What's your next Audax?

[Ian H]

That sounds like ... er ... an audax (with possible arguments about what is meant by "set route". Are there audaxes that aren't BRM?

[can of worms opened] What is called an audax in the UK is really a randonnée allure libre. Your actual audax event is ridden in teams, each with a captain, and at a set pace. Audax Club Parisien used to run audax events but fell out with Henri Desgrange who withdrew permission to run events under his rules. ACP then formulated their allure libre rules but retained the club name. Audax UK was founded in imitation of ACP and that's where the confusion started.
So, in France and elsewhere, lots of clubs organise randonnées without reference to ACP. AUK's BR and BP events are in effect similar, being not recognised by ACP.

 

[Ajax Bay]

https://www.audax.uk/about-audax/classifications/
Excellently explained in link above. Enjoy!

 

[footloose crow]

@Jameshow - Audax is friendly and a good way to meet like minded people (if you want to) and cycle with them for a bit. Everyone goes at their own pace and if the person you are talking to is slower or faster than you prefer, you part company and no one minds. It is very free and easy. Lots of support from other riders, encouragement and advice (if you ask for it) and the cakes and sandwiches at the end are most welcome. Many of us are very happy at the low end of the distance spectrum and 100k rides are pretty much the most common distance ridden. It is a nice way to see another part of the country and have a purpose and destination for the ride.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

@Jameshow Thought I’d ask ChatGPT for amusement

An SR stands for "speed record" and is a type of audax event where participants attempt to complete a set distance within a certain time limit. Participants must ride the entire distance unassisted, with no external support or aid, in order to qualify for an SR.

 

[Jameshow]

I appreciate this may not be a millennial thing, but the annual FRA Handbook offers very clear definitions. And why does the race category matter to the early punter? Felling running race details share distance and climb and the start will reveal the type of terrain, to inform the decision to enter. In the same way, knowing what an 'SR' is common knowledge once people have ridden randonnees longer than 200 (maybe that's a wrong assumption). Personally I just rode a 200, a 400 and a 600 in successive months and then realised I needed to ride a 300 to get my SR that first year; so I did.

No. But in athletic endeavour, names matter not. Performance (position) in races matter (well to me they did - I am still using my fell running prizes from the 70s and 80s; I can see two right now!!). In audax, positions don't matter, so names matter more, perhaps (I am just dreaming up a few name options for you, in humorous spirit obv, but they don't flush down well.

I was only joking just making the point that every discipline be it audax, TT, fell, road, track ha it's idiosyncrasies!!

 

[Ajax Bay]

Not to be confused with an SR600 which is a very Scenic Route 600 (10000+m of climb, measured on OpenRunner), but you have a generous 60 hours to complete, so three 13 hour days does it and a decent bed/sleep each night. Photo controls.
Here's a draft one, still alpha rather than beta: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/35131487?beta=false (NB I have not ridden it, nor all the roads).

 

[Jameshow]

I

@Jameshow - Audax is friendly and a good way to meet like minded people (if you want to) and cycle with them for a bit. Everyone goes at their own pace and if the person you are talking to is slower or faster than you prefer, you part company and no one minds. It is very free and easy. Lots of support from other riders, encouragement and advice (if you ask for it) and the cakes and sandwiches at the end are most welcome. Many of us are very happy at the low end of the distance spectrum and 100k rides are pretty much the most common distance ridden. It is a nice way to see another part of the country and have a purpose and destination for the ride.

In know I'm a secret audaxer!! I should probably do one!!

 

[matticus]

Not to be confused with an SR600 which is a very Scenic Route 600 (10000+m of climb, measured on OpenRunner), but you have a generous 60 hours to complete, so three 13 hour days does it and a decent bed/sleep each night. Photo controls.
Here's a draft one, still alpha rather than beta: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/35131487?beta=false (NB I have not ridden it, nor all the roads).

They're a brilliant idea - but why choose a name that was guaranteed to create confusion for years? Bizarre ...

I'm sure the fell runners have simpler names for their 600km events!

 

[Dogtrousers]

So could you, theoretically, do an SRSR (SSRR?) consisting of an SR200, SR300, SR400 and an SR600?

 

[matticus]

So could you, theoretically, do an SRSR (SSRR?) consisting of an SR200, SR300, SR400 and an SR600?

Exhibit A ^ - already someone is confused by this! (sorry mr Trousers)

 

[Dogtrousers]

Exhibit A ^ - already someone is confused by this! (sorry mr Trousers)

To mis-quote Mrs Doyle
Maybe some of us like being confused

 

[DCLane]

Not next, but I'm in with a 16:45 start time and 80-hour limit as a Vedette again - exactly the same as in 2015:

Now I need to start the qualifiers ...

 

[Ajax Bay]

Now I need to start the qualifiers ...

Well done for taking the vedette plunge. After your various travails (and plus 8 years), I suspect you will need to work a bit harder this year. Rode my 200 qualifier (Airmail, from Bristol) yesterday, in a better time than any previous 200, but way flatter and didn't faff except for a pint of Coop milk plus CHO at 4 hours and a pot of tea after 7 hours.
Extra challenge of a 1x (39t, middle of a triple but for various reasons unable to usefully use either large or inner rings). Mercifully, only one chevronned climb.

 

[Jameshow]

They're a brilliant idea - but why choose a name that was guaranteed to create confusion for years? Bizarre ...

I'm sure the fell runners have simpler names for their 600km events!

UTMB!!

https://montblanc.utmb.world/

 

[DCLane]

Well done for taking the vedette plunge. After your various travails (and plus 8 years), I suspect you will need to work a bit harder this year. Rode my 200 qualifier (Airmail, from Bristol) yesterday, in a better time than any previous 200, but way flatter and didn't faff except for a pint of Coop milk plus CHO at 4 hours and a pot of tea after 7 hours.
Extra challenge of a 1x (39t, middle of a triple but for various reasons unable to usefully use either large or inner rings). Mercifully, only one chevronned climb.

That is my concern, particularly as I need to be in Dublin for the Saturday so will have to absolutely shift it round.

There's hopefully some learning from the past PBP and LEL, but I'm on the same bike with almost the same set-up. Quite a bit of training will be done.