Some of my events are for the many, some the few. The latter being those I really like riding and evidently so do others.
When I test rode it I made it back in BRM time with a respectable 4.5hrs net kip; 5hrs gross including the drunken star gazing interlude...
Firstly, I really like the look of this route and would love to ride it, but the whole Audax UK points thing for Super Randonnées needs sorting out before I do another one.
The thing I like about the Super Randonnée format is that it is more inclusive, even at Randonneur level. The 60 hour Randonneur time limit might seem too easy to the elite few, but it is still a tough challenge for many Super Randonneurs, even those who have completed rides like PBP or LEL. One of my German friends is an example of this with multiple Super Randonneur series, PBPs and LEL finishes, yet it still took him three attempts to finish the Super Randonnée at Randonneur level that he needed to claim his ACP Randonneur 10000 award.
Also let's not forget that many of the overseas Super Randonnées are much more mountainous than the UK ones and therefore take longer.
I entered the Dolomites Super Randonnée in 2017 before any UK Super Randonnées were available, but I didn't start it until August 2018. Although I had 60 hours maximum, I really wanted to finish in BRM or at least BR time so I could continue my family holiday based in Riva del Garda. For me this meant riding virtually nonstop and carrying all my own food. It was much harder than expected and I only managed 15km/h average for the first 200km. My average dropped below 14.3km/h on the first night and I became concerned about finishing in 60hours, if at all. It turned out there was over 3000m more climbing than the 13000m advertised and the extra climbing meant I had to ride through a second full night but I eventually finished in time and claimed my ACP Randonneur 10000 award.
At that time only one UK rider, marcusjb OTP, had been credited with finishing a Super Randonnée on the Audax UK website and he had been given a well deserved 6 distance points and 15 AAA points for his very tough Super Randonnée in the Pyrenees as an Overseas 600km in 2013.
On returning home I contacted the AUK Recorder to claim my Super Randonnée as an Overseas 600km and expected to receive 6 distance points and at least 13 AAA points. On Strava the climbing was recorded as 16828m so I sent in my GPS track and was awarded 16 AAA points as well as initially 6 distance points. After a while though the distance points disappeared and when I queried this with the Recorder I was told that the Audax UK Board had decided that Super Randonnées would not be awarded any AUK points.
I was shocked and could understand this for Tourist level, but not Randonneur level so I passed on my concerns to the Recorder and he said he would discuss them with the Board. I didn't receive a direct response, but my distance points didn't come back and I later saw on yacf that the reasons for points not being awarded were: -
1. For a Super Randonnée 600km to be validated by ACP it can't count towards any other award than the ACP Randonneur 10,000 award.
2. The 60 hour maximum time limit for a Super Randonnée 600km at Randonneur level (10km/h) does not meet Audax UK standards.
I personally disagree with both reasons not to award the points and think that Audax UK should encourage members to ride Super Randonnées and work towards the ACP Randonneur 10000 award rather than discouraging them. Super Randonnées and the ACP Brevet 10000 award have become very popular worldwide, but so far not many Audax UK riders have participated and awarding the well deserved points would encourage more participation. From my experience Super Randonnées are not an easy option despite the extra time given.
1. The only lines in the Super Randonnée rules that vaguely relate to point 1 above are copied below.
The French Version of the Super Randonnée rules says: -
"Comme pour les autres organisations de l'Audax Club Parisien, la Super Randonnée n’est pas cumulable avec d'autres organisations.
Une Super Randonnée ne peut avoir lieu à la fois en même temps et sur le même parcours qu’un BRM de 600 km."
which Google Translates to: -
"As for the other organizations of the Audax Club Parisien, the Super Randonnée can not be combined with other organizations.
A Super Randonnée can not take place both at the same time and on the same course as a 600 km BRM."
This is different to what it says in the English Version of the rules: -
"A Super Randonnée cannot be counted as participation in, or as credit for another event held in conjunction with the Super Randonnée.
A Super Randonnée cannot be held both at the same time and on the same course as a BRM of 600 km."
Neither of the above versions prevent Audax UK points form being awarded for Super Randonnées. It just seems that participants in Super Randonnées, or any other ACP events (eg PBP) should not be participating in any other event at the same time and a Super Randonnée should not be done when a BRM of 600km is being held on the same route at the same time.
2. Super Randonnées are just hilly permanent rides that have over 10000m of climbing and are administered by Audax Club Parisienne.
Audax Club Parisienne have decided that the Randonneur time limit for Super Randonnées is 60 hours.
Audax UK give points for permanent rides at Randonneur level so should give the distance and AAA points for Super Randonnées.