Randonneuring in New England
We’ve got a ride almost every weekend in April!
Portland Fleche & Darts: Applications are due MAY 5th! Now’s the time to gather a team and plan a route.
The inaugural Narraganset Bays & Bridges 200k was a great success! We had a 49 riders register for this early season ride, the first ever with a Rhode Island start and finish. (RUSA is chartered in RI but ironically, has never had a brevet starting from the Ocean State.) I suspect all 49 riders were clicking refresh on the forecast for the past week as a Nor’easter hit the area on Wednesday and had the possibility of forcing us to use an alternate route without the pretty bike paths on the first 20 miles. Thankfully the storm was dud and the ride continued as planned. 44 riders started including many first-time Randonneurs, two recumbents, a fixed-gear, and a tandem. 42 riders finished!
At the “Secret” control riders got to meet RUSA Member #1 and her partner Pierce. Besides being a founding member and former President of RUSA, Jennifer organized the famous Boston-Montreal-Boston 1200k for almost 20 years. It was an honor to have their help on the ride. We also want to thank Kevin for his support and hospitality in running the Little Compton control. We couldn’t have done it without these volunteers. Finally, Huge thanks to Ted Shwartz for designing & leading the ride. Hopefully this becomes an annual tradition.
On Feb 24th NER Gave a presentation on the sport at Wheelworks in Belmont, MA. As a way of preparing for the presentation a question was posted on the NER mailing list (Google Group) about why people enjoy riding and what separates them normal club centuries.
The responses to the question are great and worth a read.