Audax Rides Spring 2012 - LEJoG Training?

Shaun

As some of you may know, I've ridden a fair few Audax rides in my time! In conversation with people on various club runs recently, some of you have expressed an interest in "doing an Audax" and in my humble opinion, Audax rides would be a perfect spring training vehicle for the LEJoG group prior to the ride...

So what the hell is an Audax?

Audax events are long distance, organised bike rides.

Events cover a set nominal distance usually in multiples of 100km. (Sorry, Audax has "foreign" origins, uses kilometres and routinely uses French terminology!). So there are 100km (62 mile) "Brevet Populaire" rides and various "Brevet de Randonneur" rides - 200km, 300km, 400km, 600km, as well as some special ultra-distance events such as Paris-Brest-Paris (PBP) 1200km and London-Edinburgh-London (LEL) 1400km.

A route card is provided beforehand with a list of road directions to follow and commonly these days a GPS track is also available. Everybody sets off together, but people ride in small groups or individually. You carry a small "Brevet Card" with you and get this stamped at "Control Points" as proof of passage. Control points are usually spaced about 50km apart and also double as fuel stops as they're normally in cafes/village halls. Hence an Audax ride is often considered a very long bike ride between CAKE stops! Audax events are cheap to enter, around £5 to £10 and some very popular events can have a couple of hundred entries, but 50-100 particpants is typical.

I've got a few events pencilled-in for this springtime. Anybody want to join me? Details in the following post. I'd particularly like to get a group together for the 400km (250 mile) Brevet Cymru on the May Bank Holiday weekend of 5-6th May...

Regards
Shaun

Shaun

Audax UK website:
http://www.aukweb.net/home/

Audax UK Calendar of Events:
http://www.aukweb.net/events/


Some gentle "starter" events...

Shaftesbury Spring 200, Henham, Saffron Walden, Saturday 3rd March 2012
203km cycling event starting from Henham, Saffron Walden. An undulating figure of 8 route around picturesque Essex, Herts and S.Cambridgeshire. Largely a new route for 2012, but keeping the hills on the way home.
http://www.aukweb.net/events/detail/12-703/

Chiltern Hills Brevet, Great Kingshill , High Wycombe, Sunday 11th March 2012
206km cycling event starting from Great Kingshill, High Wycombe. This is a challenging, but not too hilly ride, passing through most of the Chiltern Hills area of outstanding natural beauty, and returning through the Vale of Aylesbury.
http://www.aukweb.net/events/detail/12-88/

Stevenage Start of Summertime Specials, Stevenage, Sunday 25th March 2012
210km cycling event starting from Stevenage. Celebrate the start of summertime with this classic 200k run to Lavenham and back through the rolling Herts/Essex/Suffolk countryside.
http://www.aukweb.net/events/detail/12-113/


Now we're getting serious...

Yr Elenydd, Upton Magna, E of Shrewsbury, Saturday 14th April 2012
305km cycling event starting from Upton Magna, E of Shrewsbury. The Elenith lives on. New start & finish through Shropshire's 'blue remembered hills' but still with all the classic bits including the infamous road to Tregaron and the more benign mountain road to Rhayader.
http://www.aukweb.net/events/detail/12-748/

(Shaun says: Fanastic route this! Some good "mountain roads" in deserted mid-Wales and the famous Devil's Staircase thrown in for good measure! Some night riding involved).


Brevet Cymru, Chepstow, Saturday 5th May 2012
401km cycling event starting from Chepstow. Classic Welsh 400, re-introduced in 2009 and follows route adopted from 2002 onwards - Chepstow, Hay-on-Wye, Builth Wells, Landovery, Tregaron, Newquay, Landovery, Brecon, Chepstow. Good commercial controls used as far as 296km. Rest/sleep control at 361km.
http://www.aukweb.net/events/detail/12-249/

(Shaun says: This is my favourite event!. A classic ride through Wales to the Cardigan / Aberystwyth coast. Plenty of hills, of course, but nothing too severe. For me, this is normally a 6am start, 1am finish, so definitely has some night riding involved).


Building up to the big one...

Bryan Chapman Memorial (Classic), Chepstow, Saturday 19th May 2012
619km cycling event starting from Chepstow. Traverse Wales twice (Chepstow to Anglesey and back) in a weekend, taking in some of the finest (and diverse) scenery the principality has to offer. Sleep stop included at a Youth Hostel in North Wales.
http://www.aukweb.net/events/detail/12-195/

(Shaun says: An legendary ride in Audaxing circles. Hard to do in under 36 hours! See this Rapha blog for a sense of the occasion: http://www.rapha.cc/the-audax-diaries--the-bryan-chapman-2011-1).

Robbie L

Shaun. I'm definately up for some of this action.
I'll try out the Stevenage one on the 25th March which I've done before and really enjoyed... this time on fixed.
And maybe the Shrewsbury route in April.
Then I'll consider one of the big ones in Wales.
Let's chat more.

Anymore lejogers?

geoffg

March sounds a goer on fixed guys.....good test

VickyB

I'm certainly up for doing an audax or two but with gears!!

Vicky

Gavin B

I'd particularly like to get a group together for the 400km (250 mile) Brevet Cymru on the May Bank Holiday weekend of 5-6th May... :)

count me in for this one,

thansk

Gavin

Newbienige

Me and a couple of friends did the Oxford Poor Student Audax yesterday, 130 very early season miles, it was quite tough, it was windy and quite lumpy !!! Was please t get that one out of the way ;-)

Shaun

Thanks for the messages! I'll bump this thread nearer the time for the March 200s. Also, I've just noticed another local 200km ride in Feb (Sun 12th). It's a new event starting from Bedford and going out to the Cotswolds. See here: http://www.aukweb.net/events/detail/12-480/.

Please note that if anybody fancies doing an Audax event but isn't up to a full 200km in March, all of the upthread 200km rides have lesser distance supporting events that you could enter instead.

@Robbie and Gavin
Excellent if you could make join me for a "long one" in Wales. All of these Welsh rides are classics, very popular and will sell out before the closing date of two weeks before. It would be good to enter early (Feb/Mar) to guarantee a place. Only a tenner or thereabouts to enter, so no great shakes if you enter and have to give up the place nearer the time...

@Nige
Nice one! I've not done the Poor Student. Let me know if you're doing any other Audax over the coming couple of months. I might join you!

Regards
Shaun

Lloydy

Am liking the look at some of these - starting with the smaller 100kms then building up..

Seems like a perfect training plan for the Alps :-)

Robbie L

I've just downloaded the forms for the two march events. Both a fiver. In the post this wk.

Shaun

You can enter the first audax event online if you wish using Paypal (or any debit/credit card via Paypal - you don't need an account):
http://www.aukweb.net/events/detail/12-703/

Robbie L

Just entered the 3 march event online. simples. The Stevenage ride post only.