Interesting reading, thanks.
So, leaving PBP qualification aside, to the people that say "it's important but only for me and not anyone else", would you be happy to just:
* be sent a brevet card in the post with your route sheet
* told what points you would get if/when you complete the ride
* record the points total in a spreadsheet which you are sent on membership of AUK which just sits on your own computer (or even paper in a drawer)?
In other words, are you happy not to prove you've done the ride to anyone else but yourself.
Just to make it clear i'm not criticizing anybody's attitudes or reasons for want of validation for any reason, I'm just curious really. I got thinking about it while on the BCM, and just sort of started asking myself what *my* attitudes to validation are, and I haven't really come to an answer yet.