Notes from the past
Cleveland-Amish-Devo RUSA 200k - registration closes Thursday night
This Saturday is our Cleveland-Amish-Devo RUSA 200k. Registration closes Thursday night.
This is a mostly unsupported, RUSA brevet, so controls are not manned by fellow randonneurs. The first two are manned by friendly convenience store employees. The third control is a photo control.
The ride finishes at XYZ, the tavern, so feel free to hang out for a bit, particulalry if you finish earlier than others!
If you are riding - please see a separate email for details - print and bring a cue sheet, and brevet card if you're not planning on using EPP (or like them for backup in case of GPS or other failures).
ACP Brevet Series - registration for 600k closes Wednesday night
Some course modifications were made after the 400k, primarily to avoid rutted roads and eliminate some info controls. This reduced the distance and climbing of day 1, and brings the total distance to exactly 600k. Day 1 remains challenging with many significant climbs, followed by a very flat and wooded day 2.
We will have a volunteer on course and a hotel room available Saturday night for those that don’t have one. The route and cue posted to the website are now final.
Registration closes tomorrow at 11:59pm
- Alex
ACP Brevet Series - registration for 400k closes Wednesday night
Just 2 events left in our ACP series now, beginning this Saturday on our 400k from Chillicothe. The challenging route features about 13,000ft of climbing (as estimated by RWGPS) and covers much of the same roads we saw on the 300k, until turning west from Wellston to Lucasville, then north on a short portion of the TOSRV route, and finally breaking northwest out to the turn around in Bainbridge where we will conquer the infamous Jester hill from both sides.
For series completionists, familiarize yourself with the route as we revisit it for day 1 of the 600k.
The route and cue sheet posted to our website are currently NOT final as we are finishing the cues for 2 info controls.
[Ed note: 51 feet per mile of climbing is in line with such rides as Paris-Brest-Paris and London-Edinburgh-London!]
Registration closes Weds 5/18 at 11:59pm.
-Alex B
Ohio RBA
For the love of the 1,000k
Here in Ohio, we're looking down the barrel at our 400k and the 600k. Add them together, and what do you get? 1,000k!
Why the love for the 1,000k?
- It's shorter. Yes, that's obvious, but 200k and 15 hours of difference is real. It's two nights instead of three. Three days instead of four. Your behind will be able to tell the difference.
- 1,000k's tend to be less formal. Yes, well supported Grand Randonees are a hoot, but 1,000k's tend to be lower key affairs. Just get out and ride. Visit the land's best gas stations.
- They're good prep for even longer rides.
- Gets you first pick of time slots for PBP next year
- Trinkets. They're required for the RUSA Cup and ACP R-5000 & R-10000.
So, what 1,000k's are coming up? Below is a list of 1,000k's not affiliated with a concurrent 1,200k.
| Date | Region | Ride | Link |
| 5/28 | NE: Omaha | Nebraska Sandhills 1000k | info |
| 5/28 | TX: Dallas | Hound Dog 1000k | info |
| 6/18 | CO: Boulder | St. Vrain Canyon - Ft. Morgan - Devil's Gulch | info |
| 6/24 | WI: Western | Tour of the Driftless 1000k | info |
| 8/13 | CO: Boulder | Lefthand Canyon - Pawnee Grasslands - Devil's Gulch | info |
| 9/8 | CA: San Francisco | TBD 1000k | info |
| 9/9 | WA: Seattle | Third Time's A Charm 1000k | info |
| 9/17 | NJ: NYC and Princeton | TBD 1000k | info |
| 9/22 | PA: Eastern | Endless Mountains Liberty Bell 1000k | info |
| 10/8 | TX: Dallas | La Bella Vickie Mille | info |
| 10/14 | FL: Central | Pine Island 1000k | info |
Pete Dusel's rides out of Rochester, NY don't quite qualify for the above table, as they tend to be in conjunction with 1200k's. That said, Pete's rides definitely meet the spirit of this list with low support and high value. Info here.
Source: RUSA
Photos!
The flèche teams were busy this past weekend. Photos from the flèche and our other 2022 rides are available here.
Ohio Flèche
This weekend is the Ohio Flèche and we are proud to host 3 teams representing 5 different states combined.
“Are We There Yet?” - Representing Ohio, is comprised of some of our well known riders in our home state, captained by Ohio tech admin Jonathan Karpick
“Sagamores of the Wabash” Representing Indiana, is compromised of some of our friends and neighbors from across the border, captained by IN RBA Bill Watts. (Check out their Facebook group for an in-depth introduction to their team!)
“Buzzee’s Buzzards” - Some of our “Les Etrangers du midwest” return with other friends across several Midwest states, captained by Greg Smith
All three rides culminate at Buzzee’s house for the traditional Mother’s Day breakfast, which no doubt will feature endless anecdotes.
We are thrilled to be hosting our friends and neighbors and look forward to a great weekend! Good luck to our 3 teams.
Summer ride schedule
Ohio Randonneurs is planning hosting two RUSA brevets and a populaire in the 'late season' this year:
- Cleveland Amish Devo 200k July 23rd
- Wooster Amish Clockwise 200k August 20th
- Randonneuring 101 Populaire 100k Sept 10th
We'll get them on the calendar shortly
The Flèche, The Flèche!
Reminder: routes due to David by 4/9
See here.
Wooster 200k - weather update
Our 200k brevet will be held this weekend as scheduled. The weather will not be ideal but the threat of ice on the roads is now minimal. I will call a start delay if that ends up not being the case early morning.
Registration closes tonight at 11:59pm. No exceptions will be made this time around.
-Alex B
Ohio RBA
Upcoming Wooster 200k
Our second brevet of the season begins next Saturday, 4/9 at 8am. This route will feature more climbing than our first brevet, and will likely be sparsely supported. Please factor these two key elements into your decision making processes. A small route deviation is currently in the works. Please wait until the final version is posted before downloading.
I am actively seeking control volunteers. Please reach out to me again even if you have previously so I can get a head count. My decision to ride with the group or work controls will be based solely on weather this time.
The host hotel for this event was quite nearly booked the last I checked. We did not get enough early reservations to secure a discounted rate. You may consider adjacent lodging or other alternatives if you are traveling as the price is difficult to swallow.
The unfortunate pandemic-induced backlash I am facing this year is the incredible difficultly of locating hotels to begin our routes from that are both friendly, clean, and reasonably priced. Similar to the old saying in sales, you can only have 2 of 3, never all at once. Going forward, I’d like riders to envision the hotel suggested as merely a starting point, not required lodging. In the future I will consider running more events from parks or other public places.
Registration will close at 11:59pm Wednesday 4/6.
-Alex B
Ohio RBA
Volunteer!
Ohio rando cycling is looking for in-person volunteers to help our brevets run smoothly. Our program in Ohio is strongly dependent on the wonderful folks on the sidelines that make our events more accessible, and welcoming than many other RUSA events.
Event day volunteers help with things such as monitoring and passing out snacks and/or drinks at controls, checking riders in at the start and finish, or driving the course to help rescue, photograph or “assist” riders. Volunteer support is fully funded by registration fees, and therefore will come at no cost to the volunteer. Volunteers can be family members, friends, or even active riders that may not be able to participate in the full event. Incentives may include free event registration, event pre rides, and more.
We currently do not have any scheduled volunteers for our March 12th brevet, and only a few suggested volunteers for the remainder of the series. With your RBA participating in the events with the group this year, additional support is welcomed throughout each event.
If you, or someone you know is interested in helping make our brevets the best they can be, please contact RBA Alex Bachmann at rba@ohiorandonneurs.org.
-Alex B
Ohio RBA
Welcome to the 2022 Ohio Randonneurs Brevet Season
Can you believe we are just 4 weeks away from the start of another season?
Brevets this year will feature isolated back-country scenery, low traffic roads and hills – lots of hills. The PBP de facto climbing standard is approximately 45 ft per mile, 2900 ft per 100 km. After the flat March 12 200 from Xenia, the remaining brevets will have close to the PBP standard.
The Wooster 200 lies in the most traditionally Amish part of Ohio, arguably an area even more scenic than the Hocking Hills. Riders may choose to invite partners and friends to tour numerous attractions during the ride. While the 300, 400 and 600 are also in scenic parts of the state, they are less oriented to vacationers and visitors.
The 300, 400 and 600 all begin in Chillicothe, then travel South (to Gallipolis, with its French heritage) for the 300, or South and West for the 400 and 600. The Chillicothe headquarters motel is America’s Best Value Inn. It’s located in a working class/warehouse area, convenient to the routes, clean and affordable but not visually appealing. During the summer the motel provides long-term lodging for contract workers in Chillicothe. Because of this practice, it is best to make room reservations now!
All routes are in 911 emergency number zones. However, because the routes are in remote areas, cellular phone access may be limited. For this reason, it is especially important that you have tested your GPS unit or other form of navigation, and that you have a backup in the event of primary failure.
OR will use several information controls this year. You can satisfy the requirement either by answering the question to be provided at the start, or by providing an EPP for the completed route. We did our best to ensure passage through markets and 24-hour convenience, but with the economy in turmoil and many establishments shortening hours, you may not be able to entirely rely on on-route services for nutrition and hydration.
Before you start, please update your personal information, especially your emergency contact information. Also, before you start, confirm that your lighting meets or exceeds the RUSA standards. For example, tail lights must be visible from behind. Lights mounted on seat stays must be oriented directly to the rear. Those which fail this standard will be unable to start if riding in darkness is likely.
I fully intend to ride the series with the group this year. I’m not sure how my fitness will be post-accident, but in the event I am able to do so, protocol will change for post-ride completion confirmation. EPP is still the preferred practice, but should you choose to use a physical brevet card as your only means of tracking your ride, please pay close attention to the instructions on where to deposit your brevet card post-ride.
Lastly please continue to bear in mind the COVID-19 pandemic and its ongoing effect on our health and safety. All riders are STRONGLY encouraged to have full and up to date vaccination status. At the moment you won’t be expected to present vaccination cards, masks or sanitizers during check-in.
-Alex
Our main series schedule
- March 12 @ 8:00am = ACP 200k from the Ramada parking lot in Xenia, OH
- April 9 @ 8:00am = ACP 200k from Comfort Suites in Wooster, OH
- April 30 @ 6:00am = ACP 300k from America’s Best Value in Chillicothe, OH
- May 7 @ 7:00am = Ohio Fleche to David Buzzee’s house in Columbus, OH
- May 21 @ 6:00am = ACP 400k from America’s Best Value in Chillicothe, OH
- June 4 @ 5:00am = ACP 600k from America’s Best Value in Chillicothe, OH
Other events
- June 11 – ACP 300k anniversary ride with Indiana Randonneurs from Pokagon State Park in Angola, IN
- September TBD - Randonneuring 101 Populaire from Cyclist Connection in Canal Winchester
- October TBD – RUSA 200k from the Ramada parking lot in Xenia, OH
New website!
Welcome to the Ohio Randonneur's new website.
Since, by definition, you're new here, you'll want to register by choosing "Join Ohio Randonneurs" from the Club menu above. Registering for your first ride will also complete your website registration.
There are no membership fees, but you do need to be a member of RUSA with an active RUSA number.
You will need to have a current RUSA membership in order to sign up for rides.
There's a common theme: keep your RUSA membership current!
Note the link to the blog in the upper right of this page (link). You'll find old RBA and ride reports there.
| Ohio Randonneurs is affiliated with Randonneurs USA, New to Randonneuring? Check out |
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Ohio Randos 2022
The ball has dropped, the calendar changed, and old man winter snuck in with the blustery winds of the year passed. It’s officially 2022, and that means your base training and event planning has already begun… right?!
With the new year comes a few small changes to our program here in Ohio. You’ve probably already noticed the launch of our new website back in November. Be sure your membership on our page, as well as with RUSA, is active for 2022 ASAP. Four riders were turned away last year due to inactive membership, don’t let that be you in 2022!
2023 is a PBP year, which means many of you are planning to complete a full series, or possibly even a 1200k this year. Remember, the longer the distance you ride in an ACP event this year, the earlier you get access to send in that application! At this point, you’ve already started learning French, plotting out your bike and attended the PBP webinar. If not, you’re already behind! The next PBP webinar airs 2/6. Don’t miss it! (That includes myself!)
In Ohio this year, we have two opportunities to complete your ACP 200k, as well as the reintroduction of the Ohio Flèche. If you haven’t already started contact with your prospective teams for the flèche, send me an email expressing your interest and we’ll get you in contact with the right party members. A Facebook page and email thread will go up shortly for those in Southwest Ohio. Groups have started and/or expressed interest from Northern and central Ohio as well.
Fair warning, our routes this year are hillier than last, all except the March 200k and the second day of the 600k. We’ve complied this time with the ACP standard of 6,000 feet per 200k to start warming up your climbing muscles for next year.
The routes will take place in southern and central Ohio, with Chillicothe being our central city for the 300k, 400k, and 600k. We’re having the routes reviewed and getting in contact with hotels now. Expect an update in February with booking information.
Lastly, we need to mention that COVID-19 and it’s variants are still surging and we need to do our part to maintain our safety and that of those around us. Please consider vaccination if you haven’t already, and utilize EPP, sanitizer, and masks during our brevets. At this point I’m not mandating anything the government isn’t. You should know by now what to do to keep yourself healthy!
In the meantime, registration is up on the website and many have already started adding our events to the calendar. Get that trainer tire or winter bike warmed up, and starting putting in some base!
See you on the road.
Alex B
Ohio RBA
2022 Ride Calendar
Mark your calendars:
March 12th - 200k
April 9th - 200k
April 30th - 300k
May 7th - Flèche
May 21st - 400k
June 4th - 600k
Registration is open. That said, some details subject to change.
Going paperless - Electronic Proof of Passage (EPP)
This new site permits us to go mostly paperless.
If electing to use electronic proof of passage, you will need to upload your ride to a publicly available site (e.g., strava, ridewithgps). Please ensure your ride is set to 'public' or similar availability.
After the ride, you will get an email with a link to a page where you should fill in your finish time and provide a link to your uploaded ride (e.g., https://www.strava.com/activities/1234 or https://ridewithgps.com/trips/1234). Please do so as soon as you can so that final results may be submitted to RUSA.
You can even leave public comments on the ride from that same form.
In anticipation of potential GPS file corruption, it is recommended that you use a secondary (or even tertiary) documentation such as timestamped photos at each control and/or a completed brevet card.