Recent Announcements

2025 Board Nominations Open!

Nominations are open from 10/1 through 10/20 for the 2025 RUSA Board. Two regular seats are open, plus RBA Liaison, which is a one-year term. (Only RBAs may nominate for RBA Liaison). Nominations must be received by October 20th, 2024. To nominate a fellow member and/or yourself, email election@rusa.org listing the member(s) you're nominating with their RUSA member number and your contact information.

We encourage individuals of all identities (racial, ethnic, gender, sexuality, ability, size, age, etc.) to apply. Randonneurs USA is seeking members whose experience, expertise, perspective and passion will help us fulfill our mission. We are looking for individuals with experience in the following:

  • Passion and commitment to Randonneurs USA
  • Strategic thinking and visioning
  • Organization and management
  • Cultivating inclusive, diverse, and equitable community
  • Connections in the cycling community
  • Public relations, marketing and communications
  • Development and fiscal oversight

Members of the Board act as representatives of Randonneurs USA (RUSA) and are responsible for ensuring we are executing our mission, being accountable to our membership, and keeping our organization healthy.

  • Board member responsibilities here
  • Mission, values, organizational objectives, strategic goals here

Your Board of Directors meets once per month, via Zoom. The monthly/weekly time commitment is variable, based on position and responsibility on special projects/committees. As a guideline, you can expect at least 10-20 hours per month on Board business, including various Board-related projects and tasks, phone calls, a high volume of email discussions, and the scheduled two-hour monthly zoom meeting. A number of Board members also devote substantially more time volunteering for RUSA.

Two positions on the RUSA Board of Directors will become available at the end of 2024. The terms of Charlie Martin and Vincent Muoneke are expiring. Both are eligible for re-election, Charlie is running for an additional term, Vincent will not be running again. Members may nominate up to two current members to run for these two positions. The term limit is three years.

The Regional Brevet Administrator Liaison (RBA-L) position is open. This position is a one year term. Rob Hawks currently holds the position and is not seeking re-election. NOTE: Only Regional Brevet Administrators (RBA's) are eligible to nominate and vote for the RBA Liaison. 

All candidates who accept their nomination must submit a statement of qualifications and a photo, which will be posted on our website. Candidates will have the option of conducting a recorded interview facilitated by Randonneurs USA.

If you're interested in running and would like to inquire more, please reach out to any current and/or past board member.  

8k600 Brevets - new features!

"8k600" brevets are 600k ACP brevets with at least 8,000 m (26,246 ft.) of climbing. They are a requirement for earning the ACP Randonneur 10,000 award.  The Web Team has added features to search for 8k600 events on RUSA calendar, to flag results for these events, and help RBAs and the Brevet Coordinator Committee in setting these up.

Calendar events and results for 2023 and 2024 have been updated, so you can play around with these features now.

Thanks to Charlie Martin of the Web Team in consultation with Rob Hawks (RBA Liaison and Brevet Coordinator chair).  

 

Search for 8k600 events:

8k600 filter

Rider result:

8k600 result

2024 Board Goals mid year progress

Marketing

Set up a Marketing Committee engaging internally with RBAs and members using surveys and interviews, externally with cycling clubs and organizations, with a broad goal of increasing market awareness, RUSA membership and ridership.

Committee set up, RBA Survey completed, summary results forthcoming

Rules and Procedures

Review and update all rules, procedures and other documentation for organizers and riders, for all types of rides e.g. Brevets and Populaires, Team Events, UAF Audax and Permanents

ACP and RUSA Brevets:

Rules for Riders – brevets and populaires – Complete

Rules for Organizers – brevets and populaires – Nearly Complete

Rules for LRM Riders (1200 km and longer US events) – In Progress

Rules for LRM Organizers (1200 km and longer US events) – In Progress

Team Events:

24-Hr Fleches-USA (ACP sanction) - In Progress

24-Hr Arrow (RUSA sanction) - In Progress

13.5-Hr Dart (RUSA sanction) - In Progress

8-Hr Dart populaire (RUSA sanction) - In Progress

Permanents:

Permanents (200 km and longer) - Not Started Yet

Permanents populaires (100 km -199 km) - Not Started Yet

UAF Audax: fixed-pace group rides regulations - Not Started Yet

Internal Organization

  1. Review and update charter and staffing for all Committees - rationalized committees, reviewed staffing.  Charter not started
  2. Calendar all operational activities - calendaring mostly complete and ongoing
  3. Set up a Nominating Committee for Succession Planning - outstanding, no progress

Event Registration Support and Insurance

  1. Share tools and approaches across regions - some discussions, no progress
  2. Develop a plan to provide a common toolset and centrally house all waivers - some discussions with RBAs

Awards

  1. Physical Gravel Award – no progress
  2. Volunteer Recognition - plan in place to provide patches to RBAs and Committees
  3. Climbing - web work underway

Website

  1. Facilitate the rollout of gravel Permanents - complete
  2. Facilitate the development and tracking of cumulative climbing - underway
  3. Increase website account adoption for priority functions - under review
  4. Improve membership signup, renewal and data change overhead - outstanding
  5. Develop election tool for RUSA elections - 3rd party software being used
  6. Revisit gender data collection and reporting – plan being discussed
  7. Explore and potentially overhaul RUSA's privacy practices - review outstanding
  8. Historical total membership reporting - complete

New RUSA Marketing Committee

RUSA now has a Marketing Committee. Its mission is to promote the sport of randonneuring and support our Regional Brevet Administrators (RBAs) and their clubs. Members are Phil Fox (chair), Bill Bryant, Nigel Greene, Wei Sun, and Lydia Trott.

"The Marketing Committee will focus on elevating our communication strategies and developing outreach initiatives to raise awareness, attract new participants, and strengthen the randonneuring community nationwide. By harnessing the expertise and insights of our members and RBAs, we aim to drive growth and engagement within our community."

They can be contacted at marketing@rusa.org.

Marketing Committee

ACP Super Randonneur Award - now calendar year

Audax Club Parisien (ACP) has changed the Super Randonneur Award so that it is achieved by riding an ACP 200k, 300k, 400k, and 600k brevet in a given calendar year (January 1 - December 31). Formerly the ACP used their fiscal year (11/1 - 10/31).

A note about ACP brevets calendared for November and December: the ACP adds these to their calendar in the fall of that year. So you may not see them on your region's calendar until that time of year. But once added, you can use them towards your SR award for that year.

New and Retired Chicago Regions!

In mid January, in order to better serve the US's 3rd largest metropolitan region, the RUSA Board approved an additional region and RBA, based in Central Chicago. Sarah Rice will serve as RBA for the IL: Chicago Central region, which will be hosted by a new club, Chicago Randonneurs.

On February 5th, Michele Brougher, the RBA for IL:Chicago and president of Great Lakes Ultra Cycling (Great Lakes Randonneurs), which largely served Eastern Wisconsin, informed the RUSA Board that Great Lakes Ultra Cycling will no longer affiliate with Randonneurs USA or the Audax Club Parisien. Michele also resigned as RBA for that region.  At this time, without a host club, the IL:Chicago region has been deactivated.

RBAs from the new IL: Chicago Central region as well as surrounding regions will be reviewing their calendars in the next few days to ensure coverage for our ridership.  Many of our members ride with local clubs as well as with RUSA.  We welcome GLUC members on RUSA events in the midwest and elsewhere in the US.

The RUSA Board thanks Michele Brougher for years of dedication and service to RUSA and randonneuring.

Please direct all questions to chicago-questions@rusa.org.

Intermediate Checkpoints Now Untimed for ACP/RUSA Brevets

Dear RUSA Members,

The Audax Club Parisien has made a major change to its Brevets de Randonneurs Mondiaux regulations that we follow at Randonneurs USA. Starting immediately, there will only be timing at the final control of each brevet. The RUSA Board of Directors has voted to follow this and so our US brevets and populaires will no longer have timed intermediate controls. (Grand Randonnées of 1200km+ follow different rules.)

The ACP is encouraging RBAs to still use the familiar opening and closing times for intermediate controls, but this is to be only a guideline to help riders stay inside the time window for a successful finish at the final control, which will be timed. And, following the recent change for events 1200 km and longer by Les Randonneurs Mondiaux, US organizers for grand randonnées can chose to use timed intermediate controls or not.

What do you need to do? Ride events as you always would – you must follow the route and reach all the control points, but don’t stress too much about the control times between the start and the finish; now it is the final checkpoint’s timing that you need to be concerned with.

Best wishes for a good year of randonneuring,

The RUSA Board of Directors

Tim Sullivan awarded 2023 American Randonneur Award!

The Board of Directors is pleased to announce that they have awarded the 2023 American Randonneur Award to Tim Sullivan (#28). Tim has been volunteering since our earliest days and started randonneuring in 1994 with Boston Montreal Boston (BMB). He has served on the Board many years and has also provided us with key legal counsel on various matters that have helped us become a successful sporting organization. 

Upon receiving the award, Tim shared: "Thank you to the Board for the American Randonneur Award. I feel honored to join a list of prior recipients who I have always respected for the work on behalf of RUSA. Volunteering for RUSA has always been a pleasure because of the camaraderie of our sport. Be it from volunteering at a local brevet, assisting RBAs, or working on the Board. It is one of the things that makes our niche aspect of bicycling unique and what I have enjoyed for the past 30 years. Volunteering for RUSA has never felt like work."

Additional details will be in the next issue of our American Randonneur magazine.

Tim Sullivan - ARA

2024 RUSA Officers

The Board has elected the following as 2024 Officers:

President - Dave Thompson

Vice President - Dawn Piech

Secretary - Gardner Duvall

Treasurer - Lois Springsteen (not a Board member)*

Non-Officer Board members: Bill Bryant, Charlie Martin, Vinny Muoneke, and Rob Hawks (RBA Liaison)

* President, VP, and Secretary must be Board members. Treasurer can be someone not on the Board.