Audax rides

I've been meaning to try this... http://salsacycles.com/culture/diy_joes_cue_sheet_holder

Alpkit do their lightweight ones in those sizes but they don't have any attachment points.

Do you reckon a feedbag-type thing might work with your bar set up at all? https://www.revelatedesigns.com/index.cfm/store.catalog/Cockpit/Mountain-Feedbag

Hmm.. bulky. I reckon stuffing the kit down the neck of my jersey is probably better. Since it's a 600 it's no great shakes stopping, folding it up and storing it more neatly in a spare pocket I guess. I could carry less food and buy more at each control. I finished the 400 with spare drink powder, spare bars and spare gels. I could just expand the saddle pack a little and that would leave a pocket free for arm/leg warmers.

That was exactly what I made on my very first audax. I carried the route sheet in my pocket for the first 10 miles or so, which quickly became a chore so I fished some cardboard out of a bin and made that, using a plaster to stick the sheet to the cardboard.

Ah the horror - cant possibly defile my bikes lines with that ;)

Biker leathers hump stylee

I have an Alpkit Airlok Dual 20l thingummy that you are welcome to try if you want. It's light but I could find little use for it. You are welcome to borrow it if you think it may be of any use and are able to collect it from EC2.

Fair enough, I meant attaching it like you would a between-the-bars-bottle. I might try and stitch up a little prototype sometime, maybe there's a market for crossover between bikepacking and time trailing or triathlons...

Buying food rather than carrying it does seem to make sense.

Buying food rather than carrying it does seem to make sense.

That's great when there are places to buy food. Snowdonia doesn't really have a concept of 24 hour garages which makes for a long barren stretch on the BCM.

You might have just saved my life by posting that.

This is for the Beast not BCM.

I assumed he'd checked to see if they were commercial controls/food options available around the times he planned on arriving...

I've made the mistake of assuming food could be purchased from towns at the top end of the Yorkshire Moors and outskirts of Cumbria, or that the pubs there would be capable of accepting cards before :(

Really depends on the route. Many organisers/routes purposely avoid the kinds of roads where there are likely to be 24 hour garages.

This is a friends setup from the 400 at the weekend. Obviously too much but he is fully loaded to train for trans am. It was his first time running the pack under the tri bars and said it was excellent although he had to adjust his sighting as he couldn't see his front wheel and said it felt weird.

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I reuse McDonalds.

Ewwwwww.

@andy_k
I have one of these held on by the star nut on my Ahead. Can also be made to work with a quill I think. I think they're brilliant.

People often ask me what it is. I usually say 'chapnav'.

So I am an idiot.

Ahead of Severn across my comfy Altura shorts were getting a bit worn and I decided to replace them with a fancy pair of Castelli bibshorts. I wore these for about a week of commuting ahead of SA (washing them each night, one is not an animal) and they seemed fine.
I set out for SA with them on, but brought my old shorts with me, just in case.
At second checkpoint, after all the rain I thought "I am going to change into my old shorts" but when I looked at them they were soaking wet so didn't.
I then, of course, got a blister on my arse. Not infected but still a bit uncomfortable and with a 600 to do in just over a week.
I am just cross with myself. And I want new bibs.

Hmm. Ditchling Devil 200 in early June. Last proper cycle ride late March. Not many chances to get out on the bike between then and now.

Hmm, might need to dig deep into my HTFU reserves.

Head up with DD
It will be like a kingston wheelers Sunday club run.
40 people going to it.
Most of them will make the mistake of pushing like mad to the brighton and suffering on the way back

I was thinking about doing this one with a mind to doing a RRtY.

Suffer both directions!

I've done a few 300s where club and sportive riders have been bashing it out at the start. You'd turn up at controls and they'd be all smug about getting there first and getting the good seats. Some of them would have it in them to keep hammering all the way through but somewhere around the 180k mark you'd see people start to go backwards and get sucked into a control hole. Quite amusing at times.

I see that all the time. At the 24hr Worlds everyone rode off like it was a 100mi. I was last... for about 6 hours.

I suspect that you started your 24 hr at very much the pace that I would set out at for a 10 mile TT though :-)

I have no problem at all with the guys that head out fast on longish audaxes, I think long bike rides like that are a chance to discover something about your ability, but also about your mental state, preparedness etc.

I think that the variety of people and approaches is one of the things that is appealing about Audax. A chap in sandals was at the halfway point ahead of me on the 400

haha not quite 10mi pace.

I shaved so I might have to hand in my sandals. The thing about audax is that anyone in front of you could've just started earlier or taken a shorter/easier route. Basically everyone's a cheat :)