RUSA Distance Award stock has arrived and will be shipped out by our volunteer to applicants in the next couple of weeks. Thanks for your understanding and patience, and congratulations on your distance achievements!

Super Randonneur Jersey Contest Winner

March 6, 2009 The RUSA board would like to thank RUSA members Dion Dyer, Bruce Chandler, Robert Higdon and Jennifer Wise for submitting designs to the RUSA Super Randonneur jersey contest. Each design was distinctly different from the next, and each contained elements representing the achievement of being a Super Randonneur. Members can view all the entries at http://sr-jersey.rusa.org/. In the end, design # 1 was chosen to be the official RUSA SR jersey. The RUSA Super Randonneur jersey will be available for sale to any RUSA member who has completed a RUSA sanctioned Super Randonneur brevet series. The jersey will be produced and sold on a pre-order basis only. Members may pre-order the jersey via the RUSA online store. The deadline to order is October 1. Super Randonneur jersey orders are expected to be filled and shipped by December 31. Questions? contact souvenirs@rusa.org.

The solution to the February 2009 Crossword puzzle can be found HERE and HERE(pdf).

Attention members! There are still a few RUSA 10th Anniversary medals left in stock. If you completed a RUSA sanctioned brevet on the weekend of August 16-17 2008, and would like a commemorative RUSA 10th Anniversary medal, order it now from the RUSA Online Store.Going, going, gone!

RUSA invites members to submit a design for the new RUSA Super Randonneur jersey. The member who submits the winning design will get the honour of seeing his or her jersey fabricated and made available for all RUSA members who have completed a Super-Randonneur series of RUSA brevets in a single year. The winner will also receive a complimentary jersey (SR jersey if SR-qualified; otherwise, a RUSA jersey). Entries must show the front and back of the jersey in color. Entries must be emailed to souvenirs@rusa.org in a PDF, JPG or TIFF format. Designs must be submitted by February 1 2009. The RUSA board will review entries. The winning design will be chosen by the board and announced in the May 2009 newsletter.

Thank you to Randonneurs USA members for voting in record numbers this year. The results are in.

Edward Robinson and Eric Vigoren have been elected to the RUSA Board for three-year terms from 1/1/2009 to 12/31/2011. Robinson will fill the seat of retiring board member Mark Thomas, who was not eligible for reelection. Vigoren has been on the board since January 1, 2008, serving out the remainder of the term (1/1/2008-12/31/2008) vacated by Terry Zmrhal's resignation.

John Lee Ellis, a former board member and RUSA Vice President, rejoins the board following his election as RBA Liaison.

Edward and John Lee join continuing board members Don Hamilton, Lois Springsteen, Jennifer Wise, Eric Vigoren and Mike Dayton.

Thanks to Mark Thomas (current RUSA President) for his years of service to U.S. randonneurs and his leadership of RUSA. His presence on the board will be missed and his counsel will continue to be sought.

RUSA 10th Anniversary Celebration Medals are sold out. Members who did a RUSA 10th Anniversary ride and did not get a medal may place an order at the RUSA Online Store through September 14th. One medal per member, please. The medals will take four to six weeks to manufacture. Members can expect to receive their medals by the end of October.

Any RBA who pre-ordered too many medals may return them to RUSA for credit. Medals must be returned to RUSA by September 1 to obtain this credit. Send medals to: Greg Olmstead, RUSA Medals, P.O. Box 82371, San Diego, CA 92138.

RUSA's Online Store has re-opened for business. In addition to our standard lineup of apparel, reflective gear, and logo items, you may purchase ACP brevet medals that you have earned.

The store accepts instant payments via PayPal; personal checks and money orders are also accepted.

Select "Online Store" in the menu bar to visit the store.

The ACP has mailed out packets to 2007 PBP participants. Although the packets were mailed out from France at the end of January, some are still trickling into riders' mailboxes. The packets include a finishers medal (if appropriate), the rider's brevet card, a DVD of the event, and a results booklet.

It appears that the mailing supplies used by the ACP did not, in all cases, protect the contents well. We have received numerous reports of missing medals. We have also heard about other materials being lost or damaged. In addition, some riders report that no packet has arrived.

Mark Thomas is working with the ACP to obtain replacements for missing or damaged items to the extent possible. If your packet has not arrived or has arrived with missing or damaged items and you have not already contacted Mark, please do so.

If you have not received anything at all from the ACP, please let Mark know as well.

Hello RUSA members,

In an attempt to freshen up the photos section of the RUSA website (which currently only contains photos from PBP 1999), we are enlisting the help of anyone who has had the courage to bring a camera along on brevets - either as a rider or a volunteer. We are seeking quality images that represent the experience and spirit of randonneuring across the USA. We will initially use Flickr to gather photos and link to them through the photo section on the RUSA website.

There are two ways that you can submit photos:

1. You can upload photos to Flickr, join the RUSA group, and add the photos to the group. When submitting photos to the group, please make sure to tag each photo with the name of your randonneuring club, event distance, event date and any other pertinent information to help out with user searches in the pool.

Please email me with any questions. I look forward to seeing some great images from around the country!

Nate Armbrust
RUSA Photo Editor