The Fundamental Randonneur Rules

1. BC Randonneurs Policy for the Participation of Minors in Club Events: For the purposes of BC Randonneur events, a minor is a person younger than 19 years old, and an adult is a person 19 years of age or older. Social Rides, populaires, ACP-compliant 200 km brevets and the Trace Pacifique are all open to minors aged 14 years and older, provided that such events take place entirely within BC. Longer distance events are not open to minors. Registration is to be done in-person and participation should be arranged and confirmed with the ride organizer at least one day before the event. The minor and their parent or legal guardian must be present at the start of the event to sign a witnessed hard copy of the waiver/assumption of risk form. The minor must be closely accompanied on the entire ride by a responsible adult participant, preferably a parent/guardian. This age restriction may be relaxed for certain shorter rides on approval of the Directors.

2. Riders must obey all traffic laws.

3. In accordance with BC law all cyclists must wear approved helmets at all times during the ride. Riders observed riding without a helmet will be disqualified.

4. Equipment... Bicycles must be in safe working order. A bright front light (which clearly illuminates the road at least 5 meters in front of the bike) and a red rear light are mandatory, and both must be attached to the bike - no lights means no ride. Riding at night without proper lighting and reflective clothing will result in disqualification. Riders should have backup lighting systems and should carry spare batteries. There may be inspections before any event to ensure that the minimum equipment requirements are met. Organizers may refuse rider participation because of equipment violations, or may assess a time penalty. Lights are not required on rides shorter than 200 km. [Fenders were required for many years, but this has changed - fenders and mudflaps are now optional.]

5. Personal ID must be carried at all times. This is especially important on rides which cross over into Washington state - bring your passport.

6. For rides over 200 km, a rider must qualify at a shorter distance before attempting the next longer ride. A rider who has completed a distance in a previous season may advance to the next one in the current season without doing the shorter qualifier(s). (Exceptions may be made to this rule, but only with the prior approval of the ride organizer and the regional route coordinator.)

7. Each rider is provided with a 'control card' which must be stamped or signed, with the time clearly printed, at 'controls' staffed by volunteers or at designated businesses throughout the ride. There may also be 'information controls' - unstaffed check points where riders write down the answer to a question appearing on the control card. Each control has an opening and closing time. These are printed on the control cards. Control cards must be signed by the rider and handed in at the finish, or for some rides mailed in later, as proof of completion. There may be 'secret controls' on any brevet to ensure that riders are riding on the prescribed route, and within the prescribed time window.

8. Each rider should be self sufficient. No following cars or personal support of any kind are permitted on the course. Personal support is only allowed at controls. Any violation of this requirement will result in immediate disqualification. Assistance such as receiving help in changing a tire or borrowing tools from a fellow participant, from a ride official or even from a passing moterist is not forbidden. (For a fuller exploration of this rule see the Understanding the No En Route Support Rule discussion - below)

9. Riders who stray off course must get back on to the route where they left it.

10. There are minimum and maximum times for the completion of rides at each distance. These times include all stops:

There are also corresponding opening and closing times at each of the controls along the route. Historically, arriving after a control's closing time meant disqualification. In 2024 ACP changed this rule. Missing an intermediate control does not mean disqualification. The closing times for intermediate controls will remain on control cards as a guide for riders. However, riders must arrive at the finish control before the closing time. Failure to finish within the posted closing time will result in a DNF. The start control will continue to remain open for one hour after the official start time.

11. Ride organizers may at any time issue time penalties, or disqualify riders for violations of the BC Motor Vehicle Act, for violating BC Randonneurs rules, or for unsportsmanlike conduct.

12. To qualify as a BC Randonneurs brevet a route must start in BC.

Understanding the Time Limits

[Note: With the change in the rule governing control times at intermediate controls outlined in Rule #10 above, this section is mainly obsolete. We're leaving it here until we're sure about it.] The opening and closing times for each control are listed on the control card. Those times are a reflection of a "time window" that exists at all points along the route. Being caught outside this time window can result in disqualification. Traditionally there have been no disqualifications for speedy cyclists who arrive at a control before its opening time. These riders must, of course, wait for the control to open before having their cards stamped and timed. At the other edge of the time window however, riders must be more diligent - riders should be sure to leave controls before the closing time. A helpful way to think about this rule is to imagine that a secret control, with its own closing time, might be anywhere on the route. If there is a secret control immediately after a designated control, and a rider leaves the designated control late, this rider will have already missed the closing time of the secret control. In short, you should always be ahead of any hypothetical secret control's closing time. Riding outside the time limit will not result in disqualification if there is no control. This is notably relevant in the case of a late starting rider. A rider may leave the starting control up to an hour after the official start time. To begin with the rider will, of course, be outside the time window, but in this case the time can legitimately be made up on the course. The late starting rider must, however, be through the next control by its closing time.

Is there ever a legitimate reason to arrive late at a control? Randonneur rules world wide are vague on this question. The 2007 English language PBP rules states: "Only a serious material incident will be accepted as justification for any late arrival; the time must, in any case, be recovered at least within one or two controls further on." BC Randonneurs considers "serious material incident" to include, for example, assisting a crashed rider get to a hospital, and helping out at the scene of a traffic accident. It does not include delays resulting from bike or equipment failure. Nor does it include delays resulting from a rider injury or other physical problems.

There is a fairly involved formula for calculating the opening and closing times of controls. This is something you will never have to worry about unless you are designing a new route or proposing changes in existing routes. The specifics of this can be found on a separate page: Click here.

Understanding the No En Route Support Rule

Support vehicles are not allowed to help riders between controls. Although randonneurs are expected to be self-sufficient, riders can receive help (repair assistance, tubes, tools, food, etc) from other riders in the event, other passing cyclists, or anyone else, provided that the help is not coming from personal support. A rider can, for example, receive a tube or an emergency power gel from a ride volunteer or official who happens to be out driving around the course.

The rules for dealing with a major mechanical problem between controls, like a collapsed wheel or broken frame, are the same as for minor problems. If a rider can obtain a bike or wheel out on the course, including from a helpful stranger, a passing motorist or ride official, the rider can legitimately continue the ride. A rider can not call or in some other way arrange to have a new bike or bike part delivered anywhere other than to a control. To be clear, it is not the use of a cell phone, or other device, that is the problem, it is the use of these means to arrange assistance that happens out on the course.

A participant in a randonneur event cannot ride in the slipstream of someone who has planned to be on the route for the purpose of pacing the participant. A participant can, however, ride side by side or in front of a non-registered friend or companion rider for a reasonable, limited time during an event. (This concession is directed particularly at women randonneurs who might have safety concerns about riding alone at night. The ride organizer must be advised of this sort of arrangement.) If a participant happens by chance to run in to other cyclists out on the road, a limited amount of shared drafting, which is natural in this situation, is acceptable. Extensive drafting, however, from a non participant is not permitted, and can be grounds for disqualification.

Alternate Day Brevets - The Volunteer Pre-ride

Officially there are no alternate day brevets in the sport of Randonneur Cycling. Here is how BC Randonneurs defines a brevet:

A brevet is a ride starting at a designated time and place, on a designated day, following a designated route.

Riders will be aware, however, that there is an exception to this rule in BC - the organizer's and volunteer's pre-ride. This ride, usually one week before the official ride, allows a brevet organizer and other ride-day volunteers to preview the route: check the accuracy of the route sheet, discover road changes and closures as well as hazards and construction. The organizing team will also be given credit for the brevet. Only the ride organizer and ride-day volunteers are permitted to join the pre-ride. There is only one pre-ride for an event, and typically the participants ride together.

Permission to participate in the volunteer pre-ride is granted by the organizer only to riders whose contribution on the official ride day is necessary and significant. Volunteers who provide non event-day help (promotion, printing route sheets) must ride on event day to get credit for the ride. The pre-ride is not to be used as a means of accommodating the personal scheduling conflicts of volunteers. A volunteer who rides the pre-ride and does not show up on ride day will be disqualified.

Is this rule absolute? Under some very special circumstances (one was a volunteer's request to attend a funeral), some volunteers and organizers have in the past been given credit for a pre-ride without being present on event day. These circumstances are rare, and the decision is the regional rides coordinator's, not the ride organizer's.

And What Do I Do With this Brevet Card?

There are also some rules about what to do with your brevet card after the ride to make sure your successfully completed brevet is recognized by the club and internationally by ACP (Audax Club Parisien) in France.

Brevet records are closed on the Monday of the 2nd week following the ride. For example, a brevet held on Saturday the 14th is closed on Monday the 23rd. A brevet held on Sunday the 15th is also closed on Monday the 23rd.

If the finishing control is staffed (and this is the case for almost all one-day events) a rider simply turns in the brevet card and everything will be taken care of by the ride organizer. It is the ride organizer's responsibility to ensure that all completed brevet cards are in the hands of the database manager by the closing date for their brevet. Organizers should be aware that rides for which the cards are received after the closing date will not be credited: for the sake of their riders, organizers should submit the brevet cards promptly.

For events with unstaffed finish controls, it is the rider's responsibility to ensure that the completed brevet card is in the hands of the database manager by the closing date for the brevet. Brevet organizers must provide clear instructions to this effect on the route sheet, including the name, address and phone number of the database manager. The present database manager is Cheryl Lynch.

Pin Policy

A rider is entitled to one finisher's pin per distance (brevets distances only: 200, 300, 400, 600, & 1000 km) per year. Some riders have requested a second pin after finishing a distance for a second time. For riders who have successfully completed multiple brevets at the same distance, additional pins can be purchased for $5 from pin coordinator Karen Smith if there are pins left over at the end of the season.

Qualifying for Paris Brest Paris

To qualify for Paris Brest Paris a rider must complete a 200, 300, 400, and 600 km brevet series in the PBP year. Rides must be completed by early June in the PBP year. Riders who complete brevets in the year before PBP will be given early PBP registration. Riding a 1000 km brevet in the year before PBP will give you the earliest registration date; then 600 km finishers; then 400; etc

photo: Susan Allen