what is an audax?

[Philip Whiteman]

Can't think of anyone in purple who might be even slightly concerned about Stourbridge, Beacon or Solihull riders.

They're not really on the radar.

Halesowen....

Who are they?

 

[Dave5N]

You know. The people in front. The ones you come to see when you get bored of testing and fancy some proper racing...

 

[Greenbank]

All this talk of being at the front! Everyone knows that the real "winners" of an Audax are the people that finish closest to the final control closing time.

 

[jimboalee]

All this talk of being at the front! Everyone knows that the real "winners" of an Audax are the people that finish closest to the final control closing time.

Yup, I would certainly agree with that.

It takes a brave soul to have 5 miles left to ride with 15 minutes remaining. The Halesowen crowd will have probably thrown some drawing pins in the road at the 5 mile marker.

 

[Ian H]

And the poor organiser is sitting there drumming his fingers, wondering whether he'll get to the pub before closing.

 

[yello]

I finished the 6 counties (or is it 5??) 200 a few years back with around 20 minutes before the control closed! They had all packed up and were waiting to go! It was fiendishly hot that day so I sat for maybe 2 hours waiting for the heat of the day to pass. Several folk packed that day because of the heat. I can understand why. There was nowhere to hide out in the flats of Cambridgeshire. That's my excuse anyway!

The last 30 odd km were done at a fair pace though!

 

[Philip Whiteman]

Some people finished the 300km Elenith last year (a ride too long for Halesowen riders) within seconds to spare before the HQ closed at 2am. On the other hand, another finished at around 6.30pm.

Incidentally, I have 'won' several audaxes without another Halesowen, Stourbridge or Solihull rider in sight. There again I was riding Permanent Audaxes by myself.

The old addage is 'sportivers pretend to race whilst audaxers pretend not to race'. 'Not race' my foot! It was all out war between myself and Ant of the Stourbridge CC to reach the HQ on The Elenith first - he won!!!!

Late riders are always a curse for the HQ and controllers. I staffed a control last year on the Cotswold Expedition. Most had gone through but I waited and waited and waited for the few blanks on my checklist to turn up. In the end I gave up and handed over the Brevet Card stickers to the cafe proprieter.

 

[Greenbank]

Some people finished the 300km Elenith last year (a ride too long for Halesowen riders) within seconds to spare before the HQ closed at 2am.

The finish is 3am as it starts at 7am. I finished at 2.50am last year but then I'm not fast and I was on fixed. A few people came in after the 3am finish time had passed, it's not uncommon on hilly rides for some people to miss out.

The old addage is 'sportivers pretend to race whilst audaxers pretend not to race'. 'Not race' my foot!

Err, you might be missing the point of that quote. "Pretend not to race" has a vastly different meaning to "not race".

Late riders are always a curse for the HQ and controllers. I staffed a control last year on the Cotswold Expedition. Most had gone through but I waited and waited and waited for the few blanks on my checklist to turn up. In the end I gave up and handed over the Brevet Card stickers to the cafe proprieter.

Riders that don't phone in to say they've packed are a scourge, and riders that arrive at intermediate controls after the official closing time are running the risk of not having their ride validated but I assume you didn't abandon your post before the official control closing time (although it's not too bad if the cafe owner was able to provide proof-of-passage). I'd be mightily annoyed if I'd arrived at the finish of an Audax to find that the organiser had got bored and packed up and gone home.

The closest finish I've seen was this year's Midlander Super Grimpeur 300 (sadly won't be run again as the organiser has moved). The last rider got back to the church hall with 30 seconds to spare. It's a 300km ride but has 800m more climbing than the Elenith (but nothing as steep as the Devil's Staircase or that road out of Pont-Rhyd-Y-Groes), I wasn't mad enough to attempt it on fixed, although I will have a go if it appears on the calendar again.

 

[Philip Whiteman]

Riders that don't phone in to say they've packed are a scourge, and riders that arrive at intermediate controls after the official closing time are running the risk of not having their ride validated but I assume you didn't abandon your post before the official control closing time (although it's not too bad if the cafe owner was able to provide proof-of-passage). I'd be mightily annoyed if I'd arrived at the finish of an Audax to find that the organiser had got bored and packed up and gone home.

It was actually a bit of both. The last rider to pass through the control was an 1.5 hours before I left. I left the control half an hour early due to feeling unwell - as well as being bored stiff. A later inquiry revealed that no further riders had passed through and yes, some had not rang the HQ to reveal a DNF. In my instance, the commitment to volunteer as a controller was to provide last minute cover without ever having the intention to sit for a lengthy period staring at walls. As it was a last minute arrangement, there was no guilt in leaving slightly early.

On the odd occasion I have arrived at a control earlier than the controller but within the audax specified opening time. Usually the cafe owner would oblige with the Brevet Card and pass the information on to the late controller.

 

[Randochap]

Boy, I'm glad we just ride randonnees here -- much simpler to understand -- except for the "permanents" program which are nonetheless run under the same rules.

See the randonneuring section of VeloWeb for a full explanation.

"Audax" actually had its beginnings in Italy -- from the word "audace," or audacious.

 

[jimboalee]

Boy, I'm glad we just ride randonnees here -- much simpler to understand -- except for the "permanents" program which are nonetheless run under the same rules.

See the randonneuring section of VeloWeb for a full explanation.

"Audax" actually had its beginnings in Italy -- from the word "audace," or audacious.

Merriam-Websters has got one alternate meaning of 'Audacious' as being..

Reckless, RASH....

 

[RedBike]

A 200/300km audax is almost certainly ridden in one day; but what about 400/600km events? Do you stop for a snooze half way around?

 

[Tim Bennet.]

400/600km events? Do you stop for a snooze half way around

There is certainly time on both for a snooze and there will usually be at least one control that is a church hall or somewhere suitable for you to crash for a while.

 

[arallsopp]

Up to 450km, no sleep required. Beyond that, depends how much further I've got to go, and how much time I have in hand. Another 100k will be uncomfortable but doable. Ten times that, nah... I'll need to kip first.

 

[Randochap]

Merriam-Websters has got one alternate meaning of 'Audacious' as being..

Reckless, RASH.... :?:

Yes, I've had some of that RASH when reckless.