David Roderick - 6/30/2014

Well, we wrapped up our 2014 Spring ACP brevet series. Congratulations to all the riders who participated in the brevet series. Some of you were new to randonneuring, while there were a number of well-seasoned veterans. We appreciated all the help and support that you gave each other. We got off to a bumpy start, but finished strong. Some riders could not complete the whole brevet, or the whole series, but that’s why we have the CCIC committee on our website. Please feel free to nominate future members to the committee. Every little bit helps. I hope that the riders who could not complete a particular brevet, or the series, will take away from the experience something that will help you have success at other brevets this year, and not discourage you from coming back next year.

I want to thank all my volunteers that helped this year. They made the series a success. I was told that I could handle the RBA position, if I surrounded myself with a knowledgeable, considerate support team. We still want to offer manned controls next year, so I hope that you will consider volunteering. I don’t want Dave Miller to have to get a tent to man some turn around control. If we can get more volunteers, then each volunteer’s time out on course can be reduced. There are also behind the scenes volunteers that made the season a success. Ted Meisky has enabled you to register, get the cues, see the results, and read this long winded message. Yea Ted! David Buzzee was responsible for laying out the routes and putting the cues together. No Buzzee, no route, no ride. Yea Buzzee! Those of you who remember when David Buzzee was the rba, can appreciate the fact that he took it easy on you this series per my request.

If you aren’t tired of riding in Southwestern Ohio, and want to explore the Northwestern part of the state, we have just the ride for you. In July, Frank Seebode of Bike Ohio, and the Ohio Randonneurs are offering you a Coast to Coast 500K. Yes, Ohio can offer a Coast to Coast ride. The ride is made up of a 300K that starts in Cincinnati on the southern coast, and travels to north central Ohio for a mandatory overnight. The ride than travels to Ohio’s northern coast at Cleveland on Lake Erie for 200K. It is a fully supported ride, and if you’ve done any of Frank’s Bike Ohio Tours, you know he does it right.

At the end of the season, Ohio Randonneurs will offer a populaire and pizza party to preview next season’s start and routes. More details to follow on that event later in the season. Please consider supporting other regions brevet series. I hear that Indiana does it right. I may be completeing a brevet in Minnesota in July, and we will definitely be heading south to Gainesville, Fla. for Jim Wilson’s series early next year. You are welcome to join us.

Speaking of next year, it is a Paris-Brest- Paris year. I realize that some of you have no interest in PBP. It is the “grand-daddy” of all brevets, and the reason we offer ACP brevets along with our RUSA brevets and permanents. The theme for next year will be PBP. If you have no interest in completing PBP, there are plenty of permanents and populaires that can be completed to earn RUSA awards. PBP means that I have to add more hills to the routes in order to better prepare you for that event. You asked for more hills and less wind mid–season this year. I hope that the 600K met your needs. Next year we will be starting at Cyclist Connection bike shop in Canal Winchester, Ohio. We will offer all new routes that search out more hills. Dave Miller and I will be laying out the routes and preparing the cues next year. I hope to have them done by the end of August, so I can submit them to RUSA. Towns up for consideration include: Amanda, Logan, Athens,Baltimore, Granville, Mt Vernon, and maybe points north. We will start the series later next year, probably in April. We will still schedule around Calvin’s Challenge and TOSRV, because I think that both of those can be useful training rides.

In the near future I hope to send out a survey for Ohio Randonneurs and other riders that participated in the series this year. I’m up for constructive criticism on what we did right and wrong this year, as long as you offer suggestions on how we can better improve the Ohio Randonneurs experience. There is always room for improvement. We’ll tweak it where we can, and where change is needed. Just a warning, you won’t get all downhill hill routes with tailwinds. In the mean time, be safe out on the roads. We want to see your smiling face again next year. Stay tuned, next month we’ll offer you more information.