Audax rides

... and home with 268km total ridden. Really great route and the off-road sections were interesting at speed - wouldn't like to those in the wet on my slick 23C. Entering Abingdon was a bit strange too as it was stubbornly kept to some official route... but no real complaints.

Was that you @Vesalius at the cafe? :)

Yes! Good to meet you fella :)

And I did try to forewarn of those delightful paths haha

That said be aware the organiser has used a few national cycle paths etc especially on the way out, so the ground won't be suitable for 20c tyres in places if you are planning on taking that sort of bike :p

I've got a few pics from a volunteers perspective, as Tim asked me to bring my camera along. Will whack them up tomorrow.

Also if you have any feedback whether good or bad, feel free to drop me a message, or Tim directly. He has vastly improved the route by the sounds of things, but there are clearly a few issues he could iron out e.g. ambiguous info controls (eygpt, chimney pots...) routesheet directions etc, and seeing as it's run by an AC Hackney member we'd definitely want it up to the standards representative of the club :)

I did try to forewarn of those delightful paths

Haha, but I run 23C not 20C! ;)

Just braindumping whilst I remember:

• Spent an extra 5km around Didcot Parkway looking for the control. Routesheet said something like Museum so we went around a bunch of car parks. "Spar shop" would have been enough detail.
  
• Egypt just caused confusion and seemed to give permission to info share later into the ride. ;)
  
• Chimney Pots was fine except that there were two pubs in that village with extremely similar names. Saw at least 3 riders fly past the correct one when I stopped and seems easily avoidable.
  
• Abingdon-Oxford entrance was a little silly as mentioned
  
• (Was mostly following GPS instead of the routesheet)
  
  

You'd probably have to ask someone who has done an Audax before for some in-depth criticism :)

Thanks though, hopefully see you around. :)

this ride takes a cycle path that pretty much has you brushing up against the cooling towers, which is pretty cool

You sure about that?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-28487288

:)

The Steamboat ride was fine. I have only done a couple, but the ones I have done, the controls were just on the road so you couldn't miss them, maybe we were lucky with those, or is the Steamboat more in keeping with the way the controls are? For us, the Egypt sign was fine, 0 !!!

Other than the Didcot bike path, but you can live with that, the route was great, loved the park and the final 40ks after that was fast

I'd do it again

Cheers guys, will pass on the feedback both good and not so good :)

^^Yeah it must go past the remaining ones, or else I was hallucinating when I cycled it? :p

Few pictures up on the ACH website or Flickr if you prefer that.
My favourite rider of the day, saw him at quainton and he was pretty happy then so I can only assume he made it to the end in good order. Hope he outran the rain, I had a lovely cycle in it after my control closed...

It rained ???

Yes! Solidly from quainton to aylesbury, I was soaked catching the train back

Wow !!!

You were right about the return trip, after the last control, we motored back, breaking 8 hours for the 200, my GF was extremely happy !!!

looks like an epic Audax - 2100km in 177hrs to cover the length of Sweden, beginning inside

awwwwwwww.... sum.

^^nice work! Yeah I just remembered my average speed steadily climbing all the way back from oxford :)

That Swedish ride looks like a serious adventure

I very nearly had another DNS on Saturday after waking up a couple of days earlier with a full on head cold, but I couldn't face not even getting to start yet again. So, a load of vitamin C and painkillers later I found myself in a slightly misty pub garden in Tewkesbury at 8am.

As there were no obvious bail points later in the route, my plan was to get to the first control (55k), and turn back if necessary, making it an unofficial 100k. In the event this is exactly what I did, though I actually felt pretty strong at the control and was tempted to carry on. I'm glad I went back though as on the return journey the sun came out and my temperature went through the roof (not helped by the fact that the first bit was also the lumpiest, looking at the route profile).

The first 50 had been very fast by my standards so the last 55 was taken at tourist pace, with a couple of pub stops, malt loaf stops and an extra few km when I ended up going round in circles for a bit. Herefordshire is a beautiful part of the world and I would recommend audaxing through it - if you like lanes, orchards and frighteningly out-of-the-way villages. I was pleased in the end to get back within what would have been the time limit if it had been a real 100, despite the detours.

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Steamride was great on Saturday, good bunch of people riding and a nice vibe all day. I thought it was a great route as it was pretty rural from the off without having to do urban roads to get there.

I missed the breakfast as I overslept and missed the first train out of Marylebone, just made the start as everyone was setting off so no dramas got off about 10 minutes after the first lot.

Thanks to @Vesalius for mentioning some of the paths on here, I was set to do it on my C40 with 23c tires and decided to take my Mercian with 28c which I was glad of later on as some of the road surfaces were well rough (didn't take away from the route though which was excellent).

I thought the cafe control at 140k was great but a bit late, the city centre pub at 100k was a bit busy to stop and eat at and there wasn't anywhere to leave your bike.

Overall though it was a quality day and I would recommend people do the next one in March!

I thought the cafe control at 140k was great but a bit late

Would agree there. I had already stopped at the 130km info and ate crisps (urgh), then wasn't in the mood for nice-looking cake at 140km.

the city centre pub at 100k was a bit busy to stop and eat at

They charged me £2.55 for a small Pepsi out of the nozzle dispenser, compounded by staff not accepting my £2.51 in change forcing me to break a tenner. Le sigh.

Yeah . That head of the river pub in Oxford. £4-20 for a pint of local Oxford beer. Great route. I've joined audax uk now and will have to grow a massive beard.

I've joined audax uk now and will have to grow a massive beard.

They mention if you join "late in the year" it will also count for the next year too. Did that apply when you joined today?

(I can probably only fit one more actual Audax this year so seems pointless to join now if not)

Yeah . I'm signed up till dec 15. I'm unable to ride anymore audaxes this year although if I can get time off work the aaa infractions is tempting me. I have signed up for the poor student in January. 200 km into the Cotswolds in January.

Hoping to do the Flatlands 600 on Saturday. Anyone else?

Anyone planning on PBP next year...? Would be interested in your training/strategy/history etc.

https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/233347/?offset=75#comment9926061

(Absolutely my bad. Let's keep everything there)

Just signed-up for the Suffolk Byways and the Silly Suffolk (how could I not).

Definitely riding the 100 fixed and would like to do the 200 fixed as well.

Rode a non-Audax 200 last month, which was quite lumpy, so no worries on that score but I need to sort my bikes.

Just finished a geared Ti build, which was intended for long distance rides, but having only ridden fixed all year I'm not enjoying gears again, so in true forum style will likely sell it with less than 100km on the clock.

Which leaves a Columbus Max track bike or a Dawes Galaxy: should be no-brainer, but the Dawes is 27" wheeled and decent tyres are pricey and the choice is limited...

Paselas are still a popular choice for audaxers, cheap and available in 27"...

I have 32s on my Galaxy at the moment.

What's the Ti build? Something sexy?......that you want to get rid of?........

Quick question before digging out the handbook - do perm cards expire at the end of each season or do they last "forever"?

I just turned up 6 I planned to ride and really don't have time to squeeze them in before the end of the month!