Newbie Audax question

[vernon]

I sent my entry for that off last week - maybe see you there!

It's a rude awakening for you if you are not used to hills. It's manageable - I can haul my 22 stone carcass around the route though I can't say that I enjoy all of the route. The post ride catering is legendary though.

I received my routesheet yesterday.

 

[Darkmarkster]

I take it youve done it a few times? Whats the route like? What sort of times did you all do it in?

 

[GrasB]

i see,yeah you get those people at the sportives that I do as well,who laugh and go see ya at the start and then two things happen,either they are really good and they pass you coming back as the rest of the participants are nearing the finish

Sounds like my first Audax, I was with 3 other strong riders. We knew the course, we knew how strong we were & had a plan to get close to the top time limit & we did, even if we were held at the first manned checkpoint for being to early which mucked up our planned pace over the entire course.

 

[Darkmarkster]

lol nice,so what exactly happens at the control points? you get your card stamped or?

 

[PalmerSperry]

lol nice,so what exactly happens at the control points? you get your card stamped or?

Basically yes ... There might be someone the organiser has arranged to be there with a stamp, there might just be some willing retail establishment doing it for the organiser (in which case I tend to think it's the decent thing to do to buy something!) or it might be what's called an "info control". For the latter there's a question on the card like "What year was the mill built?" and you need to write down the answer when you get to the appropriate point.

Which leads to something you need to remember to bring with you - namely something to write with! Not that I failed to do this on my first audax, obviously!

Hmm ... Actually just remembered that on the Boxing Day 100 in 2006 one of the controls was to merely get a receipt from somewhere in Malton, so that's a possibility too.

 

[Darkmarkster]

ah i see that sounds cool though,Im assuming that on the longer rides i.e 24 hours and such it would work on the basis of you deciding when to factor in a sleep stop or cycling into the night etc?

 

[GrasB]

The way it worked for us was someone checked the intermediary point answers, wrote a time & signed the card. Yes on the longer ones you have to factor in sleep, eating properly, toilet breaks etc.

From someone near the end point, you had to go passed on a main road visible from the start/finnish then back to the finish point, we looked like we were competing in a team TT not an Audax .

 

[Darkmarkster]

it all sounds very interesting,Im definitly interested in giving it a go.The "Leap in the Aire" one seems like a good starting point for me to get into them.

As this is just a short one im assuming that I will be fine just using my commuting road bike with a saddlebag and the usual essentials? or are there requirements that I need to follow and specific items to bring/wear?

 

[vernon]

For most of the shorter audaxes a saddlebag is de rigeur.
Make sure that you have a simple toolkit and pump plus puncture repair outfir or spare tubes. A mobile phone is useful to let the organiser know if you withdraw. For this particular ride low gears are helpful. You might like to while away some time by getting the route sheet from the link that Arch has posted and try to create the route in www.mapmyride.com and have a look at the gradient profile. The hills are long drags.

 

[vernon]

lol nice,so what exactly happens at the control points? you get your card stamped or?

The control points are in cafes and you get either a stamp on the card or a sticker to stick in it.

 

[vernon]

I take it youve done it a few times? Whats the route like? What sort of times did you all do it in?

I have done it in five and a half hours finishing in my customary lanterne rouge position in hilly events.

The ride has a minimum average speed of 8km/hr.

 

[Darkmarkster]

I have done it in five and a half hours finishing in my customary lanterne rouge position in hilly events.

The ride has a minimum average speed of 8km/hr.

Ah cool,do you happen to know what the cutoff time limit is? probably about 6/7 hours or something?

 

[Nuncio]

As this is just a short one im assuming that I will be fine just using my commuting road bike with a saddlebag and the usual essentials? or are there requirements that I need to follow and specific items to bring/wear?

As mentioned above, bring a pen.

Audax cycle requirements: "5.3 Machines: (i) Any kind of cycle may be ridden provided that it is propelled solely by human muscular effort." I'm guessing you will be OK with that! Best advice: Use whatever bike you think you will be most comfortable on.

Also note :
"(iii) An event organiser may require full mudguards to be fitted to bicycles and to the single front wheel of tricycles. The requirement for mudguards on an event must be indicated in the AUK Calendar and in the event literature." A quick look at the calendar shows that the 'Leap into the Aire' is not one of them.
Rule (ii) by the way, is that it is your responsibility that the cycle is roadworthy and that it complies with the RTA.

The calendar also shows that the min ave speed is 8kph so you'll have about 6:40. Max speed is 20kph or about 2:40.

 

[Scoosh]

There's an excellent Intro and FAQ on many things Audax here. Many of the Audax crowd hang around on that other forum ....

I did my first Audax last year, then my second ... it kind of gets to you.

Each person is riding "on their own", though often you will find someone of similar pace and ride with them for a while; if they stop, there is no need to stay together - you can go on if you wish. You can choose to ride in company or by yourself.

Don't expect feeding stations, tech support nor any other external back-up.

 

[beastie]

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Audax-Leap-Into-the-Aire