Audax rides

Green and Yellow Fields 300

"The ride itself was not meant to be particularly challenging or over difficult terrain. The overall climb was just about 1000 m, which is rather flat, given the distance. The only problem would be riding through the whole night, and into a great deal of the second day."
http://machacasonwheels.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/ride-report-green-yellow-fields-300-km.html

Reading the bumpf it says 'x' rated and experienced riders only. Blimey. Now I'm scared.

The 'x' rating usually means it's a barebones event in that, apart from the start, none of the controls will be manned by anyone; they'll probably all just be receipt collections and maybe a postal finish. Other reasons it can be 'x' rated is that food may not be available at every control, so it's up to the rider to make sure they've got enough.

Indeed, the early Audaxes in this country often had no routesheets or nominated controls. The organiser just gave the riders a list of towns they had to visit and get proof-of-passage in. It was up to the individual riders to pick their own route and then find somewhere to stock up along the way whilst getting a receipt or a stamp/signature.

The start time of the Green and Yellow Fields will definitely contribute to its 'experienced riders' warning. You've got to know how you deal with sleep deprivation in order to do a ride like this, it can affect people in very different ways and falling asleep whilst riding isn't particularly fun (I last did that on the A7). It's amazing what a 15 minute power nap can do though.

Worth doing a ride like this just to see how you cope with it. I know loads of people who can do 200s and 300s (with a ~6am start time) but fall apart on anything longer as they just can't handle riding through a night.