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Anniversary 200K
September 11, 2021 @ 8:00 am - 9:30 pm
$10.00In addition to remembering the people who lost their lives on Sept 11, the date holds additional significance in 2021: it is the 100th anniversary of the first ACP brevet. Both RUSA and the ACP are planning on issuing something that will be available for purchase as a memento for riders participating in a brevet on that day. Here’s a bit of background about the first brevet courtesy of Bill Bryant (RUSA 7):
The Audax Club Parisien was founded in November of 1904 to participate in the new “audax” 200k endurance rides that were starting to take place. “Audax” signified always riding in a group at about 16-18 kph with a road captain who kept the group together the entire time, and from going too fast. The rides often lasted from dawn to dusk and were fairly popular around the Paris region. Upon a successful completion of the ride, participants were awarded a certificate or diploma (brevet in French) for their athletic feat– no small thing in a time of dirt roads and cobblestones and fairly primitive bicycles and cycling clothes and equipment
Over time some of the riders began to itch to go faster than the steady audax pace, others wanted to also include audax hiking activities with the group cycling, while others wanted the club to remain true to its audax group cycling format. Club meetings became pretty heated affairs and in the summer of 1921 it all exploded. A majority of the ACP members voted to start doing “allure libre” or free-pace brevets that allowed riders to choose their own pace so long as they stayed inside the minimum and maximum speeds, and they could ride alone or in a group– the same as we do today. The audax cyclists angrily decamped and formed their own organization, as did the hiking contingent.
So, there was no more “audax” in the Audax Club Parisien. On Sunday, September 11, 1921 the ACP held its first free-pace brevet of 200 km. The route was a big loop that went west and south of Paris to Dreux, Chartres, and then back to Paris. Twenty-six randonneurs and randonneuses completed the ride, arriving at intervals back in Paris. Brevet #1 was issued that day, starting a continuous string of numbered brevets that we still earn today. The free-pace randonneuring begun that day eventually spread through France in the 1920s and -30s, around the globe starting in the 1970s, and here we are in the 21st century, still out earning our diplomas while choosing to ride our own pace and how many people we want to ride with. This is the formula of the Brevets de Randonneurs Mondiaux, or BRM that you see on the front of brevet cards sanctioned by the ACP.
And what better way to commemorate the occasion than by riding a new route! We’ll be riding the Eldridge West 200K route for the brevet. Many thanks to Bill Nauseef and Terry Crompton for their help in developing and scouting the route. I’ve ridden the first 86 miles once and the complete route and although there’s a stretch in IA-130 between Tipton and Bennett that’s a little busy (although there’s a wide shoulder), the rest of the route should feature quiet roads and rolling hills.
126 miles, 4,266 feet of climbing, ACP certified
Ridewithgps link: here.
To register:
To register for this event complete the registration form below. You’ll receive a confirmation email which will contain a link to complete a waiver electronically and a PayPal link to pay for the ride. Note that there will be no day of ride registration – advance registration is mandatory!
Your registration is not complete until your completed waiver and PayPal payment is received.