Capitols of the Confederacy: Creating a New Permanent

I'm working on a proposed permanent route from Raleigh to Richmond. It will be a free route permanent which has different rules from the fixed route permanents.

For those interested in setting up a permanent, I thought I'd share the various steps along the way to getting it approved.

First a little background on RUSA's permanent program:

A Permanent is like a brevet but you can ride it any time, not just on one specific date. Like brevets, routes can start and finish in the same location, but they can also run point-to-point, and can be any distance of 200km+ (100-199km for a Permanent Populaire). Permanents are open to any RUSA member. They can be ridden alone or with a group. Permanent rides in the US are validated by RUSA and do not count toward any ACP awards or PBP qualifying, but a Permanent can count toward your yearly RUSA brevet kilometer totals.

Iowa RBA Robert Fry launched the program in late 2003 and it has really blossomed, with more than 300 routes now available. Part of the interest can be credited to RUSA's creation of its R-12 award. I think that was the brainchild of Bill Bryant. Robert is getting ready to step aside, owing to family and work commitments, and friend Edward Robinson will soon be taking over.

I have three routes in North Carolina: Blackbeard's Permanent, the Lake Loop and the Siler City Express. I know other riders also have routes in the works.

Now back to the planning for the latest proposal. This is my first free route permanent. It will be a point-to-point route, beginning and ending at the capitol buildings in Richmond and Raleigh.

A free route gives riders greater flexibility in planning their route, subject to approval by the permanent owner. However, riders only get credit for "the shortest legal and safe bicycling distance between the defining locations."

According to Google maps, the route will likely be around 170 to 180 miles. That means no matter what route riders propose, they'll only get credit for that amount of mileage.

As for the route itself, it appears the logical choice for cyclists will be to follow Bike Route 1. But BR- 1 doesn't go to either capitol building. So in the interests of safe passage in and out of the urban areas of Raleigh and Richmond, I'll likely specify the beginning and ending for the route, then let riders choose the rest of the route.

Here's the route I use to come in and out of Raleigh.


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While it's possible to go straight up Six Forks, that road carries quite a bit of car traffic and is a route that most cyclists avoid. The route you see above follows several feeder roads and cuts through a neighborhood to cross I-540. It picks up BR-1 at New Light Road, about 20 miles north of Raleigh's downtown.

When I submit the route, I'll also include this excel file with the turns and mileage for that specified portion of the route.

I'll design a similar route from BR-1 to the capitol in Richmond. I'm waiting to hear from a biker there about the best route. It's a bit confusing because the downtown area has a number of one-way streets. The good news on that end is that BR-1 comes within 7 blocks of the capitol. Also, the VA portion of BR-1 was updated and re-signed this year.

As part of the application I'll also include information about travel by Amtrak if riders decide to complete the route in only one direction. If you look at the two downtown areas of Richmond and Raleigh, you'll see that Amtrak stations are within one mile of the capitol grounds.

I'll also include information on carrying your bike on the train. According to Amtrak's baggage rules a bit of disassembly (pedals, handlebars) will be required.