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I'm entering the Rowlands Ramble this weekend. 213k from Kingston / Surbiton.
Quite long, but it would tick your box.
Will be my first Audax event, so you wouldn't be the only newbie there.A question for the Audax veterans in this thread;
Usually on a long ride like this, I would stop a few times for coffee / food.
Should I plan to do that at Controls?
I'm a bit unclear if Control = 'stamp a ticket' or 'stop for cake'
steelspeed-
It can be both. If it’s a manned control, there might be some food and drink out for you and someone will stamp your brevet card. Most likely though the controls will be free controls, meaning you buy food from a shop, or sit in Costa or whatever, making sure you ask for and keep the receipt as proof of passage. Make sure you carry a bit of food with you too (some don’t; I always do). Oh, and info control means you need to answer a question on the route, the name of a pub, or something like that. Obviously though you can also stop for cake and coffee whenever you feel like it.
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I’d plan to do both tbh - controls can be a meal stop or just get a stamp/answer a question on the card.
If you’re well fuelled you can either decide to skip queues at a control and just get a stamp if you’re feeling good, or take a well earned break, sit down and refuel.
Eat enough to enjoy the day and remember it’s all about doing it in your own time/at your own pace. (These are what I normally forget and so bonk/DNF/hate myself and everyone else with 100k to go).
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The way I normally do it is to carry a reasonable stash of snacks that I can easily eat on the bike or quickly tuck into at a control, and then stop for a proper feed around the halfway mark, ideally something like 110k so I feel like I've already broken the back of it. But however you do it, eat along the way, probably a little more than you think you need.
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Controls can get a bit busy as well so sometimes worth just getting the stamp and moving on to somewhere else in the area if you're worried about getting bogged down waiting or anything. Any manned controls I've been to have always had cake worth taking a break for mind.
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I rode Rowlands Ramble last year and it was a really good ride - quite lumpy in the middle. At the halfway control near Rowlands castle - there was a manned checkpoint that was serving beans on toast, sandwiches and snacks to all the Audaxers. The rest of the controls were either a info control (write the answer in the box' or collect a receipt. Theres also vast quantities of pasta at the end in Surbiton. Kingston wheelers always run a well-stocked audax.
I'll be doing the 'Straight out of hackney' audax next week... if my body can handle it after PBP
Richtea
dsalmon
ElGonzo
ric_a5
Amcharl
Considering dipping my toes into audaxing...question I have for Londoners is how much activity is that's easily reachable from London. I like the idea of events that are reachable from central London without need for car and/or overnight stay in B&B and wondering if that's common?