Author Topic: Thank you all  (Read 8431 times)

Fidgetbuzz

  • L sp MOON. 1st R sp MARS . At X SO sp STARS
Thank you all
« on: 28 October, 2018, 11:51:14 am »
Yesterdays 200 told me that age and a shortage of miles in the legs meant that i was no longer enjoying my audax rides.

So this post is a huge thank you to all the organisers and volunteers who over the last 15 years have given me immense pleasure from my rides. There will be no more audax rides.

I rest content with my memories .. 2PBP, LEL, PAP, 11 RRTY , Vets Champ and most distinctive ( maybe unique ) 10 SRs starting when I was 65.

So if you contributed in any way to this list .. you have my immense gratitude for your efforts.

I will continue to repay the audax community in a small way by doing the finance for LEL 2021.. and believe it or not  work has already started .... so see some of you at the start in due course.

Roger
I was an accountant until I discovered Audax !!

whosatthewheel

Re: Thank you all
« Reply #1 on: 28 October, 2018, 12:54:47 pm »
Yesterdays 200 told me that age and a shortage of miles in the legs meant that i was no longer enjoying my audax rides.



It seems a bit of a rushed decision... it was cold... who enjoys a 200 when it's 4 degrees, other than the more masochistic side of AUK?

Personally, I pack up in Late September and generally don't ride another BR until March, if not April.

I'd rather enjoy than endure...

Re: Thank you all
« Reply #2 on: 28 October, 2018, 01:12:38 pm »
Roger is in his mid-70s (I think!), so it's hardly likely to be a snap decision.

Thanks for all your work, Roger, and your palmares are indeed impressive!

Re: Thank you all
« Reply #3 on: 28 October, 2018, 01:13:27 pm »
That's an impressive list of achievements  :thumbsup: Certainly nothing left to prove which must take some of the challenge out of it.
Hope you find something which offers you the same pleasure.  If you find yourself missing the rides but not the physical challenge, there's always the option of BPs with elec assist.

Re: Thank you all
« Reply #4 on: 28 October, 2018, 01:21:51 pm »
I greatly enjoyed your company when riding with you, Roger. Even 10 years ago  you were an inspiration to me, having moved over (by necessity) from marathon running to audax.  The fact you've pumped out 10 SR's since then is truly amazing.

Also many thanks for all your work on the LEL's.  You were part of a team that rescued it from troubled times and have made it the amazing event it has now become.

Good luck with whatever lies ahead.
The sound of one pannier flapping

bairn again

Re: Thank you all
« Reply #5 on: 28 October, 2018, 01:41:07 pm »
+ the non trivial matter of Mille Alba in 2012  :thumbsup:

All the best Roger.   

Graeme

hellymedic

  • Just do it!
Re: Thank you all
« Reply #6 on: 28 October, 2018, 01:42:36 pm »
Thank you for all your efforts over the years, Roger!

As I'm another who has bowed out due to reducing ability, I would say a rider knows when enough is enough and can enjoy looking back with proud nostalgia.

You have a most illustrious history to enjoy; I hope you bought a few souvenirs en route!

Thanks and hope to see you at Reunions etc...

Fidgetbuzz

  • L sp MOON. 1st R sp MARS . At X SO sp STARS
Re: Thank you all
« Reply #7 on: 28 October, 2018, 03:35:18 pm »
Roger is in his mid-70s (I think!), so it's hardly likely to be a snap decision.

Significantly closer to 80 than 70 now .. bugger it.
I was an accountant until I discovered Audax !!

Re: Thank you all
« Reply #8 on: 28 October, 2018, 03:47:27 pm »

I rest content with my memories .. 2PBP, LEL, PAP, 11 RRTY , Vets Champ and most distinctive ( maybe unique ) 10 SRs starting when I was 65.


Those last few words say it all. Inspirational. :thumbsup:

CrazyEnglishTriathlete

  • Miles eaten don't satisfy hunger
  • Chartered accountant in 5 different decades
    • CET Ride Reports and Blogs
Re: Thank you all
« Reply #9 on: 28 October, 2018, 05:29:44 pm »
Well done Roger.  Your guiding hand in LEL was very helpful, especially for those of us with minor assisting roles.  I don't think we ever got to ride together - different events and different riding paces, but hope you still enjoy getting out on two wheels.  And I hope to be able to achieve as much in my 65th - 75th years
Eddington Numbers 130 (imperial), 182 (metric) 571 (furlongs)  114 (nautical miles)

Re: Thank you all
« Reply #10 on: 28 October, 2018, 05:51:06 pm »

I rest content with my memories .. 2PBP, LEL, PAP, 11 RRTY , Vets Champ and most distinctive ( maybe unique ) 10 SRs starting when I was 65.


Those last few words say it all. Inspirational. :thumbsup:

I think for someone like me in there early 50s ,if I ended up getting anywhere near the above I would be very very happy 👍

Tomsk

  • Fueled by cake since 1957
    • tomsk.co.uk
Re: Thank you all
« Reply #11 on: 28 October, 2018, 06:17:11 pm »
If you're enjoying it, you're doing it wrong ...

Seriously, chapeau Roger!  :thumbsup: A great achievement and an example to us all - hope to continue to see you around the East Anglian Audax/cycling scene.

Btw, my Retirement Project is to turn the longer Audax routes into multi-day Brevet Populaires ... might have a go at the CTC's Cycle Quest too [BCQ: https://www.cyclinguk.org/british-cycle-quest]

Re: Thank you all
« Reply #12 on: 28 October, 2018, 06:42:50 pm »
A lot of fun to be had on 100 populaires?

Chris S

Re: Thank you all
« Reply #13 on: 28 October, 2018, 06:44:26 pm »
Captain, My Captain!



"Don't ride off the front if you don't know the way!"

Yeah, fboab!

Rog - so much of my time audaxing overlapped with yours; we must have ridden hundreds of hours together; sometimes in silence, often putting the world to right; in rain, snow (yes, including THAT ride), sun and wind.

Happy Audax Retirement!

alfapete

  • Oh dear
Re: Thank you all
« Reply #14 on: 28 October, 2018, 06:55:29 pm »
Chapeau Roger, from all the alfa clan
alfapete - that's the Pete that drives the Alfa

Re: Thank you all
« Reply #15 on: 28 October, 2018, 07:00:37 pm »
Respect to you Roger. I could never understand how you could talk and cycle at the same  :)
#makewattsnotwar

rob

Re: Thank you all
« Reply #16 on: 28 October, 2018, 07:55:19 pm »
Pleasure riding with you over the years, Roger.

I think this decision has been a while coming.   Our mutual friend, Mr Thomas, came to the same conclusion in similar circumstances.

See you somewhere, I’m sure.

Rob

Fidgetbuzz

  • L sp MOON. 1st R sp MARS . At X SO sp STARS
Re: Thank you all
« Reply #17 on: 28 October, 2018, 08:43:30 pm »
Thanks for the comments .. bring back some memories

Chris .. you were a joy to ride with .. and were the inspiration for my first PBP .. by insisting .. you are qualified at least try because if you do not you will not try when you are 69.  Then of course there was the arrow (pictured ) and the stern advice to Fboab, and always that SNOW ride .. never to be forgotten by the three of us.

So to add to the Palmares .. an arrow , the Scottish 1000 ( thx Graeme) it had not been forgotten .. I just thought the list was long enough already ....  and the lowest level possible of an ISR
I was an accountant until I discovered Audax !!

Wowbagger

  • Former Sylph
    • Stuff mostly about weather
Re: Thank you all
« Reply #18 on: 28 October, 2018, 09:21:45 pm »
I don't think we ever rode together for any length of time because you are too fast. However, I have three strong memories of you. The first was an encouraging "Come on the Wows!" when Jan and I were riding our tandem around some 100k or other - Brazier's Run, probably; taking your (very expensive) bike into a Vietnamese restaurant at the start of the Blue Moon ride; and having lunch with you and Chris S on the last day of my Southend-Burnley-Southend camping tour when Jan's mother was 80 - which must have been 9 years ago.

Bloody hell, how time flies!

Chapeau to you! I reckon what you need to do now is buy yourself a decent tent and take up cycle camping before it's too late.
Quote from: Dez
It doesn’t matter where you start. Just start.

quixoticgeek

  • Mostly Harmless
Re: Thank you all
« Reply #19 on: 28 October, 2018, 09:26:56 pm »

We've never met, but if I can do half of what you've done between 65 and 75, I'd be very happy!

Good luck with your future rides!

J
--
Beer, bikes, and backpacking
http://b.42q.eu/

vorsprung

  • Opposites Attract
    • Audaxing
Re: Thank you all
« Reply #20 on: 28 October, 2018, 09:53:37 pm »
I remember riding the BCM a few years ago and I'd catch you, you'd say you were going slow, were old and unfit etc etc.  Then you'd catch me up later on

Re: Thank you all
« Reply #21 on: 28 October, 2018, 10:52:06 pm »
You got me around my very first 600, Windsor Chester Windsor in 2014. My Garmin packed up and both your gear levers snapped. I'll never forget and will be eternally grateful. That weekend you taught me a lot and it put me in good stead for many Audax adventures since.
By passing on the benefits of one's experience, one leaves a legacy, and I'm a very grateful beneficiary.
We may not have crossed paths since, but be sure to appreciate how significant you have been to my short Audax career.
Many thanks.

Manotea

  • Where there is doubt...
Re: Thank you all
« Reply #22 on: 28 October, 2018, 11:46:32 pm »
After my first club run with 'The Willesden', Mrs Manotea asked how it went. I said I was riding with abunch of guys old enough to be my dad who could ride away from me anytime they wanted to. Thats still true, alas. I also said that the end objective was to ensure that when I was their age I would still be riding with them (or at least still hang on). Kudos to Fidgetbuzz for making it!


Re: Thank you all
« Reply #23 on: 29 October, 2018, 08:48:08 am »
Thanks for the PM Fidgetbuzz.
Manotea lured me into the murky world of Audax 6 months before that memorable WCW ride by running The Boat Ride as a calendar event in December 2013. The start was a short distance from my home so gave me a chance to see what Audaxes were like.  My wife asked how it went and I said 'never again'. I promptly did my second one in January 2014! My first 400 was LWL, Andy Terry guided me around that one and Martin Malins,  Manotea, Pat Hurt and Liam Fiztpatrick have been my 'go to sages' on the route to becoming an organiser. There are others I have learned from too (too many to mention), it's a fantastic community and Fidgetbuzz has probably contributed far more than he realises.
Happy retirement FB, I hope your finance skills keep you in the community, even if you are not on the bike!


marcusjb

  • Full of bon courage.
Re: Thank you all
« Reply #24 on: 29 October, 2018, 09:21:10 am »
Roger - you're an inspiration and your tenacity is quite something to have witnessed as we've crossed paths over the years.  Those are some very impressive palmares - especially for an old git! :P

Your contribution to AUK and LEL have been of huge value (going well above and beyond when things went sour with PayPal etc.) and your commitment to LEL2021 is great to hear (hopefully LEL can recruit the next generation of chief bean-counter so you can enjoy 2025 without the stress!). 

Stay well and see you not on the road sometime!
Right! What's next?

Ooooh. That sounds like a daft idea.  I am in!