Reflections on first audax - Page 3

Simonb:
> Here?

That's the one. (BTW, I usually use OS or multimap but
Streetmap appears to give much bigger, clearer
pictures. Nice.)

>That's not bad going. Knees OK? ;-)

It was unusually good going for me, but I was riding
particularly well that day. I had decided I wasn't going to
use the 28 out of sympathy for one of my companions who was
on a borrowed bike with a 39x23 lowest gear (his usual road
bike has a triple chainset and a 26 on the back), but I left
him puffing and panting about halfway up and then
accelerated to catch up with the others (the ones who hadn't
been held up by traffic at the bottom) and I overtook most
of them, too. I was suffering by the time I got to the top
but it felt fantastic.

If only all days could be that good!

d.

"davek" <david.nospam.kenning@which.nospam.net>typed

> Simonb:
> > Why not get the train? There are loads of Audaxes each
> > weekend -- you'll often find they start in or near a
> > railway station.

> Up to a point, Lord Copper.

> The first one I did a few months ago started near a
> railway station. However, it was a quiet provincial
> railway station with a limited service at the best of
> times, never mind 8am on a Sunday morning.

So you find a nearby B&B and make a weekend away out of
it...

--
Helen D. Vecht: helenvecht@zetnet.co.uk Edgware.

Martinm2@wcms.org.uk (MartinM)typed

> "Simonb" <sbennett@YOUAREALLHEATHENSwiderworld.co.uk>
> wrote in message
> news:<40f2404f$0$58820$5a6aecb4@news.aaisp.net.uk>...
> > MartinM wrote:
> >

> A curious thing about Audax is that riders never refer to
> a ride as what it's called in the calendar but as e.g.
> "Pam's 400" but the organisers deserve all the publicity
> they get, such a lot of hard work and organising, I think
> I'd rather be riding all night than manning a control.

Brings back memories...

"Please don't roll your wet bike over my sleeping bag."
"Sorry, I had no idea it was YOUR sleeping bag."

(Wet overnight control -Marlow- on Windsor-Chester-
Windsor 1995)

--
Helen D. Vecht: helenvecht@zetnet.co.uk Edgware.

davek wrote:

> (BTW, I usually use OS or multimap but Streetmap appears
> to give much bigger, clearer pictures. Nice.)

You have to tweak it:

- Enter your search
- Click the third house from the left to zoom in (and
get the contours)
- Click 'Bigger Map'

Thanks to someone on UKRC for that one. The default scale is
useful (in the Big size) for route planning, too -- I find
you need about 3 screens for your average 200km Audax. I
stitch them all together seamlessly in PSP/whatever and
print them off on the nice colour laser at work when I'm
preparing a ride.

Helen Deborah Vecht <helenvecht@zetnet.co.uk> wrote:

: So you find a nearby B&B and make a weekend away out
: of it...

Only a goer for me if I have people to go away with. I'm
happy to ride on my own but spending a night in a strange
town on my own never appeals (Thorne anyone?)

Arthur

--
Arthur Clune http://www.clune.org "Technolibertarians make a
philosophy out of a personality defect"
- Paulina Borsook

Helen Deborah Vecht:
> So you find a nearby B&B and make a weekend away out
> of it...

Of course, but then it starts eating into your Saturday as
well as your Sunday and becomes much less feasible. This
cycling lark is not all that compatible with family
life...

d.

"Arthur Clune" <ajc22@york.ac.uk>typed

> Helen Deborah Vecht <helenvecht@zetnet.co.uk> wrote:

> : So you find a nearby B&B and make a weekend away out
> : of it...

> Only a goer for me if I have people to go away with. I'm
> happy to ride on my own but spending a night in a strange
> town on my own never appeals (Thorne anyone?)

> Arthur

I spent a while at the Belmont at Thorne during the EL of
1997. I spose it was better than Lindholm Prison. Couldn't
buy postcards of the place!

--
Helen D. Vecht: helenvecht@zetnet.co.uk Edgware.

"gavin" <no-one@home.com>typed

> "Richard Goodman" <rsk@NOSPAM.homechoice.co.uk> wrote in
> message news:40f17228$0$23881$14726298@news.sunsite.dk...
> > Did my first audax today, 105k in not much over 4hrs

> Forgive my ignorance, but what is an audax? I have seen
> the term before but have never known what it actually
> means and have never got around to asking until now.

> Regards,

> Gavin

A ride of a fixed length (usually metric) ridden within pre-
arranged speeds usually organised within the ambit of Audax
UK by independent volunteers.

Audax UK has a comprehensive website but I've lot the most
recent URL; Google should help.

--
Helen D. Vecht: helenvecht@zetnet.co.uk Edgware.

> A ride of a fixed length (usually metric) ridden within
> pre-arranged speeds usually organised within the ambit of
> Audax UK by independent volunteers.
>
> Audax UK has a comprehensive website but I've lot the most
> recent URL; Google should help.

Thanks, Helen. Can I just ask what "within pre-arranged
speeds" means? There's an upper speed limit????

Regards,

Gavin

In news:ccv10e$3p0$1@news7.svr.pol.co.uk,
gavin <no-one@home.com> typed:
>> A ride of a fixed length (usually metric) ridden within
>> pre-arranged speeds usually organised within the ambit of
>> Audax UK by independent volunteers.
>>
>> Audax UK has a comprehensive website but I've lot the
>> most recent URL; Google should help.
>
> Thanks, Helen. Can I just ask what "within pre-arranged
> speeds" means? There's an upper speed limit????

Indeed, it's not a race. The maximum speed is probably not
going to slow anyone down, more stop them from racing, as I
understand it.

A

"gavin" <no-one@home.com> wrote in message
news:ccv10e$3p0$1@news7.svr.pol.co.uk...
>
> > A ride of a fixed length (usually metric) ridden within
> > pre-arranged speeds usually organised within the ambit
> > of Audax UK by independent volunteers.
> >
> > Audax UK has a comprehensive website but I've lot the
> > most recent URL; Google should help.
>
> Thanks, Helen. Can I just ask what "within pre-arranged
> speeds" means? There's an upper speed limit????
>

Yes. You have to pass through controls that are only open
for a specific time-window. Too quick and you'll arrive
before they open, so if you want your ride recognised you'll
have to wait around until they do - which will reduce your
average. The 'ordinary' ones (Brevet de Randonneur) for
rides of less than 600k specify an average speed of between
14.3 - 15kph up to a max of 30kph (could be less), including
stops. The 'beginner' ones, like the one I was on, (Brevet
Populaire) can have a reduced minimum.

The AUK site is at <http://www.audax.uk.net/>

Rich

"gavin" <no-one@home.com>typed

> > A ride of a fixed length (usually metric) ridden within
> > pre-arranged speeds usually organised within the ambit
> > of Audax UK by independent volunteers.
> >
> > Audax UK has a comprehensive website but I've lot the
> > most recent URL; Google should help.

> Thanks, Helen. Can I just ask what "within pre-arranged
> speeds" means? There's an upper speed limit????

Yes. Nobody is supposed to exceed an average of 30kph on any
ride. Average speed includes rest stops & visits by the
p*nct*r* fairy etc. Maximum and minimum speeds are
advertised in the calendar (usu 15-30kph, less on some
shorter 'brevet populaire' rides)

Checkpoints ('controls') have opening and closing times. At
each, you should get your card signed, stamped and timed.
You get your card at the start of the ride and sign & hand
it in at the end. It then gets sent off for Validation and
hopefully eventually returned to you. You can get cloth
badges or metal medals for completing distances.

www.audax.uk.net may cause you to spend much time online...

--
Helen D. Vecht: helenvecht@zetnet.co.uk Edgware.

gavin:
> Thanks, Helen. Can I just ask what "within pre-arranged
> speeds" means? There's an upper speed limit????

That's exactly it - it's because it's a strictly amateur
organisation and they don't want people to treat it as a
race (there are no prizes for finishing first).

However, the speed limits are typically 15-30km/h, which
allows you to ride pretty quickly should you be so inclined.
But that's not just your riding speed - it's your overall
average, including rest/feeding stops (and sleep stops on
longer events).

The website is here: <URL:http://www.audax.uk.net/>

d.