Audax Questions :))

[Banjo]

So far, it has been 100% reliable for 10,000+ km of audaxes and CycleChat forum rides!

Having said that, I used to carry paper maps and the route sheet for backup, just-in-case. I now use my digital camera to take snapshots of my PC screen displaying the route on my mapping software. If my GPS packed up, I could zoom in on the photo of the map and work out where I was.

Brilliant idea that Colin. Will give it a go.

 

[yello]

I refer to the route sheet more than my GPS. Somehow, I find it more reassuring seeing the road sign that the route sheet refers to rather than simply following the bread crumb trail on the GPS. I realise also that I can make mistakes in creating the route whereas I naively anticipate the route sheet to be accurate. So, in my case, the GPS is a backup and/or gets used when I'm confused. Zoomed out, it also gives me a general sense of direction... so I know if I'm heading towards that rain storm/mountain range in the distance! I wouldn't be without the GPS though.

 

[Banjo]

Hello

I have done quite a few sportives now, but am looking at doing my 1st audax at the weekend.

I am not brilliant with maps/directions so a little bit worried. You get a route sheet yes? Are they easy to follow? And a very stupid question, but how do u read the route sheet and ride at the same time?! Where do you put it...........

Any advice welcome

I did my first Audax this year.Like U I worried about getting lost etc, no need to the instructions become clear as you go along.

I find its best to follow the route sheet turn by turn from the start.Trying to make sense of it later is difficult.

Dont blindly follow a group or individual follow your own sheet.I have seen GPS owners and Route card users get it wrong.On the snowdrop a guy with GPS was adamant he was right and several other of us were wrong,he caught us up eventually after his little detour.

My first route card holder was a curry carton plastic lid held on top of the stem with bits of elastic

My latest one is a cut down clipboard from the pound shop with the cut edges sealed with tape also held on with elastic.

I laminate the route instructions in plastic after highlighting each instruction in alternate colours.

Hope U enjoy it. Compared to a Sportive I like the more layed back attitude that allows time to savour the cake and chat to other riders . Having said that some riders get round at impressive speed as well.

 

[yello]

I laminate the route instructions in plastic after highlighting each instruction in alternate colours.

I certainly agree with laminating route sheets. It's something I always do now. Not only does it protect them from rain but also makes them less inclined to flap around in the wind, or tear etc etc. At the weekend, I road with a laminated route sheet (cut down) in my back pocket. I could easily pull the card from my pocket and read it without it flapping all over the place.

I'd not do the 'in the pocket' approach as a rule, I prefer to have the route sheet always in front of me. Normally, it simply gets paper-clipped to my bar bag (or tied; hole punch to put a hole in each corner of the sheet then long shoe lace looped through and tied to bar bag). I found mounting the sheet to my bars (either directly or on a sheet holder) meant it was too close and I needed my reading glasses to read it!

 

[ColinJ]

Brilliant idea that Colin. Will give it a go.

Unfortunately, I can't take the credit for the idea - somebody over on BikeRadar suggested it.

I realise also that I can make mistakes in creating the route whereas I naively anticipate the route sheet to be accurate. So, in my case, the GPS is a backup and/or gets used when I'm confused.

I double-check the route when I plot it from the route sheet. If there is any instruction that is remotely complicated or ambiguous, I use Google Maps and the Streetview option to make sure that I have got it right.

I once spotted a left turn marked on a route sheet when it should have been a right. It was too late to tell the organiser, but I made sure that my GPS was programmed correctly. I was one of the few people who didn't end up adding an extra 15 or 20 kms to the ride!

Before I bought my GPS, I did a hilly 200 taking in some beautiful countryside. At the end of the ride, I could hardly remember where I'd been. I noticed early on that my bike computer calibration didn't correspond to the organiser's and as a result, there was an increasing error on the odometer reading as the ride progressed. I was concentrating so hard adding offsets to the numbers on the route sheet that I wasn't really taking in the ride.

I enjoy audax rides much more now I do not have to monitor the route sheet all the time, especially since I know I won't get lost. I know some very experienced audax riders who, despite that experience, still lose their way on long rides.

 

[arallsopp]

Whilst I'm a big GPS fan, I defer to the opinions of the regular audaxers on here.

I've only done one official audax, so can only really speak from limited experience. If you are planning to GPS it, its definitely worth copying the routesheet in as a set of waypoints on your mapping tool of choice, then joining them for a route. This way, you're forced to evaluate each instruction and work out what it might mean *BEFORE* the event.

I add the track too, then set it to show whilst following the waypoints through 001:Start, 002:L@T, 003:SOX, etc...

On the Etrex (cheaper end of the GPS spectrum) this also means you can see the next instruction and distance to it.

Andy.

 

[Klaus]

Interesting thread - I am hoping to do my first Audax in July - the Barbury 110.
All good advice - hopefully I can get through it without getting lost too much ....

 

[eck]

GPS or routesheet? Is this going to be one of those debates?

I recently organised a 100k audax. Quite a few people "got lost". No-one who relied totally on the routesheet got lost. All those who did get lost were relying on their GPS.

I'm only sayin', like.

 

[yello]

If you are able to (that is, have the route sheet in advance), it is useful to plot the route on one of the mapping sites whether you have a GPS or not. It gives you a feel for the route and perhaps somewhat bizarrely you will remember section of the route... particularly tricky bits. You'll get to that junction and think 'ah, this is that funky bit on the map'!

 

[Glover Fan]

And then be one of those who have to attach themselves leech-like to other riders when their GPS unit fails and they don't have the route sheet as backup

Twice now I've had to 'carry' a failed-GPS rider so I'm getting a bit fed-up with praise of these devices compared to getting a route sheet, running through it on Google maps (which also allows you to check any particularly tricky bits, like the back way in to motorway services - often not signposted) and calibrating your speedo.

On the contrary, having a GPS can also be a hindrance as people seem to tag along and rely on your to ride into headwinds just because you have turn-by-turn directions. It happened to me in May. So I just decided to spend ages at a control to shake them off.

I use my GPS and routesheet together, as they compliment each other well, sort of a failsafe mechanism. I always spend about 3 hours (not kidding) analysing the route on google maps, whilst plotting the coursepoints to my GPS. Streetview is an absolute godsend for tricky bits and if you have a photographic memory like myself I remember waypoints along the route as well, stuff like memorial parks, telephone boxes.

Yes I am a bit sad and meticulous.

One thing about routesheets, on Sunday I rode my first 200k and my Garmin GPS couldn't store more than 100 coursepoints, so I decided that I would do the whole of the first section by the routesheet, which was fine, but I did find that I didn't take in much of the scenery and being in completely new territory that was quite a shame.

 

[mcshroom]

I use Andy's method of making my own route on computer, uploading it onto the GPS and following that.

I also carry the routesheet and a map with the line drawn on in a plastic bag in my back pocket (same one as brevet card) as insurance.

 

[ColinJ]

I recently organised a 100k audax. Quite a few people "got lost". No-one who relied totally on the routesheet got lost. All those who did get lost were relying on their GPS.

I'm only sayin', like.

A twit is a twit whether (s)he uses a GPS, a route sheet or a map!

I spotted a rider on a Cheshire 200 who had an upmarket Garmin Etrex on his bars. He overtook me and disappeared up the road. Some time later, he passed me going the other way. I eventually saw him coming out of a side junction further up the road. He was quite clearly confused!

I asked if he was doing the same event and he was. I wondered how he could be lost when he had a GPS and he told me that he thought the map on it was a bit small and difficult to read while riding ...

It turned out that he hadn't programmed the route into the GPS; he was trying to relate the route sheet to what was effectively 4 square inches of onscreen map!

I explained about following the GPS breadcrumb trail, and showed him how I was doing it. I could see by the glazed look in his eyes that he didn't have a clue what I was saying and that he'd never even read the GPS manual!

 

[tubbycyclist]

Depending on the length of the ride it is also worth considering a headtorch to read the routesheet if you anticipate riding at night. Also helpful for rummaging in packs etc on unlit lanes.

 

[MarcA]

I use a routesheet but also put route into my iphone. I don't use the iphone for following the route as the battery life is not up to it. However it has been helpful to check the route on the phone if I go off route so I can get back on route, or just to confirm that I am on route if the directions are not clear.,

 

[Alun]

If you laminate the routesheet (doublesided) and punch holes in the corners, it will be easier to manage and waterproof. Most routesheets are laid out in handy sizes, highlight any control points etc first though.

(Sorry Banjo, I see have already suggested this.)