AMERICAN RANDONNEUR VOLUME 22 • ISSUE #2 SUMMER 2019 IN THIS Joe’s Ride — BY JOE AND PAUL ROZELLE Tour de Tasmanie GT Series — BY MARK THOMAS ISSUE Astronomy for Randonneurs: Planning Night Rides — BY ROBERT SEXTON Edelux II Does your bike have low self esteem? When you ride, does your bike seem out of sorts, gloomy and listless? Lacking pep, and vim? Put some spring in your bike’s step with a Schmidt Edelux II headlight in one of many new vibrant colors! Schmidt; when you want your bike to know how much you really care. Peter White Cycles 24 Hall Rd. Hillsborough, NH 03244 603 478 0900 Phone 603 478 0902 Phax www.PeterWhiteCycles.com/schmidt-headlights.php WHAT’S INSIDE President’s Message 2 John Lee Ellis American Randonneur Magazine Spring 2019 • Volume 22, Issue #1 From the Editor 3 Janice Chernekoff RUSA BOARD OF DIRECTORS Joe’s Ride 4 President: John Lee Ellis Joe and Paul Rozelle Vice President: Debra Banks Treasurer: David Thompson Harriet Fell, One of the First Americans to Finish Paris Brest Paris 6 Secretary: Lois Springsteen Tom Baker Board Member: John Cap'n Ende Board Member: Nigel Greene The Baker Lake 400 9 RBA Liaison: Tim Sullivan Steven DeGroot COMMITTEE CHAIRS Brevet Coordinator: Roland Bevan (chairman); Musings of the Ancient Randonneur: Part Two 10 Lois Springsteen, Rob Hawks, and Rob Welsh David Buzzee Medals and Awards Coordinator: John Lee Ellis Membership: Nigel Greene; Don Hamilton Remembering an American Randonneur 12 Webmaster: John Lee Ellis Rob Hawks Permanents Committee Chair: Crista Borras American Randonneur Committee Chair: Randonneur 17 Janice Chernekoff Iron Rider Rules Committee Chair: John Lee Ellis Team Event Committee Chair: Paul Johnson Tour de Tasmanie GT Series 18 Routes Committee Chair: Craig Mathews Mark Thomas Souvenirs: Deb Banks AMERICAN RANDONNEUR New RUSA Members 26 Editor: Janice Chernekoff Astronomy for Randonneurs: Planning Night Rides 30 Copy Editors: Bob Olsen, Jayne Brown, Melissa Hall, Robert Sexton Betty Jean Jordan, and Katie Raschdorf Data Collection: Lynne Fitzsimmons, Women Who Go Long 34 Greg Olmstead Deb Banks Design: Mary Humphrey Advertising: Jim Poppy RUSA Awards 37 American Randonneur is published quarterly Submissions: [email protected] COLUMNS Advertising: [email protected] RANDONNEURS USA, INC. IS A TAX-EXEMPT UNDER REVIEW 16 501(c)(3) NON-PROFIT CORPORATION George Swain American Randonneur is a publication of Randonneurs USA, Inc. PO Box 168, Lyon Station, PA 19536 ALLURE LIBRE: Honoring Family, Friends—And Framebuilders—At PBP 22 [email protected] • phone: 303.579.5866 Mike Dayton © 2019 All Rights Reserved RANDOM THOUGHTS: Dreams of PBP 28 Chris Newman COVER—Who put the controle at the top of a mountain? Pagoda 200km, March 16, 2019. DR. CODFISH: Persistence 32 PHOTO CJ ARAYATA Paul Johnson AMERICAN RANDONNEUR • SUMMER 2019 1 President’s Message A Time to Explore—Summer is a memorable challenge. a time for many of us to branch out, Bang for Your Travel Buck— stretch … and go traveling! If you’re traveling specifically for the With the advent of the new Rando ride, think about longer perms and Scout award, which—like the American other multi-day events. Explorer—encourages exploration, Maybe you already rode a brevet variety, and potential camaraderie, we week this year—1,500 km spread over are reminded that randonneuring is a week, hopefully over an expanse of more than just churning out the miles. territory. You can also look for a ride Perms are a fertile avenue of series like last year’s Colorado Haute exploration. Many of us seek out Route Randonnée Six-Pack—six point- perms when visiting a new area. I rode to-point 200km brevets threading Lois Springsteen’s and Bill Bryant’s through the Rocky Mountains, a Hoodoo Alley on the Mt. Lemmon 100k Moss Beach Ramble 200km because vacation in itself. in Arizona. there was a conference in Monterey; The Pleasure of Planning—A —PHOTOS JOHN LEE ELLIS Dave Thompson’s New Smyrna Beach remote perm or event that takes a day to Flagler Beach 100km because we or two to ride may mean days or weeks were vacationing in Florida; Richard of planning: the more unfamiliar the local riders and those from far away Stum’s Moab Double Whammy 200km locale, the more planning—and the would like to ride? When visitors come because we were hiking in Moab. more imagining—you get to do! to ride your brevet, you can play tour Your own perms can add novelty, Could it rain a lot, and if so, will it guide, clue them in to the best burritos, too. The Guanella Pass Gambol 100km be a tropical refreshment, or harbinger that special secluded valley, that stiff was created to goad me into climbing of hypothermia? What are the services climb, or that sudden surprise plunge that pass. like? Will the stores have the cheese dogs around the bend. What about brevets? Event you usually depend on, or will you have If you are a RUSA member, you routes serve a variety of goals: being to find some new source of calories? can do the same, by creating evocative convenient to where most local riders On the Big Wild Ride (the Alaska permanent routes. You know the local live; being easy to support; making the 1200km), riders were advised they great places to ride, the best stores and Super Randonneur practical for a range might go 200km between services cafés, the best stories. of riders; and so on. Still, organizers (except for water). As for wildlife, they And if you head out on your own also design for scenic value and to offer were warned that, yes, grizzlys could be exploration, why not take a rando pal out foraging to fatten themselves for or two along, to enrich the experience? the coming winter. You Can Help—If you are an —John Lee Ellis RBA, why not find new routes that your [email protected] On the Pololu Lookout 100k on Hawaii. Big Sur on the California Central Coast 1200, with Mark Thomas. —PHOTOS JOHN LEE ELLIS 2 SUMMER 2019 • AMERICAN RANDONNEUR From the Editor “’Do you really want to do it?’ my feeling righteous about getting on Rob Hawks pays tribute to Bruce Mom asked.” our trainers for fifteen or twenty Berg, winner of the 2017 American So starts third-grader Joe Rozelle’s minutes a day). I’ve been to Tasmania Randonneur Award, and long-time ride report about his first 200km on the so I know that there are a few hills on participant and volunteer in the tandem with his dad. Congratulations, that small island…it seems that the Northern California randonneuring Joe—nicely done! Enjoy Joe’s story and crew who did this series encountered scene. Bruce died in December, 2018. maybe remember your first 200km. most of them! Steven DeGroot His presence and example will be missed. And then also enjoy the other stories writes about hill climbing as well in a By the time the next issue arrives of firsts in this issue. Harriett Fell, the northwest 400km: “My bike felt like in your mailbox, stories of PBP 2019 first American woman to complete PBP, a bucket of stones,” he writes. We’ve will have been created, and ancien(ne) (in 1975), is interviewed by Tom Baker. been there, too. s will be sharing them on autumn And Deb Banks, while encouraging Other articles will give you ideas rides around the country. May your women to participate in randonneuring, to contemplate as you prepare for or summer rides be with friends. May you gives a shout-out to other American recover from some of your summer ride, as Iron Rider writes, “Without women who have achieved notable adventures. All longer randonneuring limits/Without doubts/Fearless.” And ‘firsts.’ Part Two in David Buzzee’s events involve night riding, and Robert may there be a few firsts among your “Ancient Randonneur” series is also Sexton’s article describes the magical adventures. about a first 200km ride…in qualities of moonlight and sunrise Be safe out there. challenging conditions. rides. And George Swain, in a nod to As you might expect, there is a that other big French bike ride, reviews —Janice Chernekoff good bit of PBP dreaming in these two films about Le Tour. [email protected] pages as well. Mike Dayton recalls rides past, as well as friends who have passed, while he looks forward to PBP ’19, an occasion for riding with friends and making new memories. Chris Newman begins her column with a PBP nightmare but transforms that into useful advice for first-timers, and Paul Johnson reminds all heading to Paris this summer that persistence is key, no matter what you pack, no matter how well your ride is going…at some point you will need to remember why you wanted to do PBP, and keep going even if you would rather just stop. Even qualifying for PBP is no small feat, as Mark Thomas demonstrates in a ride report about the Tour de Tasmanie GT Series that took place in February (yes, when many of us were Escargots Volant successfully complete another PA Flèche. From left to right: C. Newman, P. Shapiro, J. Levitt, K. Raschdorf, J. Chernekoff. —PHOTO CHRIS NADOVICH AMERICAN RANDONNEUR • SUMMER 2019 3 Joe’s Ride BY JOE AND PAUL ROZELLE Among the school rituals in the Rozelle household is the “folder,” which is a curated collection of the kids’ schoolwork that comes home with them on Fridays so we can see what they worked on that week. This past fall, we opened Joe’s folder to find a randonneuring ride report that Joe had submitted to his third-grade teacher as a writing assignment.