Audax rides

As above - assuming you are in the South East.

AIUI what matters is that

• the ride is as long as it is supposed to be
  
• you go through all your nominated controls.
  
  

Other regions / validators might be different.

Yeah I've submitted files in the past with around 10km or so of deviation but in the same general direction, especially coming back into London for example.

I usually add something in the notes eg 'needed to divert to fill bidons'

Thanks both. Will try to stop fretting and just get on with it tomorrow.

Venetian nights or Bunbury? You're on a roll atm!

Venetian. Rode it years ago and really enjoyed it. Will see how the new suzuki swift of delights measures up against the original...

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Well, that didn't exactly go to plan. DNFd the calendar event so the ECE was a bust too. Not sure if it was a few sleepless nights, too much sugary food early on, not enough water or something else. Legs were just empty from the moment we hit the first hill. There was a lot of "this can't be the lowest gear" and after a while one of my knees started to go. Still ended up riding a lot of the route for a sensible bail out, just skipped the absolute bastard climb out of Cromford.

Things that were good/mildly amusing:

• Didn't fall in the canal at 6am when a large owl flew out of a tree.
  
• Halifax Bob, your classic hard audaxer, knackered his chain (having already snapping his rear mech) and couldn't do a full rotation of the cassette without jamming everything just outside Wheelock. After sourcing a new chain he went on to finish and likely rode another 70km home on his bodged singlespeed, which he overtook me on at least twice (pictured).
  
• Catering was superb. Kitchen was serving proper oatcakes in the morning, tea, toast, homemade brownies, vegan options all round too. Similar set up at controls, with sandwiches being made up. Top work from the organiser and volunteers!
  
• Bonus NoGrav while bailing out.
  
• Almost car-free descent from the Cat & Fiddle.
  
• Coop in Bunbury had mince pies in their bakery bit. Looked to be vegan. Couldn't quite bring myself to buy them, mainly due to lack of carrying facilities for the stupid plastic box. Greggs 6packs are much more frame-bag friendly.
  
• Still ended up riding 200km!
  
  

Things that didn't go so well:

• Eating and/or drinking the right things.
  
• Bored scumbag driver in a 4x4 trying to run oncoming cyclists off the road.
  
• Not having space to carry mince pies.
  
  

Things to do before next time:

• Put more kms in to see if flat pedals and cambium are compatible with legs and arse before trying to do more hilly 200s.
  
• Construct mince pie carrying apparatus before winter rides.
  
• Fit a double. 1x is dead.
  

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Fit a double. 1x is dead.

#hippyisalwaysright

Sounds like a mare. Much like most of my rides this year. But you still got a 200k ride in and you learned some new stuff and saw some new stuff so it's not a bust eh?

I should probably look at the calendar and see if anything looks interesting enough to tempt me out of audax retirement.

Less a mare, more a gradual body failure. But yes, it was still a good day out. The ride will always be there next year and with a bit of luck my legs will be too.

doing my first ever official audax 200 next Saturday.
Lf to it :D

btw bike is ready!

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#showroomclean

Looks good.

Wait edit, other than saddle a little far back?

Yes, moved 1.5 point forward before the long audax.
On other note, dear @hippy did my first 200 today...now is pure grim and shirt after 10h raining...

https://takeshifaehrtrad.com/2021/10/04/le-1000-du-sud-oder-die-kunst-des-einsamen-kletterns-teil-1/

Im currently 5 months in on my RRTY attempt and so far everything has gone swimmingly. I've done all of the perms within a 30 mile radius of Edinburgh, so I guess I'll need to do some DIY's. This is the first time I've done this, so I have some questions and would be super grateful if anyone could help :)

1. Can I repeat the same route twice on different dates?

2. Is there a minimum time between submitting a DIY to the organiser and riding it? For example, if the weather forecast suddenly turns for the better and I submit a DIY for the following day. Is this an Audax faux pas?

3. Can I pretty much plan any route for a DIY with GPS validation? (Obviously not doing circuits or the same length of road over and over.) Would any 200km ride I've done from my doorstep likely be ok?

EDIT: I'm doing them all fixed as well for the lol's. Hoping I won't need to put studded tyres on again like last year as I couldn't get over the 100 mile mark on them :|

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Yes, no and yes.

Hello I've been doing DIYs for a few years. You can use the same route as many times as you like. It has a bevet number once registered and I think you can just keep using that number. As for submitting I do this the night before, audax UK send an auto email that you are entered. Then a few days later the validator emails listed the entry and number of cards I have left. You can enter up to midnight I think the day before.
My gpx routes go all over the place. I have off-road, walking bits and fast roads. Don't have to worry about the shape of the route if it's gpx submit. Also if you are doing squares from veloview that also make the route planning more interesting. Good look with planning.

Was planning to do this 2020. Have to try in 2023 if you're interested?

@grams @krad Perfect - thanks very much!

1. yes
   
2. no
   
3. yes
   

We just got back from a week in Scotland so I can sympathise. We ended up getting lucky but the first couple of days were very grim and we almost bailed on it at Corrour.

Rode my first DIY yesterday. Used a ~90km chunk of Mike Wigley's Audlem Perm from Over Alderly round to Waverton, varying the route either side for a convenient start/finish and to get the distance up to 200km.

Not a huge amount to say or worthy of a photo stop. It was a very pleasant day, mostly mostly quiet, country lanes. Threw in a handful of new-to-me, well kept bridleways around Brereton Green and a ford crossing for good measure. Maybe next time I'll ride those sections at the start of the ride, rather than 3/4 of the way around and in the dark.

Heading back through Goostrey and Tatton it was a little dissapointing to find The Trading Post cafe closed for the weekend, I had been looking forward to a cup of tea to see me home. That said, I did find a solution to inspire the legs to keep turning...

Getting to Tatton Park, I saw I was cutting it a bit fine on the offical gate-closing times but decided to make a go of it. While checking the time on my GPS, I missed the signs warning it was rutting season. Seeing the occasional flash of antlers at the edge of the road, followed by the murderous roaring, definitely did more to get the legs moving than sitting down with a strong brew. To my relief the gate was open at the far end!

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Anyone doing Moonrakers and Sunseekers? It will be my first Audax since Covid.

You should have given me a shout, could have sorted some cake n a cup of tea out for you.

Travel plans are shaping up for this LRM ride in June next year in Sweden
Midnight Sun Randonee 1200
http://vasterbottenbrevet.se/msr1200-en/