Given the rotten weather that dogged most cyclists early this season (up until early June!) it would have been pretty easy to assume that it was going to be a quiet year for Minnesota Randonneurs. Longer rides in particular are a lot harder in cold, wet weather and that’s what the forecast was delivering – early on the weather was predicted to be rough and it usually was.
Amazingly though, the total number of riders that rode our events increased by 36% this year over 2013, from 278 to 379. We added one more event than 2013 but our average # of riders went from 12.6 to 17.2 a nearly 5 more riders per event, which was a very nice surprise.
We’re not completely sure why more riders are coming out for our events, but some factors could be that we added eight new routes this year, several of them urban based so it was easier for riders to get to the ride start. It could also be that some riders are very comfortable with urban roads and trails.
The impact of Paris-Brest-Paris next year could be a factor too as riders interested in this world class event are getting their feet wet.
Finally, we have been very successful in bringing riders from out of state to our events, especially our longer riders. At our 600k event in September, we had riders from eight states, with a good number of them coming back several times to enjoy our company and the great Minnesota riding environment.
2015 Minnesota Randonneur Focus
There are several areas that we are focusing on in 2015. Next year will be a busy one for randonneur groups around the world, due to the Paris-Brest-Paris 1200k event being held in 2015. 7,000 riders from all over the world will converge on Paris in August to be part of one of the most famous long distance rides in the world, with a history dating back to 1890.
- To support riders preparing for Paris-Brest-Paris 2015 we are offering additional qualifier rides from April – June.
- We are also planning 4 gravel rides of 100-150k to appeal to younger riders and others that may have an interest in rides like the Almanzo and other long distance gravel events.
- Continue to encourage current TCBC members to try randonneuring by offering many shorter events (100-200k). Half of the 2015 calendar fit this criteria, not counting the gravel rides.
- Continue to emphasize safety, especially for night riding, and good preparation for long distance riding.
- Continue to utilize the roads and bike trails in and around the Twin Cities for some routes.