Audax rides

So will you be carrying stuff inbetween your bag drops? if so, what in? i assume you just take what you need out of the pannier at each drop so you only carry the panniers on your way home from the finish?

Not sure if you saw the Carradice I was carrying on the DD but that's at the lower end of the average size of bag that audaxers tend to carry on rides 400k+. Some do it in saddle backs, some do rack top bags, some panniers and some a combination including handlebar bags. Basically it's at least 10+ litres of carrying capacity, which is enough for a well chosen set of tools, bike spares, personal effects (wallet, phone etc) waterproofs (variable depending on forecast) extra clothes, emergency rations etc. I get commented on for running on potentially the minimum of kit although this is more because I'm OK with not completing a ride due to catastrophic mechanical failure than most. I'm also fairly resiliant to variations in environmental conditions but otherwise an endurance weakling compared to many other riders (I'm 34 and still get schooled around a 200k course by people twice my age carrying twice as much as I do).

My logic on the kit is that on any other 400-600k made up of commuting and weekend riding is pretty uneventful as long as you keep an eye on stuff, so why would an audax be any different. Once you're out past the first 50k mark you should have enough spare time to fix a difficult puncture or bodge a repair on anything else. If I start riding fixed, that will be even less stuff to go wrong. Wouldn't even need to carry gear cables.