DIYs and Perms planned to restart Aug 1

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LeetleGreyCells

Un rouleur infatigable
I'm looking forward to when Audax restarts. I only got to do one calendar event (February) before the lockdown which was my first audax event. I've been planning my first 200km (DIY mandatory) ready for when we get the go ahead. I'm looking to plan more too. I'll need to buy brevet cards first though so will probably be able to do my first DIY ride mid-August while I wait for cards to arrive (unless they are virtual - never done this before so it's all a learning experience).
 
Yes,for DIY rides you can do it all "virtually". (where are you BTW? different areas have different DIY honchos)

*in theory* you can apply for your ride 30mins before starting it (or less!), so August 1st rides are entirely feasible (and I'm 90% sure they will happen!). There are caveats to this though ...
 

LeetleGreyCells

Un rouleur infatigable
Yes,for DIY rides you can do it all "virtually". (where are you BTW? different areas have different DIY honchos)

*in theory* you can apply for your ride 30mins before starting it (or less!), so August 1st rides are entirely feasible (and I'm 90% sure they will happen!). There are caveats to this though ...
Not-so-sunny South Yorkshire.

From searching through the AUK website, I believe my DIY regional rep is Andy Clarkson.

Do you mean there are caveats to applying for a ride 30 minutes before starting it or that there are caveats to rides starting on 1st August? I know the current thinking for 1/8/20 start is DIY rides up to and including 200km, but no further plus taking into account whatever restrictions are in place on that date for Wales and Scotland.
 
I started to read the DIY section on their website, just out of interest, (When I had my Fratello I noticed a few Audax events up my way near Lake district)... I would need a child friendly version to explain and understand all that lot 🥴
I’m no racer at my age but long distance would be of real interest
 

LeetleGreyCells

Un rouleur infatigable
I started to read the DIY section on their website, just out of interest, (When I had my Fratello I noticed a few Audax events up my way near Lake district)... I would need a child friendly version to explain and understand all that lot 🥴
I’m no racer at my age but long distance would be of real interest
I'm the same, I don't want to race either, but I do fancy riding long distances and the time limits are quite reasonable I believe (I'm sure I'll be cursing the 'short limits' when out on the longer rides and I'm so tired I can't do more than 5kph!).

The rules and what-have-you on the website are not the easiest to follow, I agree. It has taken a few read-throughs to get my head around it and I'm sure once I submit my first (and probably second/third/fourth) DIY I'll learn what I got wrong. As it's something I really want to do, it's worth taking the time over to get it right.
 
DIY Audax was not invented as a gateway to the hobby for non-Audaxers !

(that doesn't mean it won't work perfectly for some - but in contrast, rocking upto your local 100km, after entering online with Paypal, is a very straightforward way to enjoy a day on the bike. Without realising it, you're familiar with 99% of AUK conventions/rules/etiquette by the time you sit down with your self-congratulatory tea-n-cake :smile: )
 
From searching through the AUK website, I believe my DIY regional rep is Andy Clarkson.

Do you mean there are caveats to applying for a ride 30 minutes before starting it or that there are caveats to rides starting on 1st August? I know the current thinking for 1/8/20 start is DIY rides up to and including 200km, but no further plus taking into account whatever restrictions are in place on that date for Wales and Scotland.
There's nothing to stop you riding. I shall attempt to summarise:
- post lockdown, there MAY be issues around the restart, so it may be worth contacting Mr Clarkson or nosing around the various news/gossip channels (I'm fortunate to know my local rep personally!). Nothing is 100% certain.
- in normal times, there are some "gotchas" to the process. Basically, it is quite possible to screw-up your application, so the shorter notice you give, the less chance this will be picked up before you ride. Of course the more you do, reduces that risk.
- of course the worst case is that you have a nice day out on the bike and score no points, no listing on the results page :P
 

Fab Foodie

hanging-on in quiet desperation ...
Location
Kirton, Devon.
I had a look at permanents ridable from home. Some nice looking routes in areas I know well but somehow I couldn't raise any enthusiasm for them. There's one 100k that I might have a go at, but I won't bother getting it validated, which will free me up from the hassles of getting receipts while staying socially distanced. And frees me to adapt the route to my desires. But by the time I've done that I seem to have missed the whole point. :sad:

Riding out to a start point on a 200k and then riding home after would take too long, but I may plunder some bits of nice looking route.
Am with you really, doing these things solo is just a bike ride with extra admin. Doing it with others is mildly more interesting and occasionally worth the faff.
 

Fab Foodie

hanging-on in quiet desperation ...
Location
Kirton, Devon.
To be fair I really think your perm might need sorting by now. :whistle:
Well at least now he has permission for a DIY job....
 

LeetleGreyCells

Un rouleur infatigable
There's nothing to stop you riding. I shall attempt to summarise:
- post lockdown, there MAY be issues around the restart, so it may be worth contacting Mr Clarkson or nosing around the various news/gossip channels (I'm fortunate to know my local rep personally!). Nothing is 100% certain.
- in normal times, there are some "gotchas" to the process. Basically, it is quite possible to screw-up your application, so the shorter notice you give, the less chance this will be picked up before you ride. Of course the more you do, reduces that risk.
- of course the worst case is that you have a nice day out on the bike and score no points, no listing on the results page :P
I'm not planning to do my first DIY until the 15/16 August so I'll contact the rep and submit my DIY on the 1st (if that's still the date) and see what comes back. There's a couple of Perms I fancy doing too so will get in contact with the organisers then too.

I'm looking forward to riding with others again once calendar events restart, but we do what we can with what we have.
 

Aravis

Putrid Donut
Location
Gloucester
Viewed in isolation, it may seem that turning a ride into a DiY Audax is just unnecessary admin. But they enable you to qualify for some significant awards, notably Randonneur Round the Year (RRtY), which for some makes them extremely worthwhile, and well worth the modest admin fee.

Whether they were envisaged as a gateway to Audax I don't know. Certainly they're the reason I joined, something I did my best to make clear in the survey of members earlier this year.

Signing up to ride someone else's idea of a good route on a date which frequently isn't ideal, with no ability to predict the weather far enough in advance and all the awkwardness of getting to and from the start? Most of the time, that's not for me. But back in 2015 when I was trying to rediscover cycling I did do a couple of 100km calendar events, with significant travelling required, and they were very important at the time.

I'm not planning to do my first DIY until the 15/16 August so I'll contact the rep and submit my DIY on the 1st (if that's still the date) and see what comes back. There's a couple of Perms I fancy doing too so will get in contact with the organisers then too.

I'm looking forward to riding with others again once calendar events restart, but we do what we can with what we have.
BIB - don't forget the first thing you need to do is buy virtual brevets, and this can be done now. If your organiser is anything like mine you'll get a friendly welcome, some useful advice and an invitation to ask questions.

One thing Audax frequently does is appear to make things complicated. A DiY Audax requires just two things: a predicted route sent to the organiser before the ride starts, and a matching track sent afterwards. The entry form helps to keep things tidy but the system behind it is relatively informal. Suppose, for example, you were getting ready for a ride one morning and found that the Audax site was unavailable. If you simply emailed the route to the organiser with a few words of explanation, that would be sufficient to get the ride validated. Any other details, such as purchase of virtual brevets, can be dealt with later.

The only thing I can think of on the DiY by GPS entry form which might be confusing is the section on controls. Apparently they're needed because the definition of a brevet requires it to have controls spaced periodically. On a DiY by GPS they serve no purpose other than to satisfy the definition of a brevet. Just pick spots which it's easy to pinpoint, such as bridges. They don't need to be where you expect to stop.
 

LeetleGreyCells

Un rouleur infatigable
Viewed in isolation, it may seem that turning a ride into a DiY Audax is just unnecessary admin. But they enable you to qualify for some significant awards, notably Randonneur Round the Year (RRtY), which for some makes them extremely worthwhile, and well worth the modest admin fee.

Whether they were envisaged as a gateway to Audax I don't know. Certainly they're the reason I joined, something I did my best to make clear in the survey of members earlier this year.

Signing up to ride someone else's idea of a good route on a date which frequently isn't ideal, with no ability to predict the weather far enough in advance and all the awkwardness of getting to and from the start? Most of the time, that's not for me. But back in 2015 when I was trying to rediscover cycling I did do a couple of 100km calendar events, with significant travelling required, and they were very important at the time.


BIB - don't forget the first thing you need to do is buy virtual brevets, and this can be done now. If your organiser is anything like mine you'll get a friendly welcome, some useful advice and an invitation to ask questions.

One thing Audax frequently does is appear to make things complicated. A DiY Audax requires just two things: a predicted route sent to the organiser before the ride starts, and a matching track sent afterwards. The entry form helps to keep things tidy but the system behind it is relatively informal. Suppose, for example, you were getting ready for a ride one morning and found that the Audax site was unavailable. If you simply emailed the route to the organiser with a few words of explanation, that would be sufficient to get the ride validated. Any other details, such as purchase of virtual brevets, can be dealt with later.

The only thing I can think of on the DiY by GPS entry form which might be confusing is the section on controls. Apparently they're needed because the definition of a brevet requires it to have controls spaced periodically. On a DiY by GPS they serve no purpose other than to satisfy the definition of a brevet. Just pick spots which it's easy to pinpoint, such as bridges. They don't need to be where you expect to stop.
Thanks for this. I looked at buying my virtual brevets yesterday, but the site was locked for this so it’ll have to wait until the 1st, but that’s not a problem. For my planned route, I’ve noted down as controls the places where I plan to stop for a few minutes to eat (or at least where I’ve located a shop should I need anything). As it’s by DIY by GPS, I figured it doesn’t really matter where they are too much so I placed them every 50 km.

One question that did occur to me, is what do I need to do about ‘controls’ for my start and end controls i.e. my house? Anything? I figured to be on the safe side I’d get a receipt at the other controls as a back-up in case something happened with my Wahoo affecting recording the track. Obviously, can’t do that at home and I’ve never known the only local shop in the village to give a receipt for anything.
 

Aravis

Putrid Donut
Location
Gloucester
Thanks for this. I looked at buying my virtual brevets yesterday, but the site was locked for this so it’ll have to wait until the 1st, but that’s not a problem. For my planned route, I’ve noted down as controls the places where I plan to stop for a few minutes to eat (or at least where I’ve located a shop should I need anything). As it’s by DIY by GPS, I figured it doesn’t really matter where they are too much so I placed them every 50 km.
Actually there seems to be a way round this - I checked with my organiser a few days ago and he confirmed it's possible, a few people have done so and he's happy with it.

If you click on the "Members" tab on the main page on the old site (http://www.aukweb.net/home/) you'll find that login there is enabled. Once you've done that, it's possible to access useful things such as purchasing brevets. Clearly it's in everyone's interest to get things like this done while it's all quiet, so I hope no-one in authority thinks it's a loophole that has to be closed...

One question that did occur to me, is what do I need to do about ‘controls’ for my start and end controls i.e. my house? Anything? I figured to be on the safe side I’d get a receipt at the other controls as a back-up in case something happened with my Wahoo affecting recording the track. Obviously, can’t do that at home and I’ve never known the only local shop in the village to give a receipt for anything.
Now you are getting into an area of possible confusion, and I hope I'm not merely adding to it! With a pure DiY by GPS ride, receipts can't be used as backup because the entire route is needed to prove the distance - there's no concept of shortest distance between controls. But if you're doing an established permanent designed to enable receipt-based validation, it may be worth collecting receipts as backup even if you plan to prove the ride using GPS, an option I believe some organisers offer.

With DiY by GPS validation, certainly you can use your home as the start and end control, or if you prefer not to, start your ride at a nearby landmark. The distance between there and your home would then effectively be neutralised. I don't know if anyone does this but I could understand that some might.

With traditional receipt-based validation I think you do have to use a local shop or equivalent. I see a lot of discussion about using selfies as proof of passage and I think this is increasingly used. Acceptability is something to confirm with an individual organiser, but in general they are looking for reasons to validate rather than to reject.
 
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