While I don’t think any of our regular contributors on the blog are Randonneurs (someone who has completed at least one official club brevet of 200 km or greater) we sure have written about it over the years.
11 years ago Sam wrote:
Ultra-distance cycling: I’m in awe but not tempted
And then over the past couple years:
Sam wrote Still not tempted
And I wrote about supporting a 1,000 km brevet
And uh. Sam, Cate and a few others have been wondering, is 2025 the year to get into Randonneuring?
That first 200 km ride is a big milestone. It can feel like a big stretch from a metric (100km) or imperial (160km) century ride.
But maybe you too are “Rando Curious”.
I have great news! Your local Randonneur club likely has shorter distance rides called “populaires”. I think of them as popular for the people!
There are some better explanations on this amazing cycling YouTube channel by Randonneur Regan Arendse. He interviews my friend Randonneur Fred Chagnon and American Randonneur Joshua Haley
What I love about my local club, Randonneurs Ontario is that nearly every 200 km and longer brevet in 2025 has a Populaire distance ride paired with it.
It’s a great way to sample the sport, meet the humans and see what self supported rides can look like.
I completed a 100 km Populaire last year at the Railway City 200 km brevet. It was humbling so I didn’t go for a 200 km later in the season. I didn’t have the legs for it.
This year I’m volunteering at Railway City on August 9. The 200km is a figure 8 shape and the 100 km Populaire is the eastern lobe. It’s relatively flat and late enough in the season to find your legs. You can get the details Here
My current plan is to sign up for the women’s brevet hosted by the Toronto chapter on Saturday Sep 20. You can find details Here
So if you want to get a taste of the kind of riding the club offers I hope you will give a Populaire a try!
