Audax rides

Having just whinged about everything ever I see the Oxford Dean 300 on March 27th has online entry. Hmmmmmm.

I'm doing the Dean. Go on, enter it, you get to see at least two chalk horses on it.

Still not sure if I should start with 50 or 100 ... into the deep end or ease myself into it ...

I'm doing the Dean. Go on, enter it, you get to see at least two chalk horses on it.

That is a convincing argument... I'll do it if I can figure out a feasible way to get to the start for 6am.

Still not sure if I should start with 50 or 100 ... into the deep end or ease myself into it ...

Do a 100, it'll be fun. I've never even done a 50 and I'm going to start with a 300.

:D

Do a 100, it'll be fun. I've never even done a 50 and I'm going to start with a 300.

:D

Be fair, you have done the DD, twice, over consecutive weekends, with additional extras.

That is a convincing argument... I'll do it if I can figure out a feasible way to get to the start for 6am.

If you can't come up with any other options, I'm booked into the Travelodge at the start and I can check if there is a spare bed/couch in the room.

This scares me now. I am still not sure which one to sign up for, the 50 or the 100, but it either sounds like either the 50 isn't that well attended or it is really really hard riding ...

The 50km ride just didn't attract as many entrants. It's the same 50km as the first 50km of the 100km ride.

You could always enter the 100km ride and bail out at halfway if you're not interested in finishing it (although you won't be credited with finishing the 50km ride if you do this, with Audax you have to finish what you set out to do).

Only some rides have a closing date for entries. As TSK says, it's so they can sort out things they require for the day.

It's also to stop lots of people turning up on a nice sunny day with no entry form and a £20 note and no change.

Some rides have limits on entries too as the cafes used as controls wouldn't be able to handle hundreds or thousands of riders that you get on sportives.

Remember the organisers are doing this for fun, not for money. Most break even and some even make a loss hosting their events. If they ever return a profit this usually gets donated to their local cycling club (where most of the volunteers manning the controls come from) or to charity (Air Ambulances are a particular favourite).

Also, many organisers are old school enough that they don't do computers let alone Paypal. Several of them don't have email addresses listed, you have to pick up that strange phone thing and call them or, shock horror, write to them!

Do a 100, it'll be fun. I've never even done a 50 and I'm going to start with a 300.

I rode with two people on LEL last year that was their first Audax. Straight into the very deep end at 1400km.

Cheers Greenbank, I found that just after I posted, UTFS fail, I think. I'm going to try and do a 200k at the end of March, I'll do a couple of 100k rides on my own and see how they go. There's the 300,000th BRM on 27/3, 200k, just east of paris. Looks like I need to sort out club membership asap to get registered!!

Hi guys.
I'm completely new to the Audax rides but would really enjoy trying it out sometime. I'm currently using my fixed/single speed for commuting 17 miles to and from work. I've also got a Claud Butler hybrid. Would it be really stupid to look at doing Audax rides on a single speed bike? I'm asking because I'm not really in the position to go and buy another bike, I could easily fit drop handlebars/brakes to the single speed though.

Quite a few Audax on fixed, hardly any single-speed. I only did one 300km ride on a geared bike last year compared to 4700km of Audaxes on the fixed (including some bastardly hilly ones). If you're happy riding it then ride it.

As for flat bars and hybrids; if it's comfortable then there's no reason not to. There's no snobbery about the bike you use. You see quite a few flat bars on rides below 200km but not many on rides longer than that although there is the occasional one; I did see one flat barred bike on the Bryan Chapman 600km Audax last year.

No-one checks your bike for roadworthiness or legality but you won't get any compliments for turning up on brakeless fixed.

No-one checks your bike for roadworthiness or legality but you won't get any compliments for turning up on brakeless fixed.

Oh I had no plans to turn up brakeless!

I'm going to add drops to mine, complete with a carradice saddle bag which is a present from the mrs.

Does anyone have any tips on attaching bottle cages to a bike which doesn't have braze on's I've been looking at these but wasn't sure if I'm missing a trick completely.

Having just whinged about everything ever I see the Oxford Dean 300 on March 27th has online entry. Hmmmmmm.

The Dean is a lovely ride. First time I did it on 46x17 (71") and suffered a bit mainly due to lack of fitness; the grimp up towards St Briavels is fun, as is the long descent into Chepstow, but I was defeated by the 14% section of the climb up to Somerset Monument (between Wickwar and Hawkesbury Upton). 2008 was also the year for shocking weather, it was a blizzard at the top of the Marlborough Downs.

Geared down to 46x18 (67") for last year and with nicer weather (and much fitter) finished more than 3 hours earlier than 2008. Still walked some of the Somerset Monument climb. 14% is just too much with ~200km in the legs.

My route is here: http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/267258

but note that it goes on to the Wheatley Travelodge rather than back to the start at Peartree. You can finish anywhere in Oxford (as long as you get receipt with location/time/date) but I knew I wasn't going to make it back in time for the last train home so I'd booked another night in a Travelodge. Many people drive to the start and have a little snooze in their car after finishing before driving home. If I did it again I'd be tempted with just cycling the 100km home afterwards. 8 week old baby means cutting back on the Audaxing this year.

8 week old baby means cutting back on the Audaxing this year.

Congrats!

Congrats Greenbank!

I have just learned that you don't need to be a member to ride an audax, just have insurance (article 2 of the regulations!). So I can start thinking about kit lists and what I'll eat over 200k. I figure 10 hours would be a pretty good time?? 20kph average? And I'll need a proper meal half way round, the control's a cafe, so I guess that'll do.

Congrats Greenbank!

Ta. Some babies have a special blanket, my daughter has a favourite 15mm ring spanner: http://www.greenbank.org/misc/DSCN3004_medium.JPG

Anyway.

I have just learned that you don't need to be a member to ride an audax, just have insurance (article 2 of the regulations!). So I can start thinking about kit lists and what I'll eat over 200k. I figure 10 hours would be a pretty good time?? 20kph average? And I'll need a proper meal half way round, the control's a cafe, so I guess that'll do.

Insurance: You need BC or CTC insurance via membership (and not all memberships come with the insurance), Audax membership, or to pay the £2 extra for temporary membership. You may be insured thanks to some other membership (like LCC) but the organisers can't be expected to work out whether any random policy covers everything necessary, so it's limited to just CTC, BC or AUK membership, or stump up the £2.

Kit list: It's been done to death lots of times before elsewhere. At a minimum, just take stuff to fix minor repairs (spare tubes, pump, puncture repair kit, multitool). The longer the ride the more stuff I'll take. Waterproof jacket unless it's midsummer, acts as a good spare layer should it get cold.

Food: Food should be available on the way round, either because the intermediate controls are at cafes or because you pass petrol stations and/or village shops. Eat at controls and carry emergency bonk rations to get you to the next source of food. Beans on toast, lasagne, spag bol, lemon drizzle cake. Can't be arsed with energy gels and energy drinks.

I'm at the slower end of the Audax spectrum, so 20kph is my usual moving average (for winter or hilly rides). That gives 10 hours riding. I'll usually stop for about 2 hours during a 200 as I lounge about at cafes. That being said, I've romped around a summer 200 in just over 8 hours by avoiding faffing. It's not a race so I rarely ever bother putting huge effort in.

20kph average? And I'll need a proper meal half way round, the control's a cafe, so I guess that'll do.

As a general rule I expect to need to eat something every 50k for comfort. 200k is a lot of calories burnt.
A decent breaky in the morning to get started. Coffee and something surgary at 50k, a solid lunch at 200k, a substantial snack and more coffee at 150k. If you just do a proper meal at half way, expect to bonk on the return stretch. On some really tough rides I've run into the 12th hour and stopped for some dinner as well. Only 20k left to go, but would then still have had to go for food.

Ta. Some babies have a special blanket, my daughter has a favourite 15mm ring spanner: http://www.greenbank.org/misc/DSCN3004_medium.JPG

Awwwwwwwwww

good call on a big breakfast, but I don't know how much like eating I'm going to feel at 6 when I get up. As for daytime food, this is france, my friend, so there'll be pain au raisin available most places, and that's great cycling food. I'll work out bonk rations over the next few weeks, 100k planned for tomorrow, rain and high winds stopped play today. Chocolate bars for the sugar, portions of cake for the stodge, bidons with tablets in them for the salts.

TSK -- solid lunch at 200k?! I shan't be finished for lunch, I can assure you. I guess you mean 100k. It doesn't look too hilly, 1400m of up over 200k, nothing above 190m. As long as the wind behaves, and it doesn't rain...and my bike doesn't break...and I don't get sick... ah, I'm depressing myself now.

and awwww for the baby. ring spanners > teething toys.

1400m of up over 200k

Nice.

1000m climbing per 100km is considered "average" for a UK Audax, a nice undulating workout.

1400m climbing per 100km is starting to get hilly, it's where the altitude points come in (for UK Audaxes). For longer rides 1400m climb per 100km can be positively knackering (the Bryan Chapman 600 is 8300m climbing over 600km with several trips up to over 400m).

The hardest I've done was 5390m climbing in 300km: [ame]http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/317461[/ame

[/ame]

Needed gears for that one. 1800m climbing per 100km. Shattered at the end of it.

Nice.

1000m climbing per 100km is considered "average" for a UK Audax, a nice undulating workout.

1400m climbing per 100km is starting to get hilly, it's where the altitude points come in (for UK Audaxes). For longer rides 1400m climb per 100km can be positively knackering (the Bryan Chapman 600 is 8300m climbing over 600km with several trips up to over 400m).

The hardest I've done was 5390m climbing in 300km: http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/317461

Needed gears for that one. 1800m climbing per 100km. Shattered at the end of it.
Ah, well looking at your route, I can see where you went wrong, you went straight through the middle of the Peak District, twice.

:P

Alright, talked to the organizer, I am going to enter the 100km one on the 6th. Gonna do it geared. Who else is in there?

I am doing the 50Km on the 6th

Im doing the 100k braziers run this week. So Ive decided to take the plunge and do the 200k on the 6th, posted the application today. Looks like we will all be starting an hour apart which is a bit of a shame.

Be interested to hear how you all get on and perhaps arange a mass entry to an event in the future. Ill be riding geared though, I treat my self too some miles on my nice bike at the weekends.