Spinney said:
Newbie here...
My experience of cycling events to date is 1 sportive (Ryedale Rumble 2). Can someone explain how this Audax event would be different? i.e. does everyone cycle together, or is it just like a sportive where people just start when they are ready?
It looks similar in length and declared amount of climbing to the sportive I did, and I averaged 11.5 mph on that (on the cycle computer, so average on cycling time only) - but very slow on the climbs (on foot, on two of them!). So if it was a case of people riding together, I might get left behind on the climbs?
The main difference between an audax and a sportive is that on an audax you have to find your own way round - there are no signs.
Consequence of this being that you either have to take the route card, or a GPS, or (imho preferably) both.
The other difference is that on an audax, it is less of a race - there isn't really any emphasis on times or doing it as quickly as possible. That doesn't mean there aren't people who treat it as a race, however.
Consequence of this being that people tend to sit in cafes where control points are held and have a cup of tea and a bite to eat and chill out for a bit, rather than necking some flapjacks, filling up with energy drink and dashing off again.
This audax is hilly, the climb to monsal head being fairly significant for instance, but I don't think there's anything much worse than say blakey bank on the ryedale rumble.
