Paris–Brest–Paris (PBP) is a long-distance cycling event. It was originally a 1,200 km (750 mi) bicycle race in France from Paris to Brest and back to Paris in 1891. The last time it was run as a race was 1951. The most recent edition of PBP was held on 20 August 2023.
Bicycle touring is the taking of self-contained cycling trips for pleasure, adventure or autonomy rather than sport, commuting or exercise. Bicycle touring can range from single-day trips to extended travels spanning weeks or months. Tours may be planned by the participant or organized by a tourism business, local club or organization, or a charity as a fund-raising venture.
Randonneurs USA or RUSA is affiliated to Audax Club Parisien and coordinates and promotes the randonneuring style of cycling within the US. Many cycling events, or brevets, which are organized by local RUSA clubs in the United States are sanctioned by the Audax Club Parisien and therefore can be used to qualify for Paris–Brest–Paris and other long brevets around the world.
Challenge riding is a form of cycling where the riders challenge themselves rather than each other. Some challenge rides are charity events or pledge rides. Some are organised as pre- or early-season training events. Others, often referred to as Randonnées, brevets or Audax events occur simply for the sake of the challenge; cyclosportive events allow cyclists to test themselves over challenging race routes used, for example L'Étape du Tour in the Tour de France. Most challenge rides are open to all comers, but a few require qualification to attend.
The 1903 Tour de France was the first cycling race set up and sponsored by the newspaper L'Auto, ancestor of the current daily, L'Équipe. It ran from 1 to 19 July in six stages over 2,428 km (1,509 mi), and was won by Maurice Garin.
Henri Desgrange was a French bicycle racer and sports journalist. He set twelve world track cycling records, including the hour record of 35.325 kilometres (21.950 mi) on 11 May 1893. He was the first organiser of the Tour de France.
The Dunwich Dynamo is an annual semi-organised, through-the-night bicycle ride from London Fields park in Hackney, London, England to Dunwich on the Suffolk coast. The distance is approximately 180km.
A cyclosportive, or often simply sportive, is a short to long distance, organised, mass-participation cycling event, typically held annually. The Italian term Gran Fondo is commonly used for these events in the United States, Australia and some other English-speaking countries.
A reliability trial is an organised bicycle ride which challenges a cyclist to complete a course, passing through designated control points, within a preset time limit. In the United Kingdom, such events are often held in the wintry opening months of the year and are used by club cyclists as training rides. A common test would be a 100 in 8 – 100 miles would have to be completed within eight hours, including any stops.
This is a glossary of terms and jargon used in cycling, mountain biking, and cycle sport.
Randonneuring is a long-distance cycling sport with its origins in audax cycling. In randonneuring, riders attempt courses of 200 km or more, passing through predetermined "controls" (checkpoints) every few tens of kilometres. Riders aim to complete the course within specified time limits, and receive equal recognition regardless of their finishing order. Riders may travel in groups or alone as they wish, and are expected to be self-sufficient between controls. A randonneuring event is called a randonnée or brevet, and a rider who has completed a 200 km event is called a randonneur. The international governing body for randonneuring is Audax Club Parisien (ACP), which works with other randonneuring organisations worldwide through Les Randonneurs Mondiaux (RM). Randonneuring is popular in France, and has a following in the Netherlands, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Italy, Australia, the United States, Canada, Brazil, Ireland, India, Indonesia, Korea, Japan and Malaysia.
The Audax Club Parisien (ACP) is a French Cyclist Touring Club. It is a non-profit voluntary association formed in Paris in 1904. It organizes long-distance rides in France. The most popular event is the Paris-Brest-Paris Randonneur, held every four years. The Audax Club Parisien is also the international reference for randonneuring and works with other randonneuring organizations worldwide through the international association Les Randonneurs Mondiaux (LRM).
The Union des Audax is the parent organization for the audax style of Randonneuring, a long-distance cycling sport.
Audax Australia Cycling Club runs cycling events under the auspices of Audax Club Parisien (ACP) and Union des Audax Français (UAF). Rides are normally from 50 km to 1200 km in distance and operate throughout Australia. The club also has a list of long distance rides that can be ridden at any time called raids.
John Borland Wadley was an English journalist whose magazines and reporting opened Continental cycle racing to fans in Britain. Wadley covered 18 Tours de France from 1956. He worked for the British weekly, The Bicycle and then started and edited the monthlies Coureur and International Cycle Sport. He also wrote a number of books.
A flèche is a team cycling competition, undertaken by randonneurs; the term is derived from "Flèche Velocio". It differs from the more common randonnees or brevets, which are individual events and not specifically competitive. As with other randonneuring events, flèches are governed by national and local authorities, such as Randonneurs USA (RUSA) which publish the governing rules. The object of a flèche is to ride the maximum distance in a fixed time, usually 24 hours, and usually finishing at or near a specified location, riding a route that the team has specified before the start; different teams generally do not have to follow the same route. Teams usually comprise up to five riders, of which three must finish in order to complete the flèche; the usual minimum distance is 360 km. Flèche competitions traditionally take place on or about the Easter holiday.
Motor-paced racing and motor-paced cycling refer to cycling behind a pacer in a car or more usually on a motorcycle. The cyclist follows as close as they can to benefit from the slipstream of their pacer. The first paced races were behind other cyclists, sometimes as many as five riders on the same tandem. Bordeaux-Paris and record attempts have been ridden behind cars. More usually races or training are behind motorcycles.
Audax UK or AUK is a British cycling club that oversees randonneuring in the United Kingdom. It was formed in 1976 to help British riders complete the qualifying rides for entry to the Paris-Brest-Paris randonee. Audax UK is recognised by Audax Club Parisien as the official brevet-coordinating organization for the United Kingdom, although in practice events in Northern Ireland are organised by Audax Ireland. Audax UK members sometimes informally describe themselves as AUKs.
The history of cycling as a sport in India dates back to 1938. The Cycling Federation of India takes care of the sport. Cycling is unknown as a professional sport in India but popular as a common recreational sport and it is a good way to keep fit.
The definition of ultra-distance cycling is far more vague than in ultra running or in ultra-triathlon. Any bike race or ride longer than a century ride, which is 100 miles (160 km), is sometimes considered to be ultra-distance cycling. However, such events are relatively common, so using a longer distance to define the category is more useful, such as any race or ride that is longer than 200 kilometres (120 mi), 300 kilometres (190 mi) or even a double century, 200 miles (320 km).
