History of Randonneuring

1. History of Randonneuring

2. Started in late 1800s as bicycling swept Europe (and the US) • People were able to go places they couldn’t before • Trains went to cities and some towns but many smaller towns and roads were not reachable by the average person

3. Susan B Anthony "I think [the bicycle] has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world," feminist pioneer Susan B. Anthony said in 1896. "It gives a woman a feeling of freedom and self-reliance. The moment she takes her seat she knows she can't get into harm unless she gets off her bicycle, and away she goes, the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood."

4. Formation • Formal organized randonneur like rides started initially in Italy but was also going on in France and the UK • Audax concept – ride as a group at a steady pace (20 km/hr) • Henri Desgrange (editor and founder of the Tour de France) and Paul de Vivie (editor, known as Velocio) brought the Audax concept to France in 1904 with ACP (Audax Club Parisian). Same year TdF started • UK focused on town-to-town rides and the Lands End to John O’Groats (

5. Within a few years a variation on Audax rides evolved, called ‘allure libre’ or ‘free rides’ where riders could go at their own pace. • This caused a breakup between Desgrange and Velocio and a separate organization, dedicated to Audax riding, was started by Desgrange, while Velocio and his supporters kept ACP, although now they championed ‘allure libre’ rides – they never changed their name.

6. ACP • ACP now is the governing body for randonneuring around the world and in particular Paris-Brest-Paris, primarily through Randonneurs Mondiaux, formed in 1983. • RUSA submits all brevets for certification to ACP (except for a special RUSA type brevet)

7. Randonneuring in the 1920s After a hiatus for WW1, bicycles and randonneuring became popular again in the 1920s and 1930s Velocio led the randonneuring movement in France through his newspaper and by holding weekends, usually in Southern France, where riders would gather to ride up a local hill, do other rides and talk about the ‘free and healthy lifestyle of randonneuring’

8. Velocio’s Wise Words of Advicefor RandonneursPaul de Vivie (1853-1930) 1. Make your stops short and infrequent so as not to lose your drive. 2. Eat lightly and often. Eat before getting hungry, drink before you are thirsty. 3. Never ride until you are so tired that you cannot eat or sleep. 4. Put on extra clothing before you’re cold, and take it off before you’re hot. Don’t be afraid of exposing your skin to the sun, air and rain. 5. Don’t drink wine, eat meat, or smoke – at least during the ride. 6. Never rush things. Ride within yourself, particularly during the first few hours of a ride when you feel strong and are tempted to force the pace. 7. Never pedal out of vanity, don’t be a show-off.

9. The French Diagonales In 1929 Velocio began discussing the challenges of riding across France from corner to corner. These routes were all at least 1000k long. There was no time limit, as no one had ever attempted these before

10. Diagonales • It took nearly 10 years before all the diagonale routes, 9 in all (18 if you went the other way) were ridden. • While this was primarily a younger man’s adventure, the second diagonale ever completed was by a 30 year old woman, Regina Gambier. She was, as were many of the early diagonale riders, accompanied by other riders who would join for segments of the ride

11. 1940-1970 WWII and the post war years saw a huge decline in bicycling overall as cars became the primary mode of transportation and train systems improved in Europe. By the early 1970s interest in cycling was again growing, now as a sport and way to tour Interest in randonneuring grew. 1979 - 1,800 riders started PBP 32 Americans 2007 – 5,000 riders started 410 Americans (45 women)

12. RUSA • Formed in 1998 to consolidate regional and some less effective efforts that had been in place since the late 1970s • National level organization for all randonneuring across the US • Current President, Lois Springsteen • 50 RBAs/regions offering brevets

13. Randonneuring World • 31 countries around the world have randonneuring organizations • US has ranked #1 in total brevets ridden for past several years, except in a PBP year when France increases 10 fold to more than double the US.

14. Minnesota Randonneurs 2010 Combined the Rochester and Apple Valley brevets under TCBC Minnesota Randonneurs is sponsored by TCBC. All our rides are on the TCBC calendar. We are affiliated with RUSA, with all brevet dates listed, as well as permanents and populaires

15. Minnesota Randonneuring Has been active since the early 1990s, primarily in Rochester Steady group of riders over the years, led by Martin Fahje Significant growth since 2007 with the adding of brevets in the Twin Cities 84 different riders completed a brevet in 2010 in Rochester or Apple Valley.

16. Riding a Brevet Randonneurs can ride brevets anywhere in the US or the world In Minnesota you don’t have to be a member of RUSA to do a brevet, but other regions have different rules, depending on insurance or local requirements You need to be a TCBC member to ride a Minnesota Randonneur brevet. All Minnesota brevet miles count towards TCBC miles. All Waterloo, Iowa brevet miles count towards TCBC miles (Outreach), except for the Hawkeye 1000k. You need a TCBC ride leader at these rides to get credit. You need to be a RUSA member to ride a permanent