Chainlink Ride Report: Great Lakes Randonneurs 200-Kilometer Brevet

By Brett Ratner

"What's a brevet?"

That was a common question I received as I tried to describe the ride I did last weekend.

In a nutshell, a brevet is a long-distance, self-supported cycling event where you have to navigate to a series of checkpoints (called "controls"). It's not a race, but you do have to reach each control (and ultimately the finish) within an allotted time cut.

Brevets (also known as randonnées) are largely a French tradition. The ultimate accomplishment for a cyclist who rides brevets (known as a randonneur) is completion of Paris-Brest-Paris. This grueling, 1,200-kilometer (745-mile) ride only takes place every four years. And you can't just sign up and go. You have to qualify for it by completing a series of sanctioned shorter rides.

There are only a very small group of American organizations who host sanctioned randonneuring events. And as luck would have it, one of them is based right here, just a short drive from Chicago, in Delevan, Wisconsin.

Seeing as how the Chainlink HQ recently moved to nearby Lake Geneva, it would be a shame to not give one of these a go. So, I signed up for their opening day event, a 200-kilometer (127-mile) out-and-back from Delavan to Sun Prairie, a suburb of Madison.

In short, I had a great time, met a lot of nice people, and got to pedal along miles and miles of rolling, scenic country tarmac. And it only cost $15 to register, making it a huge bargain.

Anyway, ride details and photos are below. But if you're looking for something a little different, I highly recommend you check one of these out...particularly the next 200-kilometer event, which takes place on May 7 (if all goes to plan, I'll be doing the 300k that day). If interested:

• You can visit http://www.greatlakesrando.org/ to learn more about Great Lakes Randonneurs.

• You can also visit https://rusa.org/ to learn more about Randonneurs USA.

Pre-ride check-in for Great Lakes Randonneurs events takes place in the lobby of the Super 8 Motel in Delavan, Wisconsin.

At check-in, you receive your cue sheet, which you use to navigate to each checkpoint. This 127-mile ride ride featured four checkpoints located just over 30 miles apart. 

As you can imagine, you see a lot of bike porn at a brevet. This rig is a classic randonneuring setup. Highlights include full fenders, wide tires capable of riding on a variety of road surfaces, dyno hub lighting, and plenty of storage for food and foul-weather riding gear. Full lighting and reflective gear is a requirement on brevet events, particularly longer rides which last through the night.

Since I don't own a proper randonneuring bike, I improvised with a cue sheet holder, USB lights, and an over sized seat bag. The cue sheet gives you turn-by-turn directions, based on the distance you travel. If you miss a turn, it's a bummer because your total mileage is off for the rest of the ride, making it harder to navigate.

A cue sheet gives you a more authentic randonneuring experience. But if you want to simplify things, the organizers also make available for download turn-by-turn directions which you can import into your Garmin. 

Terry, my riding partner for the day, has completed Great Lakes Randonneurs' 200k, 300k, 400k, and 600k brevets. He's also completed the 1200k Paris-Brest-Paris ride, which is the pinnacle of brevet events. Here, he's reppin' right with his official Paris-Brest-Paris reflective wind vest. 

The checkpoints (known as "controls"), were smartly located at convenience stores, making it easy to fill water bottles, and purchase snacks. The street tacos at this control were a big hit with the riders. 

We were too busy riding to take many photos, which is a shame, because the rolling farmland of Southeastern Wisconsin was certainly pretty to look at. This pic gives you an idea, but really doesn't do the landscape justice.

My makeshift randonneuring rig. I didn't wind up needing the extra rain gear (or the huge seat bag), but with a 45-degree temperature swing from start of the ride to the finish, it was convenient to have a place to stash extra layers as I peeled them off.

127 miles in the books. Average speed was a slow n' steady 16.5 mph, just as we planned. Now on to the 300k challenge in May.

About the author:

Brett Ratner (brett@thechainlink.org) has been a professional journalist for more than 25 years. He has contributed to dozens of publications, including The Chicago Tribune, The Nashville Tennessean, The Nashville Scene, Guitar Player, and Musician. Brett began commuting by bike in 2005. Shortly thereafter, his interest in cycling expanded to century rides, bike camping, and trail riding. The competition bug bit in 2012 and nowadays he occasionally races cyclocross, track, mountain bikes, criteriums, and gravel for The Bonebell.