What's your next Audax?

[smutchin]

Anyone doing The Shark? It looks very tough, but as it's a really easy ride from home to the start I've decided to go for it.

Lovely ride but I found it much tougher than I was expecting. Most of the lumpy bits are concentrated in the beginning/end. Tackling Toys Hill and Hogtrough with 175km in the legs is hard work. The middle section is pretty flat, apart from High'n'Over which is nasty on the outward leg, fun on the return.

Here's the route profile from my log of last year's ride - you can see how the ride gets its name...

It's the distance to the start that puts me off, not the distance of the whole route. I'd have to get up at some ungodly hour and ride about 70k to get to the start. I looked at the train times, but no luck.

Same for me - hence I ride to the start (60km) but get the train home. It's only a few miles to Tonbridge station from the HQ.

Ungodly hours are half the fun of audax!

 

[Dogtrousers]

Lovely ride but I found it much tougher than I was expecting. Most of the lumpy bits are concentrated in the beginning/end. Tackling Toys Hill and Hogtrough with 175km in the legs is hard work.

Because of where I live the Toys/Hogtrough combo is quite a common finale to my rides. (Or slightly easier variants over the same two hills)

I think two of my biggest problems will be succumbing to the temptation to bail out near the end (the route goes quite near to where I live) or being timed out. Or both.

 

[iZaP]

Anyone doing The Shark? It looks very tough, but as it's a really easy ride from home to the start I've decided to go for it. With over 3,000m climb I fear I may be dicing with the cut off time. I'm planning a slightly shortened (100 mile) practice run on Saturday to see just exactly how slow I am.


It's the distance to the start that puts me off, not the distance of the whole route. I'd have to get up at some ungodly hour and ride about 70k to get to the start. I looked at the train times, but no luck.

I'm doing this! I haven't decided if i want to extended it to 300k as I live about 40k from the start!

 

[toontra]

I'll be doing it (barring biblical weather) & have planned a recce ride this week or next.

 

[Redlight]

I can't ride The Shark due to a family commitment in the afternoon but I hope to be there to help out at the start - depending on what time I finish Three Down the night before!

 

[Heltor Chasca]

Too right, The Wells and Mells route was brilliant and a lot of steep climbs, harder than Gospel Pass 150km previous weekend. Tried doing half our club ride yesterday (50km and 600m), got PR for my slowest time ever on Burrington Coombe Washed all my lycra today so can't go out LVIS next for me too, shorter route.

2nd Audax for me. I loved it and thought it was really well organised. How many people shot past The Red Lion? Too tempting to roll on down hill after that nasty climb up to King Alfred's Tower. Thank goodness for my low gearing on my Disc Trucker. And a jelly baby stop.

I would have normally done the school run on the Big Dummy today, but I needed to conserve my energy to plant some 7ft hornbeams. 200 of the blighters! Do I get a AAA? (Arborist in Agony Award)

 

[Fiona R]

2nd Audax for me. I loved it and thought it was really well organised. How many people shot past The Red Lion? Too tempting to roll on down hill after that nasty climb up to King Alfred's Tower. Thank goodness for my low gearing on my Disc Trucker. And a jelly baby stop.

I would have normally done the school run on the Big Dummy today, but I needed to conserve my energy to plant some 7ft hornbeams. 200 of the blighters! Do I get a AAA? (Arborist in Agony Award)

I've planted 6 primroses!!! Just finishing off my write up, inc shooting past Red Lion!

 

[Heltor Chasca]

I've planted 6 primroses!!! Just finishing off my write up, inc shooting past Red Lion!

6 Primroses is more than I've ever managed to plant in a day. Good work Looking forward to the write up. Keeps on crashing at the moment.

 

[smutchin]

MoK is next up on my calendar too...

Just realised it's this weekend. Thought it was at least three weeks away. Can't believe we're halfway through March already.

ETA: Also just realised this will be my 5th time round (2010, 2012, 2014, 2015) - it's the bacon rolls at the vicarage that keep me coming back.

 

[Fiona R]

6 Primroses is more than I've ever managed to plant in a day. Good work Looking forward to the write up. Keeps on crashing at the moment.

Wells and Mells and Old Rail Trail Audax

 

[Heltor Chasca]

Wells and Mells and Old Rail Trail Audax

Thanks for sharing. Great write up.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Yet another diary cockup means I'm out of the Shark. I don't know why I bother with audaxes, I seem to DNS more than I start.

Next one will probably be the Ditchling Devil.

 

[Donger]

Three of us are off to do the Character Coln 100km tomorrow. One of my favourites, despite quite a bit of main road from Fairford to Faringdon. The upper reaches of the Coln are stunning and it's a really nice ride.

I remember when my mate Lennie talked me in to doing my very first audax several years ago, I virtually dropped off the bike at the end. Didn't think I'd ever do another one. I never imagined then that I would be doing my twentieth 100km audax tomorrow. It does get compulsive. They find all the best roads for you, and they are a really friendly bunch. An excellent source of suitable rides for the Metric Century a Month Challenge, too.

 

[Dogtrousers]

A warning to those doing the Shark. Don't go worrying about hills with names like Toys and Hogtrough. They aren't the problem. It's the rest of the buggers you have to watch out for. They're relentless. The whole fecking route is uphill.

I rode a shortened version of the route with the dangly bit to the coast chopped off yesterday. I dealt with the hills in my usual Grindy McGrindface way and ended with an overall speed of 14.1 km/h. Statistics (which I have just made up) show that I spent 85% of my time trundling slowly uphill, 10% of the time sitting down eating and 5% on the flat or going downhill. I think that 5% may be an overstatement.

 

[PMarkey]

Signed up for the Chirk 200 and planning to do it on the trike conversion which might turn out to be a mistake considering my lack of fitness .


Paul