Audax: Free controls

[Vegan1]

Anything that shows proof of passage is valid, so either a receipt with the name of the town or a receipt from a ATM machine. You can at a push even take a selfie which I have done.

Just be sure to number up the receipts though with the circled number in the box on the brevet card with your time and the corresponding number on the receipt. Controllers/Organisers are a good bunch and it makes their lives easier when validating at the end of the ride.

And one last thing, remember to SIGN YOUR NAME on the back of the card.

 

[Vegan1]

Always prefer 'free' controls to manned or info, don't know why.

Horses for courses and you would not say that for the multi day events such as PBP and LEL. As an aside the manned controls on the LWL were really good, in fact the first one was superb. A buffet breakfast in a pub with your bike just outside in view.

 

[raleighnut]

Horses for courses and you would not say that for the multi day events such as PBP and LEL. As an aside the manned controls on the LWL were really good, in fact the first one was superb. A buffet breakfast in a pub with your bike just outside in view.

Aye nowt like a Sausage, Bacon, Black puddin' and Egg platter after a ride.

 

[Vegan1]

Aye nowt like a Sausage, Bacon, Black puddin' and Egg platter after a ride.

A load of fat, cholesterol, blood and a menstrual cycle to boot - a full house!

 

[raleighnut]

A load of fat, cholesterol, blood and a menstrual cycle to boot - a full house!

Food of the Gods (or cyclists)

Add a couple of Pork Pies for the saddlebag and you're good for another 100 miles.

 

[Vegan1]

Food of the Gods (or cyclists)

Add a couple of Pork Pies for the saddlebag and you're good for another 100 miles.

Oh dear, high-jacking this thread for petty antagonising rubbish.

Okay, from an ethical and moral standpoint explain/state the trait present in animals that if present in humans would allow you to slaughter them (humans) too. Not to do so would be a double standard.

 

[jiberjaber]

Those pictures made my blood run cold. They look exactly like an expenses submission. I'm notorious for having to repeat these multiple times as I can never get them right.
I think I may just blow through the infos and free controls. Possibly I'll ask the organiser what he thinks.

Or perhaps you could think of it as a game of orienteering It's really up to you what you do on the ride, you only need the card if you want to get the ride validated, if you are not interested in that, then you can just breeze through the route and not worry about it... Plenty of club rider groups do this on brevets upto 200km (my observation is that groups of club riders seem to tail off from >200km rides as I think they see them as a bit too long a ride.. )

It's not an exam filling in a brevet, I am sure there are some cards that org's get that take a while to decipher... this one was mostly filled in over 24 hours after the event hence why it looks so pretty, I am sure I could dig out a more realistic example given some time to look through them

 

[Banjo]

Your over thinking it . Buy something in a shop stick the receipt in the bag with your card, hand bag in at the finish.

The alternative is every control would have to be manned for several hours by some poor sod with a rubber stamp ,events (especially smaller ones) would be cancelled due to lack of volunteers or controls would have to be staffed by people getting paid and costs would spiral.

 

[Ian H]

Back to basics: AUK events are about riding a distance within time limits. Nothing else. The completed brevet card is simply to prove you've done it.

 

[Ian H]

Ideally, controls should be about the right distance apart so they are natural refreshment stops. Info controls, if required (I've got rid of them on all my events) should be easy to see and memorise.

 

[Ajax Bay]

if any of the infos is not immediately easy to find and answer, . . . I will drop any attempt at playing along with the proof-of-passage gathering. Cryptic information controls are a bugbear of mine

Know (ie have read and remembered) the 'info control' question before you get there.
Do your best to identify the answer the organiser expects.
Check what you think the answer is chimes with others who are with you.
Still unsure?
Check with other riders later in the ride (eg chatting at a control or when you pass them / they pass you, or even at the finish (hurrah!)) what they think the answer is.
Accidentally oversee the Brevet Card of the rider in front of you at the arrivee to see what she's written down.

 

[Sea of vapours]

The alternative is every control would have to be manned for several hours by some poor sod with a rubber stamp ,events (especially smaller ones) would be cancelled due to lack of volunteers or controls would have to be staffed by people getting paid and costs would spiral.

And another alternative is validate based on gps tracklogs, or at least allow validation by such. This whole free control thing is a considerable part of what keeps me doing solely diy by gps audaxes.

 

[jay clock]

All this reminds me why Audax is not for me

 

[Ian H]

Don't worry. Cycling's a broad church.

 

[Vegan1]

@Ajax Bay Asking others for the answers used to be my policy. But after my last info control debacle I reached my limit. I thought "I don't even care about validating my ride, I'm only doing this because everyone else is, and you're making it difficult for me". So I decided that the next control that presents the least obstacle to me enjoying my cycling will result in the brevet card going in the next available bin.

Like @Sea of vapours I'd like it if audaxes allowed validation based on GPS tracklogs. However I'm sure that GPX validation would present big technical challenges for an organisation run by volunteers, so I'm not really that fussed.

I did look into DIY by GPS but the whole procedure seemed so opaque that I gave up trying to figure it out. And ultimately, unless I was doing a RRTY or competitively gathering points, it would be a bit pointless.

But anyway it's not my organisation, I'm not an AUK member so it's not really any of my business how they do things.

I do feel your pain here, there have been some of the longer rides (400-600km) that when I've looked at the ride details and seen something like 5-6 info controls to account for as well as the stresses and strains that come from doing a long event - bollox to that.