[GRRiders] 2001 Replay16 - [UC] stopping with 15 blocks?

[Dusel, Peter W]

Note: Sent time below is EDT!
 
-----Original Message-----
From: Bill_Bryant at prodigy.net [mailto:Bill_Bryant at prodigy.net] 
Sent: Saturday, July 14, 2001 1:43 PM
To: goldrushinfo at davisbikeclub.org
Cc: ultra; randon; dbc; Clarityink at aol.com
Subject: Re: [UC] stopping with 15 blocks?


The answer is obvious: 
Michael Lau is a true randonneur and understands that a randonnee is NOT
a competitive event. One is free to stop as s/he sees fit, so long as
they stay withing the time limits. Sounds to me like after cycling so
long w/o any sleep, he sensibly wanted to get a little rest along the
way.   ;-) 

Seriously, riding a randonnee fast is fine, but it is for personal, not
competitive reasons.  Article 12 of the Regulations of the Randonneurs
Mondiaux clearly states: "These brevets are not competive events, so
rider classifications are not to made." All this Joe Goldrush business
of announcing "we have a winner", or "so and so is in X place" is
someone trying to turn the randonnee into a race. FYI, the distinction
is important: The French word for "race" is "course", but a "randonnee"
means to go on an outing or ramble by bike or on foot. This event is the
"Gold Rush Randonnee", run under the sanction and rules of the
Randonneurs Mondiaux. It is not the "Gold Rush Race", a competitive race
like RAAM. This randonnee vs race business is a case of "apples and
oranges"--the two things might appear somewhat similar at first glance,
but they are also very different at the same time. Unlike a race, which
by definition must have a winner and some also-rans, the front-runners
in a randonnee do not "defeat" their fellow randonneurs, they only  ride
the event more swiftly.  Hats off to Keith Fraser for an outstanding
accomplishment, but the same also goes to each and every one of his
fellow entrants who successfully completed the ride inside 90
hours--they were outstanding too! If you could see the determination of
Craig Wilson, sprinting to reach the finish line late in the 88th hour
with a bad case of Shermer neck for over 600kms, then isn't he similarly
impressive? Was he "defeated" by the "winner" Keith Fraser?  I hope
folks like Joe will see how the choice of words IS important when
describing a randonnee and its riders' performances. 

As long as Michael Lau turns his card in at the finish before the final
closing time, he is an official finisher and gets the same special GRR
jersey and medal as any other entrant who completes the event, albeit
more slowly. This is in keeping with the strong randonneur tradition of
camarderie. That is also why most randonneur events list their finishers
alphabetically, not by arrival time (some don't even list the riders'
times). Curiously, the Gold Rush plans to list the riders alphabetically
too, so I think Joe Goldrush is getting a little carried away. Please
forgive him; a very hard-working guy with lots of enthusiasm and
dedication, he's trapped at event HQ and only gets event info
electronically and this tends to be rider arrival times, etc. By
comparison, I've just spent the entire GRR working control points along
the route or driving sag, and got to see if first-hand. While signing
brevet cards, pumping tires, or making sandwiches, I've gotten to chat
with and observe virtually all the entrants. The warmth and camaraderie
among all of them, no matter their speed, was truly heart-warming and
will give wonderful memories. Especially noteworthy was they way they
encouraged each othe along, even slowing down at times to be helpful.
They know randonneuring is all about wholesome participation and
finishing the ride, not competition. 

BTW, the DBC workers at each and every control point, along with all the
sag drivers, were absolutely FABULOUS!! What a dedicated, talented crew
of folks; they gave 100% effort to helping the determined randonneurs
and randonneuses chase their dream. Three cheers to all the event
workers and riders! 

Bill Bryant 
Gold Rush Executive Committee 
Davis Bike Club 
Vice-Presidient, Randonneurs USA 
  
  

Gold Rush Info wrote: 

	Hello Michele, We wish we knew too.  Ken Bonner, the 4th place
finisher, is at the same motel and said he'd tell Michael to ride over
to the finish and sign in soon. Joe  

		----- Original Message -----
		From: Clarityink at aol.com
		To: GRRinfo at davisbikeclub.org
		Sent: Thursday, July 12, 2001 10:38 AM
		Subject: stopping with 15 blocks?
		 Could you shed some light for your non-competing
audience on WHY Michael Lau 
		would not have wanted his completion time recorded along
with Keith Fraser? 
		My family has come up with several scenarios...but only
one seems reasonable. 
		      Keith "needed" the win as some kind of qualifyer
for future races? 
		Though, I am certain there is little reason left after
60 hours on a bike... 
		Thanks again, for your fine work. 

		Michele Guttenberg 
		 

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