Audax, and Sportives?

[RedBike]

Some people stop others don't.

There's loads of arguements about not stopping.
Your body starts trying to recover / and uses energy digesting the food so you can't ride as well after. You spoil your bodys ability to turn fat into fuel. Your body gets used to stopping for a rest instead of riding for a long time. blar blar blar...

As far as i'm concerned I'm riding for fun and at this time of year a cup of coffee, a big slice of cake and a warm beats the heck out of a sweaty powerbar from my pocket.

Most audax rides (of any distance) do involve a cafe stop and there's always food stops on sportive rides.

Stop or don't stop. It is VERY important to have food with you on a long ride and to keep eatting. The first time you get the bonk you'll know about it.

 

[Baggy]

You've been reading my mind! I was starting to feel it when I did my 30 miler - wondered what people did! Stopping at a cafe sounds good but do other people take stuff with them? (energy bars etc?) And what distances do people feel the need to stop and re-fuel themselves? i know it's subjective but being SUCH a newbie it's nice to get a rough idea of other's experiences.

Assuming I've had a good breakfast I usually take some Nutrigrain bars or flapjacks with me if I'm doing anything up to 50 miles, and like to have a cup of tea and a sarnie/chunk of cake at some point.

Over 50+ miles I'll take cold pizza, flapjack, malt loaf, some energy drink and stop about every 20 miles for a snack.

I find that if I eat too much on one go I end up with stomach ache and legs like lead. I also don't like stopping for too long as my muscles cool down and I find it hard to get going.

30 miles or under I don't feel as if I need anything (but when I was starting out I'd still take a cereal bar, just in case).

I usually carry less food on audaxes as I'll snack at controls, but still carry some flapjack, just in case controls have run out of food.

 

[mickwood]

'Get the bonk' lmao!! brilliant term!

thanks for that advice guys, really useful. Reassuring to know my own thoughts are echoed by others.

BTW Redbike...WHERE did you get that photo of me to use as your avatar!? You been following me??

 

[vernon]

You've been reading my mind! I was starting to feel it when I did my 30 miler - wondered what people did! Stopping at a cafe sounds good but do other people take stuff with them? (energy bars etc?) And what distances do people feel the need to stop and re-fuel themselves? i know it's subjective but being SUCH a newbie it's nice to get a rough idea of other's experiences.

I use a Camelback Mule with an energy powder/water mix which I sip throughout the ride. There's normally two cafe stops evenly spaced on a 100km Audax. I also take jelly babies to nibble on (heads first of course!) and a couple of bananas.

I plan on drinking around 500-750ml/hr and 100km take me around 5-6 hours.

The least I have drunk was 1.5 litres and the most was a whopping 8.5litres on a ride in a heatwave.

A pal that rides with me gets round with two cans of coke and a banana mind you he ism 50% of my bodyweight.

The secret is to eat before you are hungry and drink before you are thirsty.

 

[yello]

Properly, in a true audax event a "team" is run by a captain at a set pace.

Darn it! You beat me too it!

Audax in France is a group event. You all start, ride and arrive at the same time at a pace set by a 'road captain'... a 22.5 kph average I think. I think there's a support vehicle and escort (for some events) too.

You do get UK style rides (i.e. your own pace) here in France but they are refered to as 'allure libre' - PBP is an example of such a ride.

The term itself is Italian/Latin as the first such distance group ride was in Italy (Rome to Naples). The term comes from the Italian for 'audacious'. The UK (and other places, Australia for instance) use the term audax for what is, as randochap rightly says, a randonnée in the rest of the world.

Personally, I don't care what people call it! As I call a bike ride, I'm not about to get all pedantic with anyone!

 

[bonk man]

Don't even think about doing a sportive..... if you are just about able to potter round 30-40 miles you will be disheartened on a sportive. The pace is high, even for the slower riders [ and I have seen guys walk up the first hill, but they are walking quickly... ] there is an edge of competitiveness.

Look for shorter audaxes but watch out that it isn't too hilly, but the main thing is ride steadily from the start. Even at these events there are riders who fly away at the start and blow up after 40 miles.
There is no doubt that even for an experienced rider 120 miles can be tough going in the mountains of Wales especially in the rain and wind but if you build the miles steadily it doesn't take very long to get into the feel of the sport and you will soon be riding with familiar faces.

The social side of cycling is strange.... it is so individual, conversations can sometimes last a few seconds or half a day but some of the characters you meet are extremely eccentric. Some guys will chat away happily about any old nonsense and others will glare at you and ride away as quickly as possible if you try and talk to them

 

[Randochap]

The term itself is Italian/Latin as the first such distance group ride was in Italy (Rome to Naples). The term comes from the Italian for 'audacious'. The UK (and other places, Australia for instance) use the term audax for what is, as randochap rightly says, a randonnée in the rest of the world.

Yes, 'twas the Italians. There's very good, concise history of audax here, at Ontario Randonneurs.

The Italians, incedentaly are the most boisterous at PBP -- not to mention nattily dressed, with their white strips that never seemed to get dirty in all the rain in '07!

 

[Tim Bennet.]

The social side of cycling is strange.... it is so individual, conversations can sometimes last a few seconds or half a day but some of the characters you meet are extremely eccentric. Some guys will chat away happily about any old nonsense and others will glare at you and ride away as quickly as possible if you try and talk to them

On a 300 audax crossing the Fens into a freezing March headwind that was screaming in off the North Sea, I slowly closed on a rider ahead. When I drew alongside I suggested that if we worked together we could give ourselves a much easier time. You would have thought I had suggested stopping for anal sex by the look he gave me, and without speaking a word, he immediately shot off up the road and worked hard for the next hour to stay 50 yards ahead of me all the way to Skegness.

But they're not at all odd, those audax people.

 

[vernon]

On a 300 audax crossing the Fens into a freezing March headwind that was screaming in off the North Sea, I slowly closed on a rider ahead. When I drew alongside I suggested that if we worked together we could give ourselves a much easier time. You would have thought I had suggested stopping for anal sex by the look he gave me, and without speaking a word, he immediately shot off up the road and worked hard for the next hour to stay 50 yards ahead of me all the way to Skegness.

But they're not at all odd, those audax people.

Some of the 'proper Audaxers' i.e. those who wont get out of bed unless is for a 200km+ ride can be puritanical in their approach to the activity. The though of giving someone a tow is anathema to many amongst that section of the audax community.

On Sunday, I rode the 100km Xmas Yorkshire Pudding Burner audax based at Thorne. Nice and flat and fast. I found myself paired up with a chap from Leicester and we rode the whole route together normally two abreast and had a nice time taking in the scenery including the most featureless Ikm grid in the UK on the OS maps.

On the final ten miles or so there was a really strong headwind. My riding partner shared the same barn door profile as me and when we looked behind us, we had half a dozen riders taking shelter as we forged ahead. We didn't mind and even if we did, I doubt that we could have pulled clear.


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[Randochap]

I don't care if it's an official brevet or a training ride, wheel sucks are frowned on here. Unless you have a relationship and you are willing to help someone out who's having a hard time, sharing the work is expected.

Having said that, I don't often see the kind of behaviour described above. Pacelines often form between controls on out brevets and between riders of somewhat differing abilities, because we realize that, especially in a headwind, everyone benefits. As long as someone isn't totally slacking, we all get along.

Some people take themselves and the sport far too seriously.

Check out the new rando hub at VeloWeb. Lots to argue over.

 

[Greenbank]

I don't care about wheel suckers and I've experienced various types on Audaxes.

If they don't say anything to me (and some even ignore my cheery "hello") then I'll play games with them. Slowly ramping up the speed to try and drop them, dropping down to 15kph, constant speed up/down any slopes and, given I'm riding fixed most of the time, they have no indication of whether I'm coasting or putting lots of power in.

However, I've run into quite a few people who were struggling (they must be if they were as far back as me) and I've had no problems with them taking my wheel and not putting in a turn themselves, as long as they say hello and explain that they're shattered. I gave one guy a drag for the final 50km section of the Elenith last year. Helped me forget just how knackered I was.

 

[ian_oli]

For wheelsuckers you can't beat German Audaxers. The guy I did most of Paris Brest Paris with and I would try and start a line in its sh*tty conditions, taking turns, with a bunch of Germans hanging on behind. Eventually we'd get fed up with just swapping with each other and indicate that it was their turn - Jeez it was like playing Mr Wolf , they actually shrank back only to catch up again when we started looking forward. In the end we just invited them to take a turn to tease them - and the funny thing was the same bunch wheelsucked us several times.

I only got truly annoyed when one of them rode almost next to me so I was hemmed in behind someone else I'd caught up riding slower and would not even move after my hand signal - he needed a shove before he got the message.

Mind you on the British Sportive, where I had decided to ruthlessly wheelsuck, I had been on my own for 10 minutes I thought, to my annoyance, until I turned round and found I was leading about 40 silent people.

 

[Randochap]

At night on PBP I had scores of riders on my wheel because they all had shite for lights, while I was running twin E-6s. I shudder to think what it would be like now I have an Edelux!

So ... in hope of encourageing more randos/audax riders to light up the night, I've selflessly slaved over a computer to produce the rando lighting page.

 

[Greenbank]

So ... in hope of encourageing more randos/audax riders to light up the night, I've selflessly slaved over a computer to produce the rando lighting page.

Good work. My lighting is as follows:-

Battery powered B&M Ixon for 200s and summer 300s where there's only a few hours of night riding.
SON + Solidlights 1203D (or B&M IQ Fly or the new Cyo) for other rides up to and including 600km where there is more night riding.

For LEL I'm going with the battery powered B&M Ixon (although I may have two so I've got a backup) and a non-dynohub wheel. I plan on doing 90% of my riding during daylight and while the SON wheel doesn't create much drag it's more efficient to just carry battery lights for the few hours I need them.