Audax rides

I took the option of the 7:30 start yesterday, which was a good choice as it meant I hit the controls ahead of the masses (this must be how it is for fast riders!).

I was back by 17:15, I was hoping for for an hour quicker but I found it really hard going in that heat for the final 5ok and it became a bit of a slog. The 12 miles home was hell as I was utterly ruined.

Such a well catered and friendly event with lots of TLC. Probably my last one for a while (done the last 3) as I want to ride new things next year.

Can't imagine how anyone new to Audax can fail to be converted after DD.

Agree with all of the above but would note that it;'s the lease audax feeling audax in the calendar. It could so easily be a Wiggle sportive. Totally different crowd.

Think I spotted you.....you were wearing a Hackney Audax Club top coming back through Cobham? You did look like you were suffering a bit! I waved in a bright yellow helmet

The "food" on a wiggle sportive is barely fit for human consumption. That's why they call them feed stops - like you would for cattle :-)

(Actually I do quite like a fig roll but it doesn't really compare to the bacon roll, pasta, rice pudding and TWO cakes I ate yesterday. Plus an ice cream en-route.)

I was talking about the people. You can tell, because I said "totally different crowd"

"London" to Brighton so obviously you're going to get your target market turning up. FKW race bike brigade. I blame Team Sky.

That's sort of what I mean, it's a good bridge between the two. Agree on the crowd though.

Lol oh dear, yes that was me, I had run out of water, I stopped not long after for an ice cream and to top up my bottles!

that happens on any London audax now .. great escape is a prime example .. chaingangs all round

Note my quotes for da emphasis.

Ice cream is always a moral booster! Had one myself on top of Box Hill...

Are you still riding your Colnago?

Rubbish, only on Ditchling Devil and Great Escape. Straight Outta Hackney, The Shark, Greenwich Meanclimb and Steamride are all examples of where that is absolutely not the case.

fair assessment; I wonder why though.

The Kingston Wheelers chaingang was a fucking shambles when it went past me. They all got dropped by the front guy on Turners Hill so started breathlessly screaming to slow down, the back ate the front of the group and all you could hear was people dropping 5 gears at a time.

Dem bros are jokers.

I suspect it is to do with number of available entries (DD and GE both had 400 this year) and how and where they are advertised.

Great Escape is barely an Audax apart from in name. Ditchling Devil is known by all the London clubs these days.

The ACH rides are not marketed directly to cycling clubs as such, and entries are usually capped. I suspect that Cogidubnus Marcus JB's upcoming ride will feel like an Audax and Kingston Wheelers Rowlands RAAAmble will be like a massive club run.

I'm doing this one in July for my RRtY. Anyone else?

+1 for DD. Amazing route and vegan muffins. Yaya. Combe lane though after 170km?? Nearly sick. Thanks to organisers. Finished at 4.20pm.

Agree with all of the above but would note that it;'s the lease audax feeling audax in the calendar. It could so easily be a Wiggle sportive. Totally different crowd.

Yes and no. I'd not done it before but had a good day out. Weather helped but it was a good route in any case, and I'd never been out to the top of Devils Dyke before.
I recognised a good few regular audaxers at the start, and rode the first section with a guy who has done PBP and the TCR. However there were the club groups and guys on Boardmans. I guess there was enough room for both.
Funnily enough, between the second and the last control, when I was slowing down a bit, a group of six who I'd not seen before, came past me. I jumped on the back and rode with them for a few miles. It turned out they were on a Wiggle sportive.

I suspect it is to do with number of available entries (DD and GE both had 400 this year) and how and where they are advertised.

Paul advertises it on the Cyclosport website, where all the sportives are listed, so bound to get some entries from there, from people who wouldn't normally go to Aukweb

Yep - my August rides (filling up very nicely if you're thinking of entering!) are not really being heavily marketed outside of the audax world.

As a first time organiser, I want to keep things relatively small and manageable; I am using commercial controls and have had discussions on numbers with them.

DD uses rather more main roads than my rides. This is not a bad thing and lends itself to a larger field. However, I personally prefer the lanes and less travelled roads, so the rides follow smaller lanes much more.

http://www.marcusjb.com/cogidubnus-200

A quickie report on my first 400 this weekend: Asparagus & Strawberries. My first 'Audax Moment' happened when I was on the train to Manningtree. I thought I'd load up my Garmin with the track in readiness as the train was getting in 5 minutes before the start. I searched through my list of tracks and it wasn't there. GPS fail i.e. I had failed to put it on the device. Big Doh. DNS? Nope. Everything else was fine.

@jsabine got on the train at Colchester and suggested I build a route sheet holder and / or follow the crowd for a bit.

I rode with someone for the first 50k to Ixworth the first control. There I fashioned a route sheet holder with a muesli bar box, zip ties and elastic bands. Good thing I had it with me 'just in case'. The route sheet had no distances on it only turn points and controls of course. I had to let go of knowing the time, how far to the next control or even the next turn. Kind of felt like riding with someone than looking at the GPS for guidance.

Second control at Halesworth (100k) where my elastic band broke. I bought some from the Spar but they were totally low quality. There was a DIY place across the road that had better ones.

Third control was at Acle (150k)where I had an ice cream and chatted to some veteran riders. The more I ride the more respect I have for the experienced Audax riders. Such a laid back and unassuming crowd and yet you know what they've been through and what they're capable of.

Fourth control was Wells (next to sea, 218k) where the chippy would be closing at 21:00. If I pushed it I would make it. I was determined to have those chips. Headwinds all the way but thoughts of my order got me there in time. Got there about 20:30 and there was a big queue. Watching the sun setting, eating my sausage & chips and seeing other riders milling around was quite magical.

Now it was time to do it all again through the night. The next section was 79k. Flat main roads. Not too much traffic. Gentle breeze and well rested. But as it got darker how was I going to read the route sheet? I read a few lines whenever I passed under a street light or a car passed.

At 297km I rolled into the new 24-hour McDonalds at Barton Mills at around 01:30. Many riders snoozing and packed with people. Time for a Big Mac. Not fast food in the least. Chatted, rested, ate but didn't manage to sleep.

The next 47km to Saffron Walden (344k) was a real slog. Felt like I was pressing the pedals but they weren't turning. Got the 'dozies' real bad. Luckily I didn't fall off. Saw riders in bus shelters wrapped in space blankets. They looked like sculptures in a theme park. It was already light at 04:30. Wasn't a long night at all. But a very slow section for me and took more than 3 hours. Stopped a lot under street lights to read the route sheet.

Muesli bars, an ATM receipt and off on the final leg. It had been fairly flat up till this point. Now the climbs began. Nothing major like Toys Hill but riding fixed with a fairly heavy pannier being sleep deprived and having already ridden over 300km even small climbs seemed daunting. The route sheet stated L@T then climb Cooks Hill etc. Just about managed on 71 gear even though I told myself that I would walk if necessary.

Noticed the rear tyre was a bit flat but it was a slow puncture. Couldn't be bothered to change it and just a pump up got me through from Finchingfield (Dunwich Dynamo) to the end. 24h 31mins. Slower than I had expected but happy that I didn't pack.

A few handshakes at Manningtree station and soon I was on the train back to London. Dozed all the way there. Heavy legs on the ride home.

What I've learned is that it's not about fitness. It's about strength of mind, strategy, focus, concentration and generally keeping it together when you're struggling. It's not just a case of an extra 100k on top of a 300, this really was quite a different experience.

OK, wasn't quite a quickie. Next ride Fairies flattest 300 in 2 weeks time.

Chapeau, and extra chapeau for doing it fixed!

400 is the distance that many people struggle with and many never get past, it's often considered harder than a 600 because there isn't enough time to build up a buffer for sleep.

Thoughts of a debut 600?

Yes, well done. Others have said it's a hard 400, with the later start time meaning you've got a couple of hour further to go when night falls.

You can borrow the Hunka I've got if you like. I'm testing a bag cover so the Hunka will be sitting out the Tan Hill 600.

Well done. I needed route canal after this one last year. But then the carnage at and after Barton Mills made me decide to do PBP.