Darts and Arrows

Quoted message said:

The mudguard thing is all about *not* sitting down on someone's sofa whilst wearing a jacket sprayed with cattle

slurry + dog poo.

When you put it like that... I can see I'm going to have to invest in some mudguards.

d.

[email hidden] (MartinM)typed

Quoted message said:

It's because it is sort of in the middle that I enjoy
audax as well, you can have a bit of a blast, you are
generally on a light bike so a lot more enjoyable than
touring, you can do it all the time unlike touring, and
unlike TT's you don't have to be any good at it, you will
always find events and riders to match your ability. I
don't do it for the badges, I just like badges (ever since
a trip to Russia many years ago). Does anyone know if
audax is on the increase? I would hope to think it was; it
is the way forward.

Audax membership is increasing.

I liked Audax because I could ride alone when I wished,
choose my pace, choose the length of my breaks (I *hated*
the way some clubs spent 2 of the best winter daylight
hours in a pub!) cut down on faffing and have great company
when I stopped.

--
Helen D. Vecht: [email hidden] Edgware.

Helen Deborah Vecht said:

............... cut down on faffing and have great company
when I stopped.

Yeah what do some people find to faff about when preparing
for a ride ?

"MSeries" <[email hidden]>typed

Quoted message said:

Yeah what do some people find to faff about when preparing
for a ride ?

Deciding where to go Deciding which bike to take Deciding
what to wear Deciding which spare clothing to take Finding
relevant maps Setting up bike computer Checking the bike
Pumping the tyres Preparing bonk rations Filling drink
bottles Finding tools and packing them Packing panniers

Discovering there are two left shoes and no right shoe a
long way from home when riding clipless Standing behind
woman in bibtights in loo queueueueueue

Repeating much of upper list when you change your mind

Get the bike out of the house Lock up Find out you: are too
cold/ too hot/ too wet and adjust clothes appropriately.
have a puncture and fix it Can't find those essential gloves

I *could* go on...

--
Helen D. Vecht: [email hidden] Edgware.

Alex Ferrier said:

I've done a couple of reliability trials earlier this year
and found them great fun (and a real eye opener in terms of
just how fast the really quick boys go).

Hi Alex

39 is a very good age to be, and I speak from 39.5 years
experience of life (less roughly a fortnight). But what,
pray tell, is a reliability trial?

James

James Hodson <[email hidden]> wrote:

: 39 is a very good age to be, and I speak from 39.5 years
: experience of life (less roughly a fortnight). But what,
: pray tell, is a reliability trial?

A race in all but name, usually held in the early season.
Usually 80-100k.

Arthur

--
Arthur Clune clune.orgclune.orgOpen ↗ "Technolibertarians make a
philosophy out of a personality defect"
- Paulina Borsook

Arthur Clune said:

A race in all but name, usually held in the early season.
Usually 80-100k.

More a rally than a race, surely? Navigation, and only your
(self nominated) target time to beat.

--
Guy
===
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after
posting. chapmancentral.co.ukchapmancentral.co.ukOpen ↗

88% of helmet statistics are made up, 65% of them at
Washington University

Just zis Guy, you know? <[email hidden]> wrote:

: More a rally than a race, surely? Navigation, and only
: your (self nominated) target time to beat.

Nah. That's the CTC version. A race club reliability is a
different beast (hint, think no target time at all....)

Arthur

--
Arthur Clune clune.orgclune.orgOpen ↗ "Technolibertarians make a
philosophy out of a personality defect"
- Paulina Borsook

Just zis Guy said:

Arthur Clune said:

A race in all but name, usually held in the early
season. Usually 80-100k.

More a rally than a race, surely? Navigation, and only
your (self nominated) target time to beat.

I think it varies. The traditional ones - usually CTC events
- are covering a set distance within a specified time such
as 50 miles in 3 or 4 hours or 100 in 7/8/9hrs.

There are now quite a few which are like bunched races where
individual times of riders are taken - and shock horror,
there are 'winners'. These are often early-season training
events amongst the road racing fraternity. There is now a
series of these mainly around London. I recall riding one
many years ago held in snow and ice - the Harp Hilly 100 -
and getting well and truly stuffed by some top international
level roadies.

I get the impression that the former 'traditional' kind are
dying out in favour of the more flexible audax events.

John B

Helen Deborah Vecht <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

"MSeries" <[email hidden]>typed

Quoted message said:

Yeah what do some people find to faff about when
preparing for a ride ?

Quoted message said:

I *could* go on...

And in the context of Audax: Fumbling in back pocket for
cleat covers to walk into control with parquet flooring with
Look pedals Fumbling in back pocket to put Brevet card away
Fumbling in back pocket to get Brevet card back out so you
can remember the first info control without having to stop
and re-fumble en route Fumbling in back pocket for Route
sheet attach route sheet to bike Fumbling in back pocket for
amendments to route sheet you just picked up at the control
Fumbling in back pocket for _correct part_ of route sheet
Repeat entire process at each control etc etc ;-)

JohnB <[email hidden]> wrote:

: There are now quite a few which are like bunched races
: where individual times of riders are taken - and shock
: horror, there are 'winners'.

The ones round here aren't timed and there are no
winners, except there is pride in being in the front
bunch back. So it moves.

Arthur

--
Arthur Clune clune.orgclune.orgOpen ↗ "Technolibertarians make a
philosophy out of a personality defect"
- Paulina Borsook

Quoted message said:

Fumbling in back pocket for _correct part_ of route sheet

Things have been very quiet here at work the past few weeks
so I've been able to slice up, number and laminate my route
sheets. Makes a huge difference. No faffing about, just flip
them over in the map holder at each control.

JohnB <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Just zis Guy said:

Arthur Clune said:

A race in all but name, usually held in the early
season. Usually 80-100k.

More a rally than a race, surely? Navigation, and only
your (self nominated) target time to beat.

I think it varies. The traditional ones - usually CTC
events - are covering a set distance within a specified
time such as 50 miles in 3 or 4 hours or 100 in 7/8/9hrs.

There are now quite a few which are like bunched races
where individual times of riders are taken - and shock
horror, there are 'winners'. These are often early-season
training events amongst the road racing fraternity. There
is now a series of these mainly around London. I recall
riding one many years ago held in snow and ice - the Harp
Hilly 100 - and getting well and truly stuffed by some top
international level roadies.

I get the impression that the former 'traditional' kind
are dying out in favour of the more flexible audax events.

the only RT I have ever ridden (3 times) is the ESCA where
you elect a riding time and have to finish +- 10 mins of it
I think. It is all good fun and standard club run/audax
speed with a route sheet, more than one puncture and you are
really on a mission to make up the time. They have been
going for ever AFAIK

davek <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

These are Audax terms for types of 'home-made' ride.

Quoted message said:

'Darts' are shorter than 'Arrows'

As I understood it (I may be wrong) they are typically
timed events rather than specific distances - a Dart is
typically 12 hours and an Arrow typically 24 hours.

Quoted message said:

write to the relevant Audax official a *long* way ahead,
giving details of your planned ride and enclosing

an sae, entry form and cheque.

Doesn't it have to be advertised in Arrivee and nominally
open to other people to enter?

apparently yes. BTW just been pressganged for marshall duty
for 9th May so cannot make Invicta hilly, will be at IOW, or
Surrey Hills 15th Aug ;-)

Quoted message said:

--

[email hidden] (MartinM) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

"Alex Ferrier" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Simonb said:

MartinM wrote:
> Spotted this in another thread, I've always ridden
> _real_ audaxes before where someone gave you a route
> map and if you got lost you could follow the others
> (or in the case of yesterday's Dorset Coast you
> could follow the others and get lost!), but how does
> one make a normal bike ride into a dart or arrow
> please?

Eh?

Seconded.

Well I'm almost as in the dark; there are events called
darts and arrows which start from Anywhere in the diary,
any ideas? they are not Permanents AFAIK.

Now this is interesting. Divided by a common language?

Under US rules, Darts and Arrows are team events in which
teams from "all over" converge over different routes to a
single end point at the same time. As this implies a certain
amount of organization and publicity, they are necessarily
<calendared> to at least some degree, as opposed to
Permanents.

A team consists of 3-5 machines (a tandem is one
machine). Within a team, at least three machines must
finish together to qualify. Teams are forbidden to
assist each other, except in a medical emergency. See
rusa.orgarrowrules.htmlOpen ↗ and
rusa.orgdartrules.htmlOpen ↗. The difference is
length: an Arrow is 360km in 24 hours; a Dart is 180km
in 12 hours.

If this sounds like a French Fleche ("arrow"😉, it is. But
RUSA (the US version of Audax UK) reserves the term "Fleche"
for Arrows held at or near Easter.

Scrolling through Audax UK's regs, I see no mention of
teams. Are Arrows and Darts individual events in the UK?

Peter Storey

[email hidden] (Peter Storey) wrote in message

snipola

Quoted message said:

Scrolling through Audax UK's regs, I see no mention of
teams. Are Arrows and Darts individual events in the UK?

Never heard of a team anything in AUK, all rides are
individual AFIAK

[email hidden] (MartinM)typed

Quoted message said:

[email hidden] (Peter Storey) wrote in message

Quoted message said:

snipola

Quoted message said:

Scrolling through Audax UK's regs, I see no mention of
teams. Are Arrows and Darts individual events in the UK?

Quoted message said:

Never heard of a team anything in AUK, all rides are
individual AFIAK

York Arrows (Easter and Rally) are team events IIRC.

--
Helen D. Vecht: [email hidden] Edgware.