Monday, June 29, 2020

RUSA Soft Opening Put on Hold

RUSA President Dave Thompson made the following announcement on June 28.

Since making our decision for a soft reopening the pandemic has taken a turn for the worse. New cases are up 65% over the past two weeks. New restrictions are being instituted including more restrictive social distancing, statewide mask requirements and new state regulations to mandate quarantining for interstate travel. With all this in mind our soft reopening will be postponed.
I know that many of you have put a lot of thought and effort into your pandemic riding plans. I've been through all of them and have had discussions with some of you. We all hope that the picture will soon change for the better and we can put those plans into effect. We will continue to monitor the pandemic and keep you updated.

Since making our decision for a soft reopening the pandemic has taken a turn for the worse. New cases are up 65% over the past two weeks. New restrictions are being instituted including more restrictive social distancing, statewide mask requirements and new state regulations to mandate quarantining for interstate travel. With all this in mind our soft reopening will be postponed.

I know that many of you have put a lot of thought and effort into your pandemic riding plans. I've been through all of them and have had discussions with some of you. We all hope that the picture will soon change for the better and we can put those plans into effect. We will continue to monitor the pandemic and keep you updated.

It seems unlikely that conditions will improve in the near-term to the extent that the July brevet will be  permitted as a sanctioned event.  For that reason we will be refunding ride entry fees for July.  
August remains a wait and see, but expect that brevet to shift to the Free Bridge route. It's a really interesting new route.  
 
Remember that RUSA must make decisions that are best for the entire membership.  In April when RUSA first cancelled rides, our region was one of the national hotspots driving that decision.  Thankfully we are not the driver this time.  Hopefully we will not become complacent and the virus and its effect will remain somewhat under control.  In the meantime we should all keep in mind the people in the regions where COVID-19 cases are on the rise.  We've traveled that road and know first-hand the challenges they face.

The only certainty is that Pennsylvania Randonneurs will resume R-12 brevets as soon as permitted.  In the meantime, get out and ride.  Expand your quarantine horizons. Our routes are accessible and offer many miles of scenic byways that can be enjoyed without a brevet card.

Andrew Mead
Eastern PA RBA





No comments:

Post a Comment