How does Audax make you feel?

[arabella]

The joy of boring your kids silly with "I've cycled up that road" stories.

I thoroughly concurr.  Only I cycled 'down' that road.
plus
being dropped on the first hill by the fast so&sos
having a relaxed ride at the back, mostly in company
making the country smaller 'ah that's 2 days cycle ride' - Salisbury is 300km from me, my parents 200km or so it seems.

[hellymedic]

Jealous when anno domini and its associated malfunctions means that 200+ is a thing of the past.

Fortunately a huge memory bank of all the features listed in the above postings.

Truth be told, a walk past my front door is a thing of the past but I have the memories (and many back copies of Arrivée).

[chris]

The joy of boring your kids silly with "I've cycled up that road" stories.

Whenever I drive down a country lane one of the kids will pipe up 'Dads taking one of his Audax shortcuts again'

[dasmoth]

One day, audax will cause me to learn how to navigate reliably from Maple Cross to Chalfont st. Peter, or vice versa.

That day has not yet come.

[Chris S]

Tired. It makes me feel tired.

I do it because it's hard. Even though I ride quite a few events, I still find it hard work - and a challenge. It proves to me that, despite suffering years of neglect, abuse and poor genes, my body can still do something this tough.

I'm glad I don't find it "easy" like some others do (or claim to). I'd stop doing it if that happened.

[Riggers]

Has no one mentioned 'smug' yet?

[Roberto]

One a cold wet audax - why am I doing this

Back at work on a Monday, looking out the window and wishing I was on my bike again and happy  

Night riding  - something special about it

Overall - just lucky that I can get to see and do on my bike what I once thought impossible

Roberto

[Greenbank]

Has no one mentioned 'smug' yet?

No, someone has already.

[Manotea]

Audax makes me feel 'better' in every possible way.

It's also useful for reminding the kids that their old man still has some miles left in him...

[HTFB]

I've made it through the wilderness.
Somehow, I've made it through!
Didn't know how lost I was...
And then I knew:

You make me feel, like, aversion.

[Philip Whiteman]

A permanent confined to busy roads in the midsts of winter then I think, "am I completely stark raving bonkers?"

A route that seems to take for ever to complete, "will it ever end?".

An event with camaraderie in the warmth of the sun in picturesque countryside, "that was a classic, I wish it would never end".

The thought that many of my racing/sportive colleagues that are confined to shorter distances before they are knackered, a sense of smugness.  

A route with never ending and repeated hill climbs, "well that was a good challenge".  

Nearly all audaxes,"I may not alway enjoy every single ride but the sheer physical effort to complete the route gives a sense of reward."
[/list]

[TOBY]

[urban_biker]

I like the ability to switch off. Not to have to think or decide about anything apart from what I will eat at the next control. Just climb on the conveyor belt, set yourself to cruise mode and watch the world go by.


And generally I feel thin (or at least thinner than I was). Audax has to be one of the best forms of binge calorie burning that there is.

Oh yes and smug; definitely smug.

[EdinburghFixed]

Tired? Looking forward to the finish?

Sometimes, I feel something special in pushing on against the most rediculous conditions.

But by-and-large, I like audax most *afterwards*!

[Ian H]

I don't have a 'fast' gene, but I do have an endurance gene, so long distance suits me.

[LEE]

I don't know how it makes me feel, it's all a blur.

I have some vague recollection of nice scenery, some nice cafes, being very cold and having cramp in my neck but I may have been dreaming.

I'll never write a ride report for Arrivee because I can never remember much about the ride.

"I set off from Chepstow one morning, then I think I was stood in a place called Bedgellert in the rain some time after that.  There was a Youth Hostel and a bunk bed up a very steep road next to a beautiful stream, an ungodly long hill with night time views of a power station, my body started to hurt and then I was in Chepstow again."
Does that constitute a ride report?

Audax makes me feel like I'm having an adventure, even 200k rides.

There's a small lane, between Hay on Wye and Builth Wells, parallel to the A470, that I have cycled along 3 times now, once at midnight (on that occasion I cycled there from Sussex ferchristssake!).  It's a lane that I doubt 99% of the residents of Hay on Wye know about.    Finding myself on that lane now makes me realise I'm having an adventure, a long way from home. I like that.

I like the feeling that I could cycle all the way back, from that Welsh lane, to my home in Hampshire if I needed to.

I like that, since I started Audaxing, I will now regularly cycle to my parents' house for a cuppa after work, in the dark, in the rain, in the cold..whatever.  It's only a 27 mile round trip on pitch-black country lanes, just half of a London-Brighton Charity ride.

Audax makes me feel I'm a proper cyclist

[Hot Flatus]

The over-riding feeling I have is of relaxation.

In my head I regard doing an audax as having a rest.

[jogler]

This

Jealous when anno domini and its associated malfunctions means that 200+ is a thing of the past.

and this

Truth be told, a walk past my front door is a thing of the past

makes me feel fortunate that I am able to undertake an audax ride which will generate a host of emotions before,during & after the event.


Thanks to Grandad & HM for paving the way

[steveh]

Exhausted during, and immediately after.
Half an hour later, chuffed.
When my colleagues at work say "HOW FAR?" and the answer is 200k, well smug.
Everything that has been said so far that implies "privileged" is spot on.
I gave away my tribars 'cos I'm too slow.
I've bought a fixie for winter to try and fix that but I suspect the results won't be Wiggins-like
Audax is a wonderful thing, worthy of a Nobel prize for the blerk wot invented it.
Steve

[De Sisti]

When my colleagues at work say "HOW FAR?"

I no longer tell work colleagues where I've cycled to or how far I've ridden.
They either, don't believe me or couldn't care less.

[Wowbagger]

Dissatisfied and frustrated.

1. Most audaxes I've done have been a struggle against the clock. I've been concentrating so hard on getting round the course in time that I've neglected those bits of cycling that make it fun.

2. I've rarely done an audax in which I haven't thought "Why the bloody hell are we going this way? There are much nicer roads over there!" OK, I know you are allowed to choose your route between controls, but see point 1 above.

3. I'm not that good at riding on my own, and I'm too slow for others to want to keep me company - see point 1 above.

4. I get a lot of fun plotting my own routes. I don't want some other bugger to do it for me.

I agree with PB - audax spoils a good bike ride.

[simonp]

jo puts it better than I could.  And it is very good at disconnecting me from the day to day stuff.

[steveh]

 [/quote]
I no longer tell work colleagues where I've cycled to or how far I've ridden.
They either, don't believe me or couldn't care less.
[/quote]

Not sure I've been doing this for long enough for the novelty to wear off.
The other reaction my fixie has got at work is a) WHY and b)WTF?
I quite like surprising folk, and these days don't give much of a F what they think.
Steve

[Hummers]

Me?

I just like riding my bike.

That makes me feel good.

Most of the time.

H

[Euan Uzami]

...
2. I've rarely done an audax in which I haven't thought "Why the bloody hell are we going this way? There are much nicer roads over there!" OK, I know you are allowed to choose your route between controls, but see point 1 above.

you're only going to suffer from that if you only ever do audaxes in an area that you know well.
I use it as an incentive to get to and ride round a part of the country i might not normally go round