Update March 21, 2020
Reimagined
The organizing committee has reluctantly decided that we cannot reasonably guarantee to offer the Coast Mountain 1200 as a fully supported 1200 km brevet in July. This is due to uncertainty surrounding the global coronavirus pandemic that has currently suspended all international travel and closed many businesses in Canada. We simply don’t know if riders will be able to travel to the start of the ride, or if the businesses that we will rely on to supply services to the riders will be open in July. Also many randonneuring clubs including the BC Randonneurs have suspended all of their scheduled brevets for the spring of 2020 making it difficult for riders to build up their fitness level for riding a demanding event like a 1200.
We have therefore cancelled the Cost Mountain 1200 for 2020. All riders who have registered for the event will be given a full refund. No new registrations will be accepted.
However, all is not lost (yet). A 1200 brevet in July remains on the BC Randonneurs schedule. It will be run as a regular club event in much the same fashion as we run our 1000 km brevets. There will be no support provided. All riders must make their own arrangements for lodging and food. There will be no staffed controls. We might be able to offer a drop bag service if a volunteer can be found to drive the route. The fee will be $15 and you must be a member of the BC Randonneuring club to do the ride. Membership is open to all. We had previously decided that there would be a qualification requirement of having done at least a 600 km brevet since 2018 and we will maintain that requirement. However we can make exceptions for people with prior 1000s or 1200s who cannot meet the 600 km requirement due to the cancellation of local brevets in the months leading up to the event. Caveat: Please don’t come to this ride without an adequate base of preparedness. There won’t be any volunteers to come and get you if you DNF.
The route for this 1200 is currently undecided. If interest is high it could be the original route of the Coast Mountain 1200 from Prince George to Prince Rupert and back to Smithers. We are also considering running a ride that is more local to the BC Lower Mainland that would be more convenient to organize and run.
All of this is of course preliminary. If the coronavirus pandemic has not subsided by July then the ride will not proceed. Please contact the organizer or keep an eye on the BC Randonneurs website for further details.