Audax rides

@hippy did you not get back first on Saturday at 3downs? Pity you were out of the second control so quickly. Could have done with a pull heading back north through the New Forest after the turn around.

Nup, I think only Martin left after me but getting so lost meant I never knew who was out there. I caught Martin at the last control and passed him half way to the finish. There were a couple of people in the HQ when I arrived.

It was a bit windy eh? Benefit to me growing up in flat, desert where strong headwinds were unavoidable.

The BCM starts in Bristol?

The Severn View Travelodge is the usual cheap hotel people use for the BCM. It's just a short ride over the bridge to Bulwark and the community centre (which is also good after finishing). There will be loads of people staying there. The Boar's Head (I think) in Aust also gets some visitations on the Friday night.

Relying solely on GPS turn-by-turn navigation for the BCM could be "interesting" in places; the long footbridge next to the railway line at Barmouth for example. I doubt many GPSes will route along that. Following a line on the map will get you round that; the tricky thing is knowing when to ignore the GPS and when to follow it blindly.

I seem to be doing the Heart of England 300 on Saturday. Anyone else?

Does the route change year to year? Because if it's the same as last year, then someone probably has the correct route as a GPX track, yeah?

Mind you, the Beast from the East doesn't have a GPX track either. I could make a point to point route up for these using the Garmin software but then I'm investing more time than I care to and Garmin software make hippy go crazy..

Shouldn't change from year to year but the organiser will release a .gpx closer to the event.

Last years file below.

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Beast-from-the-East-600km-Audax

Ta, added to my growing audax 'schedule'

Google maps routes walking and cycling directions across the Barmouth Bridge so there should be no problems with a GPS track going over it now.

Mark's ears must've been burning as he's just sent me a preview GPX from someone's route check and asked if I want to ride the helper's ride the week before. Apparently that's still valid for PBP qualifying - riding either side of the calendar event if you're doing route checking or assisting on the actual event itself.

So, in theory, I could ride the Severn Across 400, Beast from the East 600 and BCM 600 three weeks on the trot...

That would probably mean you had qualified.

"Beast from the East 600" - Which is more difficult... finding someone with a cheque book or riding 600km :-)

Does anyone know before I try and get a contact for the organiser if there is an easier way to pay..

Stick a well concealed £20 in with your entry form. Email the organiser and ask if it's OK to pay on the day.

Actually, the organiser only lives out in EN, you could ride out and deliver the entry form and cash in person.

Severn Across 400 is full.

"We’re now at 100 riders for Severn Across which includes you! Thanks for your support.

I have a steady trickle of people asking me if they can enter – there seems to be a shortage of 400’s in the calendar this year in the South East – and I am running a waiting list.

If your plans change at all I’ll be sorry to miss you but please let me know so I can offer your place to someone else.

I am doing a rejig on the route sheet around Kidlington and Marcus JB has promised to do the full route check at the end of the month so I’ll be sending out the paperwork closer to the event."

Yeah that's a good idea - Just realised I'm away that weekend alas... Managed to get an entry into Severn Across though with an hour to spare :-)

Don't forget the A4 main road bash return option for the Severn Across (as long as they haven't snuck in a new control to prevent it, there's no reason to):-

Onto the A4 just West of Newbury and then turn off just after the river at Maidenhead to go past Taplow station and then wiggle back up to ChStP from there.

Much easier to navigate and flatter than the suggested route, but a slightly longer route. Did the normal route in 2009 and the A4 return in 2011 (https://www.strava.com/activities/162791335); both have their pros and cons.

Why doesn't anyone run a 600k on the 8th May when the PBP qualifying period starts?

Seems there's two weekends in May going unused and then a bunch of 600s all sharing the same weekends late May.

I also presume it is possible to do qualifying rides in other countries?

How come you're coming up short on the 400? Thought they went over distance normally?

Partly it's a respect thing. The BCM is typically the first 600 in the calendar. Also, waiting those extra couple of weeks means there's more daylight for riding and the overnight temperatures will be that bit higher. Both of these things tend to contribute to higher DNF rates.

There's more than enough 600s for all likely PBP entrants to ride at least two qualifying 600s so it's not like people will be clamouring for places. Once you've got your 400k out of the way, there's no need to rush the 600.

Mind you, I doubt many people will be relying on the Pendle 600 to qualify. If you end up in that particular rabbit hole you're probably never getting out again.

Yes, you can do rides in other countries. Any ACP validated ride is good for a qualifier.

When you go to register for PBP you have to type in the ACP brevet numbers for each of your qualifying rides. The number for you 200 is on the AUK site already, and the one for the 3Down should be up in a week or so (they tend to take about 2 weeks from memory). Don't worry, they'll be there in plenty of time for PBP registration. IIRC you only need 3 of the 4 to register and the last one (typically the 600) can be added as and when you get it so it's not a problem doing a "late" 600.

As for the short 400, it's a good ride in that it's close to the minimum distance, but if you zoom in there's a section between 72km and 76km with missing data and a straight line. I probably forgot to start the Edge 705 after leaving the Woodstock cafe and took a while to notice. Or I turned it off and it took a while to get a lock again but didn't want to miss riding with whoever I was riding with.

We have surplus hotel space and possibly BCM entries if you need???

Ditchling Devil 200 entered and emailed the organiser to offer my help at the start.

Will either be dragging my mate around or, if he wimps out, trying to put new found fitness to the test. Might see what the ride is like with gears for once.

There is a need for me though - I've got races to factor in. The sooner I can get the 400 and 600 out of the way to sooner I can get specific with my training. I'd say I make up a very small percentage of the whole audax crowd but... by weight? ;)

Who is we? Are you riding it again? Gonna be riding from home to the start again?