| Newsletter - 2020 Archive |
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Cycling Club |
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| Newsletter - 2020 Archive |
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Cycling Club |
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For the Record... Current Messages from BC Randonneurs Club President and Directors, plus the evolving Rules for Riders
Covid-19 Rules for Riders July 1, 2020 Archive of Covid-19 related official BC Randonneur club messages: Message #1: 17 March 2020 In the interest of supporting global and local efforts to restrict the transmission of the COVID-19 coronavirus, the directors of the BC Randonneurs have indefinitely postponed all events scheduled to occur between 21 March through to 25 April. This action is consistent with that taken by Cycling BC, ACP, SIR, Randonneurs Ontario and Audax UK, among other organizations. Further schedule adjustments will be reassessed next on 2 April and on-going as the situation evolves. At this time, there is no change to the Permanent program, although the directors will monitor closely with respect to prevailing health directives. All members are strongly encouraged to respect the current recommendations from public health authorities on social distancing and hygiene practices. Thank-you to all those who had stepped up to volunteer for these postponed events, both directly and behind the scenes, and also to the directors for contributing to these difficult but necessary decisions for the benefit of all of us. Colin Fingler Message #2: Covid-19 Up-date Message from Wednesday, April 8, 2020 In the interest of supporting global and local efforts to restrict the transmission of the COVID-19 coronavirus, the directors of the BC Randonneurs have indefinitely postponed all events scheduled to occur through to 30 June. Further schedule adjustments will be reassessed next on 7 May, and on-going as the situation evolves. The Permanents program was indefinitely suspended on 22 March. This suspension will continue. All members are strongly encouraged to respect the current recommendations from public health authorities on social distancing and hygiene practices. Thank-you to all those who had stepped up to volunteer for these postponed events, both directly and behind the scenes, and also to the directors for contributing to these difficult but necessary decisions for the benefit of all of us. Colin Fingler Message #3: RETURN TO RIDE UNDER COVID-19 In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the BC Randonneurs have to date suspended all events, including brevets, permanents and populaires since mid-March through until the 1st of July. As of 19 June, BC is currently in Phase 2 of the BC provincial government's Covid-19 Restart Plan, which allows for a limited return of various services and activities, including: However, under Phase 2, British Columbians are still being asked to "stay close to home and avoid any travel between communities that is not essential". The BC Randonneur club directors agreed that riding even the minimum brevet or permanent distance of 200 km would be inconsistent with this travel restriction, and decided not to run any events until BC enters Phase 3, which encourages: Until the BC provincial government announces Phase 4 and lifts restrictions on larger group gatherings, the club does not expect to be able to offer any Populaires. In preparation for the restart of sport activities, the BC provincial government through viaSport, released the Return to Sport Guidelines for BC. Based on these general guidelines, Cycling BC has produced a set of cycling-specific Return to Play Guidelines for a Safe Return to Cycling, which the directors have reviewed in the context of restarting long-distance cycling events within BC. Although the BC Randonneurs are not a Cycling BC affiliated club, the directors agreed that it would be diligent to adhere to the Cycling BC guidelines in a BC Randonneur-specific Covid-19 set of event procedures and requirements, to be implemented upon a re-start beginning in Phase 3. The work to restart club activities is driven by a four-part frame of reference, namely: A. DIRECTORS GOAL - Enable a careful restart of Randonneuring in BC to promote the physical/mental/emotional and social wellbeing of our member community, while protecting communities and respecting measures to slow the spread of Covid-19 B. RISK MITIGATION - recognize that "slowing the spread" is achieved by: C. MEANS - Develop procedures and requirements to: D. RESEARCH - Leverage the work of others, including: Within this frame of reference, nine action items have been identified to support a BC Randonneurs re-start under Phase 3 of the Covid-19 Re-start Plan. 1. Develop and implement a new on-line brevet registration process The club directors are working hard to complete these necessary steps and get our club in position to ride again soon. Please contact us at directors@randonneurs.bc.ca or individually with any questions, concerns or offers to become more involved. Hope to see you on the road in the very near future! Directors Message #4: RETURN TO RIDE UNDER COVID-19 On 24 June, the provincial government announced their decision to move to Phase 3 of the BC Covid-19 Restart Plan and remove the travel restrictions within BC. The BC Randonneurs are today, 1 July 2020, implementing a careful restart of our club activities in accordance with the frame of reference outlined in our 19 June Directors' Update. Covid-19 Rules for Riders Covid-19 Waiver Brevets Most brevets will feature a "ride window" of multiple dates instead of one specific date. Riders will be able to specify their start time when they register, but there will be limits on the number of riders starting per time slot. Certain events may also be limited to experienced randonneurs only. All brevet registration must be done 3 days in advance of the selected start time. Monitor the home page and the Ride Schedule for the links to appear when registration is open. Expect some schedule adjustments over the next few days as we look to finalize the Calendar. Registration is now open for the "Mabel in the Middle" 200, but restricted to only 20 riders, all who must have successfully ridden at least one brevet in 2019. The ride window is set for July 4 and 5. This event will be used as a test of the new processes and also serve as an "on-the-road" evaluation of our new Rules. Brevets will all be "self-guided". There will be no organizer support provided and no volunteers to greet riders at the start, finish or anywhere along the route. Controls will be information type and self-signed. Riders must print their own route sheet and Control Card. Pins will be mailed out at the end of the season. Permanents Permanent riders are required to follow the Covid-19 Ride Rules. Revisions are forthcoming to the criteria for the BC-12 award to accommodate the Covid-19 lockdown periods. Populaires Feedback Directors Message #5: Covid-19 Update 8 December 2020 In the interest of supporting the recent orders and advisories of the Provincial Health Office to significantly reduce COVID-19 transmission, the directors of the BC Randonneurs have today suspended all ride events until further notice. This suspension includes the Permanent program as well as the traditional New Year's Day Victoria Populaire. All members are strongly encouraged to monitor and respect the prevailing restrictions. Colin Fingler Message #6: BC Randonneurs News Update, February 20, 2021 2021 Ride Schedule Permanents: suspended until further notice Cancelled Events: Spring Social + Roger Street Memorial Ride (early March) We are hopeful that we will have a restart opportunity later in the year to allow us to offer rides again, perhaps like our amended 2020 program.... Note: This is only part of a more general notice, with other non-covid club news and information. Find it HERE. Message #7: BC Randonneurs Directors Update, March 10, 2021 One year ago, things seemed to be changing daily as the pandemic took hold and BC Provincial Health Officer directives evolved. BCR Directors responded by suspending brevets and permanents. When PHO directives were eased in July, we ran under pandemic protocols: small group ride windows with on-line registration for brevets, and solo rides (or limited to bubbles) for permanents. When the second wave intensified and directives were tightened in December, brevets and permanents were once again suspended. BCR Directors recognize that outdoor cycling events hold low risk of infection, and, indeed, our PHO encourages us to get outside and exercise. But we feel that 200 km rides lasting many hours and passing through several communities is not in the spirit of the PHO discouragement of non-essential travel. We are concerned that potential mechanical or medical emergencies may burden an already stressed system. And we wish to display leadership in doing the right thing during this pandemic, and honor the intent of the restrictions put in place for our, and others', safety. Thus, the current brevets and permanents suspension will remain until PHO Directives are eased. We are hopeful that we may be able to return to sanctioned event riding in July, or perhaps sooner, possibly under the same conditions as last summer. We are also optimistic that we may be able to return to normal brevet and permanents after September. Volunteers are currently working to enhance and streamline our on-line membership and event registration systems so that we can respond very quickly once the PHO Directives are eased. Mike Hagen Message #8: BC Randonneurs Directors Update, May 26, 2021 On May 25, BC announced a 4-step Restart Plan. Step 1 of the plan allows sports and competitive events to restart within local health regions (BC-wide recreational travel is not permitted until Step 2). Accordingly, we are launching the 2021 BC Randonneuring season. The schedule has been revised and all regions will host 200 km brevets on June 5 (except Peace Region: June 12). During Step 1, brevets will be conducted under updated Covid-19 rules that are similar to last summer. Over the winter, our volunteers revised the membership and event registration pages. The beta version is in testing. While there are still some bugs to work out, we expect to launch very soon. An email will be broadcast when registration is open. Permanents may be ridden as soon as the membership registration system is active. Please see the permanents page for registration information. If Stage 4 of the Reopening Plan arrives as projected by September, we will host a special anniversary 200 (the Centenary of ACP's first brevet) on September 11. This event will hopefully be run as a mass start event that looks very much like what we last did in 2019. Please watch the BCR website for more information! Have a good season and stay safe! Mike Hagen Message #9: BC Randonneurs Directors Update, May 31, 2021 A June 5 restart for our brevets has proven too ambitious. Route and event coordinators are working hard to host 200 km brevets on June 19. More information will follow very soon. Mike Hagen Message #10: BC Randonneurs Directors Update, June 12, 2021 We are ready for launch! The first 2021 brevets are scheduled for June 19 in each region (June 12 in Peace Region). See the schedule pages for the complete listing. Permanents may be ridden as of now. There are some changes. Register and purchase your club membership on-line from the member registration link (your email is your username). Brevets will still be conducted in ride windows (scheduled day +/- two days), with ride groups limited to ten. Register for events from the specific event registration link (opens 3 - 7 days prior to the ride window). And the Covid-19 Rules For Riders have been revised. See the registration page for more details. We hope to transition back to normal mass-start events by September, dependent on BC's Restart process. If you are a new member, welcome. If you are a returning member, welcome back. Let's get out and do this kind of riding that we yearn for so much! Mike Hagen Message #11: BC Randonneurs Directors Update, June 25, 2021 With the move to Step 2 of the Return to Sport Restart 2.0 on June 15, recreational travel, including for sport, is now allowed throughout B.C. Our Covid-19 Rules For Riders have been updated to reflect this. We have also streamlined the Covid symptoms bullet of the No Ride section. Remember, it is your responsibility to do a health and fitness self assessment prior to the ride. Brevets are strenuous activities. If you are feeling at all unwell, please do not ride. It's not worth it. Mike Hagen - Beginning March, 2020 Updated as needed |