Top Ten hardest Audaxes

[Really Ancien]

It's the TT24/700 that's the difficult one to acheive, PBP years are generally the best.

TT24 700km,      4 riders listed

       Evno         Memno  Name                 Club                 DA                 
Click on a Memno for a rides list, or a Name for a certificate
       07-23-TT24-7  1223  Steven ABRAHAM       North Bucks RC       Northants & N Bucks DA
       07-23-TT24-7  1118  Philip KELMAN        n                    n                   
       07-23-TT24-7  2807  Steven MASSEY        n                    Derby DA           
       07-23-TT24-7  9084  John WARNOCK         Twickenham CC        n                   

I'm not keen on ranking rides, AUK is non-competitive,  but there are people who like the idea of 'winning' Audaxes.
Of the above riders Steve Abraham was the one unsupported , on fixed.

Damon.

[JayP]

Has anyone mentioned the Dales Grimpeur? - isn't that supposed to be a struggle to complete in time even for really seasoned audaxers?

yes; hardest 200 in the book, even harder then La Marmotte; I finished with 20 min to spare.

+1 Martin and Johnny Thin. The first year I did the Dales Grimp’ I ended up cycling down Nidderdale in the dark with no lights not having remotely expected to be out that long. I was spotted by the organiser who was out looking for me. Later the same year I did the Marmotte and Martin is RIGHT.
The next year I got back with 20 mins to spare – my best performance yet on this ride.
The next year after that it clashed with the Irish Mail.
Then last year I arrived back at Pateley bang on the nose. Unfortunately I had picked up the wrong card in the morning so the organiser believed he had no further riders out. I just caught the tail lights of his car driving off from Pateley Scout Hut. I got my third puncture of the day futilely chasing his car down the track.
Roll on next year.

[MSeries]

Like all rides, MR24 is as hard as you make it.

[Graeme Wyllie]

Ive put years in where I can remember -

York Arrow 2008 (the only time on an audax I've honestly sensed impending death but was in a team of 3 so clearly had to carry on)
PBP 2007 (long/hard/wet/tired)
TT24 (the audax of truth)
Twilight 600 2009 (solo grrrrind)
Snow Roads (any time)
Brevet Majorca 600 2007 (started it 22 hours after getting to bed after a 400k)
El Supremos 600 2007
Three Firths 600k 2005 (my 1st 600k)
Hawick 200 (always a headwind heading back by Kielder and it was held in mid March)
Gala 400 2007 (that f***ng road by Hadrians Wall!)

[MercuryKev]

the only time on an audax I've honestly sensed impending death but was in a team of 3 so clearly had to carry on.

Ah, the good old audax spirit - "I think I've a good chance of dying, but would hate to let down the lads"!

[Jon P]

Has anyone mentioned the Dales Grimpeur? - isn't that supposed to be a struggle to complete in time even for really seasoned audaxers?

yes; hardest 200 in the book, even harder then La Marmotte; I finished with 20 min to spare.

+1 Martin and Johnny Thin. The first year I did the Dales Grimp’ I ended up cycling down Nidderdale in the dark with no lights not having remotely expected to be out that long. I was spotted by the organiser who was out looking for me. Later the same year I did the Marmotte and Martin is RIGHT.
The next year I got back with 20 mins to spare – my best performance yet on this ride.
The next year after that it clashed with the Irish Mail.
Then last year I arrived back at Pateley bang on the nose. Unfortunately I had picked up the wrong card in the morning so the organiser believed he had no further riders out. I just caught the tail lights of his car driving off from Pateley Scout Hut. I got my third puncture of the day futilely chasing his car down the track.
Roll on next year.

I'm sold - see you there next year!

[LEE]

The hardest of them all is the Mersey Roads 24 Hour. To set off knowing that it's up to you to put up a good showing, with no drafting, ample temptation to slack and the result published, makes it a uniquely hard way of gathering points. It also provides a measure of the hardest Audaxers, which is a possible cue for another list.

Damon.

Mersey Roads 24 Hour?

Piece of piss!

Just ride it at 15km/hr average.

[Martin]

I'd rank my hardest top 5 (of each distance) although the Irish Mail and BCM were a doddle when I rode them.

100 Mad Jack (now the John Seviour memorial)
200 Dales Grimpeur
300 The Dean
400 Irish Mail
600 Bryan Chapman 2004

[Dinamo]

Having only ridden mainly 100's I would say that the 'Centurion Super Grimpeur' takes some beating !

[citoyen]

Having only ridden mainly 100's I would say that the 'Centurion Super Grimpeur' takes some beating !

I don't know that one, so I just looked it up... Yup, 2.5 AAA points on a 100 is pretty good going.

Found one that outdoes it, though - Dustman Dave's Demon Hilly, 110km, 3.25 AAA points. I reckon you need to get yourself down to Taunton next year.

Mind you, I'm not sure the raw numbers are always a realistic indication of how difficult a ride is - I found Mad Jack's (120km, 2050m of climbing, 2AAA) harder than the Tour of the Surrey Hills (110km, 2300m of climbing, 2.25AAA).

d.

[Greenbank]

Mersey Roads 24 Hour?

Piece of piss!

Just ride it at 15km/hr average.

In the run up to LEL I had lots of conversations that went something like this:-

Me: "No, it's not a race, it's not fast either, the minimum average speed is usually 15kph, and down to just 12kph on LEL."
Them: "12kph, that's easy, anyone could do that, even me!"
Me: "OK then, fancy riding 1400km from London to Edinburgh and back in 5 days?"
Them: "No chance! That sounds too hard."
Me: "But it's just 12kph average that you just said was easy."
Them: "Umm, err."

[Martin]

Mind you, I'm not sure the raw numbers are always a realistic indication of how difficult a ride is - I found Mad Jack's (120km, 2050m of climbing, 2AAA) harder than the Tour of the Surrey Hills (110km, 2300m of climbing, 2.25AAA).

Yup; Mad Jack's is usually either cold and clammy or tipping it down in "out of condition" February whereas the TotH is usually warm and dry in "Cycling God" August.

If you rode the 2 events in the same season you'd find the TotH harder I reckon. The Ide Hill Grimpeur is also joint top of the shop of the GdS now that the South Coast Total Knee Replacement has been dropped in favour of an easy flat 100, and it's not that bad at all.

After reading this thread and talking to various riders who have ridden events with such words as "Dorset" "Somerset" "Devon" and "Cornwall" in the name I reckon the name of an event gives a lot away and I shall avoid any of the above ones in future...

[phil d]

Having only ridden mainly 100's I would say that the 'Centurion Super Grimpeur' takes some beating !

I don't know that one, so I just looked it up... Yup, 2.5 AAA points on a 100 is pretty good going.

Found one that outdoes it, though - Dustman Dave's Demon Hilly, 110km, 3.25 AAA points. I reckon you need to get yourself down to Taunton next year.

Mind you, I'm not sure the raw numbers are always a realistic indication of how difficult a ride is - I found Mad Jack's (120km, 2050m of climbing, 2AAA) harder than the Tour of the Surrey Hills (110km, 2300m of climbing, 2.25AAA).

d.

the Demon Hilly is a great ride - did it a couple of years ago.  I think it was one of the classic demonstrations of the veracity of the last para above - lots of AAA, but not as hard as I expected it to be.  I rode round the Upper Thames route today - technically it is not a difficult ride at all, but I always find it a toughie.  Probably because I always ride it alone.

Shall put together my list of "hardest 200s" later.  Will undoubtedly be topped by that b***ard of a ride out of St Agnes around Cornwall (I jest - it was a fantastic ride, but incredibly hard work).  It had 4 points on the old scale.

[Tigers Taxi]

No ones mentioned the now defunct, Gooseye grimpeur 200km of incessent climbing and descending, well known for having a secret control at the bottom of a 1:7 descent, just to lose all your momentum before the 1:7 climb immediately after. I used to find this ride harder than the Dales Grimpeur and the passage of time hasn't altered that opinion.

Andy S

[Bones]

I haven't done 10 yet 

The Elan & Ystwyth 200 was my hardest so far, worse than the Droitwich to Box 300. I just lost my oomph at 180k and Glascwm bank looked and was an evil touch in the dark.

[Chris S]

I wish I hadn't started this thread now. It is flawed.

As an ex-chain smoking, ex-obese almost 50 year old, I find some of the rides mentioned here (including the Anfractuous as it happens) to be bloody hard. Having people write these rides off as "Easy" is tough to read. Easy for you maybe - but not all of us consider ourselves athletes, or even that physically fit.

"Hardest" is a relative measure that invites Fuck Off generalisations. It was my error.

Ah well - Pandora's box and all that...

[don black]

"No ones mentioned the now defunct, Gooseye grimpeur 200km of incessent climbing and descending, well known for having a secret control at the bottom of a 1:7 descent, just to lose all your momentum before the 1:7 climb immediately after."
 I only rode it once, I remember Stoney Lane well because the controller gave me a shove off up the hill at a point when I would quite happily have walked! At Whitewell Bridge he also had to peel a banana for a knackered rider who no longer had the strength to do the necessary. I designed the Bowland 200 to be an easier ride in the same scenery. If you still want the Widdop Moor climb, Chris Crossland has it coming up soon in the Season of Mists.
 Don Black.

[simonp]

I wish I hadn't started this thread now. It is flawed.

As an ex-chain smoking, ex-obese almost 50 year old, I find some of the rides mentioned here (including the Anfractuous as it happens) to be bloody hard. Having people write these rides off as "Easy" is tough to read. Easy for you maybe - but not all of us consider ourselves athletes, or even that physically fit.

"Hardest" is a relative measure that invites Fuck Off generalisations. It was my error.

Ah well - Pandora's box and all that...

It's all relative.  You finished it faster than me when we both rode it, and I said it was easy.  Easy relative to LEL, for instance.

It's probably slightly flawed to directly compare a 1400 to a 200 for difficulty, though.

[Jaded]

I found the Gospel Pass a challenge.

Ask me again in a few years about the other 9 hard ones.

[Martin]

not flawed; just open to interpretation as others have said.

For example I've ridden Severn Across 400 3 times without any great hardship yet ridden the (shorter and in theory easier) Dean 300 once and it felt 10 times harder due entirely to the weather so it goes right up there. Mad Jack is bloody hard for a 100 no matter what the weather is so ditto.

A list of each rider's hardest ride at each distance would eventually give a fair indication; but would take a long time to compile.

[Ian H]

Anyone here recall my Tour of Devonshire 500?

[border-rider]

Anyone here recall my Tour of Devonshire 500?

Rick Cutler told me about it.  He reckoned that 300k of it was harder than the D&E300, and the other 200 was really hard

[chris]

There are so many factors that can conspire to make a ride hard. Fitness (or lack of), preparation (or lack of), weather, company, experience (yes especially experience), psychological reasons,  the list goes on. Some of my hardest Audaxes were when I was inexperienced and made bad decisions to do with food or hydration. I can remember my second 200km Audax, the Start of Summertime Special and being so badly dehydrated that I could not work out what to do with a R@T instruction!

On a good day a 'hard' ride can be easy, and on a bad day even the 'easiest' of rides can be bloody hard. I have done about 40 audaxes and the only audax that I have done that most experienced audaxers people would consider 'hard' was the Elenith, and for some strange reason that went so well that it would not make it onto the list of my top ten hardest.

[ludwig]

I never use the word easy when describing an audax. The first few 200's were " hell" but then they became "routine". On Saturday Taith Mynydd a mor was quite hard but a definite pleasure but I can still remember the first time I did it with my eyes swimming around my head in despair at the climbing and returning at 10pm covered in oil and road clag after puncturing three times in the last 25k.

[Ian H]

Anyone here recall my Tour of Devonshire 500?

Rick Cutler told me about it.  He reckoned that 300k of it was harder than the D&E300, and the other 200 was really hard

The first 300 became the Devon & Exmoor.