SIR Brevet Control Workers Guidelines (Updated 04.18.05)

As a brevet control worker, you can have a major impact on the success of all the brevet riders you come in contact with. These guidelines are intended to help you make that experience as positive as possible, for you and for the riders you assist. As a control worker, you are also acting as a representative of Seattle International Randonneurs bicycle club. SIR want s to be held in high regard in all it's activities.

At its' simplest, the purpose of a control is to document that all the riders pass through the checkpoint within the prescribed time limits. You may however have the opportunity by your efforts to provide the physical and moral support that a rider needs to get back on the bike and push on to the next control, or to finish the ride. Well organized and staffed controls can make a big impact on riders who may be questioning continuing in a brevet, or those who are just having a bad day. What follows is some general advice on how to set up and operate your control, and how to best assist riders at the control.

Setting up the control
The location of your control will be predetermined with the acceptance of the route. However the orientation and access is your responsibility, and should be set up to be safe, trouble free, and obvious for the riders. While convenience is important, safety is paramount. Set up your control in a way that does not put riders in unsafe situations, either when arriving, leaving or during their time in the control.

Access
Set up your control so that the riders can see it as far in advance as possible. If the control is at an intersection, at a turn, or on a corner, place the sign or other identification in a conspicuous place so that riders will be prepared to stop well in advance. In a parking lot or other heavy traffic location, try to set up the control so that riders can avoid vehicles and pedestrians. Try to take advantage of cover if possible, weather is always a consideration and if there is an opportunity to take cover it can make a big difference in the comfort of the riders while they are at the control. You should also take care to assure that riders do not become disoriented while in the control and exit in the wrong direction. This is a common problem when the control is set up at a turn, intersection, or in congested, urban areas, especially late in a longer brevet.

Comfort
Obviously, it's great to be able to take advantage of things like park benches or picnic tables but even if those features are not available, you can still take advantage of existing natural ³assets²; jersey barriers, parking barriers, logs, tree stumps, even a rock can feel comfortable for riders who have been sitting on a bike seat long enough. A few lawn chairs, the back seat of a car, or a pick up truck tailgate, can give great relief even if only available for a few minutes.

Assistance
In the early stages of a brevet, riders may need no more than to have their control cards validated (more on that later) and then to move on to the next control. On longer events and later in brevets, riders may often benefit greatly from additional assistance at the control. It is at these times that you can really make a difference for the riders. This can be as simple as offering a place to sit for a few minutes, taking the bike when they dismount, preparing a sandwich or cup of soup, filling bottles or Camelbacks and assisting the rider to a comfortable spot.

Keep it Tidy
There can be long periods of time when there is no action at the control. Use this time to organize your control for the convenience of the rides and assure that all litter, and trash associated with the brevet is placed in appropriate receptacles. If there is no garbage can near by, be sure to have a bag or other container for trash and use it. We are judged on appearances so be sure that your control appears clean and organized.

Nutrition and Hydration
Not every brevet checkpoint will offer food and fluids, but if yours does, it is important to ensure the riders experience little delay at your control. The clock is always ticking on a brevet and the cyclists are understandably in a hurry. Be sure the water or Gatorade coolers are always at least half full; don't let them run out. There are few things more discouraging than to arrive at a control to find the faster riders have gotten what they need, while the slower ones have to scrape the bottom of the barrel, or even refill it! The slower randonneurs and randonneuses should be able to expect the same attention and respect as their faster colleagues. If anything, these slower riders will be looking forward to stopping at your control more than the fast guys who usually seem to be rather anxious about leaving. The slower riders will often pause and rest a while longer to get themselves ready for the next section of the brevet. The less experienced rides will gain much more benefit from a well organized and run control than will those with more experience. Conversely, they will loose more time than experieced randonneurs in a disorganized control.

Be sure all the available food is appetizing and tidy; try not to let things look too picked over. It also works best if you do some of the food preparation, especially making sandwiches, or putting ice into Camelbaks and bottles. Make sure that temperature sensitive items such as lunchmeats, cheeses, dairy products, etc, are kept cold. Arrange food items in a way that will assure that more than one rider at a time can have access at a time.

Don't be timid about reminding the riders to keep their dirty hands and gloves out of the shared food items, especially since they probably used the toilet, wiped their nose, or applied a butt balm without washing afterward! Yuck! Proper hygiene isn't always foremost on randonneurs' minds during an event, so you will have to gently remind them, and you should do some of these chores to keep things as clean as possible.

Often morale drops when blood-sugar levels are low, so try to get them to eat, even when they say they're not hungry. (Lack of appetite after cycling a long distance is a common sign of bonking and/or dehydration.) If they're overheated on a hot day, get them cooled off with lots of ice and cold fluids while sitting in the shade, or better yet, into an air-conditioned building if one is available. Mind their electrolytes too; salty foods and V-8 juice can work wonders on an overheated randonneur. Never forget that in hot weather plain water won't be enough.

In cold or wet conditions riders will often feel the effects of the weather beyond proportion. Quickly warming riders up, or drying out their clothes can have a dramatic effect on the riders' morale; get some hot beverages or soup into them. If they lack warm clothes, try to scrounge some up somewhere, and be sure to get something warm on their head too. Putting a rider in front of the car heater, or in a dry warm space (post office? Building lobby? Convenience store?) can work wonders. Warming and drying wet gloves and socks will also help boost morale. Though it will look goofy, layers of newspaper under a jersey or helmet work quite well in an emergency. If it's rainy or particularly cold, cut two arm and one head hole in a large plastic garbage bag, and presto! An instant jacket that will cut the wind chill on damp clothes.

Perhaps the most difficult challenge of working at a control is encountering slow rider morale and dealing with it effectively. Like all randonneuring clubs, SIR has a strong desire to see every rider successfully complete each brevet he or she enters. In this you can have a major impact. This won't usually be too common until late in an event when the closing time approaches or when weather conditions are extreme. Keep in mind that your long day of work helping the previous arrivals, probably does not compare to what the rider is going through. Endeavor to cheerfully fill bottles, get food while the riders rest, and generally give them encouragement that makes them feel like they are still in the game. Know the distance to the next control and it's closing time.

Validating the Brevet Card
Your primary function will be to verify that each entrant has passed through your checkpoint within time limits. Note! Make sure you have the correct time! During a brevet each rider carries a brevet card that you need to either sign or stamp, and record the time on when they arrive at your stop. You will also record their arrival on a master time sheet (a clipboard is nice). You'll want to be sure to record all times in the 24-hour military style. Be sure to have the sign in sheet readily available, out of the weather and with a functioning pen close by. If a rider should subsequently lose his card, the sign-in sheet proves that person has come by your checkpoint within the allowable time limits. Legibility matters! At the end of the event, the organizer will check over all sign-in sheets and compare them to the riders' brevet cards to ensure that everything is in order.

Fast Riders
Note that the control times are very strict. If a speedy rider arrives early, they can't sign in until your control is officially open according to the published times on the brevet card. Prior to your official opening time don't let any ³hammerheads² badger you about opening early. A 30-minute time penalty can be assessed for bothering control workers before the checkpoint opens! Remind riders that a randonnée is not a race, and to act like ladies and gentlemen.

If a group of riders arrives at once, they get the same time, even if it actually takes somewhat longer to process their brevet cards. It can be useful to tell riders in groups that everyone gets the same time; this will help the riders in the back of the line be less anxious, and should make your work a little more efficient. You give everyone in the group the same time.

Slower Riders
At the other end of the spectrum, should someone arrive after the official closing time, then the brevet is, unfortunately, over for that person. It may seem cruel, but that is the way randonneuring is. Unlike club centuries and double-centuries which are mainly about reaching the finish line, our sport is based wholly on successfully beating the clock over a given distance, including the intermediate checkpoints. After you ask them to surrender their brevet card, offer them praise for getting as far as they did. But no matter what their tale of woe, do not let your personal sympathies overrule the ironclad closing time. If anything, this is to be fair to the riders who worked equally hard to make the control in time.

NOTE! It is not your responsibility to provide DNF or riders who abandon a ride back to the start/finish but you are free to offer a ride if it is feasible. If a lift isn't possible, you may help them phone home for a ride if that is needed. Have the late person rest and eat, and encourage them to try again on another brevet in the future. Let the next control captain and the brevet organizer know when a rider has abandoned or is disqualified.

Exceptions to the Rule
There are however circumstances when a late-arriving randonneur may be eligible to continue the brevet. If a rider feels he should be allowed to continue due to circumstances beyond their control, have them deal directly with your control captain (or brevet organizer via telephone) if possible. Getting lost, being sick, fighting bad weather, or mechanical difficulties with the bicycle are not acceptable excuses for being late to a control.

An unforeseen road closure on the brevet route, stopping to assist a road-accident victim and/or dealing with the authorities after an accident or crime are valid reasons for being allowed to continue after the official closing time. In these rare circumstances, the brevet organizer will determine how much time they have to get back within the time limits, the control captain will make a notation on their brevet card and the sign-in sheet. The control captain should also phone ahead to the next control to pass on the pertinent information about this situation. In any case, the delayed randonneur will have no more than two controls to catch up and get back within the time limits.

Morale
No matter what the situation, never let the slowest riders see that they are somehow holding you up. This will erode their morale even further. If you're ready to close up the control and anxious to head home, do your packing after they leave the control; it might delay your departure after a hard day's work, but it will be of genuine help to a tired rider struggling to make the finish. The tail-enders need your encouragement more than anyone. If a tired rider is talking about quitting, try to avoid agreeing with him or her about quitting. Remind them of how far they have come and emphasize how close the next control is. Often all they need is some extra time to rest and recover before they undertake the next section of the route. Remind them that randonneuring is not racing, and that they will get the same medal as the first finisher. Being an official finisher matters. The classic advice when contemplating abandoning the ride is to rest a little longer, have another bite to eat, drink a little more, and then reconsider the decision. Always encourage the rider to continue on. If a rider fails to meet the closing time they will always know they did all they could to finish. Otherwise, at some point in the future, a rider may regret his decision to abandon. Abandoning a brevet is a serious matter that the entrant should undertake alone, even if he or she seems to want to talk to you about it (as they often will.) Let quitting be the rider's own decision unless you suspect there is a serious medical situation that would make it unsafe for them to continue. Again, SIR is interested in seeing all riders be successful on brevets.

The Secret Control
Like all other controls, this one needs to be plainly visible, and easily identifiable as a required stop on the route. Secret does not mean that it is the riders' responsibility to try to find the control! Because these controls are often unexpected, riders may not have been planning to stop and thus be anxious to move through the control quickly. Be prepared to validate the riders brevet cards as seamlessly as possible. If you have food or water, set them up so that riders who want to move through quickly are not impeded by those who are trying to restock. Safety is paramount, so assure that the secret control is set up in a safe place that affords riders the opportunity to be completely off the roadway, and out of traffic.

The Overnight Control
Before anything else, BE SURE TO VALIDATE RIDERS' BREVET CARDS! Because most riders will be arriving at these controls in the dark, it is particularly important that the sign or other control identification be well lit. One or more blinkey lights make this control much easier for tired randonneurs to find.

Organization is the key to operating a successful overnight control. Sleeping arrangements, location of drop bags, and any set up for food and hydration should not only take into account the convenience of the riders coming into the control but should also be oriented to assure sleeping riders peace and quiet to the degree possible. Be prepared to keep track of the location of all the riders in the control and to note their desired wake up time. Don't rely on your memory, keep a log of wriders locations and planned wake up times. This is very important.

Safety and Communications
Attached you should find a list of contacts to get in touch with in case of emergency. On longer brevets, you should have some way to contact the brevet organizer and the two nearest control captains. In remote areas, cell phones may not work so you should have some idea of the location of the nearest pay telephone (make sure you have phone change or a phone credit card). A list of local emergency telephone numbers is also a valuable resource for control workers to have. Be sure to communicate when a rider has abandoned or has not arrived at the control within the time limits.

Successfully staffing a control is a lot more work than most people realize. Like randonneuring generally, if it was fun and easy, everyone would do it. Working a control is also a lot more important than most people realize.

Long hours, paying attention to the needs of others is a small price to pay, when you know you have helped riders accomplish what they might not have otherwise. You may sometimes encounter the occasional rude, unappreciative rider, but the majority of riders are genuinely thankful for the assistance you have provided. Riders may not realize it, but without volunteers to staff controls, and organize rides, there would be no brevets to ride. On behalf of all the riders participating in the brevet you are working on, please accept our thanks for your efforts.

SiR Board of Directors

NOTE: This document is used courtesy of RUSA and may not be reprinted or disseminated for any other purpose.

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