An RBA and/or event volunteers may pre-ride the route of an ACP or RUSA-sanctioned brevet or populaire up to 15 days in advance. You may want to arrange a pre-ride to give volunteers who are working your event an opportunity to get credit for the event, or to check out the route, services, etc. It is the RBA's prerogative to allow a pre-ride, and to determine who will ride and when the pre-ride will take place.
Submit a pre-rider’s results with the other finishers’ – i.e., as if the rider completed the event as scheduled on the calendar. This means, for example, that a pre-ride done in the month previous to the event counts towards R-12 credit in the month for which the event was scheduled (not the date on which it was pre-ridden).
There is no provision in BRM regulations for "make-up" rides (riding after the event date, except of course for riding on a rescheduled date, for an event you have postponed because of weather hazards, etc.).
[3/2010] [2/2011] [1/2012] [2/2018]
A volunteers’ pre-ride is a favor to the volunteers who will put on a ride. It's not supposed to be a burden on you.
A volunteers’ pre-ride is also not supposed to be a scheduling alternative. The spirit of pre-rides is that those doing the pre-ride are supporting the main event. In this case, what actually constitutes support is up to the RBA to define, but keep the spirit of this option in mind. For example, the main event may benefit from an extra set of eyes on the cue sheet, a review of road conditions and company for the ride when the route goes into remote areas or will be ridden after sunset. As a result, if support supplied by a pre-rider allows them to be free on the date of the main event, they are then free to ride another RUSA sanctioned event for credit. The mix of credited rides for the rider can include ACP events calendared on the same day, so for example if pre-riders for an ACP event scheduled for May 10 did a pre-ride on May 3rd and the support they offered was to relay to the RBA notes about road conditions, then they could ride another ACP or RUSA brevet, or a RUSA permanent held on May 10th and get credit for that and the pre-ride they completed.
[11/2022]
Assuming that you are only dealing with volunteers for the brevet, you just need to try to strike a balance between meeting the needs of those volunteers and not driving yourself nuts. Although RUSA has no rule requiring that there only be one volunteers’ pre-ride, you have absolutely no obligation to arrange for more than one. Generally, you (or the ride organizer, if you have delegated the ride to another person) should decide when you are riding (if you are pre-riding yourself), let the other volunteers know and go. Folks that can't make the volunteers’ pre-ride and absolutely need the ride credit can be released to do the main ride. They can volunteer another time.
As for proof of passage on the pre-ride, keep in mind that these volunteers are in many ways an extension of the RBA and are helping to administer the brevet. Since you'll be putting trust in them for that, consider allowing a bit more leeway for that documentation. If, for example, pre-riders aren't using Electronic Proof of Passage, let the volunteers sign each others’ cards where there are no stores or volunteer support at a checkpoint. (If they can grab a receipt in a nearby town, so much the better). If the start/finish is not at or near an open establishment, let the volunteers get a receipt from the nearest coffee shop to the start, sign their cards at the start, sign their cards at the finish and then get a receipt from the nearest pub to the finish. If a checkpoint requires event staff because there are no establishments nearby (or good info questions), or because riders need support in an area of sparse services, remember you’ll need to arrange for a volunteer to staff that checkpoint.
[2/2011] [11/2022]
Encourage the pre-riders to ride together. That's way more effective for scouting the route, checking the cue sheet, etc. It should be a fun, team event. Riders who are riding for PRs aren't going to be doing a good job of scouting.
A pre-rider who fails to finish may be allowed to ride on the event date.
[11/2013]