- Participation of Minors: For the purposes of BC Randonneur events, a minor is a person younger than 19 years old, and an adult is a person 19 years of age or older. Social rides, populaires, ACP-compliant 200 km brevets, and the Trace Pacifique are all open to minors aged 14 years and older, provided that such events take place entirely within BC. Longer distance events are not open to minors. Participation should be arranged and confirmed with the ride organizer at least one day before the event. The minor and their parent or legal guardian must be present at the start of the event to sign a witnessed hard copy of the waiver/assumption of risk form. The minor must be closely accompanied on the entire ride by a responsible adult participant, preferably a parent/guardian. This age restriction may be relaxed for certain shorter rides on approval of the Directors.
- Riders must obey all traffic laws.
- In accordance with BC law all cyclists must wear approved helmets at all times during the ride. Riders observed riding without a helmet will be disqualified.
- Equipment: Bicycles must be in safe working order.
A bright front light (which clearly illuminates the road at least 5 meters in front of the bike) and a red rear light are mandatory, and both must be attached to the bike — no lights means no ride. Riding at night without proper lighting and reflective clothing will result in disqualification. Riders should have backup lighting systems and should carry spare batteries. Lights are not required on rides shorter than 200 km.
There may be inspections before any event to ensure that the minimum equipment requirements are met. Organizers may refuse rider participation because of equipment violations, or may assess a time penalty. - Personal ID must be carried at all times. This is especially important on rides which cross over into Washington state — bring your passport.
- For rides over 200 km, a rider must qualify at a shorter distance before attempting the next longer ride. A rider who has completed a distance in a previous season may advance to the next one in the current season without doing the shorter qualifier(s). (Exceptions may be made to this rule, but only with the prior approval of the ride organizer and the regional route coordinator.)
- Controls: Each rider is provided with a control card which must be stamped or signed, with the time clearly printed, at controls staffed by volunteers or at designated businesses throughout the ride. There may also be information controls — unstaffed checkpoints where riders write down the answer to a question appearing on the control card. Each control has an opening and closing time. These are printed on the control cards. Control cards must be signed by the rider and submitted as proof of completion. There may be secret controls on any brevet to ensure that riders are riding on the prescribed route.
- Each rider should be self sufficient. No following cars or personal support of any kind are permitted on the course. Personal support is only allowed at controls. Any violation of this requirement will result in immediate disqualification. Assistance such as receiving help in changing a tire or borrowing tools from a fellow participant, from a ride official or even from a passing motorist is not forbidden. (For a fuller exploration of this rule see the Understanding the No En Route Support Rule discussion below.)
- Riders who stray off course must get back onto the route where they left it.
- There are minimum and maximum times for the completion of rides at each distance. These times include all stops: The start control will continue to remain open for one hour after the official start time. There are also advisory opening and closing times at each of the intermediate controls along the route. A rider who arrives at a staffed control outside of the opening times must prove passage through alternate means.
Distance Minimum time Maximum time 200 km 5h53m 13h30m 300 km 9h00m 20h00m 400 km 12h08m 27h00m 600 km 18h48m 40h00m 1000 km 33h00m 75h00m 1200 km 40h00m 90h00m - Ride organizers may at any time issue time penalties, or disqualify riders for violations of the BC Motor Vehicle Act, for violating BC Randonneurs rules, or for unsportsmanlike conduct.
- To qualify as a BC Randonneurs brevet a route must start or end in BC.
Understanding the No En-route Support rule
Support vehicles are not allowed to help riders between controls. Although randonneurs are expected to be self-sufficient, riders can receive help (repair assistance, tubes, tools, food, etc) from other riders in the event, other passing cyclists, or anyone else, provided that the help is not coming from personal support. A rider can, for example, receive a tube or an emergency power gel from a ride volunteer or official who happens to be out driving around the course.
The rules for dealing with a major mechanical problem between controls, like a collapsed wheel or broken frame, are the same as for minor problems. If a rider can obtain a bike or wheel out on the course, including from a helpful stranger, a passing motorist or ride official, the rider can legitimately continue the ride. A rider can not call or in some other way arrange to have a new bike or bike part delivered anywhere other than to a control. To be clear, it is not the use of a cell phone, or other device, that is the problem, it is the use of these means to arrange assistance that happens out on the course.
A participant in a randonneur event cannot ride in the slipstream of someone who has planned to be on the route for the purpose of pacing the participant. A participant can, however, ride side by side or in front of a non-registered friend or companion rider for a reasonable, limited time during an event. With the permission of the ride organizer, a rider who feels uncomfortable or unsafe riding alone at night, may arrange for a companion to ride along side them. If a participant happens by chance to run in to other cyclists out on the road, a limited amount of shared drafting, which is natural in this situation, is acceptable. Extensive drafting, however, from a non participant is not permitted, and can be grounds for disqualification.
Understanding time limits
Time limits are calculated based on the following maximum and minimum average speeds, then rounded to the minute:
| Segment | Opening time | Closing time |
|---|---|---|
| km 0 to 60 | 34 km/h | 1h + 20 km/h |
| km 61 to 200 | 34 km/h | 15 km/h |
| km 201 to 400 | 32 km/h | 15 km/h |
| km 401 to 600 | 30 km/h | 15 km/h |
| km 601 to 1000 | 28 km/h | 11.428 km/h |
As an exceptional case, the upper time limit for 200 km is 13h30m, even though a calculation would yield 13m20m.
For example, a 603 km route is treated as 600 km — the excess 3 km is disregarded when calculating the time limits.
The minimum time, 18h48m, is the sum of:
5h53m (the first 200 km at 34 km/h)
6h15m (the next 200 km at 32 km/h)
6h40m (the final 200 km at 30 km/h).
The maximum time, 40h, is the sum of:
1h (start time grace period)
3h (the first 60 km at 20 km/h)
36h (the last 540 km at 15 km/h).
Historically, arriving after a control’s closing time meant disqualification. In 2024 ACP changed this rule, so that the opening and closing times for intermediate controls serve only as a guide to the rider.
Arriving late at the finish may be acceptable only in the case of a serious material incident. BC Randonneurs considers “serious material incident” to include, for example, assisting a crashed rider get to a hospital, and helping out at the scene of a traffic accident. It does not include delays resulting from bike or equipment failure, nor does it include delays resulting from a rider injury or other physical problems.
Alternate-day brevets: The volunteer pre-ride
Officially there are no alternate-day brevets in the sport of randonneur cycling. Here is how BC Randonneurs defines a brevet:
A brevet is a ride starting at a designated time and place, on a designated day, following a designated route.
There, however, an exception to this rule in BC: the volunteer pre-ride. This ride, usually one week before the official ride, allows a brevet organizer and other ride-day volunteers to preview the route: check the accuracy of the route sheet, discover road changes and closures as well as hazards and construction. The organizing team will also be given credit for the brevet. Only the ride organizer and ride-day volunteers are permitted to join the pre-ride. There is only one pre-ride for an event, and typically the participants ride together.
Permission to participate in the volunteer pre-ride is granted by the organizer only to riders whose contribution on the official ride day is necessary and significant. Volunteers who provide non event-day help (promotion, printing route sheets) must ride on event day to get credit for the ride. The pre-ride is not to be used as a means of accommodating the personal scheduling conflicts of volunteers. A volunteer who rides the pre-ride and does not show up on ride day will be disqualified.
Is this rule absolute? Under some very special circumstances (one was a volunteer’s request to attend a funeral), some volunteers and organizers have in the past been given credit for a pre-ride without being present on event day. These circumstances are rare, and the decision is the regional ride coordinator’s, not the ride organizer’s.