Cyclos Montagnards
Cyclos Montagnards
The Cyclos Montagnards celebrate mid-century randonneurs and proto-bikepackers whose spirited adventures inspire us. They explored little-known mountain passes all over Europe and beyond. They challenged themselves in brevets and solo rides like the Raid Pyrénéen or the Diagonales (rides linking the corners of France). They loved pushing their limits, and they had a lot of fun in the process.
In the 1940s, Paul Charrel, builder of rando bikes and avid randonneur, set himself the challenge to ride from his hometown of Lyon to the top of Mont Ventoux and back—a distance of 516 km (321 miles)—in 24 hours. He attempted his challenge no fewer than six times. Each time he was foiled by the powerful Mistral winds in the Rhone valley and the loose gravel on the climb itself. Charrel also devised other challenges, like riding from Lyon to Chamonix, at the foot of Mont Blanc, Europe’s highest mountain—465 km in the mountains—in less than 24 hours. With his friend Thollon, they succeeded in their second attempt.
The Cyclos Montagnards Challenge
“The Ultimate Cycling Challenge”
—Fifty Places to Bike Before You Die
When we read this story in Raymond Henry’s Bicycle Quarterly article about Charrel (BQ 30), our immediate thought was: “We need to try something like this.” Thus was born the Cyclos Montagnards Challenge: To ride from Seattle to the highest (paved) roads on Loowit (Mount St. Helens) and Tahoma (Mount Rainier) and back in 24 hours—a ride of 530 km (330 miles). Ryan H, Mark VdK and Jan set out in 2009 on a ride they’ll remember. Seeing the sun rise on the crater of Loowit after riding all night was a high point. They made it back to the start point, a café in the Leschi neighborhood of Seattle, with 21 minutes to spare. Since almost 24 hours had elapsed, they were greeted by the same barista. “Did you ride your bike all that time since I last saw you?” he asked incredulously. The full story of that ride is here.
To share this incredible adventure, we decided to offer our Cyclos Montagnards Challenge to all riders, with three levels:
Gold: 24 Hours
Silver: 36 Hours
Bronze: 48 Hours
Riders choose their own route between the start point (Starbucks in Leschi/Seattle) and the waypoints of Windy Ridge on Loowit (Mount St. Helens) and Sunrise on Tahoma (Mount Rainier) and back. Upon completing the challenge, we will post their names on the Cyclos Montagnards Rules and Results page. Please also check that page if you’re planning to ride this challenge.
R80/R70/R60 Honors
Today, RUSA offers many distance awards, but the only performance-oriented challenge is the Société Charly Miller, open to any U.S. randonneur who completes Paris-Brest-Paris in less than 56:45 hours—the time of the first American, Charly Miller, who rode PBP in 1901, when it was a professional race. This challenge is popular, but it can only be attempted every four years and requires traveling to France.
To offer similar opportunities closer to home, the Cyclos Montagnards have created the R80/R70/R60 Honors. The idea is simple: Complete all four brevets of a series (200, 300, 400, 600 km) in 80% of the allotted time limit to obtain the R80 Honor. Ditto for R70 (70%) and R60 (60%). R60 is roughly equivalent to a ‘Charly Miller Time’ in Paris-Brest-Paris. In the non-competitive spirit of randonneuring, these awards are available to anyone. Obtaining them encourages teamwork. Riders who work together toward a common objective, rather than ride against each other, increase their chances at success. That’s what separates randonneuring from racing, where only one rider can win the race.
Riders may use brevets from two consecutive years to qualify. For more information on how to submit your results, check the R80/R70/R60 Rules and Results. This is also where your results will be posted once they’ve been verified.
Disclaimer: Cyclos Montagnards are not associated with Randonneurs USA. Cyclos Montagnards challenges are not organized events. Every rider rides on their own, at their own risk, and takes full and complete responsibility for safety and adherence to local laws and regulations. Rene Herse Cycles, its owners, employees and contributors do not accept liability nor legal responsibility for any contents of these pages.
