Audax rides

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#heyasshole

Looks lovely out there now. But I don't feel like finishing a 200 at 11pm in Jan, thanks all the same.

How would I go about doing this as a Perm, ie. DIY? There's an entry form on the site:
http://events.paudax.com/content/diy-perms-entry-form

I guess that won't count as a BRM event then will it, but I can still ride the course?

Ah, I just read on https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=46507.0 that I can do longer rides to count as the 200k anyway.

Sam Weller's day trip to Wochma
http://www.aukweb.net/events/detail/15-180/

Looks good. 2hr drive from home to start, blast the 200k, 2hr drive home.

Scratch that, I'm busy.

1st Feb, also about 2hrs away...
http://www.aukweb.net/events/detail/15-289/

That Wye Wednesday would be doable without having to drive/train out. It'd be a nice, little bit cheeky day off work too.

After some last minute nail biting in the end I did the ride on my fixed commuter. Very heavily laden with a ton of gear in a pannier. Geared at 67" which is my usual commuting round town ratio. I have to say, it was cold. My fingers and toes were pretty much numb the whole day.

Cycled up to Marylebone and saw about a dozen riders waiting for the 0630. The hall was totally packed with people when we arrived. Some had stayed overnight. Ate toast and biscuits and scanned for other fixers. There were at least a dozen.

Just before 0800 when we were waiting for an official start there was no-one coming out to blow the whistle so one by one we just went. The first two hours were probably the hardest. Icy roads, fingertips and toes going numb with a fine sleet shower coming straight at us. The ice tended to be toward the side of the road so I rode as centrally as I could and felt fairly confident with my new dynamo lights.

At the first control I could hardly hold the pen but realised that I had a 2nd pair of thin gloves so I doubled up. Wow, felt like coming indoors. Toes were still frozen but with hands warm I could focus on the scenery again. Sugar coated fields and mellow winter sunshine.

By 1100 pretty much all the frost and ice was gone and I was actually starting to overheat. Little Henries in Pangbourne was so packed with riders that I got my sticker and got out of there. The queue was too long and I'm too stingy for cafes. Got snacks at the co-op across the road and headed off. But that was when the climbs began and I had an extra 2-3 kg in my pannier. But I wanted a nice quiet spot to have a break so I pushed on. Most of the climbs were pretty gentle and none that required getting off and walking.

I paced myself and took it fairly easy. Stopped for a break whenever I needed. Started to get dark around 1530 ish and my dynamo light came into their own. This was the first audax that I had done at night on unlit roads. Quite thrilling. The cars were all very courteous and some even giving too much and you had to wave them past.

In the final 30k one guy latched onto me as his lights weren't up to showing him the way and he was a bit lost too. I think he must have been a bit fed up with my slow speed because he hopped on to another faster group when they came past. We rode for an hour or so in silence which was kind of ghostly but felt like a long drive with a passenger. We tried conversation but it just slowed everything down.

Got in with a time of 11h 45min. Looked like most people had come in much earlier. It wasn't easy but having paced myself I felt comfortable and it was faster than I had expected. So glad I did it in the end and it reminded me why I do this.

Woo hoo. Bring on the next one!

Bloody hell. #wouldrep

Nice one, arup. I'll no doubt see you out on a slightly warmer one in the future :)

#iceisfordrinks

I took my youngest to the park for an hour yesterday afternoon and froze, so chapeau for spending all day out in it!

chapeau, Arup

Cheers guys. I'm looking at this one for Feb.
http://www.aukweb.net/events/detail/15-954/
It's a Wednesday though.

I did my first DIY by GPS last summer and Paul was really helpful taking me through all the steps required. I did the Ditchling Devil as I had missed the calendar one. (Which I hope to do this year.) Using GPS means you don't have to bother with stopping at controls and go by feel. I would drop him an email as he answered all my questions carefully. But basically you can enter last minute and keep one eye on the weather forecast. Then ride the route and submit your track log by email. He gave me some tips about trimming the transit rides and how make sure that that time stamp info doesn't get stripped. But yeah, wouldn't be a BRM if you're wanting to qualify for PBP.

I did that perm last year too. It's a nice route. I did it in reverse (by mistake) though.

Well done for riding in that shit yesterday, I'm just back from 100k now and it was nice but too cold for stops or punctures, luckily none of the latter.

We rode for an hour or so in silence which was kind of ghostly but felt like a long drive with a passenger.

This made me chuckle :) Good to meet you fella!

Just booked on this one http://www.aukweb.net/events/detail/15-32/
Windrush Winter Warm up. Starts from Ashton Keynes near Cirencester. 100km. Will probably do it fixed again.

Good to meet you too. Nice to put a face to a name.

Lovely report, arup. Well done!

The 'start', by the way, is quite typical for Audaxes. :)

Bloody hell. #wouldrep

No need, he already is a rep personified.

Well done arup. Sounds chilly. Hopefully see you on one soon.

Nice report. Did the Willy Warmer too yesterday, never been so cold on a bike! Bought some very effective Grip Grab gloves which definitely helped me complete. Had to DNF on Mr Picwicks january sale on 3rd, after 150Km, useless gloves and constant rain/cold did for me in the end. Ride was carnage...Legs felt bad yesterday but I guess that's what two months off the bike will do. Or old age.
First PBP qualifier in the bag anyway. Aiming for RRY as well as SR and PBP. Should be a good year.

I've got the GPS track so I'll probably ride it one weekend just for shits and giggles. Cheers for the info.