How do I qualify to ride the Rocky?

You must have completed Audax Club Parisien (ACP) sanctioned brevets of 200, 300, 400, and 600 km distances within the time limits and other rules prescribed by the ACP. You must have completed at least one brevet at each distance since 01-Jan-2006. You will be required to provide the location, date, and your official completion time for the qualifying brevets on your entry form.

I haven't ridden a brevet series since before 2006 or I've never ridden one. Can I qualify for the Rocky this year?

Yes, but you must provide documentation of successful completion of 200, 300, 400, and 600 km brevets by 15-Jun-2008.

How do I register to ride the Rocky?

The preferred method of entry and payment is via the secure online entry form, with payment by Visa credit card.

Alternately, you may print a PDF version of the form and mail or fax your entry, and pay by Visa, cheque, international postal money order, or bank draft.

Only cheques in Canadian funds drawn on a Canadian bank can be accepted. International postal money orders or bank drafts in C$ are also acceptable. Cheques, money orders, and bank drafts should be made payable to the BC Randonneurs Cycling Club.

Can you give me some details on filling out the online entry form?

First Name and Last Name are required fields. They should only include upper and lower case letters, spaces, commas, periods and dashes.

Address Line 1, City and Country are required. They and Address Line 2, Prov/State and Postal Code should only include upper and lower case letters, numbers, periods, commas, dashes, the number sign # and spaces.

A valid email address is required.

Phone number should be entered as numbers, x, +, dashes and/or spaces.

Brevets entered for qualifying must be after Dec 31, 2005.

Location for brevets should only include upper and lower case letters, numbers, periods, commas, dashes, the number sign # and spaces. Formating for the date and time are given on the form.

For bike type, check the drop down menu, if your bike type is not there, choose "Other" and enter your bike type in the next field. This field can contain upper and lower case letters, numbers, dashes and spaces. If your bike type is on the list, select that and leave the next field blank.

You must check the Waiver and Medical Insurance note or you will not be able to enter.

Emergency Contact name and phone number are required. The Name can contain upper and lower case letters, periods, commas, dashes and spaces. The phone number can contain numbers, x, +, dashes and spaces.

Your Age in years is required (by Randonneurs Mondiaux) and must only include numbers (no decimal place).

Select your food preference. Omnivore means you eat most things including meat. If you specify other, that field can only contain upper and lower case letters, periods, commas, dashes and spaces.

Enter your expected completion time as an integer number of hours (no decimal place).

Your cycling club/affiliation can contain upper and lower case letters, periods, dashes, commas and spaces.

Your Visa card number, the expiry month, expiry year and the name on the card are required fields. If you do not wish to pay by Visa, you must fill out the paper form and mail it in with your cheque or money order/bank draft. Only enter numbers for your Visa card number; spaces are okay, but no dash, slashes, etc. The name on the card can contain upper and lower case letters, periods, dashes, commas and spaces.

How do I know that my entry has been received?

Names, nationalities, and club affiliations of riders from whom entries are received will be posted on the rider list page.

Is there a limit on the number of riders who will be allowed to start the event?

Yes. Due to limited space at some of the control locations the 2008 event will be limited to 100 riders.

How will the 100 rider limit be imposed?

A lottery will be used if the number of entries that have been received by 15-Mar-2008 is greater than 100. If there are more than 100 entries on 15-Mar-2008, all entries will be put "in the hat" and drawn out at random. The 1st 100 entries will be confirmed to ride the event. All other entries will be placed on a waiting list in the order they are drawn. The entry list and waiting list (if necessary) will be posted on the rider list page on 17-Mar-2008.

Visa payments (and cheques and money orders) for entry fees, jerseys and souvenirs will be processed on 17-Mar-2008.

Entries received after 15-Mar-2008 will be processed as they are received and will be added to the entry list (if it has not exceeded 100 riders) or the waiting list in the order they are received.

Why is a lottery being used to impose the 100 rider limit?

A lottery is, in our opinion, the fairest way of imposing the limit. First come, first served has proved very problematic for a number of events. Setting a limit without setting a selection criteria is clearly also unfair.

I only want to ride the Rocky if someone else does too. How can the lottery deal with that?

This is especially of concern to tandem teams, but may also be of interest to other groups of riders.

On the entry form you may name up to 4 riders that you want your entry to be combined with in the lottery. If you do so, you will be entered as a group and either all receive entries, or none.

If you enter as a group and the lottery is necessary, you will either all get an entry or all go on the waiting list.

The number of riders that can enter as a group is limited to 5 to avoid biasing the statistics of the lottery.

What is the refund policy if I enter the event but can't participate for some reason?

You can withdraw before 15-Mar-2008 and receive a 100% refund. Your entry cheque will be returned or, if you paid by Visa, the transaction will not be processed.

Between 16-Mar-2008 and 16-Jun-2008 you can withdraw and receive a 80% refund.

Between 17-Jun-2008 and 30-Jun-2008 you can withdraw and receive a 50% refund.

After 30-Jun-2008 no refunds will be provided.

Are support vehicles allowed on the route?

Yes, support vehicles are allowed although you may not receive support except at the designated controls. You must inform us that you will have a support vehicle, the name of your support people and the license plate number of the vehicle. We will have a card to identify your vehicle as belonging to ride available at registration.

Will my support crew be able to attend the post-ride party?

Yes. Each rider will receive a party ticket for himself or herself. Extra party tickets for support crew and friends will be available for purchase at registration.

Will my fans be able to watch my progress on the web?

Yes! There is a web site (called live-ish because the data is usually several hours behind real-time) which will list rider check-in times at most of the controls. It is not an automated system. It is based on the control staff telephoning in times to a voicemail system and a volunteer transcribing the times and uploading the data to the web. Of course the priority for control staff is supporting the riders, so calling in times to for the web often happens hours after riders reach a control. Fans should note the last report time from any particular control before deciding that their hero has fallen off the pace.

How do I get to Kamloops?

You can get to Kamloops by car, plane, train, bus or bike. Please see the getting to Kamloops page.

Will I be able to obtain transportation for myself and/or my bike from Vancouver to Kamloops and return?

Each rider is responsible for getting his/her self and bike to and from Kamloops.

Can you give me the name of a hotel/motel near the start of ride where I can stay before and after the ride?

Information about lodging around Kamloops is here. Note that standard check-out time in Canada is 11:00 and so if you want to nap in your room after that time on the day of the start you will probably have to book for another night.

When is registration?

Registration is Wednesday, July 23 from 10:00-16:00.

Where is registration?

At the Kamloops Curling Club, 700 Victoria Street, in the Glover Room.

What will the registration process be like?

Follow this link for a copy of the registration day itinerary (in PDF format) that we will hand you at the start of registration.

What will bike check be like?

Follow this link for a copy of the bike check form (in PDF format) that we will hand you at the start of registration.

What are the sleeping facilities like?

Sleeping facilities are in church halls, recreation centres, and gymnasiums. Floor mats and wool blankets will be provided at the Jasper, Lake Louise, Golden, Revelstoke, and Salmon Arm controls. The floor mats will be either gym mats or closed-cell foam pads.

At the Beauty Creek hostel control there will be only 14 hostel bunks available. Each bunk has a foam mattress and a wool blanket.

We will have a supply of ear plugs to block out the sounds of other riders coming and going and the snorers. Look for a set in the package you receive at bike check. You may also want to bring eye-shades (available from travel shops or on some airlines).

For less communal sleeping arrangements you can choose to book your own motel rooms. Please see the lists of nearby lodgings on the control information pages.

Will showers be available at all controls?

No. Showers will only be available at the Jasper, Beauty Creek, Revelstoke, Golden, and Salmon Arm.

At Jasper the showers are in the Aquatic Centre, approximately 0.8 km from the control, and are only available until 02:00 (Pacific time) on Fri 25-Jul. As time and circumstances permit, the control volunteers will try to provide a car shuttle between the control and the Aquatic Centre.

At Beauty Creek there is one shower for which water must be heated on a propane burner.

There are no shower facilities at the Lake Louise Control.

In Golden the showers are in the same building as the rest of the control facilities and are available at all hours.

The shower facilities in Revelstoke are in the community centre adjoining the control.

In Salmon Arm there are showers in the same building as the rest of the control facilities.

Do I need to provide my own toiletries, etc. for use at controls?

Yes, you should include basic toiletries (soap, shampoo, etc.) and a towel in your drop bags for each control where you plan to shower.

Do I need to bring a sleeping bag or will bedding be provided at the controls?

Designated sleeping controls (Jasper, Beauty Creek, Lake Louise, Golden, Revelstoke and Salmon Arm) will have sleeping mats and wools blankets. Note that the major sleep controls are Jasper, Golden and Salmon Arm. Beauty Creek is a rustic hostel. In Lake Louise and Revelstoke sleeping is in a corner of the main room. Riders should bring their own ear-plugs (provided at registration) and eye shades (not provided). If you are often cold when you sleep you should consider putting extra clothes in your drop bags.

I want to make motel/hotel reservations along the route for sleep breaks. Can you provide me with this information

Information about lodging around many of the controls is on the hotels page.

How does the drop bag system work?

We will transport up to 3 drop bags for each rider to the Jasper, Beauty Creek, Lake Louise, Golden, Revelstoke, or Salmon Arm controls. You will see each of your drop bags only at the control that you designate it for and it will be returned to the finish in Kamloops by 16:00 on Sunday 27-Jul.

Drop bags are to be brought to the bike check on Wed 23-Jul between 10:00 and 16:00. At the bike check riders will tag their drop bags with colour-coded name tags to indicate which control each bag is going to.

Please restrict your drop bags to a reasonable size and weight as we have a limited cargo volume in the vans and somebody has to lift all 300 of them in and out of the vans several times. Maximum size and weight are 10" x 10" x 20" (250 mm x 250 mm x 500 mm) and 15 lb (7 kg).

What types of food will be available at the controls?

The food we will provide is real food, for example, chili, pasta, chunky soups, burritos, eggs, potatoes, instant porridge, cereal, bagels, cookies, bananas. More details on the menus will be given on most of the controls pages.

Will vegetarian foods be available at the controls?

Food options without meat (including the use of vegetable stock) will be available at all controls.

Will the controls have a supply of power bars, gels, and Gatorade available?

Four flavours of Gatorade powder (Orange, Lemon-lime, Fruit punch and Glacier) will be available at all controls (except the start). The controls will not have Power Bars or gels. If you wish these, consider putting some in your drop bags.

Will mechanical support be available at the controls?

No professional mechanical support will be available at the controls. Some controls are in towns with bike shops (Jasper, Lake Louise, Golden, Revelstoke, Salmon Arm) but these shops will only be open regular hours (approximately 9:00 to 17:00 each day - note that Jasper, Lake Louise, and Golden are in the Mountain time zone 1 hour earlier than the Pacific zone).

There will probably be a few tools and a floor pump at each control. Some of our control volunteers are cyclists who maintain their own bikes and may be able to provide some assistance.

Make sure your bike is in good working order before you start the ride and consider bringing some basic repair tools with you.

Will I be able to purchase tubes, batteries and other supplies at the controls?

No supplies will be available for purchase at the controls. Riders are encouraged to bring their own spare tubes and batteries. There are bikes stores in the larger centres along the way (Kamloops, Clearwater, Jasper, Lake Louise, Golden, Revelstoke and Salmon Arm) but the area caters mainly to mountain bikes and you may not be able to obtain spares enroute.

How do I survive riding through the Canadian Wilderness?

You should be aware of at least the following:

• Weather
• Terrain
• Empty: Much of the region you are riding through is sparsely inhabited. Once you leave the outskirts of Kamloops, stores/shops are very far between. See your route sheet. Yes that's all of them. More facilities are available on the latter part of the route, approximately from Sicamous (1035 km) onward.
• Water: Outside of the dry area around Kamloops you will probably find streams near the road. Please be advised that these streams probably contain giardia, a stomach parasite. We recommend that you obtain water at control sites, from known safe sources, or filter your water. For more information see BC Health Files.
• Wildlife. Bears, Elk, Cougars, and Animal Jams (!?)
• Rumble Strips

Will food and water be available along the route in addition to at the controls?

The route takes you through fairly remote country and while there are some services along the way (see your route sheet) we strongly recommend that you stock up on food and water at the control points.

What type of weather can I expect to encounter on the route?

Expect extreme changes of weather during the ride. Kamloops is generally hot and dry during July with temperatures sometimes reaching 35-40°C (95-105°F). Mountain weather can be extremely unpredictable. In the previous Rocky Mtn 1200s, riders have experienced extreme heat, heavy rains, as well as snow and sleet in some of the mountain passes. Expect temperatures as low as 5°C (40°F) at night, especially at higher elevations. Winds can be very strong in the mountain passes.

Will there be vehicular support along the route?

In the spirit of randonneuring, each cyclist is expected to be self-sufficient. There will be a lead van and a follow van. The primary purpose of these vans are to deliver and pick up drop bags and blankets from the controls. Most riders will never see these vans. However, if you are in trouble, particularly if you are toward the back of the group, you may expect some help and encouragement. Volunteers not in these vans are not to help riders outside of the controls (for fairness sake).

If I abandon the ride how will I be able to get back to Kamloops?

The following vehicle will carry you and your bike to the closest town or control point at which point you will be responsible for making your own arrangements to get back to Kamloops.

Will we be advised of any road construction along the route?

We will be checking with the relevant highway departments and will endeavour to include information on road construction on the route sheet, at registration at Kamloops and/or at the control before the construction begins.

What is a rumble strip and how do I ride with them on the road?

Rumble strip are dimples cut into the shoulder just outside the white line. They are there to wake drivers who are veering off the road. They, unfortunately, can be hard to see in the dark and especially in the rain. If you hit them, it is important not to panic, but to surely and carefully steer off them again. They will rattle you and your bike but you can keep control.

Click thumbnail photos to enlarge them.

Do I need my own medical insurance for the ride?

Yes, you will need to have your own personal medical insurance to cover you for the ride. Riders with a valid BC Medical card will not need additional coverage. All other riders will need to ensure that they have medical coverage that is valid in BC and Alberta, Canada to cover them for the duration of the ride.

Can I ride the 2008 Rocky as a RAAM Qualifier?

Yes. You may ride the 2008 Rocky as a RAAM qualifier provided that you meet the requirements of the UMCA RAAM qualification policy. The key points of that policy are:

• You must be a current, annual member of the UMCA
• You must inform the UMCA in writing before the 2008 Rocky that you intend to use it to attempt to qualify for RAAM
• You must finish within the specified time in a division:

In addition, you must meet the following requirements of the Rocky Mtn 1200:

• You must be registered to ride in the 84 hour start group
• You must declare your intention to use the 2008 Rocky as a RAAM qualifier by email to the organizers before 4-Jul-2008

Please keep in mind that the Rocky Mtn 1200 is a 1200 km brevet in the spirit of Paris-Brest-Paris, not a race.

Will I be able to purchase a souvenir t-shirt for myself or my support crew?

Yes. T-shirt will be available for sale during registration Wednesday Jul 23, 10:00 - 16:00 and if supplies last, at the post-ride party on Sunday Jul 27.

Can I ride the Rocky as a 1000 km brevet to count toward my ACP Randonneur 5000 award?

No. The Rocky Mountain 1200 is a Randonneur Mondiaux sanctioned 1200 km brevet. There is no 1000 km option. The BC Randonneurs have scheduled 4 ACP sanctioned 1000 km brevets for 2008. Please see the club events calendar for dates and locations.

Does the 1200 km I ride on the Rocky count toward the total distance for my ACP Randonneur 5000 award?

Kilometers from the Rocky Mtn 1200 km event can be used toward the total kilometers, but the Rocky event cannot take the place of the stipulated ACP 1000 km.

What is your privacy policy?

See our privacy policy page.

I have a question that's not answered in this FAQ. What should I do?

If your question is not answered here or elsewhere on the event web site you can send email to rocky...@randonneurs.bc.ca . We will answer your question as promptly as we can. We may also add an edited version of your question and the answer to this FAQ to help other people.

I sent you an email over 7 days ago and you haven't answered. Why?

We're not deliberately ignoring you - honest! The most likely explanation is that your email accidentally got caught in our spam filter. Because rocky...@randonneurs.bc.ca is a well-publicized email address we receive a lot of spam messages for every "real" one. Our filter is good, but sometimes it makes mistakes. Please re-send your email and, especially if it is brief, add a few technical cycling or randonneuring words.