[HAMR] Chris Hoy's card to Steve

[Willesden guy]

Great to see Chris Hoy respond to Steve's challenge on Steve's Facebook page. There's a short story behind this. My riding pal, Mark Green, was going to come on yesterday's photoshoot in Drayton but couldn't make it due to work pressure. He works for Evans Cycles and they had a trade day at the velo park in Gravesend at which Sir Chris was present, as his bikes are marketed by Evans. Mark won a raffle to have a ride with Chris on the day and he told him about Steve. Chris had no idea the challenge was on and was gobsmacked and said he would check out the website. Hence the lovely card!

Chris had never heard of audaxing and when Mark told him he had ridden LEL, Chris asked if it took about 10 ten days. When Mark told him it was four days, he very impressed.

[Basil]

Chris had never heard of audaxing

Eh?  Really?     I find that a bit odd.

[Wobbly John]

Chris had never heard of audaxing

Chris who? 

[macnark]

Chris had never heard of audaxing

Chris who? 

Touché !

[LittleWheelsandBig]

Chris had never heard of audaxing

Eh?  Really?     I find that a bit odd.

Why? Racers tend to be tightly focused on racing, world class racers even more so. Audax is a very small sub-set of touring. Racers barely know that tourists even exist and don't really understand why they exist.

[3peaker]

Upsetting how cyclists do not understand the wider picture. I turned to Audax in 1982 to train for 12/24hr TTs. I now Audax 'cos I have done my TT PBs and just love to be able to appreciate the landscapes that we can see, rather than studying wheels, oblivious to where we are. Even today (Fri 27"!) I rode late evening on quiet lumpy roads and wondered at the dark lights-twinkling Severn Valley from the Cotswold Edge (Cotswolds & Mendips Grimpeur 200/2.75AAA). That to me is where Audax scores. But I regard myself as a complete cyclist: Track, Trikie, Racing, TTs, Expeditions, Record Breaker, Touring, MTB, Sportifs, Audax, Coach, Bikeability Instructor, Organiser.

An endorsement by Sir CH could be just the ticket for the wider Cycling community to embrace what TG is achieving and why we are supporting/funding him.

[jefmcg]

Chris had never heard of audaxing

Eh?  Really?     I find that a bit odd.

Why? Racers tend to be tightly focused on racing, world class racers even more so. Audax is a very small sub-set of touring. Racers barely know that tourists even exist and don't really understand why they exist.

But he's not a racer anymore, he is a (developer/manufacturer/designer/marketer?) of a range of bikes.  You'd expect him to have somehow found out about audax in the process of making that change.

http://www.evanscycles.com/pages/hoy-bikes

The road bikes:

The Sa Calobra is a true all-round road bike that’s as equally at home racing as it is in a sportive or longer weekend ride. In the saddle you will find the Sa Calobra offers a fast, nimble ride with a confident and reassured character, effortlessly carving through sweeping corners and willing you to pedal faster on the open stretches.

It does seem odd to me that the designer has never even heard of audax.  How much time did he spend looking at the market?  I can perfectly understand not designing with Audaxers in mind - it's a tiny fraction - but not being aware they exist? 

Unless, of course, he's just selling his name and reputation and isn't actually as involved in the range as the advertising would suggest.  I await the Chris Hoy fragrances in Superdrug in time for Christmas. 

[T42]

Chris had never heard of audaxing

Chris who? 

Touché !

Aye well, I really did have to look him up.

Fair enough if he's never heard of Audax. He's not old enough yet.

[Hot Flatus]

I'm not surprised.  I doubt most cyclists have heard of audax.  Despite all the navel-gazing within the audax world it is a tiny weeny back water whose entire active membership can be eclipsed by the startline of just one big sportive.

[T42]

In quantity, lad, in quantity.

[Ruthie]

Well, he's heard of it now.

And he's heard of our Steve too!  I wonder if he'll follow his website?  Probly too busy.

[andrew531]

Chris is a gent, rode with & chatted to my 8 year old daughter for a few laps of Herne Hill Velodrome. Chris is of course a racer and top of the racing tree. How's he expected to know the old adage re racing? i.e Sportives are for people who pretend to race and Audax are for people who pretend not to race. Or even what audax is? His biog. account of doing the Etape was hilarious. He was a real fish out of water & did it to tag along with a few British Cycling people who had the idea but not all of them had the legs. Looking forward to his first Audax report...
There will come a time in Chris Hoy's life long love affair with the bike that he'll get his out brevet card.

[Canardly]

I still have his mate filling his frame with cement in my minds eye and training with brakes full on. Barm pots.

[Deano]

Chris had never heard of audaxing

Eh?  Really?     I find that a bit odd.

Next you'll tell us he's never heard of yacf!

[Karla]

http://www.evanscycles.com/pages/hoy-bikes

The road bikes:

The Sa Calobra is a true all-round road bike that’s as equally at home racing as it is in a sportive or longer weekend ride. In the saddle you will find the Sa Calobra offers a fast, nimble ride with a confident and reassured character, effortlessly carving through sweeping corners and willing you to pedal faster on the open stretches.

It does seem odd to me that the designer has never even heard of audax.  How much time did he spend looking at the market?  I can perfectly understand not designing with Audaxers in mind - it's a tiny fraction - but not being aware they exist? 

Where do you get that from?  The designer isn't obliged to mention Audax in the ad, whether or not they've heard of it.  Audax ain't cool, it doesn't sell bikes: note the change in name of the Dawes Audax to the Dawes Sportif a few years ago.

[Justin(e)]

Audax ain't cool, it doesn't sell bikes:

If audax ever became cool I'd leave in an instant.

[Jaded]

Anyone who thinks Audax is cool should have a look at the starting line up of one!

[Hot Flatus]

Oh I don't know.

I've stopped buying porn mags since subscribing to Arrivée.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Audaxes are for people who think they look cool with lycra clinging to their beer guts. Sportives are for people who think they don't have beer guts.

[geraldc]

Unfortunately the decline in sales of porn mags is due to the rise of the Internet not the rise of audax.  It maybe worth having a mag in your saddlebag after a 300+ ride just to check that there's no damage to nerves or blood supply.

[Mr Larrington]

A smartphone is probably more useful...

[Polar Bear]

Oh I don't know.

I've stopped buying porn mags since subscribing to Arrivée.

Like a good longboard do you?   

[TimO]

I'm not surprised.  I doubt most cyclists have heard of audax.  Despite all the navel-gazing within the audax world it is a tiny weeny back water whose entire active membership can be eclipsed by the startline of just one big sportive.

Quite.  One of my colleagues is a fairly young and new convert to the wonderful world of cycling, and regularly commutes to work around 10 miles each way.  He's done a few sportives, but hasn't heard of Audax.

[Jaded]

Indeed. When I talk about long distance cycling everyone asks me if I do those Sportive things.

When I tell them about Audax they look at me like I've got a bread bag on my head.

[Nuncio]

That made me chuckle (eventually, when I got the allusion).