Nominations for the RUSA Board of Directors opened on October 1.

We are looking for members to run to be a board member and/or nominate another member(s). We encourage individuals of all identities (racial, ethnic, gender, sexuality, ability, size, age, etc.) to apply. We are seeking members whose experience, expertise, perspective and passion will help us fulfill our mission. That might include experience with (in no particular order):

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

Your Board of Directors meets one time per month, virtually. The time commitment is variable, based on position and responsibility on special projects/committees. Board of directors act as representatives of Randonneurs USA 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. 

If you're interested and would like to inquire more, please reach out to any board member.  

Two positions on the RUSA Board of Directors will become available at the end of 2022. The terms of Dave Thompson and Tim Sullivan are expiring. Dave is not eligible for re-election. Tim will not be running for a second term. Members may nominate up to two current RUSA members to run for those two positions. The term limit is three years.  

To nominate a fellow member and/or yourself, you may email election@rusa.org listing the member(s) you're nominating with their RUSA member number(s) and your contact information.

Additionally, the Regional Brevet Administrator Liaison (RBA-L) position is also open. This position is a one year term. Rob Hawks currently holds the position and is eligible for re-election. NOTE: Only Regional Brevet Administrators (RBA's) are eligible to nominate and vote for the RBA Liaison. 

Nominations must be received by October 20th, 2022.

RUSA's new Gravel Initiative is now live!  

• RBAs can create or update routes with unpaved miles, and schedule events using them.
• Riders can get credit for the unpaved miles in their RUSA events (and SR600 rides).
• Riders may get extra time to finish RUSA brevets and populaires with unpaved miles.

Thanks to Deb Banks for spearheading the Gravel Initiative and chairing the Gravel Committee to iron out the details. And thanks to Charlie Martin, with the RUSA Web Team, for the web and database enhancements.

► Gravel Program Description and Details

The RUSA Board is pleased to announce a new randonneurs-usa@ Google list for RUSA-specific discussions. This is intended to bridge the gap between regional lists and the global randon@ list. In addition to providing a forum for member-to-member communication within RUSA, this will serve as an additional channel for RUSA announcements. You need not be a current or past member of RUSA in order to join and participate, and you are free to join and leave as you please.

You can join the group here.

Please keep in mind the following rules when participating in this new group:

1. Participants are expected to be civil and respectful towards each other and RUSA volunteers/officials.
2. Inflammatory/disparaging personal remarks, off-topic posts, and unsolicited commercial email (spam) will not be tolerated and should not be posted to the group.  
3. Do not join and post to this group with the sole purpose of selling something. If your first post is a for-sale post, you will be removed from this group immediately.
4. To foster randonneuring community, consider signing your posts with your real name if you feel comfortable.
5. At the discretion of the group administrators, non-compliance with these rules may result in either a private warning or immediate removal/banning from the group.

RUSA reflective vests are in short supply in many sizes. We are working to find a replacement vendor as the former vendor has disappeared.

ACP Randonneur 5000 applications for 2022 are now open. R-10000 applications are awaiting word on expected changes to the rules. We've not heard anything about medal deliveries from last year's orders.

ACP Super Randonneur Medals - We are still awaiting delivery of the 2021 SR medals. ACP has not received its order yet.

Members' US Grand Randonnée results now appear with event icons, in the member's list of results.

Here are the icons we've assembled to date:

You can now view these Paris Brest Paris yearbooks:

PBP 1999 Yearbook

PBP 2003 Yearbook

PBP 2011 Yearbook

The links to these yearbooks are also on our PBP page.  Thanks to Dave Thompson, Bill Bryant, and others for retrieving these parts of our rando history!

RUSA has added a provision in its Permanents rules to allow you to start and finish your ride at a location other than a checkpoint (if the perm route finishes where it starts). Here is the new wording (highlighted):

Ride Direction and Starting Checkpoint Options - Permanent routes may be ridden in reverse direction. The rider must determine that the reverse route is safe and legal, and revise the route if necessary to make it so (for example, to avoid riding the wrong way on a one-way street). For a permanent route that starts and finishes at the same location, the rider may (1) start and finish the permanent at an intermediate checkpoint or (2) start at any location, proceed to a checkpoint, traverse the other checkpoints in their order on the route, and return to the original starting location. In the case of #2, the rider must document the start and finish location in a manner described in Article 8, providing timed proof of passage for both starting and finishing.

The RUSA Board has selected Jake Kassen for the 2021 American Randonneur Award, for his years of service, including as Boston RBA, RBA Liaison, and creator of such tools as the Cardomatic and Geo-Search for Rides available to RUSA members.

Each year, the Board "presents an award to a member of the organization who has made a significant and outstanding contribution to randonneuring in the United States" as described on the ARA info page, from among those nominated by RUSA members.

Congratulations, Jake!  Highly deserved.

Some changes are coming to the Super Randonnée 600 program and the ACP Randonneur 10000 award.

SR-600 changes

What we know

• SR-600 rides will be sanctioned by Provence Randonneurs, Sophie Matter's local club in France, rather than by Audax Club Parisien. The ACP will no longer be involved.
• Changes to the program are mostly cosmetic, from a rider's perspective.
• There are no planned changes to SR-600 mileage or other award credit (e.g., R-12) for RUSA awards.

What we don't know

• How the program may morph in the future.  E.g. Sophie is very interested in providing more gravel options.

Read more about the SR-600 program at its new site.

R-10000 changes

What we know

• R-10000 will not require a SR-600 ride, likely effective January 1, 2022.
• The award MAY require a 2nd Flèche instead of the SR-600.

What we don't know

• Transition plans and retroactive credit

ACP has advised us that they will be meeting on February 7 to make decisions on the R-10000 award. 

We'll let everyone know as soon as we learn more details.

RUSA is pleased to announce that Charlie Martin and Vincent Muonoke have been elected to serve 3-year terms on the Board of Directors and that Rob Hawks has been re-elected as RBA Liaison for 2022. We would also like to extend our sincere thanks to the other candidates who stood for election. A special thanks, also, to Deb Banks and John Lee Ellis, who will be stepping down at the end of the year, in both cases after two three-year terms serving as board members. The election results are as follows:

For Regular Board Positions:

Iwan Barankay - 68
Jose Blanco - 52
Dragi Gasevski - 38
Paul Kramer - 168
Scott Manning - 78
Charlie Martin - 218
Vincent Muoneke - 219
Richard Stum - 101

For RBA Liaison:
Rob Hawks - 36