Routes - Checkpoints
Audax Club Parisien's Advice and Instructions

Our sport's governing body, ACP, has some thoughts on brevet organization that riders and organizers will find helpful and interesting. The information below is from our ACP agreement document.

Routes

Choosing the route is left to the organizer; however, routes consisting of doing the same loop multiple times, regardless of the distance of the brevet, are not permitted. Ideally, routes should be out and back, on low traffic roads, and on roads that are easy to follow. Roads shall be carefully chosen for night rides (marking on the road, excel coating...). It is necessary to avoid intermediate passage close to the finish Checkpoint to keep the spirit of the great excursion and to minimize the withdrawals. Extreme terrain should be advertised as such when the ride is first publicized. The date and location of a ride should take into consideration possible weather conditions to avoid, when possible, such as snow, or extreme cold or heat.

Cue sheets should be clear and accurate, and contain all relevant details. Mileage must be determined from state road maps, odometers, or computer mapping programs. Total distance for an event must always be at least the official distance for the brevet and may exceed the official distance by a few miles. The cue sheet must include the location of all checkpoints, as well as, their opening and closing times.

A brevet may have only one starting point. Organizers in the same region or locality may, however, organize brevets starting on the same date and time and using the same route. This exception to the rule is allowed only for those clubs which agree to coordinate their checkpoints, so that a checkpoint serving as the start point for some riders will also be an intermediary checkpoint for those having started at another checkpoint.

Checkpoints

Checkpoints should be more or less regularly spaced between the brevet start and finish. According to the distance, there should be:

Additional checkpoints should be located at each end of the brevet route, as well as, at any point along the route where a shortcut might be taken. Additional checkpoints should be manned by ACP’s members on the ACP's Representative for Foreign BRM request. The start and finish checkpoints should be manned by one or more people selected by the organizer.

To the extent possible, these checkpoints should be manned at all times between their official opening and closing times. Other checkpoints should be similarly manned. Preferably, checkpoints should be located in an establishment, a business for example, where all participants may have their brevet cards verified and stamped. The address of the establishment should be listed on the brevet card.

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