Randonnees are long-distance cycling events that challenge the rider against the clock. There are no winners per se in randonnees — the rider who finishes with the fastest time is given the same kudos as the one who finishes one second inside the time limit. At least, that is supposed to be how it works, although this philosophy, sadly, is slowly being eroded as the win-at-all-cost attitude permeates the scene.

Randonnees are usually organised to be difficult events. They may include steep climbs through the route. The route may comprise continuous rollers that become monotonous and challenge the mental capacity to keep going. They may be flat and long, where boredom become a significant factor along with natural elements such as wind. Randonnees also seem to attract difficult weather patterns with temperatures variations that can range from below zero to above 30 deg C. Rain and wind also seem to be prerequisites. It could be said the randonnees are the ultimate in cycling challenges because of all these qualities.

I am not particularly fast, but I enjoy randonnees for the challenges in the need to finely organised oneself to succeed. I also participate in randonnees because they are opportunities to ride in and see places where I might not normally go, and to visit countries that I might not otherwise visit.

The premiere event on the randonnee calendar is Paris-Brest-Paris, a 1200km event held every four years that has more than 4,000 participants. It's original iteration in the late 19th Century was the inspiration for the modern Olympic Games and the Tour de France cycling race. I participated in PBP 2003 and I am excitedly looking forward to participating again in 2007.

My curriculum vitae of events at right is slowly but surely growing and I have now completed three international 1200 randonnees, two 1000 events, several 600s, 400s, 300s and 200s. I have written articles about the ones that show links in the list.

As part of my training for these events, I also have participated in two challenges that involve riding imperial centuries (or 100 mile rides). One involves riding at least a century a month, which is self-explanatory. The other enables as many centuries as the participant wishes to ride in a calendar year, but as they are compiled the rider moves to new levels of recognition. Multiple centuries within events such as 400, 600, 1000 and 1200 randonnees count. I have participated in both challenges in 2004, 2005 and 2006.

This section of my website contains some additional information on how I approach my long-distance riding. As I say, I am not particularly fast or brilliant at it — workmanlike is probably a good description. But I am comfortable and I generally enjoy riding them. I hope my tips help you to enjoy your riding at whatever distance, too.