# Training for Audax



## Veloscot (13 Dec 2014)

I would love to ride a 200km or 300km Audax but I would like to know how other folks go about training and preparation for these longer events and still fit it around a busy working life. I run a business and frequently work six days of the week with quite long working hours so I only really get one day a week to fit in a long ride. I usually ride around 100 to 160km at the weekend and maybe a shorter length ride after work during the week if I can. I start most mornings with a 30min gym session, a short ride or indoor trainer session (in winter). But I am not convinced this is enough. Anyone have any tips?


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## Banjo (13 Dec 2014)

I would say you could do a 200 right now if you wanted to.

Why not do a 100 first just to see how it works .

On a 200 your average speed has to be more than 15kph but remember the clock keeps running while you are stopped at controls etc so realistically you need to average about 20 kph while on the move.

Very few cyclists dont get round a 200 before the cut off point.

Good luck .


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## marcusjb (13 Dec 2014)

I ride 100-160km a week (when I don't audax at the weekend). Don't have a regular commute, no gym, no turbo.

But I can be be pretty confident at getting around almost any distance.

Fitness plays a smaller part in long distance riding than mental fortitude and comfort.

If you are comfy and determined, you could go and ride 200km tomorrow.

PS, it is considered cheating to train for Audax. One simply goes for a bike ride.


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## DCLane (13 Dec 2014)

You'll be fine with a 200 if you're used to 160km.


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## jefmcg (13 Dec 2014)

You're golden. Audaxes generally have a minimum average speed of 15kph, which means you have 6 hours and 40 minutes to finish a 100.

Give it a go. Audaxes are cheap enough that it's not a disaster not to finish.

(i've not finished more than I've finished, but still...)


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## Pro Tour Punditry (13 Dec 2014)

No matter the length of a ride, there is a beginning a middle and an end - the same is true for a 10 miler as it is for a 200km, 300km, etc.

I find that if I work out in my head that 100km is the "middle" of a 200km and then it's "homeward" time then it's the same as thinking that 5 miles into a 10 TT is the middle and then homeward.


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## StuAff (13 Dec 2014)

Wot they said. I've only done a couple of 200s, thinking of doing at least a 200 and a 300 in 2015, but I tend to do my solo long rides in a similar vein- pacing about 12-15mph overall, stops every 25-30 miles. A 200 is four thirty mile rides with cake stops, really.....


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## Scoosh (13 Dec 2014)

An audax can be more a mental exercise than a physical one.

If you believe you can do it, you will.
If you doubt it, you won't.
Your mind will give out before your legs.

[Painful experience taught me this ]

You can do a 200 - as long as it isn't one of Martin Foley's super-lumpy ones over Mid and East Lothian !


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## PpPete (14 Dec 2014)

Veloscot said:


> . I run a business and frequently work six days of the week with quite long working hours so I only really get one day


 a week month to fit in a long ride. 
Been maintaining 1 x 200km ride per calendar month since January 2012. Sometimes don't get astride the bike for periods of 6 weeks between rides but still (just about) knock out
RRTY and SR. 
Do enough 100s and you're fit enough for a 200.
Do enough 200s and you're good enough for a 300
etc


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## redfalo (15 Dec 2014)

+1 to what people have said above. You'll be fine. One of the biggest challenges doing Audax was a psychological one. On my first 200k Audax (which I eventually avorted) , the notion of riding against the clock really drove me crazy, albeit I was well within the time limit. I have done half a dozen 200s and one 300 since. You'll be knackered afterwards, but can surely do it.


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## Veloscot (15 Dec 2014)

Thanks for the help everyone. Excellent advice.

I am going to start off by having a go at a 200k Audax and then see if I can handle a bigger challenge depending on how that goes.

Cheers


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## User482 (17 Dec 2014)

Veloscot said:


> Thanks for the help everyone. Excellent advice.
> 
> I am going to start off by having a go at a 200k Audax and then see if I can handle a bigger challenge depending on how that goes.
> 
> Cheers


 
Good for you. Remember to take on plenty of calories and water, and pace yourself. Fortunately, audaxes tend to be well-stocked with cake...


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## BrumJim (17 Dec 2014)

Regular rides during the week help to maintain fitness. I find. Although someone will be along soon to prove me wrong.


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## wheres_my_beard (17 Dec 2014)

I found that Audaxing was less of a test of fitness and endurance than it was a test of self control in terms of keeping a sensible pace and how comfortable your bike is for the long hours you will put in for the long distances. This is how the hoards of OAP Audax riders can have a jolly old time pootling along on their tired looking tourers, making the whole thing seem far too easy!

Don't underestimate how small niggles of discomfort whilst riding for a couple of hours can become almost unbearable after 12+ hours riding on the longer rides. I could barely touch my handlebars at the end of my first and only 300 last year, yet my legs still felt like they had a few miles left in them (I'd like to think!).


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## steveindenmark (18 Dec 2014)

Veloscot, it is the same as everything, you just have to put some time away for yourself. From February to June I can be working 80 hours a week but I make sure I take the time to get a couple of rides a week, just to give me the strength to tackle the job again. If I didnt go out and ride, my work would suffer.


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