General
In cycling, a brevet is a long-distance ride with an exam. A given route must be driven under one's own steam and without outside help within a certain time limit. But a brevet is not a race! Driving together and helping each other is expressly desired. However, if a randonneur prefers to ride alone, this should also be respected. Despite everything, everyone acts for themselves and is also responsible for themselves. So he has to take care of navigation, food and material himself. He has to decide for himself when to take breaks and how fast to drive. There is no material truck, broom wagon or catering provided by the organizer. You can find a very nice description of randonneur sport here: https://www.audax-randonneure.de/startorte/niederrhein
registration
Please register and pay up to 1 week before the respective brevet. After that I will close the registration for it. Should anyone still want to take part at short notice, I will have a few certification cards with me on the day of the start for this case. If necessary, please let us know in advance by e-mail. The registration fee is €18 per brevet. It includes breakfast at the start, a hot meal at the finish, showers, if you need a place to sleep in the gym, and administrative expenses. In case of non-start, the registration fee will not be refunded. I will donate these to the SSV Heidenau for youth work. Anyone who has paid will find their name on the respective starter list on the eBrevet website.
Park
Parking is free of charge at the “Parkplatz am Sportforum” (50.973230, 13.862140) or at the “Albert-Schwarz-Bad” car park (50.976554, 13.857893). Please do not drive your car to the back of the velodrome. There are no parking spaces here that we can use.
At the beginning
Meeting point is the building of the SSV Heidenau at the cycle track (50.970829, 13.859744). As far as regulations allow, breakfast will be served in the building, otherwise outside. But there will be breakfast! Toilets and changing rooms are available in the building. If you don't want to start with the digital brevet card, you can get one here. But please inquire about this in advance. But I would like to ask everyone to use the digital certification card. The checkpoints are primarily designed for digital stamping. You have to organize a conventional proof on your own responsibility.
Mandatory minimum equipment is light, helmet and safety vest or reflective strips. I won't check that on everyone, here everyone is responsible for themselves. But if I see someone without a helmet or in poor visibility / in the dark without a light and safety vest, they will not get a homologation! Furthermore, the StVO must be observed and the rules of the Randonneurs Mondiaux apply.
Groups of 30 people start every 5 minutes. The starting order is determined by the registration. Please take the first control photo here before departure and "stamp" it in the digital certification card.
On road
The routes are, hopefully, well planned. Most of the time we drive on paved roads of any quality. The better ones are in the majority. But especially in Bohemian inner cities there are often cobbled streets. Gravel paths will only rarely be there. I avoided big, busy roads as much as possible. As far as I can, I will drive all routes in a timely manner beforehand to see whether everything is passable. Nevertheless, there can of course be road closures during the day. In this case, please look for a detour on your own.
Food on the way shouldn't really be a problem. There are numerous gas stations that are also open 24 hours. Almost every small town has a Potraviny that is also open all day on Sundays. In addition, supermarkets are usually open all day on Sundays. I can also highly recommend the numerous restaurants with their Bohemian cuisine.
The controls are mostly at a prominent, worth seeing point and easy to find. Please don't forget the control photo and "stamp" here.
Escort vehicles are generally forbidden!
In the target
Very important, please take and stamp the first finish photo and finish the brevet! In the clubhouse there are showers, hot food and non-alcoholic drinks including Kofola on tap. However, you have to pay for beer yourself. The gym can also be used for sleeping. Please use especially after the longer brevets. Be it for a few hours.
Czech Republic
A few more words about our beautiful neighboring country. National language is Czech. However, many people speak a little German or English. Usually people are very helpful and have no problem using these languages. The national currency is the Czech koruna. The exchange rate is currently around 1€ = 25 CZK. You can pay by card almost everywhere. Paying in euros is usually not a problem, especially in the border area. But the further you get into the country or away from tourist spots, the more it is advisable to have a few crowns with you. Either withdraw them from an ATM or exchange them on the go.
The traffic rules correspond to the German ones. Signs are mostly the same. Only the level crossings are different. If everything is clear and no train is coming, a blue light flashes and you can continue without any problems. When a train comes, two red lights flash alternately.