Audax rides

Wow. One for the bucket list. Looks amazing!

It was great.

Something about the super long distance worked well for me, with the lower min speed it allowed a proper nights sleep and felt I could just keep going. In contrast the 1000 last month felt like a constant race against the clock and more of a sprint.

Looked fantastic in the photos, lovely stuff.

I'd highly recommend this route with for anyone looking to do a 1600km ride. The days planned out well and sleep stops were well positioned with

Start: Inverness
Night 1: Dunnet
Night 2: Ft William
Night 3: Mull of Galloway Area (we stayed in Stoneykirk)
Night 4: Berwick on Tweed
Night 5: Newtonmore
Finish: Inverness

Each day was approx 300 to 320km with the penultimate day being 280 and the final day only 77km (mostly downhill from Slochd).

Having done this LEL seems a lot less daunting next year. The difference I guess will be quality of sleep and showers (bnb/hotel vs sports hall floor).

Rode the Staffs Peak Grimpeur yesterday. It was a day of road closures and hot tarmac. The route had been altered in advance to avoid a couple of major closures. Several others popped up on the day. For the most part we were waved through and did get some long, if a little sticky, car-free stretches.

Cocked up navigation at the end. Wanted to take the alternate route through Pott Shrigley but my mental map of the lanes was a little rusty. Took a left too early and before I knew it I was back at the bottom of the hill in Bollington. Not what the legs needed at that point.

Only one detour-on-a-detour this week, taking the Old Road to Buxton, rather than Long Hill. 5/10, a quiet climb but a mediocre bridleway at the top.

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Seems someone entered the Fifth Continent 300k and then forgot to put it in their diary so now they're double booked. I've emailed the org to see if they have reserves waiting but if not, is anyone potentially looking for a couple of tickets to a Kingston Wheelers 300k on the 11th?

I’ve not done any big rides since lockdown and have put on around 10kg. I still ride 40miles a day to commute. I want to do a 400k in November with a mate, wondering if it’s plausible.

Most things are possible if you -want- to do them.

That’s what I figure. I guess I could do it tomorrow, it just depends on how much fun it will be.

I've also got a spare for this if anyone needs it - double booked too

"I'm not running a waiting list as I don't have time - too busy trying to get enough helpers. We always allow for some DNS anyway in the calculations and Audax entries are not transferrable because of insurance. You might consider riding the first 200km and getting a train back to London from Stonegate if that helps. Either way, would be good ot know if you decide to ride or not before the day."

Ahhh. Never mind. :/

I'm probably going to ride a similar 300km route to Dungeness in a few weeks as a DIY, as it's scarecrow season in the High Weald which is always quite fun.

I'm thinking maybe we'll ride this route as a DIY at a later date. Another option is doing what he suggests - we could ride out to Stonegate and eat some cake, maybe help out a bit and then train it back. That would still get us back to London with time to get ready for mate's birthday

Anyone riding the BRM centenary this weekend? There's a medal with a big cock on it if you finish in time.

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I'll be riding one from Edinburgh rather than the one in Halifax.

As a heads up there will be another cocky badge in June 2022 for the centenary for the first BRM 300. I'll be organising one of these up in Scotland too.

I'll keep an eye out for that!

Are they in fixed locations or? How does that work? I'd love the opportunity to get more cock.

Nominally any BRM 200 on 11 Sept will be a Centennial Ride and riders completing it are eligible for the medal.

Chris Crossland is the ACP rep and has put on the 200km ride from Halifax which has been named as so and will definitely have medals. The Edinburgh one is a bit more up in the air. Medals might be issued later.

Didn't know about the 300 anniversary, where did you get that info from? I've still got time to get one in the calendar for then...

It came from my regional events delegate. He was encouraging us to get events registered before the BRM deadline at the end of the month.

Give it a few weeks and I should get my fancy brevet card back with a suitably cocky medal.

Ride was mixed. Felt like there was nothing in my legs for the first 150km and considered packing on more than one occasion. Given I hadn't really been watching the time, and it felt like I was crawling along at a snail's pace, it was nice to arrive at the second-to-last control and be told we still had 5.5h to ride the last 50km. Not sure if it was that news, a bit of a sit down, the rider in SPD sandals or the three dark choc cookies but things seemed to get a lot easier after that.

Glorious light on the way up and over Cragg Vale. The ~9km descent was a nice way to finish the ride.

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That spd sandal picture is a such a great audax photo. Should be the next cover of Arrivee.

For those with a bit of virtual ECE experience, how lenient is the validation if you go offroute from the GPX file you submit on entry?

I'm intending on doing most of the extra riding after a calendar event, but realised I've managed to skip any food/caffeine stops. Can I just wing it on the day, divert as needed and ask forgiveness, or so I need to create a new route and email that to the ECE organiser in advance?

The guy who runs it is super contemptuous of strict interpretation of the rules and will happily validate anything the right distance.

Although don't take the piss.

Thanks. I'll try and redo the file later and let them know to be on the safe side.