History
Randonneurs USA
RUSA was established in 1998. You can read a bit about RUSA's history at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randonneurs_USA. South Florida RBAs Over the years, South Florida has had the following Regional Brevet Administrators:
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Audax Club Parisien (ACP)
Here is a little history of the ACP from RUSA co-founder, past president, and rando historian Bill Bryant, RUSA 7:
Here is a little history of the ACP from RUSA co-founder, past president, and rando historian Bill Bryant, RUSA 7:
The Audax Club Parisien was founded in November of 1904 to participate in the new "audax" 200k endurance rides that were starting to take place. "Audax" signified always riding in a group at about 16-18 kph with a road captain who kept the group together the entire time, and from going too fast. The rides often lasted from dawn to dusk and were fairly popular around the Paris region. Upon a successful completion of the ride, participants were awarded a certificate or diploma (brevet in French) for their athletic feat — no small thing in a time of dirt roads and cobblestones and fairly primitive bicycles and cycling clothes and equipment."
Over time some of the riders began to itch to go faster than the steady audax pace, others wanted to also include audax hiking activities with the group cycling, while others wanted the club to remain true to its audax group cycling format. Club meetings became pretty heated affairs and in the summer of 1921 it all exploded. A majority of the ACP members voted to start doing "allure libre" or free-pace brevets that allowed riders to choose their own pace so long as they stayed inside the minimum and maximum speeds, and they could ride alone or in a group — the same as we do today. The audax cyclists angrily decamped and formed their own organization, as did the hiking contingent."
So, there was no more "audax" in the Audax Club Parisien. On Sunday, September 11, 1921, the ACP held its first free-pace brevet of 200 km. The route was a big loop that went west and south of Paris to Dreux, Chartres, and then back to Paris. Brevet #1 was issued that day, starting a continuous string of numbered brevets that we still earn today. The free-pace randonneuring begun that day eventually spread through France in the 1920s and -30s, around the globe starting in the 1970s, and here we are in the 21st century, still out earning our diplomas while choosing to ride our own pace and how many people we want to ride with. This is the formula of the Brevets de Randonneurs Mondiaux, or BRM, that you see on the front of brevet cards sanctioned by the ACP."
Read Bill's complete article, "The BRM Centennial is Approaching," in the Winter 2020 edition of American Randonneur.
On September 11, 2021, Audax Club Parisien celebrated the 100th anniversary of its first allure libre brevet.
Audax Club Parisien is one of the largest cycling clubs in France. Since 1976, brevets certified by the ACP have also been ridden in countries outside of France. These are known as Brevets des Randonneurs Mondiaux (BRM).
You can read more about the history of the ACP at https://www.audax-club-parisien.com/en/our-club/history/.
Audax: In many other countries, randonneuring is still referred to as "audax," which can be confusing, and is overseen by organizations such as Audax UK, Audax Japan, Audax India Randonneurs, and Audax Australia. The word "audax" comes from the late 1800's. Given the difficult cycling conditions of that time, riding more than 200km in a single day was considered to be “audacious."
Audax Club Parisien is one of the largest cycling clubs in France. Since 1976, brevets certified by the ACP have also been ridden in countries outside of France. These are known as Brevets des Randonneurs Mondiaux (BRM).
You can read more about the history of the ACP at https://www.audax-club-parisien.com/en/our-club/history/.
Audax: In many other countries, randonneuring is still referred to as "audax," which can be confusing, and is overseen by organizations such as Audax UK, Audax Japan, Audax India Randonneurs, and Audax Australia. The word "audax" comes from the late 1800's. Given the difficult cycling conditions of that time, riding more than 200km in a single day was considered to be “audacious."
Paris-Brest-Paris (PBP)
To learn more about randonneuring's signature event, first held in 1891 (twelve years before the first Tour de France) and now run every four years, read Bill Bryant's excellent A Short History of PBP. The next edition of PBP will be in August 2023.
To learn more about randonneuring's signature event, first held in 1891 (twelve years before the first Tour de France) and now run every four years, read Bill Bryant's excellent A Short History of PBP. The next edition of PBP will be in August 2023.