Medals In The Mail

A long awaited delivery landed in the mailbox today: my RUSA R-12 medal.

To earn it, I had to ride 12 consecutive months in sanctioned events of 200K or more.

Here's the letter sent by RUSA President Mark Thomas.

I did not start out last year with the R-12 in mind. My streak started in March 2006 when I completed the Spartanburg 200K. Our local brevet series carried me through June, then I did my Blackbeard permanent in July with Jerry Phelps. (He’s also earned the coveted award.) Once I had five months consecutive months of rides, I made the conscious decision to make it 12.

August brought the 1000K of BMB, and I did another 1000K in Florida in October with Capn Ende and Wes. I finished off the remaining months by riding my 208K Kerr Lake Loop permanent, a scenic course that follows some of the roads I first cycled in the early 1970s. I typically coaxed one or more of my riding buddies along on the Lake permanents, and we enjoyed picture perfect weather on three of them.

I hit #12 in February on a Lake Loop permanent with Branson Kimball.

I’m not sure if I’ll keep the streak alive this year, but I do have rides in March, April and May. Hmm….

Meantime, I got this very cool Lone Star Randonneurs lapel pin from Dan Driscoll, a friend in Texas. Dan is one of the nicest guys in the sport. He rides a minimum of a zillion miles each year. He's racked up numerous RUSA honors and was the first member to get credit for riding a permanent.