Audax Club Parisien has announced that PBP 2019 will start and finish in Rambouillet, rather than in St. Quentin-en-Yvelines, as it has done for the past six editions. This was necessitated by difficulties in making event arrangements for that locale.

We will pass along more information as we have it.

Two positions on the RUSA Board of Directors will become available at the end of the year.  The terms of John Lee Ellis and Debra Banks are expiring.  They are both eligible for re-election.

Members may nominate up to two current RUSA members to run for those two positions.

Additionally, RBAs may nominate an RBA for the position of RBA Liaison. MA: Boston RBA Jake Kassen currently holds this position and is eligible for re-election.

A nomination form can be found on-line here.  

Email nominations to secretary@rusa.org or mail the form to:

Lois Springsteen
226 West Avenue
Santa Cruz, CA 95060

Nominations must be received by Sept 15, 2018

The ACP has now published details about PBP'19, including start times, qualifying, and pre-registration opportunities based on your longest ACP or RM randonnée in 2018. We've uploaded this document - under "2019 PBP Brochure (english)" to our PBP Wiki, which is full of info about PBP, including bagdrop and other options available to you. So please have a look!

A few members have reported that their copy of the Spring issue of American Randonneur contains duplicate pages in place of some missing ones. We are working with the printer to address this. For any of you whose copy of the magazine has this issue, please let us know by writing to editor@rusa.org. You will be sent a correct copy. We apologize for your inconvenience.

Shab has been volunteer par excellence at 1200k's around the world and brevets in Florida and along the East Coast. Always ready to pitch in and make a difference for every rider, we laud her years of service in what is an essential part of our sport: supportive, skilled, and energetic volunteers. 

Thank you, Shab!

The RUSA board elected its officers for 2018 at its January meeting on the 10th:

• President - John Lee Ellis
• Vice President - Debra Banks
• Treasurer - Dave Thompson
• Secretary - Lois Springsteen

In addition to these, our 2018 board consists of John Cap'n Ende, Nigel Greene, and Jake Kassen (RBA Liaison).

The board extends its sincere appreciation to departing board members Susan Otcenas and Paul Rozelle.

We're now collecting a group order for some new, super nice, wool RUSA short sleeve jerseys direct from Spain. In a nutshell, we're accepting orders via the RUSA Store to submit to Cima Coppi on Jan 14th for expected delivery around Feb 28th. By grouping the orders, we're able to save about $35 per jersey. 

Order now on the RUSA Store (under apparel, scroll down): 

We think the jerseys are really snappy -- the colors are bold and the graphics are subtle. (See images below.)

Two short sleeve jerseys are being offered:

• Light Weight ("Ultralight"): This is a 97% merino wool jersey cut like a synthetic -- full zip front, three pockets on the back, elastic waistband, snug fit. Many people say this is their favorite jersey. 
• Mid Weight: A more traditional 100% merino wool jersey with 1/4 zip front and three pockets back but not heavy and thick like some "classic" jerseys.

Both are available in Women's and Men's cut in a variety of sizes. Pay close attention to the sizing chart -- we've been told they run snug so consider going a size up if you prefer a looser jersey.  

Fine Print:

• For each fabric type (light and midweight), we need to collect at least 25 orders or the order will be canceled and riders refunded in full.  
• After the cut-off date of Jan 14th you can still order direct from Cima Coppi but you'll need to pay the retail price of approx. $175 / $150 with shipping and use a credit card that handles Euro payments.
• Postage directly from Spain is included in the RUSA store price. 
• RUSA is using its store to simplify collecting the orders and payment in US Dollars. Otherwise the order is being handled directly by Cima Coppi. RUSA won't be able to offer exchanges, refunds, etc. 
• There are no plans to organize another group purchase. If you want to order with a big discount, now's the time. 

Finally, huge thanks to RUSA's treasurer Dave Thompson who's doing the hard part of working with Cima Coppi, processing the group order, etc. 

Vote tallies for the 2018 RUSA Board elections are as follows:

Regular Board Positions (from 468 members voting):

242  Pete Dusel
277  John "Capn" Ende
309  Lois Springsteen

RBA Liaison (from 30 RBAs voting):

30   Jake Kassen

So John Ende and Lois Springsteen will be filling three-year terms for the two available normal board positions, while Jake Kassen will be filling the one-year RBA Liaison position.

Many thanks to Pete, John, Lois, and Jake for being willing to stand for election and serve RUSA. 

The RUSA Board has approved allowing electronic devices to be used to provide proof of passage on RUSA Permanent rides, subject to certain requirements, and so long as both the perm owner and the rider agree.

Traditional validation - receipts, info controls, etc. - are always acceptable. Details in the Rules for Permanent Riders and Rules for Permanent Route Owners. We hope this will provide a convenient alternative for those riders and route owners interested in using it. 

If you have questions after reading the rules, you can submit them to EPP@RUSA.org.