User:Velocols/Cent Cols Club

The Club des Cent Cols is an association of cycletourists devoted to cycling in the mountains.

Presentation
All cyclists of all countries are welcome to join our association: men, women, disabled, blind, etc.

All types of cycles, so long as they are human-powered (and not electrically assisted), are allowed  : road, MTB, gravel, handbikes, recumbents, monocycles, tandem, etc.

There is only one condition to fulfil : to have climbed one hundred cols, including five of  2 000 m or more. The claim is made « on your honour » the club relies on the honesty and sporting good faith of each new member.

The cols claimed can be anywhere in the world, but must be included in our 129 catalogues covering 166 countries and territories.

History
In 1970, the French cyclist Jean Perdoux, during his climb of the col Luitel, above Grenoble (Isère), told the friends riding with him that this was his one hundredth col.

He discovered that he wasn't the only one who counted his cols. President of the Vélo Club d’Annecy, and a member of the administrative bureau of the Fédération française de cyclotourisme, in 1971 he published a survey in the federation's magazine concerning the eventual creation of a Club of « Cent cols ».

Surprised by the number of replies he received — at that time by post — with more than 200 letters, coming not only from France, but also other countries, Jean Perdoux set to work on the creation of the Club des Cent Cols. It started officially in 1972. At first simply as a section of the Vélo Club d'Annecy, then as a seperate entity from 1997. A simple set of rules was made at the Club's inception, and is still operative.

Rapidly, the club went from strength to strength. The first English member joined in 1972, the first Italian and Swiss members in 1973 then subscriptions poured in regularly, since then reaching more than  8 000 members including 2 000 active ones (paid-up) coming from 16 countries. They have included several celebrities such as the cartoonist Jacques Faizant, the champion cyclists Eddy Merckx and Bernard Thévenet, the professor of medecine Claude Got, and even the journalist Denis Cheissoux.

The first catalogue of cols was published in 1973. In 1977, the first complete list of French road cols appeared, in 1978, the first complete list of Swiss road cols. These were the beginnings of an important collection of catalogues. In 1982 Robert and Monique Chauvot published a first catalogue of all cols in France followed, 10 years later, by the exhaustive catalogue of French cols, that has become the essential reference for all « centcolistes ». Today, 50 years after its creation, the Club des Cent Cols has realised the production and publication (in both paper and digital forms) of 129 catalogues of cols covering the whole world in 166 countries and territories.

Activities
To facilitate the collection of cols, the club proposes cycle tours known as  Randonnées Permanentes  : these are routes that can be ridden all at once or in sections as you please, at your own pace, and that enable you to climb at least 100 cols. At the moment there are 24, including 2 in Germany (Black Forest), 2 in Spain, 2 in Switzerland and one in Italy.

Besides the collecting of cols, the Club's objective is to promote solidarity, exchange, conviviality, and friendship between its members. Each year it organises three gatherings in the mountainous areas in France or beyond : Spain, Italy, Switzerland, and Germany are also regularly visited. These get-togethers comprise anything from 100 to 250 members for 3 to 7 days.

The pleasure in physical activity, the joy of cycling, alone or in groups, in all mountains, in all countries, a passion shared by thousands of members, the delight in discovering unsuspected places, friendship, and co-operation : these are the values that unite the  centcolists .

Notes and references
•    « Le défi des 100 cols en tandem » [archive],[  The Challenge of 100 Cols on a Tandem  ] Midi libre, 28 septembre 2008.