Pennsylvania Randonneurs

Pennsylvania Randonneurs

Organizing long distance, endurance bicycle events in the Eastern Pennsylvania region.

Randonneurs USA

Emergencies & Inclement Weather

Randonneuring takes place outdoors, over long distances, and in changing conditions. Rain, heat, cold, wind, darkness, mechanical problems, and unexpected road conditions are normal parts of long-distance cycling. At the same time, organizers should be prepared to respond when conditions go beyond the ordinary challenges of a brevet and create a significant safety concern.

The goal is not to eliminate every risk or make decisions for riders. Riders remain responsible for assessing their own abilities and deciding whether it is safe for them to start or continue. The organizer's responsibility is to provide accurate information, respond appropriately to known hazards, and take action when circumstances affect the safe and reasonable operation of the event.

In an Emergency

For an immediate or life-threatening emergency, call 911 first.

Do not delay emergency assistance while attempting to contact the RBA or another PA Randonneurs representative.

Examples may include:

Once the immediate situation is being addressed, notify the RBA as soon as practical.

Rider Emergencies

Riders are expected to be self-sufficient and should carry the equipment, identification, money/payment methods, navigation tools, and supplies necessary to manage ordinary problems during a brevet.

An organizer is not expected to provide roadside assistance or transportation for riders who abandon.

However, organizers should use reasonable judgment when a rider's situation involves a genuine safety concern. The priority should always be the person's well-being rather than brevet completion.

If a rider abandons, riders must notify the organizer so that everyone can be accounted for. The organizer’s phone number is listed on the back of the brevet cards for this purpose. (The website automatically adds the phone number based on the listed organizer.)

Crashes and Serious Incidents

If you learn that a rider has been involved in a significant crash:

  1. 1. Determine whether emergency services have been contacted or are needed.
  2. 2. Focus first on the rider's immediate safety.
  3. 3. Notify the RBA as soon as practical.
  4. 4. Record the basic facts of the incident while they are still fresh.
  5. 5. Preserve relevant information that may be needed for an incident report or follow-up.

Do not speculate about fault or make promises regarding insurance, liability, reimbursement, or other matters on behalf of PA Randonneurs or RUSA.

The RBA will coordinate any necessary follow-up or reporting after the immediate situation has been addressed.

See RUSA’s Incident Reporting page for more information. The RBA should handle reporting any incident, but if for any reason that is not possible, the organizer should submit a report in a timely manner.

Inclement Weather

Bad weather alone does not necessarily mean a brevet should be canceled.

Randonneuring traditionally requires riders to deal with changing and sometimes difficult conditions. Rain, ordinary summer heat, cold temperatures, and moderate winds may make an event more challenging without making it unreasonable to hold.

Organizers and the RBA should become more concerned when forecasts or actual conditions indicate a significant or unusual threat to rider safety.

Examples include:

There is no single weather threshold that automatically determines whether every brevet should proceed. Distance, route, terrain, available services, time of day, and the ability of riders to seek shelter should all be considered.

Monitoring the Forecast

In the days before an event, organizers should monitor the forecast for the areas through which the route travels.

For longer brevets, remember that conditions at the start may be very different from conditions 100 or 200 miles away or many hours later.

When potentially significant weather is forecast, communicate with the RBA early. It is better to begin discussing possible options before a decision becomes urgent.

Organizers should continue monitoring changing conditions during the event when significant weather is possible.

Cancellation, Postponement, or Modification

The RBA is responsible for making or approving major decisions regarding whether a sanctioned event will be:

Whenever practical, the organizer and RBA should discuss the situation together.

Factors to consider include:

When there is reasonable uncertainty, decisions should favor rider safety.

Weather During an Event

Conditions can deteriorate after a brevet has already begun.

If dangerous conditions develop during the event, organizers should communicate relevant information to riders as quickly as reasonably possible. Depending on the circumstances, riders may be advised to seek shelter, avoid a particular road, use an emergency reroute, or wait for conditions to improve.

Riders should never feel that remaining within the brevet time limit is more important than their immediate safety.

Seeking shelter from a thunderstorm, stopping because of dangerous heat, or abandoning because conditions exceed a rider's abilities is always preferable to taking an unreasonable risk simply to finish.

Any situation that may affect the official status or timing of the brevet should be discussed with the RBA.

Air Quality

Air quality should be treated as an environmental hazard just as severe heat or storms would be.

When wildfire smoke or other pollution is expected, organizers should monitor the Air Quality Index (AQI) along the route, paying particular attention to forecasts for prolonged or strenuous outdoor activity.

The decision should consider not only the AQI number but also:

Because brevet riders may spend many hours exercising outdoors, conditions that might be tolerable for ordinary daily activity may warrant greater caution during an endurance event.

Extreme Heat

Heat risk depends on more than temperature alone. Humidity, direct sunlight, route exposure, climbing, distance, available water, and the duration of the event all matter.

When unusually hot conditions are expected, consider:

Organizers should not assume that experienced riders are immune to heat illness.

Communication With Riders

When significant weather or another hazard is expected, provide riders with useful information without exaggerating or minimizing the risk.

A pre-event message might include:

If an event is postponed, canceled, or significantly modified, communicate the decision through the normal event communication channels as quickly as possible.

If You Cannot Reach the RBA

For an urgent event-management issue, first attempt to contact the RBA.

For an immediate safety emergency, act first. Contact emergency services when necessary and make the best reasonable decision based on the information available. Notify the RBA afterward.

Documenting an Incident

After a significant emergency or unusual event, organizers should provide the RBA with a brief written summary.

Include:

The purpose is not to assign blame. Documentation helps PA Randonneurs complete any required reporting and learn from the incident.

Guiding Principle

Safety takes priority over brevet completion.

Randonneuring requires independence, resilience, and the willingness to ride through imperfect conditions. Organizers do not need to cancel an event simply because the forecast is unpleasant, nor are they responsible for eliminating the inherent risks of long-distance cycling.

At the same time, preserving the spirit of self-sufficiency does not require ignoring unreasonable hazards.

When circumstances become genuinely dangerous, organizers should communicate clearly, use good judgment, involve the RBA when possible, and act decisively when immediate safety requires it.

Pennsylvania Randonneurs Organizer Manual