Audax rides

Wishful thinking.

I did a version of that back in January. Was hard. I am shit at hills. Nevermind.

Nah, your legs are shorter :P

:/

Haha

First actual impact from this dickhead virus - the Highland Fling 1000k is postponed. :(

So's the Pork Pie Audax.

This image just appeared on my Facebook feed

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Balls, that’s my RRtY ruined!

Balls, that’s my RRtY ruined!

It's suspended so you can continue it at a later date once rides are being validated again.

i.e. if rides open up again in late June for example then you don't need to worry about missing March (even if you've already done it), April, May and probably June.

That’s good. I have LEJOGLE in 7 days planned in June. I’m going to have to look at cancelling it I think.

It says they're suspending recognition. That implies you could still do a DIY in each month and it will be validated later?

Also, that's Fakenewsbook.

No.

"
This means that AUK will not validate any rides undertaken from midnight tonight, 16th March, until the decision is taken to lift the suspension. Anyone undertaking such rides will not be allocated AUK points or AAA points, their rides will not be counted towards Mileater or Randonneur Round the Year awards, and they will not be covered by AUK’s insurance policy while riding.
"

Any rides from now until they lift the ban will not be recognised as Audaxes, ever.

Need to reassess what I've actually got to look forward to this summer now in terms of riding.

Solo laps of Rotherhithe, probably

That's fucking dumb. Why would they remove DIYs?
Also, are they planning on communicating this news to us?

Details on member's forum: https://twitter.com/AudaxUK/status/1239697473079255051

Assume email will follow this evening.

So, getting a head start and getting winter over and done with is now pointless as the RRTY will likely have to continue through next winter? Dumb. Stopping DIYs makes no sense.

I guess people are often tempted to pair up for DIYs etc

There's also the advice milling about that a monster ride can compromise immunity for a few days afterwards during recovery - audax is a broad church in terms of ages and fitness and I think they've probably thought encouraging it in any way has some associated increased risk for some riders.

That's fucking dumb. Why would they remove DIYs?

Probably to discourage unnecessary travel, and the fact that doing a 200km Audax isn't "necessary" to maintain fitness. With the current Government recommendations you're free to go out and do whatever you like on a bike in the name of exercise (keeping social distancing in mind).

If you need to do a 200km ride to maintain your fitness then go out and do it, but you don't "need" the Audax bit of it. If AUK kept DIYs/awards going then that might be seen as encouring people to do rides they wouldn't have given the current situation.

Also, are they planning on communicating this news to us?

The previous official announcement (13th) was emailed to all members a few days after it appeared on the AUK forum, I assume they'll do the same with this one.

My unnecessary travel has already been fucked over. Doing some audaxes was what I'd planned to fill in the new gaps I've now got in my calendar.

Strava kudos only then.

Before people say, sure some individuals would be able to go out and do a 200km DIY x GPS taking all of their food/water with them so they keep to the social distancing restrictions, but AUK can't do anything to enforce this so it runs the risk of someone doing something stupid on a ride under their auspices.

Also I doubt the AUK insurers would pay out if something went wrong, and if they don't pay out then AUK itself could be liable.

Lastly, there's the emergency cover issue. If you choose to do something like this and end up needing emergency care the Government has hinted you'd be back of the queue. Again, this is something AUK as could not be seen to be condoning/facilitating.

old white men are in vulnerable group for COVID no?

It's tempting to "just ride and screw what they think", but we're a small sport, people aren't reasonable, and perceptions matter. A friend in southern Spain was targeted/threatened online for posting a solo ride on Strava - in a rural/mountain area, before any restrictions came into force.

What's there now will be here tomorrow. People are afraid and we'll see similar reactions to outdoor activities, regardless of actual public health advice / good sense. Expect tabloid articles/online reactions branding people as selfish "spreaders".

Audax UK are in an impossible situation - if they officially endorse any kind of riding, they're turning all long-distance riders into targets, for a long time after this crisis has passed.

Personally, until there's an official no-cycling rule, I'm going to ride my bike alone and enjoy it. No points, no groups, no cafes, no social media. I'm hoping that'll be enough.

Yeah, I get it. Given that schools and businesses are running though it's still bullshit.

Do ride in April, enter for month x, change dates on file, problem solved.