What is an audax and what to expect

[Fab Foodie]

Expect a good route, expect to get lost, expect to see a wide assortment of cyclist and kit, expect tea, cake, and bonhomie, expect to have a great day out.

 

[nxn2020]

Bit worried now about the route 'map', sounds a bit like doing the Dakar road book!! Can someone give me a bit more of an idea of what phrases etc are used?

 

[ColinJ]

Expect a good route, expect to get lost, expect to see a wide assortment of cyclist and kit, expect tea, cake, and bonhomie, expect to have a great day out.

Expect a good route, buy a GPS, learn how to use it and expect never to get lost (but take your route sheet and a map in case of equipment failure!), expect to see a wide assortment of cyclist and kit, expect tea, cake, and bonhomie, expect to have a great day out.

 

[Tim Hall]

From last weekend's Kennet Valley Run:


0.5 2nd exit RAB sp Newbury 23.7
1.1 L sp BURGHCLERE 24.8
3.5 SOX sp Sandham Memorial Chapel 28.3

Or in English

In 0.5km take the 2nd exit at the roundabout, signposted Newbury. Your total distance is 23.7km
In 1.1km turn left signposted BURGHCLERE, which you'll go through. Total distance 24.8km
In 3.5km straight on at cross roads sign posted Sandham Memorial Chapel. Total distance 28.3km

 

[mcshroom]

L = Left
R = Right
SO = Straight on

T = T-junction
TL =Traffic Light
RB = Roundabout
X = Cross roads

So, for example L@T means 'Turn left at the T-Junction' or SO@X means 'Straight on at Cross Roads'

To be honest I've always been lazy so tend to upload a track to my Garmin and just follow the nice purple line round the route

 

[nxn2020]

ok then guys, what would be a decent entry level garmin that won't break the bank? and if you haven't got one how the hell do you constantly read it while riding?!!! especially if it's raining, it'll be soaked in seconds and i'll be lost in minutes! lol.

 

[Tim Hall]

You don't need a garmin, IMHO. I print out the route sheet, cut it into A5 size bits, laminate it back to back. I've got a clip thing on my handlebars to hold it.

 

[nxn2020]

when do you normally get the directions then?

 

[Tim Hall]

when do you normally get the directions then?

The availability of the route sheet varies. Back in the day, entry used to be by post, with SAEs flying around. Enter and a few days later the route sheet appeared on your doormat. These days there's lots of entering on line and you can usually download the route sheet a week or or more before the event, although I see in the case of the one you're thinking about only a gpx file is available at present. Maybe a garmin is the answer after all. Email the organiser to see if a downloadable printed route sheet will be available.

 

[nxn2020]

Thanks Tim, I'll do that, going to make sure my mate's still up for it then I'll take the plunge, pay up and sort myself out!! Should sign up in next couple of days........here goes nothing!!!!

 

[David El y]

If you don't want the expense of a Garmin but do have a smartphone you could download a navigation app and upload a gpx file to that. I use Viewranger, but others are available. Then again, I've only recently returned to riding Audaxes and am more used to the traditional method of following a route sheet so I only looked at my phone once. I always considered that the chance of mis-reading the route and getting lost added a little excitement.
Of course, if you do use a phone you will probably want some means of extending battery life.

 

[marcusjb]

You definitely do not need a garmin to ride an Audax. Route sheets are just fine, and many riders are perfectly happy with them even on the really long events.

Once it gets put up on the AUK website, it is worthwhile reading it through in advance, making sure you understand all of the language used and, even, looking at junctions on Streetview to familiarise yourself with them.

At a minimum, you probably want a cycle computer though, just so you know your total distance and can tally that with the route sheet.

You'll be just fine.

 

[mcshroom]

As I said earlier - I use the garmin because I'm lazy.

Another good option is to use the gpx file supplied to print yourself a route map which you can carry along with your directions. For a general 1:250k road map you can do this offline for free using Mapyx Quo (Windows only I think), otherwise sites shuch as Bikehike should be able to do it.

Or you can read the instructions and draw the route on a page out of a road atlas with a pen.

All in all I wouldn't worry about it too much - just enjoy the ride

 

[Fab Foodie]

Expect a good route, buy a GPS, learn how to use it and expect never to get lost (but take your route sheet and a map in case of equipment failure!), expect to see a wide assortment of cyclist and kit, expect tea, cake, and bonhomie, expect to have a great day out.

Last Audax we did have a person with a GPS and we still got lost .... (it's not always a guarantee!).
GPS is also expensive for some
GPS also removes some of the 'skill' of Audax ...

In a certain respect I don't disagree, I'm not so interested in the purity of the event or points or card stamps, just want to enjoy an interesting bike ride without hordes of commercialism and wannabe racers. I plot out the route onto a photocopied map and follow that mostly.

 

[ColinJ]

Last Audax we did have a person with a GPS and we still got lost .... (it's not always a guarantee!).
GPS is also expensive for some
GPS also removes some of the 'skill' of Audax ...

In a certain respect I don't disagree, I'm not so interested in the purity of the event or points or card stamps, just want to enjoy an interesting bike ride without hordes of commercialism and wannabe racers. I plot out the route onto a photocopied map and follow that mostly.

That's why I mentioned learning how to use the GPS!

I have seen people who don't have a clue what to do with them. One guy got lost multiple times on a 200 in Cheshire. He kept passing me in different directions. I eventually spoke to him and it turned out that he had not programmed the route in - he was trying to navigate between named villages using the GPS as a tiny digital map!

You can pick up old GPS devices like my Garmin Etrex (H) for about £40-50 on eBay. You'd need a cable and bar mount, plus some rechargeable batteries. I reckon if you shopped around, you could be good to go for £70-80. Ok, that's £70-80 more than using route sheets, but I have had 8 years heavy use out of mine and it has been really reliable. I think I just had to do a factory reset once when it got its eKnickers in a twist.

Removing 'skill' ... well, if you enjoy the navigation side of it, that's true, but I hated that. I found myself staring at route sheets all the time and ignoring the scenery and other riders. If I looked at the scenery and chatted to companions, I got lost!