This served as the intro to this section before on line database was introduced in 2011. Other sorts of information and statistics have become possible - the datebase is a wonderful tool. We have Ryan Golbeck to thank for this, building on work by Cheryl Lynch and Alex Pope. This intro still offers a glimpse into the data sorts contained in the recordbook section. There's a bit of history here too. So who's counting...? Many people ride randonneur events and are indifferent to things like randonneur pins, medals, and the John Hathaway Trophy, and could care less about information like who had a big season in 1988. Fine. However, if you are interested in trying to measure achievement in randonneur cycling, or if you simply like browsing historical data, well this section's for you. The question is, how should we measure achievement in randonneur cycling? Because different people approach the sport differently (they emphasize different sorts of rides because they have differing objectives), there is no one definitive list or set of data that can encapsulate randonneur cycling achievement. Each of the seven chapters in this section looks at our club, and its members past and present, from a different angle, and each tells a different story. The criteria I have used to define who is a BC Randonneur, and therefore who should be included in the various lists, is the same definition used in determining eligibility for the John Hathaway Award: a rider must either be a BC resident, or if living outside BC, must have done a 200, 300, 400, 600 km series in BC in the year(s) being considered. [These are minimum figures... a 200, 400, 400, 1000 km series, for example, would also qualify] For the purposes of this section I have called members who fit these criteria 'bona fide BC Randonneurs'. This is not meant to be a slight against riders who are from out-of-province/country who don't meet the criteria - everyone is welcome to be a BC Randonneur and to participate in the rides. So who is counting? Well, me and Cheryl, to name two. BC Randonneur databaser (databaser?), Cheryl Lynch, has taken all of the information contained in the randonneur database reports going back to the birth of BC Randonneurs in 1979, and entered this information into one giant master database file. For some years, like 1989, the reports were clearly incomplete, but information for most years seems reliable. In 2001, I didn't fully understand what Cheryl was up to so I independently pored over the same old database reports, at the same time, and put together the lists found in this section. (The one exception is the Total Accumulated Distance list, which was generated from Cheryl's database.) This is worth noting because in some cases we have included different sorts of information. In general, Cheryl faithfully entered the information contained in the historical database reports, whereas I attempted to harmonize the information contained in reports which themselves differed from year to year depending on what information the database manager of the day chose to include and exclude. Consequently my lists differ slightly from Cheryl's, though they may purport to be the same thing. The compilation of data for both of us is a work in progress, so if you notice any errors or omissions we (Eric & Cheryl) would appreciate hearing from you. The whole exercise wouldn't have been possible without the efforts and attention to detail of the handful of people who acted as database managers over the years. BC Randonneur Database Managers:
One name not on this list is Vancouver Island Ride Coordinator Stephen Hinde who has been keeping his own records of Island Brevets for many years, and has now made helpful corrections and additions to the club records. Finally, this project would not have been possible if Harold Bridge had not had the foresight to save all of the database reports...he appears to have been the only one. Eric Fergusson |