RANDONNEURING BASICS II: The Ringmasters of Randonneuring- ACP, LRM, AIR & The Clubs of India

Welcome to Round 2 of getting acquainted with Randonneuring!

As the title suggests, this post is all about the machinery behind the sport, about the ones that make it happen! Here's what you will learn: i) Who are the "organisations" that are administering & conducting Randonneuring, in various capacities, at different levels - Worldwide & in India? ii) and How does a 'participant of the sport' thus become "affiliated" with these "organisations"?

A hierarchical representation of the Randonneuring Organisations

The answer to the first question lies in the flowchart above. Scroll back up and take a good look at it. What you see here are logos of the clubs/organisations running the sport (Ringmasters of Randonneuring indeed!), represented in the order of their hierarchy. Now for the sake of explanation, I have broadly divided them into 2 categories: i) Authorities ii) Organisers The "Authorities" are the clubs/organisations which are in-charge! They are the rule-makers: responsible for governing, sanctioning and remotely supervising Randonneuring events. They may/may not be "Organisers" too. The "Organisers" on the other hand, are clubs that are conducting those sanctioned events at the ground level, in keeping with the rules set by the "Authorities" with their official permission. The Authorities & Organisers thus work hand-in-hand and share the common goal of - championing the sport of Randonneuring and ensuring it's smooth and proper conduct, be it anywhere in the world. It's time now to start unfolding the identities of those clubs/organisations - to decipher which category they fall into (Authority or Organiser) and also learn a little more about each one's roles and responsibilities.

1. Introducing first from the top - the Kingpin of the Game:

AUDAX CLUB PARISIEN (ACP) Est 1904

(Category → Authority + Organiser)

Audax Club Parisien is the inventor, rule-maker, top authority, head administrator, an organiser, global accreditor, the first & oldest player, as well as the pivotman of this sport! Phew! Wears too many hats this one!

ACP : (Head)Man of Many Roles!

Let me break it down for you-

i) ACP is The OG of Randonneuring! → (Inventor + Rule-maker)

Formed in 1904 in Paris, France (and still headquartered there!), Audax Club Parisien is the cycling club that gave birth to the sport as we know it today. That's right- Randonneuring is of French origin (most of you probably figured!), initiated by ACP in 1921. The rules of the sport which were set at the time, have little changed since then.

1921 AD - Hallelujah moment indeed! The ACP(Rafiki) introduces Randonneuring(Simba) to the World! 😁

ii) ACP is An Organiser → (the first & oldest player still in the game!)

Having invented the sport, ACP further inaugurated it- by orchestrating the first Randonneuring event ever in the same year (1921). From then to now, the active cycling club has never ceased to play host - conducting various rides/events in it's region. In fact it is the ACP, that organises the 1200 km Paris Brest Paris (PBP) - the most famous & prestigious Randonneuring event (popularly known as the Mecca of Randonneuring), every four years - which sees enormous international participation!

Proud organiser of the PBP - the Mecca of Randonneuring Claim to fame → (Arguably) The oldest cycling challenge still running!

iii) ACP is The Commander-in-Chief →

(Top Authority + Head Administrator + Global Accreditor)

Since the start, ACP continues to hold the reins of the sport. It is the international governing body and official sanctioning authority for Randonneuring events & clubs/organisations worldwide. What this essentially means is that:

Any official Randonneuring event, happening anywhere in the world can only go through with the ACP's blessing!

&

Every Randonneuring organisation/club conducting the sport, be it in any part of the world, must be mandatorily ACP accredited to be considered valid.

Therefore every organisation that you will read or see from here on in this post, is an ACP-accredited one! 😊

To put it simply, ACP is the guy who calls the shots in this sport!

EVERY EVENT/CLUB/RULE ETC. must be ACP accredited. Period.

ACP (Sir Didymus) laying the facts straight 😁 It always has the last word in every aspect of the sport!

iv) ACP is The Mothership → (Pivotman)

From it's origins in France, Randonneuring has made it's way to different parts of the world. The ACP monitors the sport in each and every one of those regions, through it's accredited organisations placed there. Therefore, much like a Mothership (in a sense!) ACP is ever involved, even from a distance - sanctioning events and supervising those organisations- to promote, regulate and conduct the sport globally. Infact ACP registers each and every Randonneuring event held around the world, keeping a record- as the conducting organisation/club mandatorily reports back to it, relaying the data on. ACP Website : http://www.audax-club-parisien.com/EN/

The All-Seeing, All-Powering Eye of THE MOTHERSHIP : Audax Club Parisien Sanctioning & supervising the sport worldwide, with the mantra- "PROMOTE, CONDUCT, REGULATE, RECORD, REPEAT"

UP NEXT ON THE HIERARCHY CHART 2. Taking the sport worldwide & sanctioning 1200km+ rides:

LES RANDONNEURS MONDIAUX (LRM) Est. 1983

(Category → Authority)

As mentioned above "Les Randonneurs Mondiaux" has 2 main roles. Let us know more about this organisation and it's purpose.

LRM : Double Role

i) LRM is an International Randonneuring Organisation taking the sport worldwide LRM was created by ACP as an "international association of cycling organisations"- to delegate the task of promulgating & conducting the sport, around the world.

It is an umbrella organisation made up of international members/representatives. These representatives are basically the ACP accredited "national" randonneuring organisations/leagues of the countries where the sport is practised, who are responsible for the sport overall in their respective countries. Formed in 1983 with representatives of 8 founding countries, LRM today has grown manyfold in terms of it's members, with several countries joining the Randonneuring bandwagon! (By my count, 67 representatives/members today!)

LRM: An Umbrella Organisation consisting of "national" Randonneuring leagues/organisations as representatives of their respective countries.

Names of some"national" randonneuring organisations/leagues whose

logos are pictured above, mentioned with their countries alongside.

ii) LRM is the 1200km+ Sanctioning Authority Another most important responsibility that lies with the LRM is that of validating rides that are 1200km and above (except PBP which is validated by ACP itself). LRM is therefore the "ACP appointed-worldwide sanctioning authority" to accredit events of these distances, in keeping with the same rules of the sport -as set by ACP. Therefore:

200km - 1000km: accredited by ACP directly 1200km and above: accredited by LRM (- appointed by ACP)

LRM Website : http://www.randonneursmondiaux.org/

LRM - Sanctioning "1200km & above" rides, since 1983

3. Thus 'ACP' & 'LRM' are the only recognised sanctioning authorities for:

RANDONNEURING WORLDWIDE

( Organisations in these countries → Authority + Organiser)

The Randonneuring Nations

Each country has an ACP accredited "national" randonneuring organisation which is the 'main-body-incharge' of the sport within its territory (Logos of which are displayed in the LRM Umbrella Organisation photo above). Also as we just learnt, these organisations become automatic members of LRM.

4. India's "national" randonneuring organisation is:

AUDAX INDIA RANDONNEURS (AIR) Est. 2010

(Category → Authority)

Ah! So we have finally arrived at Randonneuring in India! Although it is a lesser known sport here, this is slowly changing, and it is the Audax India Randonneurs(AIR) that is responsible for the satisfying trend! Here's AIR at a glimpse - i) AIR is the "National" Randonneuring Body-in-Charge, a member of LRM Authorised by ACP to administer Randonneuring in India, Audax India Randonneurs was formed in 2010, when the sport made it's way here. As India's "national" randonneuring organisation, and so also a member of LRM, it represents and is responsible for the sport overall in our country. The AIR office is headquartered at Pune in Maharashtra. ii) AIR is An Umbrella Organisation Similar to LRM, AIR too is an umbrella organisation at the country level. Meaning that it consists of several ACP accredited cycling clubs/organisations across India, that have volunteered to conduct the sport in their particular regions. AIR is the "Authority", monitoring those "Organiser" clubs. AIR doesn't conduct any Randonneuring events directly but through those clubs (unlike ACP in France which is the "national"club as well as an independent organiser!)

(Refer to "5. Authorised Clubs of India" below, to see the clubs that form part of AIR) iii) AIR is Spearheading Randonneuring in India AIR is responsible for promoting & encouraging Randonneuring in India by:

regulating and administering ACP & LRM accredited rides,
through the various certified "voluntary organisations/cycling clubs",
that conduct them in different cities across the country.

iv) AIR Event Calendar The tentative calendar of the upcoming rides (to be conducted by every club), is put up each season on the AIR website and participants can thus plan their rides in advance. A Randonneuring season(term) is from November until October. Below is an example:

Screenshot of "AIR Event Calendar 2019-2020", of a few cities listed with clubs responsible. It mentions the date & distance of the upcoming/held event

(e.g. in "2 - 200", 2 is the date & 200km the distance)

v) AIR is The pathway to Randonneuring in India. To participate in the above rides/get initiated into the sport, you must first register yourself on the AIR website. That process deserves a whole new blogpost - will work on it and share soon!

"Namaste! Welcome to Randonneuring", says AIR 😊 Log in to start your journey now: AIR Website : https://www.audaxindia.org

5. The AIR conducts the sport across the country through the:

AUTHORISED CLUBS/ORGANISATIONS OF INDIA

(Category → Organisers)

These are the cycling clubs/organisations, that have been authorised by AIR and ACP, to voluntarily conduct the sport in their respective parts of the country. If you are interested in Randonneuring, do look out for one of these in your region. You can even join the same cycling club as a "member" for an enhanced Randonneuring experience, but this is not mandatory. As the randonneuring community is ever-increasing in India, so are these organiser clubs in different parts of the country. Have a look!

Authorised & Running! - The myriad clubs in India for Randonneuring

So there you have it- the gist of those clubs/organisations that are enabling this great sport worldwide, right down to India- elaborated, explained and checked off! And now moving to the next & last question - ii) How does a participant become affiliated with these clubs? Let's find out -

YOUR CLUB LEGACY

(Not a real term guys! Using it for the sake of explanation 😊)

As a participant of this sport, after you have registered on the AIR Website (For Indians in India), you become affiliated with the ACP & AIR in auto. Thereafter you may either choose to be: i) a member of a Randonneuring club (from the ones you see in the above picture) ii) a member of any other unaccredited cycling club in India, or iii) Independent India- which is AIR lingo for a "Solo rider" Your Randonneuring club legacy (or club affiliations) then includes : ACP - The main guy, AIR - Your country rep, and Your chosen cycling club/s.

Here I am flaunting mine!

Club Goals : Proud to be Associated!

Aaaaand we're done for the day! I must admit putting this post together, so that I could make it as clear as possible, took me some time! I really hope it helps you in understanding a little more about Randonneuring with great ease - that was the goal anyway! If you are at all interested or have any doubts on the subject, do drop me a line :) In my next post I introduce you to a Randonneuring Glossary- to learn about the specific terms used in this cycling sport- A must-know before we move onto anything else!