After the ride

I’ll be the first to acknowledge we live in a brave new world with GPS devices and Electronic Proof of Passage (EPP) on the rise and brevet cards/cue sheets on the wane but life goes on!

So what do you need to do for me to certify your ride?

There are three acceptable forms of proof of passage:

    1. Strava, Ridewithgps, Garmin connect link
      • This is, by far, the easiest method.
      • When you’ve finished the ride, upload it and send me a link.
      • PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR LINK IS MARKED PUBLIC so I can access it!
        • If you’re worried about your privacy, make a separate account just for brevet results where everything is public and upload your brevets to that.
    2. Time stamped photos at each control
      • No, you don’t need a smart phone for this. Just about every digital camera made has the ability to put a time stamp on a picture but a smart phone works fine too (plenty of free apps available on both the Android and Apple app stores).
      • Take a photo of your smiling face in front of the control in such a way that I’ll be able to identify that you’re there. This isn’t photography class, I just need to be able to figure it out.
      • After the ride, upload your photos to a photo sharing service (google photo, flickr, …) and send me a link to that. DO NOT send me individual photos.
      • And note that you MUST have a photo, with a time stamp, at the finish control (how else will I figure out that you did the ride in the time limit?)
    3. A brevet card with all of the entries completed within the time limit.
      • Yep, just like the good old days with one difference: in the past I always provided brevet cards and cue sheets at the start of the ride. Now, riders wishing either or both can download and print them from the web site themselves. Card stock paper is highly recommended for the brevet card but that’s up to you.
      • Complete your card just like you always did (answer info control questions, have clerks at convenience stores initial and enter the time, etc)
      • When you’ve finished the ride, certify that you’ve completed it with your signature and return it to me.

I HIGHLY recommend a backup method (everybody who’s never had GPS problems raise your hand) such as GPS plus time stamped photos. Take a picture at each control just in case you lose your ride.

Although the medium has changed this is just the last step in completing a brevet as has always been the case. It has always been the responsibility of the rider to insure they documented their ride accurately and correctly and submitted results in a timely manner.

I appreciate your help in letting me certify your results.