Audax without a car

[Wowbagger]

When I audaxed, I used the car a few times, but I was acutely aware that after a 200 my legs seized up so much that I shouldn't have been on the road anyway. I'd seriously question whether anyone who has just ridden a 200 or longer is really alert enough to drive.

I use the train to get to places I want to ride around, but that's partly because I live at the wrong end of a pretty dull peninsula and I get a bit fed up with riding the same roads over and over again I can't go more than a mile south, more than 4 miles north or more than 7 miles west without hitting sea or estuaries.

I find it better just to ride for fun rather than for suffering anyway.

[Redlight]

There's some parallels her with the discussion that crops up in other locations about the evils of using air travel to get to the start of cycling trips.  Of course I wold love to spend two weeks cycling to the Pyrenees for five days in the mountains, then spend another two weeks cycling back. But I'm not a teacher    I'd love to leave work early on a Friday, tootle off to the start of an event, ride it and then use the Monday for a leisurely ride home but the reality is that I rarely finish work before 8 on a Friday and have 20 days' holiday a year which have to be apportioned between cycling (on my own) ,skiing (with the family) and "going somewhere warm" (with the family). Throw in a couple of days for unexpected events such as visits to doctors and the allocation goes pretty quickly.

So, I try to pick events that can be reached by train on the day but I'm afraid that if there isn't a station within 10 miles of the start and a train that can get me there in time to ride those ten miles without feeling pressured then it's bike in the car for me. 

[GruB]

I've done more audaxes after I left the car at home than with.
Makes it more challenging and less of a pfaff as you have only got what you've got when you roll out from home.
There are so many to chose from that wherever you live the start is not far away.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

Why are people surprised that Audaxing encourages car use and that Audaxers prefer events to be not much further than their nominal distances? Audaxing is just another (fairly energetic) leisure activity.

[mattc]

I don't believe anyone has been surprised, so far!

[scottlington]

I'm not sure I've ever cycled to a Calendar ride. I have no particular compunction to either. I have a life outside of cycling and I have a car to ensure cycling does not take too much of that up. Besides that, where I live, the trains pretty much to a man go into London then back out for any event I choose and thereby take an absolute age. That is if I can even get there on time, given I'm on a branch line.

Being on a train can be fab and relaxing (first class from Edinburgh to London with Greenbank last year springs to mind) but as an example, it takes anywhere from 4.5 to 5 hours to get from my local station to Shrewsbury (MC1K) with 3 changes. Then I have to cycle from Shrewsbury to my travelodge. Then to the start. TBH that's faff I can do without. Solution - bike in car, drive to hotel. 3 hours, job done. I leave when I want, I stop when I want. And it's cheaper (90% of the time).

If I lived in London or another major town, then I almost certainly would get the train to more events. As it is, not practical.

PS - Frere Yacker, if it transpires we ride the same events at any time, you are more than welcome to a lift.

[JohnHamilton]

I've not had a car for many years (much longer than I've been riding Audax). It does make a difference to the events I choose to do, especially here in Shropshire where I don't have the number of events on the SE/SW of England.

Just about every ride requires an overnight the night before. There are only a handful of Saturday 200s I can get to the start that morning and of course anything on a Sunday is right out. For longer events I don't think it makes much difference as I wouldn't want to be getting up in the middle of the night or driving back afterwards anyway.

For me this means I tend to pick events much more carefully, doing ones I really want to do (which aren't necessarily the ones that are closest as that doesn't always mean easiest to get to) rather than just doing everything local because its there.

And I manage to organise all my events without owning a car. I wouldn't want to check routes by car - it takes nearly as long and roads look very different on a bike. Just count all the route checking as DIYs if you want the points. I hire a car for lugging stuff to and from the start/finish. Car hire is (as has been said earlier) pretty cheap for a weekend when most places have special deals (most of their business is either insurance claims or business travel in the week). I pay on average £50 for a 3 day weekend hire which works out far cheaper over the course of a year.

[teethgrinder]

Hopefully it will all work out, but owning a car just to run Audaxes seems ... ludicrous.

The irony of The Long Distance Cylists Assosiation depending on cars so much often amuses me.

It amuses me almost as much as when I hear a long-distance cyclist moan about 'over-distance' events.

Me too.

And when I cycle with someone moaning about all the cars on the road, asking where they are all going on a Sunday, then getting into their car after an event to drive home.

[teethgrinder]

I have a life outside of cycling and I have a car to ensure cycling does not take too much of that up.

I have a life outside of cycling. However, I cycle everywhere and chose not to drive. This is to ensure than my non cycling doesn't take up too much of my cycling time.

It's true what you're getting at though. Long distance cycling uses up a lot of time and there's always a compromise. That's why I'm in favour of people riding DIYs instead of calendars most of the time. Ride a DIY from home and you still spend the same time cycling but don't need the time or exspence of travelling to and from events.

[Martin]

You can't fix all Audaxes like this, but if it's just 15 minutes then I can't see it having a huge effect on time for volunteers, halls and control times.

Well - I wouldn't worry about 15 minutes. Start the ride late and give chase  .

The only time I've been 15mins late (rode to the start) the org was on his way out the door. You don't usually have a contact phone number (it's probably on the BCard !).

often the org does have to leave straight after the last rider to go and man a checkpoint / raid Iceland etc but I always let riders know my mobile number and leave a message to the effect that they should just do the ride and meet at the first checkpoint (another very good reason fo having a checkpoint rather than an info as the first control if you can spare the bodies)

In theory, ECEs might mean that Audaxers going car-free will result in more kms ridden, despite the restricted events available

absolutely; ECEs were partly sold as rides that could reduce your carbon footprint;

in theory any calendar event can be ECE'd, it's just a question of how far you want to ride to the start. And remember that an ECE can be one way; so you can ride all the way to the event ride it and then get the train back (or vice versa) and several riders have taken this option.

[MSeries]

My car free life means I can't ride all the events I want to do. It's worth it though. Helpful friends have allowed me travel to some events that otherwise would have been impossible for me to attend.

[teethgrinder]

If I had a car, I doubt I'd have enough money left to do any events at all after paying to keep the car running.
It's not having a car that makes Audax possible for me.

[scottlington]

If I had a car, I doubt I'd have enough money left to do any events at all after paying to keep the car running.
It's not having a car that makes Audax possible for me.

Indeed. Everyone's circumstances are different.

Swot makes life interestin' innit? 

[MSeries]

Saving money is another good reason for divorcing ones car. I used to use mine really only for audaxes. Paying insurance and tax for having it sat in the garage 6 days a week was an expensive  luxury

[Martin]

When I audaxed, I used the car a few times, but I was acutely aware that after a 200 my legs seized up so much that I shouldn't have been on the road anyway. I'd seriously question whether anyone who has just ridden a 200 or longer is really alert enough to drive.

pish and tish; 200km in the saddle is less tiring than 200km behind the wheel to most;

most sensible Audaxers draw the line at driving back above 300km due to the lack of sleep

[teethgrinder]

pish and tish; 200km in the saddle is less tiring than 200km behind the wheel to most;

The ones that cycle home?

most sensible Audaxers draw the line at driving back above 300km due to the lack of sleep

I don't think anyone can draw a line at any distance. You're either too tired or you're not. I can get very tired after 100km or feel very good after 1000km.

[Chris S]

pish and tish; 200km in the saddle is less tiring than 200km behind the wheel to most;

To most audaxers maybe. To the rest, what we do is so far off the scale of what is "reasonable" - we are already in a different world.

This is what narks me about the AUK "Long Distance" weanies. Yeah - 50km or 100km may not be "long distance" to you, but on a bicycle - it's a staggering event that most people can't comprehend.

That there is a group of people for whom it's routine is just f*cking crazy to your ordinary Joe/Jane.

[Deano]

I don't drive: I pencil in all the local events (4 events within 10 km of my doorstep, 3 more within 40 km), and everything else is dependent upon public transport, cadging lifts, riding to and from events, or plotting DIYs.  I tend to mix those approaches, depending on what I can be bothered to do.

I agree that some rides are simply impossible by public transport: try getting to Hebden Bridge or Galashiels by 8 am on a Sunday without a car, and without staying over, which seems like madness as they're both within 80-100 miles of me in Darlington. That is a pity, cos they are wonderful rides.  Maybe I'll try to make Season of Mists into a 400 km ECE from Darlo, which is likely to be the only way I'll get to ride the thing.

ECEs are excellent for me - I've ridden a couple of events as ECEs which I probably would not have otherwise ridden.

For the most part, it's simply a matter of imagination.

[Chris S]

For the most part, it's simply a matter of imagination.

That's a key difference.

This is a step too far if all you want to do is fall out of bed into your car, fall out of your car onto your bike and ride, and then do the reverse after the event.

I did a lot of that in the first couple of years of audax - but it didn't feel like it reflected what I was in it for....

[Karla]

I don't drive: I pencil in all the local events (4 events within 10 km of my doorstep, 3 more within 40 km), and everything else is dependent upon public transport, cadging lifts, riding to and from events, or plotting DIYs.  I tend to mix those approaches, depending on what I can be bothered to do.

I agree that some rides are simply impossible by public transport: try getting to Hebden Bridge or Galashiels by 8 am on a Sunday without a car, and without staying over, which seems like madness as they're both within 80-100 miles of me in Darlington. That is a pity, cos they are wonderful rides.  Maybe I'll try to make Season of Mists into a 400 km ECE from Darlo, which is likely to be the only way I'll get to ride the thing.

ECEs are excellent for me - I've ridden a couple of events as ECEs which I probably would not have otherwise ridden.

For the most part, it's simply a matter of imagination.

On the subject of SOM, Mankinholes is a decent youth hostel only a handful of miles from the start, I enjoyed staying there the night before SITD. 

Otherwise, what Deano and others have said.  Restrict yourself a bit, cadge lifts, use public transport, explore the local area and be creative.  I've done used rides from Cheshire and Hebden Bridge as trips to see friends in Manchester and Bradford, both of which were good fun.

[Euan Uzami]

If I had a (sensible) car, I would follow this approach, but try to maximise each trip. So driving for 4-5 hours just to ride for 12 just wouldn't make sense (although transporting 1-2 other riders would change this). But driving to a 300, then riding a 200 perm the next day (or just some gentle touring), then home, would make more sense to me.
Obviously this limits the number of 'away' rides per year, but that's life.
<\preaching content>

Just take the view that audaxing is effectively training for the apocalypse. When cars are extinct, going on a conference or visiting relatives in another county will be required to be done by long distance cycling, and thus audaxers will have a good grounding in this.

I don't like the idea of the whole 'drive-to-cycle' thing, being someone who probably does more than most (being keen on mtbing and living in the sticks in pancake-like lincolnshire), but I'm afraid I simply dislike the idea of not doing the cycling more. However going on a train to an audax, then getting the train back after it, does feel pleasantly 'wholesome' in some way.

[MSeries]

Using a car nearly always got me home sooner than public transport or cycling. Being home sooner made the wifer happier which is a good thing. It also means I am less tired for work the next day. It's not always about not wanting to ride further. Single people might not understand this.

[red marley]

Just take the view that audaxing is effectively training for the apocalypse.

And the return controls on PBP as good training for the Zombie apocalypse.

[Simonb]

The irony of The Long Distance Cylists Assosiation depending on cars so much often amuses me.

Why is it ironic? Some people like audaxing and have a life outside long distance cycling. It's a matter of perspective.

[iakobski]

I'm not sure how I'll get round this, but I'll either:
- lug stuff to the HQ in the trailer,
- rent a car and use it for other stuff that weekend,
- abandon supplying food at teh HQ, or
- depend on helpers etc to ferry the food around (and pay their expenses).
[incidentally, I'm paying my controllers petrol money - does everyone do this? It seems relevant to this debate.]

Hopefully it will all work out, but owning a car just to run Audaxes seems ... ludicrous.

Could you order the food on the internet and have it delivered?