Audax rides

Have you tried making it shorter? Like with less riding?

400km is the next card I need.

That is some crazy elevation too. Good luck with that.

Ludwig - Do you ride alone?

Ive good news and bad news.

The good nes is that youve done it. See http://goo.gl/maps/My3yw and add in a few more controls to hit the every 50-80km as needed.

The bad news is that your on the road distance is nearer 430. But half is pan flat so what the heck....

Thank you for that. The idea was to have an easy run in along the Mosel and the Rhein but the additional miles between Trier and Koblenz through the river undulation would not count as in an audax it is the shortest route between controls is that right?

Thank you for that. The idea was to have an easy run in along the Mosel and the Rhein but the additional miles between Trier and Koblenz through the river undulation would not count as in an audax it is the shortest route between controls is that right?

Thats right. Sad but true...

However assuming you are doing this as a GPS DIY, you can add in extra controls to include some of the squiggly bits following the river and knock off a corner elsewhere to bring the on the road closer to the nominal distance. Do accept though that youre likely to be 10-12kmover, thats usual. You should be able to lose 10-15km though. That will get you home ~40minutes earlier!

Changed it to this now in reverse. Will be in more urban areas in the later
parts of the ride.

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/4360577

If you trade off Koblenz for Bastogne, you can add Luxembourg to your list of countries. 4 in 400k would be pretty good.

I think you should be able to get France in with some re-jigging. I used to live there almost on the border with Luxembourg and you can cycle right up the Moselle but it's a bit full of pootling pensioners.

Anybody has advise please how to make a 400km out of this idea of a route?

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/4357800

Do you mean shortening it? Difficult if you want it to be mainly flat, as you seem to have exhausted the flat roads in the area, but very doable if you cross a couple of hills.

I've entered the Boulters Bash ride on the 23rd. It's old skool entry with 2 x SAE. It's midweek though so only if you are free during the week. I've got the routesheet and have created a gps route if anyone wants it. Took ages but think it will be worthwhile no w that I'm more used to it than the route sheet.

Ride - http://www.aukweb.net/events/detail/14-275/
GPS - http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=oqbhziepaswamuwk

10 am start so should be easy to arrive on time. 100km with only one climb. Fixed I reckon.

https://www.lfgss.com/thread124062.html

Anyone else heading to York for a Wetherspoons breakfast on Saturday morning?

Thought I'd cross post from the Peak District thread as this would be a punchy 200km DIY:

Not sure if this has been about for a while, but I've just seen it:

http://velotastic.co.uk/peak-district-challenge/

14 climbs in the Peak District, approx 200km riding and 3500m climbing. The aim is to plan your own route and knock it out in one lengthy day. It looks to have the makings of a cracking day out. I am keen to give it a crack later in the year.

I've entered the Boulters Bash ride on the 23rd. It's old skool entry with 2 x SAE. It's midweek though so only if you are free during the week. I've got the routesheet and have created a gps route if anyone wants it. Took ages but think it will be worthwhile no w that I'm more used to it than the route sheet.

Ride - http://www.aukweb.net/events/detail/14-275/
GPS - http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=oqbhziepaswamuwk

10 am start so should be easy to arrive on time. 100km with only one climb. Fixed I reckon.

I'm doing this with a mate, did it on my own last year. Riverside to Riverside later in the year is another one by the same chaps which was also good but definitely tougher.

It is rolling but there is only one significant climb I went at thinking it was flat last year, it wasn't. Easily doable on fixed though.

Did the plains 300 on Saturday. decent route, would ride again.
Cheshire, Shropshire, Wales and back.
Thinking of the Llanfairpwllgwyngyll gogerychwyrndrobwll llantysiliogogogoch 400 next month...

I'm riding the LlanfairPG 400. First 400 and only my 5th audax... any tips for the increased distance (mentally, physically, gear, nutrition, good pubs along the way) gratefully received... Currently thinking of taking the route over Sychnant Pass on the way out, think the scenery should outweigh the extra energy required to get over it.

Going to try and get a bit of boring night road riding in between now and then to double-check lights and things. Feeling very comfortable on the bike recently, only change might be to flat pedals as I think my feet and knees would appreciate it more than being stuck in ATACs the entire time.

Was going to do the Llanfair PG but am being dragged up to Scotland that weekend. Instead I'm probably going to go out and do it as a Perm the weekend before.

I'll probably do the flat route but both the Halkyn Pass and the Sychnant pass are worth the effort for first timers.

Tips for longer distances:

The main things really are to keep your pace down, keep your food and hydration levels steady and react to things as they occur, if you can, rather than trying to press on a bit further.

Once you get into the night riding, try and get in or near a group. The long corners of the night can be pretty tough on your own if you aren't used to it. This is even more so on an out and back route like this one. Sections that seemed to fly by in daylight hours can seem interminably long in the dark. As your pace will inevitably drop during the night it is when your mind will play tricks on you and it will feel like you're losing a lot more time than you are. Company alleviates this quite a bit.

Out in the remote parts of Wales, food and water can be tricky to come by after 10pm. Make sure you stock up where you can before then and once supplies dip to about half, don't pass up an opportunity to reload. Some scouting of the route online beforehand and noting opportunities that are only a short distance (<1km) off route is worth your time. A 2km diversion can take a lot less time than 15km on the bonk.

Opportunism is also good if you're getting the dozies. Don't get into the cycle of pressing on a bit further and a bit further and worrying about getting slower and slower and thinking you can't stop. Better to find a spot early on, chuck on an extra layer top and bottom and take a 15min nap. Eat and drink a bit before sleeping as well. A nap just as light is breaking can also be pretty useful. Everyone is a bit different so don't try and into the same eating, drinking, sleeping habits as others if you aren't ready for it. It may be that you don't really feel the need to sleep but it's good practice for PBP.

^ Must spread rep...

Thank you, very useful. I'll grab a few pages from a road atlas for marking off-route shops along the way for good measure. Going to borrow a light weight waterproof from my brother so I can take a synthetic down jacket for some warmth overnight too, I've noticed that my core temperature drops a lot quicker than it used to.

Intend to take it steady the whole way, I've got spinny chainrings and am happy letting the guys I might ride with race off at the beginning again, worked well for me on the Newport 200 as I ended up finishing 45 minutes before them somehow!

Great tips TSK. will use on the Llanfair..... next month.

Anyone else up for the Oasts and Coasts on Saturday? Will ride out from SE7 - company welcome ...

Just a quick review of yesterday's Boulters Bash 100km ride from Maidenhead. Did in on fixed (67") with a ton of luggage. Why the luggage? Was working the day before and stayed over at a friends who lives close to Paddington.

First half was rolling and fairly smooth. Just before the midway control some challenging but doable climbs. Second half was hilly and had to get off and walk up a couple. A steep windy one and another where there was no pavement. There was one gravelly descent which was a bit scary too but also good fun. Good ride all in all and one more point for the FWC.

May well do the Dinton in a couple of weeks time but perhaps geared this time and sans luggage.

Just started reading 'Barring Mechanicals' a 'bent rider's tale of a previous LEL.

About ten pages in and I think I'd have quit already if I had to bodge zip ties to the bike every 20 miles. #supportcrew #missingaudaxpoint

That's a book I want to read.

My favourite tale is of Gary Broad. About 130k into the Bryan Chapman Memorial the chainstay broke at the bottom bracket. I bumped into him at about this point and we came to the conclusion that his ride was pretty much over. I pointed out on the map some bail out options to head for a train.
However, a mile or so up the road he asked a garage on the off chance if they could do a weld for him. They couldn't but set him up with another guy in the town who could. Within a couple of hours he was back on the road so decided to keep going to the next control. He made it just in time so decided he may as well go on to the next one where the organiser was. The bike was still OK then so he decided he would see how far around he could get and managed to finish well in time.
Steel frames and audaxing spirit FTW.