The

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isl ...

Randonnée is a yearly cycling event that takes place on the Sunday of the early May bank holiday weekend. The event is organised by the local Wayfarers Cycle Touring Club and consists of two rides – a 100 km Round the Island Route, and a 55 km "Mini Randonnée" that covers the East side of the Isle of Wight. The Randonnée is the largest event of its kind on the South Coast of England, attracting around 3,000 cyclists each year.

Route

The event generally follows the permanently signed "Round the Island Cycle Route". Riders can start/finish at any of the checkpoints on the route. Until 2012 the ride alternated between the clockwise and anticlockwise directions, but now runs clockwise every year. The full Randonnée checkpoints are

East Cowes East Cowes is a town and civil parish in the north of the Isle of Wight, on the east bank of the River Medina, next to its west bank neighbour Cowes. The two towns are connected by the Cowes Floating Bridge, a chain ferry operated by the Isle o ...

- Wootton -

Bembridge Bembridge is a village and civil parish located on the easternmost point of the Isle of Wight. It had a population of 3,848 according to the 2001 census of the United Kingdom, leading to the implausible claim by some residents that Bembridge ...

Alverstone Alverstone is a village 2 miles from the east coast of the Isle of Wight, near Sandown. When Richard Webster became Chief Justice of England in 1900, he chose the title Lord Alverstone because it was the title he was permitted to choose which ...

- Whitwell - Yarmouth - ''use

Cowes Floating Bridge The Cowes Floating Bridge is a vehicular chain ferry which crosses the River Medina on the Isle of Wight, off the south coast of England. The ferry crosses the tidal river from East Cowes to Cowes. The first floating bridge between the two towns ...

'' - East Cowes. The Mini Randonnée checkpoints are:

- Wootton -

- ''via Newport and

'' - East Cowes. In 2017, due to the closure of the

, the route was diverted via Newport.

Event history

The Isle of Wight Randonnée was established by the local Wayfarers cycling club in 1985Wight Echo http://www.islandecho.co.uk/news/wightlink-lends-support-randonnee-cyclists and, like the yearly Cycle the Wight event, follows a route around the whole of the Isle of Wight, taking minor roads and lanes where possible enabling the rider to see and enjoy the best of the Island's scenery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Isle of Wight Randonnee Sport on the Isle of Wight Cycling events in the United Kingdom Annual sporting events in the United Kingdom Annual events in England