Getting cold feet about tomorrow's audax

[DCLane]

So @oreo_muncher ... did you ride it?

 

[Sharky]

So @oreo_muncher ... did you ride it?

Of course he did, but his legs won't let him come down the stairs.
Anybody who has done a mega ride for the first time will know what I mean.

 

[DCLane]

Of course he did, but his legs won't let him come down the stairs.
Anybody who has done a mega ride for the first time will know what I mean.

After my first 400 I never even made the stairs - slept in the event car park

 

[Ming the Merciless]

After my first 400 I never even made the stairs - slept in the event car park

Always take a rope on a 400 then you can hang upside down from the nearest tree and sleep like a bat 🦇

 

[oreo_muncher]

So @oreo_muncher ... did you ride it?

I rode 50km to Fulbeck- I was 40 minutes late to the event I did half the event 57km and realised there is no way I'm finishing on time because I had to stop every now and then (I was on 107km bu then), so I cycled to Oakham and thought I'll get a train home but then they weren't running on sunday- so I cycled back to Notts- did 173km that day and did not complete the audax. Now I feel to embarrassed to ever try do another audax, I slept 5-6 hours and my body was giving up on me in that audax. Now Im too embarrassed to even be on this forum I don't think I'm a great cyclist.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

@oreo_muncher I have been riding audaxes for 10 years. I still do not finish all the audaxes I set out to do. There is nothing embarrassing about not finishing an audax. It’s about being audacious and challenging yourself a bit. It doesn’t always go to plan.

So don’t be down hearted, pick yourself up, have a think about what you have learnt this time around. Then try and improve on those things next time.

173km is nothing to sniff about and longer than 99% of cyclists have probably ever ridden. Many never go beyond 161km (100 miles).

 

[DCLane]

I rode 50km to Fulbeck- I was 40 minutes late to the event I did half the event 57km and realised there is no way I'm finishing on time because I had to stop every now and then (I was on 107km bu then), so I cycled to Oakham and thought I'll get a train home but then they weren't running on sunday- so I cycled back to Notts- did 173km that day and did not complete the audax. Now I feel to embarrassed to ever try do another audax, I slept 5-6 hours and my body was giving up on me in that audax. Now Im too embarrassed to even be on this forum I don't think I'm a great cyclist.

Positives; you rode further than you've done. You've learnt about riding further. Oh, and you've done an 'imperial' century rather than just a 'metric' one.

My first 120km audax was so traumatic I didn't do another audax for 18 months : I forgot my bottles at the start so saw everyone else disappear off when I went back to get them; my new pannier rack fell off after 5km and a late starter gave me some cable ties to hold it on; I got a flat and because the bike was new the tyres were difficult to get off; I'd not considered how to navigate so got lost ... a lot. Arrived 2 minutes before the cut-off to scraps of food at the end cold, befuddled and still wondering how I got back.

You tried. Have another go - and you now know you can do the distance.

Pacing may be an issue: I'd suggest spending time getting your speed up so you can keep inside the time limits. A local club would help here if you can get one that does enough rides. Even time on a circuit would help; Harvey Hadden's a decent Circuit in Nottingham and Beeston CC have done events on it.

 

[uphillstruggler]

I rode 50km to Fulbeck- I was 40 minutes late to the event I did half the event 57km and realised there is no way I'm finishing on time because I had to stop every now and then (I was on 107km bu then), so I cycled to Oakham and thought I'll get a train home but then they weren't running on sunday- so I cycled back to Notts- did 173km that day and did not complete the audax. Now I feel to embarrassed to ever try do another audax, I slept 5-6 hours and my body was giving up on me in that audax. Now Im too embarrassed to even be on this forum I don't think I'm a great cyclist.

don’t be too hard on yourself, that’s a decent distance to cycle when you’re inexperienced

experience will grow as will the miles.

jump straight back in, best of luck

 

[Soltydog]

It's a shame you didn't manage to complete it, but no shame in not doing it. 173km is a good effort in anyone's book I tried 3 or 4 times to do a 100 miles & quit around 80-85 miles, eventually I did make the 100 mile ride, but was dragged round the last 10 miles or so by a couple of the good folk off here I'm sure you would have regret it more if you had not even attempted it, I know I would, there's always next time 🤞

 

[oreo_muncher]

@oreo_muncher I have been riding audaxes for 10 years. I still do not finish all the audaxes I set out to do. There is nothing embarrassing about not finishing an audax. It’s about being audacious and challenging yourself a bit. It doesn’t always go to plan.

So don’t be down hearted, pick yourself up, have a think about what you have learnt this time around. Then try and improve on those things next time.

173km is nothing to sniff about and longer than 99% of cyclists have probably ever ridden. Many never go beyond 161km (100 miles).

I technically rode longer than the actual distance of the audax but feel bad about not completing the audax itself. It was a nice route,some hilly bits though or maybe I'm a big cry baby about hills still. What are some of your reasons for not completing an audax,do you have any good stories? I leant to actually be on time, sleep 8 hours before one and not miss checkpoints...i missed all of them somehow (3). I hurt my back and shoulders from my backpack, any idea how to not let that happen next time ? Also don't know what do about phone battery lasting long enough to use the map, I only got back to notts because I was on the A606 and just followed that the whole time . Also pack some non sugary food, my mouth was sickly sweet by the end of it.... I don't know what will be the next time I attempt an audax.

 

[Sharky]

Well done, a really good effort.

 

[oreo_muncher]

Positives; you rode further than you've done. You've learnt about riding further. Oh, and you've done an 'imperial' century rather than just a 'metric' one.

My first 120km audax was so traumatic I didn't do another audax for 18 months : I forgot my bottles at the start so saw everyone else disappear off when I went back to get them; my new pannier rack fell off after 5km and a late starter gave me some cable ties to hold it on; I got a flat and because the bike was new the tyres were difficult to get off; I'd not considered how to navigate so got lost ... a lot. Arrived 2 minutes before the cut-off to scraps of food at the end cold, befuddled and still wondering how I got back.

You tried. Have another go - and you now know you can do the distance.

Pacing may be an issue: I'd suggest spending time getting your speed up so you can keep inside the time limits. A local club would help here if you can get one that does enough rides. Even time on a circuit would help; Harvey Hadden's a decent Circuit in Nottingham and Beeston CC have done events on it.

I know I could have done the actual audax itself if I started on time, got 8 hours of sleep and didn't have to ride those brutal 50km to get to the event itself, so I'm annoyed at myself that I did not finish it because I know I was capable of doing the actual route. Your first audax sounds rough.I really hurt my back and shoulders from carrying a litre of water in my backpack (had an additional 1l in my bottlecage) and some other stuff that did not fit in the jersey. I don't actually know how to still fix a punctured tyre- I got the tools for it , tried to once in a fake scenario and the bike shop had to put my bike together, not my finest moment. Any tips on phone battery life for navigation? My phone died on me and if it was not for me just following the A606 I would have not made it back to Notts... I did do a further distance than the actual length of the audax, but still beating myself up over it. My average speed was 19.1km/h by the end of the day, not the best speed though,I try drink and eat often but my energy seems to sometimes drop and I could barely cycle at some points , barely managing 10km/h... I'll look at the circuit thing you mentioned, thanks.

 

[ColinJ]

I rode 50km to Fulbeck- I was 40 minutes late to the event I did half the event 57km and realised there is no way I'm finishing on time because I had to stop every now and then (I was on 107km bu then), so I cycled to Oakham and thought I'll get a train home but then they weren't running on sunday- so I cycled back to Notts- did 173km that day and did not complete the audax. Now I feel to embarrassed to ever try do another audax, I slept 5-6 hours and my body was giving up on me in that audax. Now Im too embarrassed to even be on this forum I don't think I'm a great cyclist.

Don't be daft - that was a great first attempt!

Give yourself some time to think about it and plan your next outing. Maybe you are running out of daylight hours and warm weather to want to try another this year, but keep riding and work up to doing one next spring perhaps?

There are ways that you could carry more water on the bike.

I would think about getting a dedicated GPS device for the bike if you can afford a suitable one.

 

[oreo_muncher]

don’t be too hard on yourself, that’s a decent distance to cycle when you’re inexperienced

experience will grow as will the miles.

jump straight back in, best of luck

Any tips for improving?I've only been cycling for 2 months,started on 24th of July, I'm a bit of a newbie

 

[Sharky]

Re back packs - don't.
Always make the bike carry the weight. When it's on your back, every time you get out of the saddle or move your back up/down, you are lifting extra weight.