Audax rides

Are those OK for using on ultras? I know they don't meet the letter of the rules but do they get passed at equipment check?
Was thinking of getting some as I've not found my holy grail which is a reflective that is a good gilet as well.

Has anyone ridden or have any information on the Calais - Brindisi permanent?

I've thought about it and done a bit of research but not done it.

There's an article on the Web somewhere but an Israeli guy who did it.

It goes over the col de montgenevre which is one of the earliest alpine passes to open, usually in May I think.

The road down the Italian coast from rimini onwards looks pretty boring. Was going to be the Tcr route last year. Apparently you can't even see the sea as there's a railway embankment in the way.

I’m just thinking ahead to 2023, unsure whether I want a solo challenge or a more structured race…..

Nice pics/ride. Would have sworn that bridge was up at Whorlton a good 100 miles NW of there...

https://goo.gl/maps/cU5DHdFLn7ZxWiFQ7

There are two Calais-Brindisi permanents. One is the AUK one that you know about. The other is validated by the UAF. The routes are a bit different, as are the total distances. Both were set up quite a while ago and traffic levels have noticeably increased. I wouldn’t be blindly following ‘the canonical route’ without discussing alternatives with the organiser.

https://www.audax-uaf.com/cyclotourisme/randonnees-permanentes/calais-brindisi/

Here is me yesterday at 4.45am on the left. Not the greatest reflectivity on these monkey ones compared to proviz on the right. Not sure how much of that is due to positioning of the photographer’s dynamo light.

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Interesting. But my main concern is compliance rather than visibility. The driver that kills me won't be looking, etc.

I'm due to ride the TPBR in July. Have any previous TCR or similar riders ever submitted these rides as DIYs?

Reading this bit of the AUK site suggests it may be possible, though tbh it sounds like I might just be making a load of work for myself when I could be fretting about chainrings or something else.

Isn't it a race, which prevents you from entering it as an audax?

I guess it is, I suppose my interpretation of it was that it's a 'race', in that they've called it as such as it makes it a bit more marketable for entries, but you don't actually win anything.

Re-reading the AUK documentation I suppose they do say 'non-competitive'...

Did the Knights Templar Compass 100 on Saturday, my first Audax event. I'd been umming and ahing in the couple of days up to it whether to do it or go kitesurfing instead on account of the wind forecast... should have gone kitesurfing. Setting off from Witham, first 15k or so weren't that great as I took the Maldon bypass which meant some fairly unforgiving roads with fast flowing traffic but soon out of that and into the windswept Essex countryside. I set off with a French guy who was also a first timer, he was riding an olive green Look 765 RS with pink and blue GKs and a multi-coloured full-frame bag, wish I'd taken a picture of it as it was quite something.

French fella and I had been taking turns and chatting, said he hadn't slept well, not had breakfast and left his water bottles in the car... By the time we reached the second control at 37k he was looking a bit peaky. I gave him one of my bottles, he ate a couple of cereal bars and I told him to just sit on my wheel out of the wind for the next 20k to see if he recovered a bit. He did feel a bit better but not great, so I just let him sit on wheel pretty much the rest of the way around.

Nice route apart from the start and took in some bits that were part of the 2014 TdF route, wind didn't let up all day though but thankfully fairly flat. Pint (courtesy of very thankful French guy), halloumi wrap and chips at the Wetherspoons at the end then the tedious journey home. Had fun, will do some more this year but still, should have gone kitesurfing. No pics as it was too cold and windy to faff around with phone.

An audax organiser once told me that people had approached him to try to have the TCR style event they had entered registered as an audax and he had had said no because these events are races.

I've also realised that even if there's a way of doing it, having to submit DIY controls for every 80km or so throughout a ~2200km route is probably ride admin I could happily do without... I think I'll stop pursuing this idea :)

Well done!
Unfortunately your life, and many of your weekends, are now ruined :)

Ha, cheers! I'll try not to go too wild. I've got another 100 in Essex at the beginning of March and then signed up for a go at a couple of 200s, Man of Kent and Tour de Ricky, so that'll do for now!

Man of Kent is a nice route. A bit rolling first half then pretty flat for the last leg, works best with a tail wind. The first control used to be in someone's back garden, but that may not have survived COVID though. An interesting bit is going past some of the old coal mines.
Ricky is new for this year.
Enjoy them!

Just ordered. Thanks for finding it.

Am submitting an ECE for Man of Kent - it says optional upload of route file. Do I need to do this? If so, do I upload the entire route or just the leg out and back? I was just gonna upload the gpx of the entire 300km route I intended to do on the day. Is that right?

Yes, send through the entire (ECE+Calendar) track, that way you can use any over-distance in the calendar event to reduce the extension required to hit 300km or whatever- submit both the planned route and completed track (when done) to Martin.

Need inspo for a scenic DIY 300km from London that's not the Orbital, Oasts and Coasts, Amesbury Amble or The Dean.

Anyone got any routes in the pocket they'd recommend? Preferably not Kent, I think I've completed it.

do the ECE Man of Kent with @youramericanlover (and me but only for the 200)

https://audax.uk/event-details?eventId=9342

Did a homebrew version a bit too recently tbh...

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/35565492

Ah yes, that's not a bad shout - thanks!