Randonneuring is self-supported, long-distance cycling. It's a great sport for those who love to ride their bikes, explore new roads, and discover what is over the next hill. Rides are scenic and challenging, celebrating self-sufficiency. Perhaps most enjoyable is the camaraderie among those who participate in this unique, time-honored cycling tradition.

Randonneuring rides ("populaires" or "brevets") vary in length from 100k (62 miles) to 1,200k (750 miles). Riders are given a route sheet and a control card, which they have signed at predetermined points to show they have completed the course. 

On a brevet or a "permanent," you are on your own: responsible for your own pace, your own nutrition, your own repairs, and -- above all -- your own safety. Although other riders or event organizers may offer assistance, the ultimate responsibility lies with you.

While randonneuring is not a race per se, time limits allow participants to establish their own goals for each event. Some riders aspire to finish within a certain time limit, others try to set a personal best, and yet others want to go as fast as possible. Some concentrate on the longest distances (1,000k and beyond), while others only do day rides (100k, 200k, and 300k). All are randonneurs! 

WHAT YOU NEED TO PARTICIPATE (for additional rules, visit the RUSA "Rules for Riders" web page):

• Must be a RUSA member

• Digital signed insurance waiver: 

click here for waiver link 

• Helmet

• NIGHT RIDES: Front and rear lights, reflective vest, and reflective ankle bands

THE BASICS: Riders will receive a brevet card, which must be stamped or otherwise certified at pre-designated points to ensure that the course has been properly completed; should you lose this card, you will be disqualified. You will also receive a copy of the cue sheet. A digital ride with GPS file will also be provided; however, the cue sheet is always considered the official route. 

CURRENTLY REGISTERED RIDERS:

Fowler

For more information, visit the RUSA "Paris-Brest-Paris" web page.

First run in 1891, the 1,200k Paris-Brest-Paris, or "PBP" as it is commonly called, is a grueling test of human endurance and cycling ability. Organized by the host Audax Club Parisien, the Paris-Brest-Paris Randonneurs is the oldest bicycling event still run on a regular basis on the open road. It is held in August every four years.

Beginning on the southern side of the French capital, it travels west 600k to the port city of Brest on the Atlantic Ocean and returns along the same route. Today's randonneur cyclists, while no longer riding the primitive machines used a hundred years ago over dirt roads or cobblestones, still have to face rough weather, endless hills, and pedaling almost around-the-clock.

A 90-hour time limit ensures that only the hardiest randonneurs earn the prestigious PBP finisher's medal and have their name entered into the event's "Great Book" along with every other finisher going back to the very first PBP. To become a PBP "ancien" or "ancienne" is to join a very elite group of cyclists who have successfully endured this mighty challenge. No longer a contest for professional racing cyclists (whose entry is now forbidden), PBP evolved into a timed randonnée or brevet for hard-riding amateurs during the middle part of the 20th century.