San Francisco Randonneurs — Brevet Series

Randonneuring is not racing. There are no prizes for finishing first, and the routes are not designed to be fast. They’re designed to be long, challenging, and self-supported — with time limits that require a steady pace but reward the kind of rider who can keep moving for 14 hours through coastal fog, inland valleys, and the climbs of Marin, Sonoma, and Mendocino counties. The SF Randonneurs run a brevet series from January through October, with distances starting at 200km and scaling up to 600km.

The experience is its own thing. Brevets attract riders who like the meditative quality of very long days in the saddle, the camaraderie of a small group moving through control points across a landscape, and the satisfaction of finishing something that most cyclists would describe as unreasonable. The Bay Area routes are genuinely beautiful — Point Reyes, the Sonoma coast, the wine country climbs — but you’ll be looking at them in the dark during a 400km.

Registration is required and there are entry fees that vary by event. New to randonneuring? The 200km is the entry point and a full day’s work for most riders. Check sfrandonneurs.org for the current calendar and route details; preparation and navigation notes are taken seriously in this community.