of the game. Usually, most controles at organized brevets are manned by volunteers, so there's no awkwardness about havng to get somebody to sign/timestamp your card, but nobody has ever refused. Back in the 70's, we had no volunteers, so it was pretty much all permanents ridden in a group, and not being an outgoing person, I much prefer stopping at a real controle. But then the route cards are collected and sent to France for verification, so there's an entire layer of verification and attendant recognition involved. The club gives out a pin for the first completion of each distance each year, and if you do the series, you get the medal from ACP. I don't do the series each year, and I've only done PBP once, unlike some people in our club (BC Randonneurs) who go every four years. And if I could get my act together and ride a fleche next year, I could even qualify for an ACP Randonneur 5000 medal, but it's not high on my list.

There are other challenges that don't require being a randonneur. This year's challenge for me is a California Triple Crown, even more of a challenge since I don't live in California and will need to fly down the last weekend of September to do my third ride. And next year's challenge is London-Edinburgh-London, which has no qualification requirements, other than being one of the first 750 or so to register when they open the registrations. And after that, I'll likely do the ride where you climb Mt. Ventoux over all three routes within 24 hours; I understand they have a punch clock at the top for that purpose! And all of the above on the fixie! (Yes, I know Ventoux has been done on a fixie over all FOUR (the 4th is the gravel road) routes!)

So I guess a lot of why I'm a randonneur has to do with just finding and overcoming challenges, and making the challenges a little harder. If it isn't hard, it isn't worth doing! (Yes, I know I could do it on a heavy Dutch commuter bike, but I like the fixie because it handles like a good racing bike. It just doesn't have the gears, so it's 80% me, 20% bike. With gears, it's 80% gears, 20% me.)

Luis

[BenHud]

I just started randonneuring last year. I've met some wonderful people, and ridden farther than I ever thought I would be able to. The longer rides lead to a sense of adventure that I really enjoy. Riding across the countryside through the night is awesome. I love the nervous feelings before a 400 or 600, and the feeling of accomplishment after finishing is incredible.

[skiffrun]

Do I do that???? I try to be nice. Now I'm sad...

Don't be sad. Sardonic responses can be quite amusing sometimes.

[Wesley36]

I like randonneuring because the guys in the club know so many more nice roads than I do. I mean it would take a lifetime to figure out all these great routes. Joining the club and going on these rides gives me instant access to decades of this accumulated route knowledge.

It's also nice for the safety aspect. Sure I can go on long rides by myself - and I often do - but I appreciate the safety aspect of having a large group of folks who know where you're going and approximately when you're going to get there. If something catastrophic happens, I have that bailout option of calling the route organizer and getting a ride somewhere - or if something really bad happens, at least I know there will be people looking for me who can find me.

And the people are great! Frankly, I rarely meet people who I am interested in talking to, in daily life. On rando rides, I almost always do! These nuts are just really interesting people, with interesting lives and interesting views on stuff. What better way to get to know someone than a 10 hour bike ride?

Another nice thing, it represents a good balance between just riding along, and a more sporting aspect. I don't always want to flog myself around a track for 45 minutes sweating blood and turning myself inside out, nor do I always want to wander along smelling the flowers. Randonneuring is a good middle ground that suits me very nicely.

A big +1 on this post.

[ThermionicScott]

callipygian

Great word! I'm committing it to memory for future use.

[LWaB]

I like to ride a lot and randonnees are an excuse to ride, a lot!

[k7baixo]

I just started randonneuring last year. I've met some wonderful people, and ridden farther than I ever thought I would be able to. The longer rides lead to a sense of adventure that I really enjoy. Riding across the countryside through the night is awesome. I love the nervous feelings before a 400 or 600, and the feeling of accomplishment after finishing is incredible.

Great post - I started last year also with a Sept 200k in northern AZ which resulted in a DNF. I can't believe the progress I've made since that faithful ride.

I like to ride a lot and randonnees are an excuse to ride, a lot!

And, to eat a lot also.

[ILClyde]

Why? I'm not sure yet. I'll let everyone know after my first ones next spring . . .

(longtime lurker, just registered -- I'm sure you all will hear a lot of q's from me in the coming months)

[Cyclotic]

6. The women with great butts and skins suits are not randonneurs.

Ha. As a female randonneur with an admittedly great butt I take exception to is remark. However, based on my observation you'd be hard pressed to find even a Victoria's Secret model whose assets are flattered by bike shorts. They don't do the female form justice.

That said, cycling shirts don't look so great on my many middle-aged male rando buddies who employ their beer guts as a Lon distance nutritional strategy.

But I don't let it get in the way of my enjoyment of the sport or the wonderful and interesting people I meet while doing brevets.

[k7baixo]

6. The women with great butts and skins suits are not randonneurs.

Ha. As a female randonneur with an admittedly great butt I take exception to is remark. However, based on my observation you'd be hard pressed to find even a Victoria's Secret model whose assets are flattered by bike shorts. They don't do the female form justice.

That said, cycling shirts don't look so great on my many middle-aged male rando buddies who employ their beer guts as a Lon distance nutritional strategy.

But I don't let it get in the way of my enjoyment of the sport or the wonderful and interesting people I meet while doing brevets.

When I was in the service a million years ago, we used to say that if a woman looked good in fatigues, she'll look good in anything.

I suppose the same holds true for cycling garb.

Welcome to our little corner of the forum also!

[Jamesw2]

I am not a Rando ear yet . . It may take years for me to stop laughing at this thread. And about rules: Yes we need them or Hells Angles would show up at the World Cup making them play with an american football

[FrenchFit]

6. The women with great butts and skins suits are not randonneurs.

Ha. As a female randonneur with an admittedly great butt I take exception to is remark. However, based on my observation you'd be hard pressed to find even a Victoria's Secret model whose assets are flattered by bike shorts. They don't do the female form justice.

That said, cycling shirts don't look so great on my many middle-aged male rando buddies who employ their beer guts as a Lon distance nutritional strategy.

But I don't let it get in the way of my enjoyment of the sport or the wonderful and interesting people I meet while doing brevets.

Well I'm ashamed. It was obviously an insensitive generalization, and I am probably trying to make up for the fact I have never been slapped by a woman for an inappropriate comment - something I regret as I stagger toward my '60s. Although, I have sparred against a woman in Taekwondo and took a nasty kidney shot; warning to you guys out there, if you spar with a woman don't let them get inside, they are like ferrets.

So, I revise my top ten list and eliminate the 'no great butts' line, I'll keep my eyes open from now on. I'll offer to replace it with "Randonneurs have no sense of humor.".

[Commodus]

Well I'm ashamed. It was obviously an insensitive generalization, and I am probably trying to make up for the fact I have never been slapped by a woman for an inappropriate comment - something I regret as I stagger toward my '60s. Although, I have sparred against a woman in Taekwondo and took a nasty kidney shot; warning to you guys out there, if you spar with a woman don't let them get inside, they are like ferrets.

So, I revise my top ten list and eliminate the 'no great butts' line, I'll keep my eyes open from now on. I'll offer to replace it with "Randonneurs have no sense of humor.".

Randos with a good sense of humour are certainly highly sought after. If you're going to spend 15 hours riding beside someone, it is an important attribute!

Fortunately, it's not very rare among this crowd. For most, I would say it's nearly a necessity. Again, because of that whole 15 hours of riding thing!

[Homeyba]

Randos with a good sense of humour are certainly highly sought after. If you're going to spend 15 hours riding beside someone, it is an important attribute!

Fortunately, it's not very rare among this crowd. For most, I would say it's nearly a necessity. Again, because of that whole 15 hours of riding thing!

15hrs? you should see what it's like around 85-90hrs...

[Commodus]

15hrs? you should see what it's like around 85-90hrs...

I haven't been there yet, but I look forward to the experience! I think.

[unterhausen]

15hrs? you should see what it's like around 85-90hrs...

after 85 hours, I'm a joy to ride with. It's some of the intervening hours that are not as much fun

[bmike]

So, I revise my top ten list and eliminate the 'no great butts' line, I'll keep my eyes open from now on. I'll offer to replace it with "Randonneurs have no sense of humor.".

or, 'Most randonneurs don't appreciate typical sexists comments...' that would work too.

I don't think looking to score on a 27, 40, or 90 hour ride is a good plan of action, as the work / reward ratio would seem pretty slim.
YMMV, but if you're not getting it from your guy or gal at home, perhaps some readjustments are necessary.

[Machka]

15hrs? you should see what it's like around 85-90hrs...

No kidding.

If you aren't laughing at it all, you'd probably be crying. Well, OK ... maybe there's a bit of both. Sometimes all at once. And we wonder why people think we're crazy.

[Machka]

Well, I think randonneuring is sort of cool, they have my respect, but if you were really looking for some balance:

3. Don't these people have something better to do with their time/lives?

We decided to take something of a break from Randonneuring this year in order to spend 7 months travelling (and cycling) around the world. However, there's a chance we might participate in a Randonneuring event if we happen across one along the way, and we'll likely do some more next year.

Is that the sort of thing you mean when you indicate that Randonneurs need something better to do with their time/lives?

Or do you think that staying home and doing things like ... say, mowing the lawn or watching TV, might be a better, more balanced choice?