sorry but what does 'BP' mean

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dudi

Senior Member
Location
Ipswich, Suffolk
Apparently it means "Brevet Populaire"

I think that translates as "promoting popularity"... so presume it means that it's and 'open' event, for the real amateurs to get people involved in the sport...
 

yello

Guest
Brevet populaire and, yes, they are the shorter distances and often more relaxed time limits.

It's a category of audax rather than a distance per se but as the category is only shorter rides, it's a bit of a moot point! But, to be honest, I didn't bother with what class of ride an audax was - if it was local and/or I fancied it then I rode it.

Audax has its categories and awards, etc etc, and some take it quite seriously - and fair enough. Not my scene personally, I didn't even bother hanging on to my brevet cards etc once the ride was done. I was most perplexed (and chuffed, tbh!) to receive a medal one year, still not quite sure why but I suspect it was something to do with miles in a particular category.
 

Landslide

Rare Migrant
Finish the ride, and pay a little extra at the end to get a badge. It'll be sent to you after the event along with your brevet card. Or as in my case, the thieving bastard posty will think it's a pound coin and rip a hole in the envelope.;)
 

Greenbank

Über Member
_Ben_ said:
ok i found the awards page... it keeps talking about 'seasons' - what defines thesE?

A season is 1st Nov to 31st October.

The first awards you might want to aim for are the Brevet 500 (5 * 100km or 150km Audaxes in a season).

Or, if you're happy doing 200km rides then the Brevet 1000 (which can be got with either 10 * 100km or 5 * 200km Audaxes in one season).

The Brevet series of awards tend to push you to do more of the same events as they are sort of cumulative distance awards.

Or the Randonneur Series which will push you to do longer and longer events. The Randonneur 500 is a 50km, 100km, 150km and then a 200km Audax in one season.

The Randonneur 1000 pushes you a bit further and requires a 300km Audax.

The Super Randonneur award requires a 200, 300, 400 and 600km Audax in one season. About 300 people a year do this.

Remember, the awards are there to encourage you to do more or go further, they aren't a requirement and no-one will look at you snootily if you only decide to only ever do 100km audaxes (although if you do 4 or 5 I bet you'll consider doing a 150km Audax).
 
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bonj2

Guest
so do you always get somewhere to sleep on 400 and 600s? i.e. is the finish time the next day from the start time...
oh and do you have to be a member of auk to get the awards
 
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bonj2

Guest
Greenbank said:
Remember, the awards are there to encourage you to do more or go further, they aren't a requirement and no-one will look at you snootily if you only decide to only ever do 100km audaxes (although if you do 4 or 5 I bet you'll consider doing a 150km Audax).
i've already entered 5! ;)
in feb and march...so if i do those i'll have the 500 badge already...
 

Greenbank

Über Member
_Ben_ said:
so do you always get somewhere to sleep on 400 and 600s? i.e. is the finish time the next day from the start time...

Depends on the ride.

Some long rides provide nothing (usually the "barebones" events shown by an X on the calendar entry), and it's up to you what to do. The Border Raid 600 is like this but there's usually a recommendation or a cunning plan. I never got as far as Johnstonbridge (380km or so in) on the Border Raid but most people get a few hours sleep in the Travelodge there before starting out again.

Some rides return to the start location at about 400km so you can catch a few hours kip either on not much more than a wooden floor or what you brought with you to sleep on. It's surprisingly easy to sleep on a cold hard floor when you've been cycling for 20 hours.

One ride (the Bryan Chapman Memorial 600) has control at 400km in a Youth Hostel so there's the option of beds (as long as they aren't all gone) and showers/etc.

On the Severn Across 400 the control at 300km is at Membury Services and I had a lovely 45 minute rest (but only 10 minutes sleep) on the carpet of the cafe upstairs. You'd be surprised how accomodating the 24hour places are when they aren't busy. As long as you buy something from them they don't really care what you do.

oh and do you have to be a member of auk to get the awards
Yes.

If you do a couple of rides before joining you can ask for the ones ridden as a non-member to be attributed to you, but it's best to join and let the organisers (of any rides you've already entered) know your membership nos as soon as you get it.
 

Randochap

Senior hunter
We properly call them randonnees here, but our brevets (which translates as "certificate") are sanctioned under Audax Club Parisien, like all official events.

A "populaire" is an introductory event (shorter than the official starting category of 200 kilometres, which begins a "basic series.") Completing a basic series (200,300,400,600) in a season, leads to a Super Randonneur medal from ACP.

Medals are awarded for individual events, either from ACP, or clubs can award their own, as does my club, BC Randonneurs, which was a founding member in 1983, of Randonneur Mondiaux, an umbrella group for randonneur clubs and organizations worldwide.As you know, AUK is the main organizing body in UK.

Our first populaire of the year, on March 29, is in the capital of BC -- the Victoria Populaire. It has 50 and 100 km options.

Find out more about the sport here.
 
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bonj2

Guest
ACP, that reminds me - onthe AUK membership form it has a question:
"ACP choice: AUK, Club, or CTC"
I'm not in any cycling club but am a CTC member, so what should I put here?

and there's also a question "CTC: <text box>" - in the text box should i just put my CTC membership number?
 

Greenbank

Über Member
_Ben_ said:
ACP, that reminds me - onthe AUK membership form it has a question:
"ACP choice: AUK, Club, or CTC"
I'm not in any cycling club but am a CTC member, so what should I put here?

and there's also a question "CTC: <text box>" - in the text box should i just put my CTC membership number?

Answering in reverse order:-

For the "CTC:" question, put in the name of your local District Association. For me (in SW15) this is "SW London DA". If you don't know it don't worry about it.

AUK don't need to know if you're a member of CTC or not, but they keep track of points per CTC DA for fun.

The "ACP choice" question is even more bizarre, it's asking whether you want any ACP accredited rides (so only BRM events, not BP or BR events) to be attributed towards your local cycling club (again, there's no requirement for you to be a member of any specific cycling club), CTC DA or default to AUK.

I had no idea what these two boxes meant when I applied so I just left them blank. Once you join you can change them (except within the final 3 months of the season or so) online.
 
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