Permanents Update #1- January '09
by Tracy Barill & Bob Koen

Three months ago, on the cusp of its annual general meeting (AGM), the BC Randonneurs Cycling Club began a Permanent Brevet program. Before a week had passed, seven cyclists completed Permanent Brevets "Permanents" on Vancouver Island, the Fraser Valley and Washington State. Within the next two weeks, over 4500 km of Permanents were successfully completed. While very impressive, Ken Bonner contributed almost half this distance with his first Permanent - Route #4 The Ultimate Island Explorer for 2008 km (see Ken's Ulitimate Permanent Story). Dave MacMurchie successfully completed the inaugural Permanent over roads of southern Vancouver Island on October 11th.

Meanwhile, Alex Pope organized and completed the first 300k Permanent along with Stuart Wood. Eric Ferguson couldn't get enough of Route #19, Sasquatch 200, completing it four times in a fortnight. Prompted by a request from Susan Barr to organize an out-of-country Permanent in Hawaii - Why not? - Barry Chase and Tracy Barill combined a trip to California for the Borrego Double Ordeal Double Century ride with a very flat and dry Permanent #23 Palm Springs to Bombay (along the Salton Sea). Ken Bonner (his fifth Peninsula 300km Permanent in two weeks) and Eric Fergusson (the Tour of Greater Vancouver) completed the last Permanents for 2008 on December 11th - just before the snow began.

All in all, twenty club members took part in 58 Permanents for 13000 km of cycling in two months (December proved to be a show stopper about midway in due to abundant snow in all regions of BC). A wellspring of 25 new and modified routes complemented the submitted established routes from previous brevets to form a list of 36 Permanents. New routes are added each week.

The quest for completing at least one Permanent or ACP Brevet monthly for 12 consecutive months was interrupted for some in December while Ken Bonner, Eric Fergusson and Stuart Wood are already three months along. Some members are setting their sights on a calendar year quest starting as soon as the roads are passable. The name for the award for this 12 month accomplishment is expected with the next Executive meeting in early January. Members can begin the trek for this award - it's all about the pin : ) - at any time. The 12 month pins will be awarded twice annually at the Fall AGM and the Spring Social.

Our thanks go to Eric Fergusson for developing and managing the Permanents pages of the BCRCC website. It already sports a comprehensive account of the Permanent program, its routes, results, and reports. Eric has committed a considerable amount of time and effort in the Permanents section.

We do have some kinks to iron out. The first number of months of the Permanents program is truly a "work in progress" as we establish a workable system and an agreed set of rules. A database was created to track verified Permanents.

From all accounts, the Permanent program is off to a great start. Thanks go to all the members who have taken part in the Permanents thus far. Thank you for the route submissions, the ongoing feedback, the post-ride reports and the camaraderie during the rides. The flexibility of the Permanents program allows for endless opportunities in 2009. We look forward to what this next year has in store.

Contact us if you want to know more, to submit a route or to confirm a Permanent date and time.

Tracy Barill & Bob Koen
Co-coordinators of the Permanents Brevet Program

Go to: Permanent Routes - Results

January 11, 2009