Centennial BRM 200: Timeline Extension, Dates to Remember, Medals and Route Flexibilities
08/06/2021 | Carmela Pearson
TIMELINE EXTENSION to September 11- October 30:
Given the volatility of how rules are implemented in the Philippines, we are extending the allowed timelines for the ride. Rides will be accepted as long as you do it within September 11- October 30 at any convenient time, finishing 200km within an elapsed time of 13.5 hours on any of the pre-approved routes. Pre-approved routes are stated in the Mechanics and Registration Details.
DATES TO REMEMBER:
Now - August 31: Early Bird Registration
Now - August 11: 100% Refund Request Deadline
September 1-10: Regular Registration
September 11- October 30: Submission of Proof of Ride/Rides
September 12- October 30: Tentative Results are OUT in the results section of the audax.ph website; this will be updated accordingly every Sunday evening and Thursday evening as we receive more entries come in.
September 30: Deadline of Registration, Registration Transfer Requests and 50% Registration Refund Requests
October 31, 10AM: Deadline of proof of rides submission
November 3: Final Results and Personalized Digital Certificates are OUT in the results section of the audax.ph website
September 11-November 7: Dispatch of neck gaiters, Centennial medals, patches and other ordered Audax merchandise
For those planning to do multiple 200km rides within September 11-30, you only need to register once. We will recognize all your rides within this time frame as long as you submit proof of rides no later than October 31, 10AM. You can also purchase one medal for each of your accomplished rides. Just need to coordinate with us directly through email (mailer.audax@gmail.com) or through the Facebook messenger page of Audax Randonneurs Philippines.
CENTENNIAL BRM 200 MEDALS:
All Centennial Medals come from France and Audax Club Parisien will not be producing any more medals. Our good neighbors in Southeast Asia, more particularly Malaysia and Thailand (Thanks to Sam Tow and Wit Pimkanchanapong!), have sent a good number of medals to the Philippines. We have prioritized those who have registered earlier and have been given until yesterday to reserve their medals. Starting today, medals will be available in the "add-ons page" for those who will register until supplies last.
Some have been asking if they can purchase both the standard 200km finisher medal AND the Centennial medal together. The answer is NO. Only 1 medal for 1 ride. We gave the option to have the standard 200km finisher medal in the event that we don't have any Centennial medals left.
ROUTE FLEXIBILITIES and EXAMPLES:
In the interest of zero crowding, social distancing, helping the communities that have welcomed the Audax in the past and to accommodate the very volatile road restrictions, the following route flexibilities will be allowed:
1) START LOCATION AND FINISH: You can start your ride at any point along any of the pre-approved routes. Previously, we said one can start and finish anywhere as long as it's within 3km radius of the route's start/finish. You can still do this but we're adding the flexibility of starting your ride at any point along the official audax route and covering the route that is part of the Audax. For example, a cyclist based in Barretto, Zambales can just start and finish at his place. No need to go to SBMA to start your ride.
2) EXTENSION OF ROUTE: Given item #1, we are allowing cyclists to go beyond the pre-approved 200km Audax routes AS LONG AS IT IS STILL WITHIN any of the previous 300km route of the area. For example, the 200km Audax approved route is Davao to BanayBanay (100km mark) and back. The approved 300km Audax route for this area is Davao to Mati (150km mark) and back. If I am residing in Mati, I can cycle from Mati to Tagum (100km mark) and back to Mati. This 200km ride will be accepted. Another example is the 200km Audax Subic-Masinloc route. If I was living in Cabangan (50km from Subic), I can just cycle from my hometown towards Masinloc (100km from Subic) and then on to Dasol (150km from Subic) and back. This is still 200km and will be accepted.
3) INCLUSION OF ANY 200km ROUTE WITHIN THE AUDAX 600KM OFFICIAL ROUTE: We got approval to include any 200km route done within the official Audax 600km route in the Philippines. We only have 1 600km Audax-approved route in the Philippines and all Super Randonneurs are very familiar with this course. An example is doing 200km from Tarlac to Sual and back. Another example is if you're from Alaminos, Pangasinan, you can cycle to the direction of Tarlac City and then head back.
4) DETOURS: This will be allowed if there are road blocks or if one just wants to go through less busy and safer roads. For example, in the Audax Subic-Masinloc route, you can choose to go through the quieter Govic Highway instead of going thru the main provincial road passing through Iba city center (which is busier). Another example in the Audax Davao-BanayBanay route where the official route is Microtel-Panabo-Carmen. One can go through the quieter and more challenging roads of Microtel-Cabantian-Mahayag-Panabo Coastal Road-Carmen.
5) SUDDEN ROAD RESTRICTIONS ON THE DAY: Be creative but also be sensible. An example would be a town that is on the route can suddenly go on lockdown and won't allow cyclists to pass. If you can still cycle the remaining distance on an allowable alternate route (perhaps go back the way you came from and cycle more on those roads), this will be accepted.
REMINDERS:
1) WHAT TO BRING: Depending on your chosen province, it can be any of the following: Vaccination card, negative covid 19 test result within 2 days prior to your ride, face shield (some establishment still require this), hotel reservation in the area. These are essential in case you get stopped by authorities. No harm in carrying them and we never know when a new rule will be imposed so it's good to have these handy.
2) NO CHECKPOINTS: There will be no on-site registration and release of brevet cards. What will really matter is your elapsed time so please make sure you have a record of this. The cue sheets provided still has the checkpoint locations and cut-off times. You can check how you're doing in your ride against this information.
3) SMALL GROUPS: Keep to your group small. Depending on locations, it can be a maximum of 5 or 8 people (Let's call this the "bubble"). Avoid intermingling with other groups outside your "bubble". You might see some other friends doing the same route on the road. A simple wave or acknowledgement will do for now. People will understand if you can't be near them. *wink*
4) PIT STOPS: Avoid crowded places. Head over to establishments that have safety protocols in place (e.g. McDonalds, 7-11 convenience stored, Jollibee, etc.). Note that there might still be some establishments who will ask you to wear a face shield. For those with support vehicles, do leap frogging instead of direct follow and park where you won't be an obstruction to anyone. Bottomline is: Be sensible and follow safety protocols ALWAYS.
5) PROOF OF RIDE: Proof of ride should be submitted no later than October 1, 10AM. It can be a screenshot of Strava, Garmin, or any app showing Date of Ride, Distance, Route and Elapsed Time. For those who don't use cyclocomputers that connects to an online platform, your ride will still count! Send us a photo of your cyclocomputer showing the distance and time covered with a newspaper or mobile phone showing date and time.
6) NO CHEATING! Just like in ALL aspects of life, let's do everything with utmost integrity. THE AUDAX IS NOT A RACE.
Just like what we always tell everyone, in any endurance event even before the pandemic, there are risks. Even our usual weekend recreational rides have risks. What we can do as athletes is manage these risks and decide accordingly. The Audax will always be here. If you are worried or not 100% comfortable to do these rides, you can always request for refund of your registration fees. Last day of 100% registration refund is on August 11. We will continue to update on certain routes as we near the date. For now, please stay safe and healthy!
Photo Credit: Hubert Opperman riding in Paris Brest Paris in 1931
