Big news for Great Lakes Randonneurs

As many of you may know, there have been some real debates going on within RUSA lately.  Though it’s tempting to be gloomy, GLR has existed for a lot longer than RUSA has (about 10 years longer).  We plan on being around for a long time still.  When there are such debates, a lot of good can be done as we have an opportunity to ask what we can do better and perhaps question some of our sacred cows.  Feedback from last year's survey and a lot of discussions with individuals was a part of that process.

I am happy to report that Regina, Mike, Kingston and myself have come up with a plan to improve GLR and all our rides.  We think this opens up some new options for riders in our area.

There were a few things we wanted to accomplish

1. Preserve the ability for everyone to participate even if you are shy of 18
2. Provide a VERY inexpensive way for people to enter our sport before or without committing to a national organization like RUSA. We love RUSA, but we do understand that it isn’t for everyone immediately.
3. Really open up options for those that like to spend the day on their bikes
4. Make GLR membership something more valuable for members
5. Increase our ability to promote the health and vitality that comes with frequent exercise and give people some new goals to shoot for

To this end, Great Lakes Randonneurs will be providing non-RUSA riding options for distances of 200k and less.  These will be advertised on our website as Club Rides. 

GLR Club rides (a little different than RUSA rides)

1. You must be a current GLR member to ride them.
2. They are always free of charge (your $10/year GLR membership fee pays for them).
3. There is no time limit or brevet cards.  We won't provide a printed cue sheet, but will provide RWGPS routes and a link for you to print one yourself.
4. The route may need not be sanctioned by RUSA and can go anywhere we like.  There are no controls.
5. You will NOT receive RUSA credit for them however you will receive GLR credit for them (see below under perks - GLR will have its own mileage tracking).
6. Any GLR member will be able to schedule and ride a club ride (just like a normal bike club) and they can be any distance.
7. Those under 18 are free to sign up for and ride Club rides as long as a parent or guardian signs the waiver.
8. There is only ONE waiver for the year.  No paperwork at the start!  Just let us know you are at the start.

Changes to RUSA Rides

We are big fans and supporters of RUSA.  It's a great organization and we encourage people to join.  To that end, we are changing the way that we run our RUSA events slightly.

Starting this year:

1. You will need to be a full RUSA member to ride a GLR Brevet sanctioned by RUSA.  

This is following a trend that we see coming and it is possible that RUSA may start mandating this anyway.  If you want to do rides of more than 200k OR you want RUSA credit, you will need to have a valid RUSA membership to sign up for them - our new system will check this too!  For those of you who join RUSA, this means a VALID RUSA ID. FYI, the T number that they give you when you first sign up is NOT your RUSA ID.  RUSA will send it to you in an email after they validate your membership.  Do this plenty in advance!  It can take a few days.  Renew your RUSA membership early too - it expired on January 1.

2. Fees for RUSA Brevets will stay the same but you can get a discount if you are GLR member.

3. If the ride is 200k or under, there will be an option to ride it as a club ride and you need only be a GLR member. However, you will not be able to change your mind once you start and you will not receive any RUSA credit for it.

Perks of GLR Membership

While many of you have paid dues for being a GLR membership, we have never really pushed the advantages of doing so.  We want to make being a GLR member something that has value.

To this end, we are raising the cost from $5 a year to $10 a year.  This covers some new perks:

1. GLR will be using a new ride management tool customized for long distance riding and randonneuring that will track all mileage on any GLR ride (RUSA or not) for any GLR member (even if you are not in RUSA).  GLR will begin its own mileage tracking this year and may start offering its own awards.
2. GLR members can ride as many club rides as they like at no charge (RUSA rides will still have fees).
3. GLR members will receive a discount to any RUSA rides they do with GLR – this will replace the early bird discount that we have had in the past.
4. We are looking at a ride leader program (which will have some very basic requirements and are common sense). Once we work this out, any GLR member can become a ride master and schedule GLR Club rides of any distance under 200k at any time.  These will be covered under GLR’s own insurance policy.

As was the case before, GLR members will be added to our RideWithGPS club account.  This gives you premium features (such as audio navigation and route downloads) to all GLR rides.

Website Changes and a new Ride Management/Mileage Tracking/Registration System

Our website has been an invaluable tool for everyone.  As we incorporate the new ride management tool, we will be looking for photos and content.  Feel free to send in your favorite rando photos.  Or if there is something you would like to see, let us know.

The new system is planned to be in by March and is being tested now.  It is highly customized for our sport and we have a lot of control of how it works.  For RUSA rides which still have fees, the method of payment will change somewhat over the next year or so as we incorporate the features of the new software.  PayPal will continue to be our payment gateway for the time being and there will be a few changes in how we interact with it as we transition.

Your membership and rides will be transitioned to the new system as it is rolled out so feel free to register now for rides or become a member!  If you already signed up as a 2019 GLR member at the old price, you will be grandfathered into the new system with no additional charge. Club rides will be added to the new ride calendar next month and you may sign up for them starting at that time.

Above all else, GLR will continue to provide long distance riding options for anyone in the Chicago-Madison-Milwaukee area.   We have a brand new slate of over 20 rides throughout the region this year and look forward to seeing you all.

If you have any questions at all, feel free to email Michele at rba [AT] greatlakesrando [DOT] orgrba [AT] greatlakesrando [DOT] org  We will be sending out updates as we get closer to March.

Huge thanks to the GLR Board whose members spent a lot of time deliberating over how this should work.  This has been the busiest winter I have ever seen in my years as an RBA.