At 4:00 a.m. on a Thursday morning in August, approximately 100 riders representing seven countries left Newton, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston, to ride to Montreal and back, a round trip of 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) with 30,000 feet of climbing, while facing a time limit of 90 hours to complete the ride. It was the start of another Boston-Montreal-Boston (B-M-B) randonnee, the American twin of the classic Paris-Brest-Paris (P-B-B) randonnee which is held every four years. There are other 1,200-kilometer randonnees around the world, including an interesting ride through the Canadian Rockies in British Columbia, but in this country, P-B-P and B-M-B are best known. The next P-B-P will be held in August, 1999. B-M-B is held every year, except for the years when P-B-P is held. I have not yet ridden P-B-P, which is much larger than its American cousin with thousands of riders from all parts of the world, although I hope to participate this year. Thus, I am limited to describing for you the wonderful ride from Boston to Montreal and back, which I have completed twice now. I hope to interest some readers in becoming involved with randonneuring.
Randonneuring has a definite French flavor. The Randonneurs Mondiaux is the umbrella organization governing regional organizations. Randonneuring is governed in this country by two organizations. Randonneurs USA (RUSA), is a newly-form organization which is rapidly supplanting the older International Randonneurs (IR). Each governs randonneuring events in this country and certifies results to France. In order to qualify for P-B-P, RUSA members must complete one series of qualifying rides, or brevets (rhymes with beret). IR requires its members to complete two successive annual brevet series. A brevet series consists of rides of 200, 300, 400, and 600 kilometers (125, 185, 250, and 375 miles), each with a time limit. While the organizers of B-M-B are less legalistic about the qualifying rides, completion of a brevet series is strenuously encouraged. A great series of brevets is staged just up the road in Spartanburg, South Carolina by the Freewheelers, the same folks who give us the Assault on Mt. Mitchell. In past years these rides were incredibly difficult (the 400 kilometer ride with over 21,000 feet of climbing is one of the hardest rides I have ever done), but beginning this year the rides will be less like mountain death marches and more like the actual rolling conditions encountered during P-B-P or B-M-B. There will be several brevets in the Atlanta area this year. For details, e-mail Mike DeLong at PLMHayes@aol.com.
B-M-B begins in the Boston area and travels in a westerly direction before turning north, cutting across the southwestern corner of New Hampshire and passing through the beautiful Green Mountains of Vermont. The route then levels out as it travels up Lake Champlain and nips the northeastern corner of New York before crossing the frontier into Quebec. Suddenly you're riding through the French countryside for the 50-mile ride to a point west of Montreal. From there, riders return along the same route back to Boston. Along the route are eleven control stations where the riders must have their control cards signed. The control stations, which are situated from 37 to 85 miles apart, offer a variety of food, and most offer a shower and cots or mats for sleeping. The ride organizers will sag riders' bags to four of the controls, and most riders send clean clothes, bike food, and batteries forward as befits their plans for completing the ride.
Riders' tactics for completing the ride vary according to individual goals. The riders finishing first (the course record is 50:01) will leave Boston at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, rather than the larger 4:00 am start, in order to prevent arriving at any control before it opens, and they will sleep little, if any, the entire ride. Less driven riders, on the other hand, who desire only to finish before the 10:00 p.m. Sunday cut-off, will stop and sleep each night in motels or on the cots or mats provided by most of the control stations. Between the two is the majority of riders who have set personal goals of varying audacity. This year, three riders finished under 60 hours, 16 finished between 60 and 70 hours, 15 finished between 70 and 80 hours, and 38 finished between 80 and 90 hours. The fastest time was 54:51, and the last group of three riders came in at 9:17 on Sunday night for a time of 89:17.
One of the surprises for a first-time rider is how far one can ride on a little sleep.. Using a personal example, this year I began at the 4:00 a.m. Thursday start and reached Rouses Point, N.Y., mile 315, at 2:45 a.m. Friday. I left that control at 6:00 a.m. Friday and rode until I reached the control at mile 512 at 9:30 p.m. Friday night. I then left at 4:00 a.m. Saturday morning and finished the 750 miles by 12:32 a.m. Saturday night, for a total time of 68:32. In retrospect, I slept too much, but I slept less than the preceding year, when my time was 79:39. My on-bike speed was about the same both years, but a combination of less time wasted sleeping and better weather made the difference. I now believe that two or three hours sleep each night would be sufficient.
Speaking of weather, the ride goes on regardless. One year, the 4:00 a.m. riders left Boston in a torrential rain which did not let up for several hours - a miserable way to start a 750 mile ride! In 1997, I rode in the rain two nights. The temperature is usually moderate by Atlanta standards, but a head wind always seems to accompany the return trip down Lake Champlain, nullifying the benefits of the only flat portion of the route.
The most discussed item of equipment among randonneurs seems to be lighting. You will find many different lighting systems, from generators to AA-battery-driven handlebar-mounted lights to high end rechargeable batteries. I have rigged a 6 watt Vista Light with a pack holding five disposable D cell batteries, a system I use in the winter months on my commute to work in Atlanta. Riders use a variety of bicycles. You will see top-end racing bikes in a pace line with touring bikes. I ride a short wheelbase recumbent; a recumbent seat is considerably more comfortable after a 24 hours of constant riding than any upright seat ever made. One 72-year-old Englishman rides the event on an English touring bike that must weigh 40 pounds, and two years ago a European rode a fixed gear bike, the old type with a different size cog on each side of the rear wheel, where changing gears means removing the wheel and flipping it over!
Age matters less in randonneuring than some other forms of cycling. The riders this year ranged from 27 to 72 (the 27-year-old finished in 86:40; the 72-year-old finished in 85:38!). The first finisher was a 44-year-old American expatriate living in Belgium. Randonneuring for most is more about persevering than speed on the bike.
Randonneurs tend to be a friendly lot and, while they may be competitive, there is much camaraderie among the riders. Sunday afternoon will find the early finishers gathered at the finish line to cheer the later finishers as they come in. There are none of the flashes of ego seen at too many bicycle events. The sense of personal accomplishment of having completed such a long and difficult ride is considerable, and the whole experience is something I would highly recommend to any rider willing to test himself or herself. I encourage anyone who may be interested in randonneuring to ride a few brevets to see what it is like.