Am I Britain's largest audaxer?

[ianrauk]

Is there a list / calendar anywhere ? I average 17.x on my usual roughly every other day 40k rides so I was thinking 14/15 would be sustainable but it's unknown territory for me until I try !

Thanks both for the replies.

Audax UK Calendar HERE

 

[the_mikey]

I have a 100k planned on paper running from Gloucester to Bristol then over the Severn bridge and loop up round via the Forest of Dean back home but it's around double the distance of one of my normal rides and I'm wanting a decent day weather wise to tackle it

Last 110km audax I did took 5 hours and 45 minutes including 30 minutes sat in a cafe drinking tea and enjoying some food. It could be done quicker.

 

[JoeyB]

My first 100km was around 6 hours, next few were about 5 hours. Quickest I have done is 4:20 and that was just a few laps of my local loop. Stopped for a gel and that was it.

 

[mcshroom]

My next 100 is the Ripon Canter on Saturday and has a 12km/h minimum speed. That should allow a nice looooong coffee stop in Ripon I think

 

[Simmer]

What a great video, thanks for sharing @mcshroom

 

[Donger]

Just out of interest, what sort of averages do 100k riders do ? I'd love a go at some longer rides but would have to go really steady to have any chances of making it, and what about stops ? Are there any usually and for how long ?

I have a 100k planned on paper running from Gloucester to Bristol then over the Severn bridge and loop up round via the Forest of Dean back home but it's around double the distance of one of my normal rides and I'm wanting a decent day weather wise to tackle it.

Being Gloucester based myself, I may be able to help here.
Firstly, as your best bets for audaxes to do from here (as they tend to start early at about 9.30am), I would recommend from experience the Three Counties Two Leaf Cloverleaf from Wickhamford near Evesham (August) and the Windrush Winter Warm Up from Ashton Keynes (always seems to fall on Superbowl Sunday). I've heard the Tasty Cheddar is a good one in Somerset too, but you might need a pedalo this year.
....
Secondly,The 100km "Three Counties" audax that I did once with a group of six riders took us 5 hrs 30 and we were closer to the back than the front - but not disgraced. The Windrush one, that I have done several times is a 110km ride in the depth of Winter and on average takes me about 6 hrs 25 (about 11 mph inc stops). This year there were 130 riders and at least 20-30 of them still appeared to be out on the road when I finished in 6 hrs 20.(Bear in mind that I'm a bit of a wide-ass chunky monkey and I took full advantage of the two buttie stops, and it might give you an idea).
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Thirdly, I recommend doing the Bridge and Back ride anti-clockwise, otherwise you'll leave a couple of really nasty hills (Blakeney & Newnham) until quite near the end. Wouldn't fancy that myself. This does mean tackling a nasty climb out of Chepstow, and I'll guarantee the traffic lights will be red at the bottom of the hill! My PB for this one is 4 hrs 49, and I made it 62.9 miles. The prevailing wind usually helps you back home gently this way, as the A38 is nice and wide without much shelter.
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Hope that helps. Good luck.

 

[mmmmartin]

There are 3 Perms which are longer:
Eightsome Reel 1500
Round the Coast 2260
Scottish Star 2600

@mcshroom is correct: LEL is longest audax in the calendar, the others are perms which means you can ride them when you think the weather is good or the wind is in the right direction. This changes the challenge.

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

@mcshroom is correct: LEL is longest audax in the calendar, the others are perms which means you can ride them when you think the weather is good or the wind is in the right direction. This changes the challenge.

Is a perm an audax? Yes it is.

You are adding the bit about "in the calendar" yourself.

So there are 3 audaxes longer than LEL.

 

[Accy cyclist]

No LEL is the longest audax in the UK. 1418km in 116 hours and 40 mins. I'm intending to have another go at it in 2017 but I messed this year up by not accounting properly for the 30+ degree heat and only made it 400km to Thirsk before calling it a day (then went and helped at a control for the next two days)

Longer is, in many ways, easier than faster, but rides over about 200km require quite a bit of mental strength to keep going.

A couple years back there was a BBC program about the 'Snow Roads 300' audax up in Scotland. Its a very hilly route, and they made far to much of the suffering involved, but it's a decent watch. I've got an edited copy here: -

View: http://youtu.be/iW9RbrV7PNE

I've just watched that .Thanks!