Audax without a car

[Euan Uzami]

Well, here's one starting from Cambridge.

Interesting. Peak district at night with not much chance of any commercial controls (what's open in Edale at 2am?)

Nothing. There isn't that much there  even in the day...

i'd say the nearest thing that's 24hr is sheffield, which isn't close enough to be trivial

[mikewigley]

Well, here's one starting from Cambridge.

Interesting. Peak district at night with not much chance of any commercial controls (what's open in Edale at 2am?)

I believe there is a 24 hour petrol station between Castleton and Hathersage, not too far away from Edale

[AikenDrum]

It's do-able, although it can increase the stress levels a wee bit at times. I rode the Lowestoft - Ardnamurchan diagonal last week, which involved a train from Penzance - London, a frantic pedal across London trying to find a way through the road closures caused by the biggest Gay Pride march in Europe, then a connection to Norwich, then a local train to Lowestoft.

At the far end it was a bit easier: Pedal to Kilchoan/ferry to Tobermory/pedal to Craignure/ ferry to Oban/ train to Glasgow/ train to Larkhall/ pedal to my Mum's in Lesmahagow.

On the journey home it was: pedal to Larkhall/ local train to Glasgow/ Cross Country Train from Glasgow - Penzance.

Got to say that the trains in Ecosse have much better bike carrying provision. The little 3 coach DMU from Oban to Glasgow could carry six bikes - the Cross Country express from Glasgow - PZ, just 3! Add to this the necessity to book your bike onto most trains, and it's easy to see why some folk would rather just bite the bullet and use a car. I do enjoy a train journey though (Oban to Glasgow is lovely), so next time i'm off on a long one, i'll take my new Airnimal instead.

[Euan Uzami]

Well, here's one starting from Cambridge.

Interesting. Peak district at night with not much chance of any commercial controls (what's open in Edale at 2am?)

I believe there is a 24 hour petrol station between Castleton and Hathersage, not too far away from Edale

oh, the one near the bamford turnoff - that's 24hr is it? that's good to know.

[Karla]

You could always control at a cashpoint in Hathersage.

[Weirdy Biker]

Erm, is this Cambridge 600 getting added to the calendar or what?  Seems to be a lot of pontification and no organisation  

[simonp]

Erm, is this Cambridge 600 getting added to the calendar or what?  Seems to be a lot of pontification and no organisation  

I can't add it until I have successfully organised at Level 1 (up to 300k) for 2 years, unfortunately.  I think I will miss the BRM cut-off for next year as well, as my events for this year are late September.

Someone else can do it if they wish. 

[Euan Uzami]

bit more pontificating for you;
done a bit of work on it, add a control at loughborough?
also replaced the A52 east of grantham which only adds 1km which you can do anyway even if you go through derby and nottingham rather than loughborough.

you could also replace the ashbourne control wtih carsington water caff (depending on whether the time it would be encountered conincided with when it is open), this would however require an info near monyash

[Tommyp27]

Digging this one up to see what's changed in 10 years. I don't have a car or any intention to get one since I get free or heavily reduced travel by train.

Can see myself having to ride to a lot of the starts of Sussex audax though.

[Panoramix]

Digging this one up to see what's changed in 10 years....

Wow... lot of the noughties usual audax suspects have left the forum!

[tonyh]

Hooray for riding to/from the start/finish!

[mcshroom]

My rather out of the way location makes trains pretty difficult to use for audaxes. Even if I go up the night before, the trains are virtually non-existent on Saturday evenings and most of Sunday, so driving makes attending events much more easily possible for me. I also live about 2-3 hrs drive from the "local" audaxes to me so the ECE option would increase the distances rather a lot.

I did enjoy a 4 day tour up to the Port Navigation a couple years ago, including trains and ferries. If the time permits, it's definitely a fun way to get to an audax.

I think a big change from 10 years ago, is how much easier it has become to make your own DIY rides. I find that more often than not recently I've ridden from my front door by choice. DIY by GPS makes the whole process dead easy to do, and as a full value rider, the idea of not having to get up 3 hours early, or have a 2-3hr drive after a 13+ hr ride is very appealing.

Calendar rides are still a great opportunity to meet up with other riders, and to try someone else's favourite routes and new parts of the country, but DIYs have meant I drive to fewer rides than I did when I started audaxing.

[Nuncio]

Digging this one up to see what's changed in 10 years....

Wow... lot of the noughties usual audax suspects have left the forum!

Yes. And a lot are very quiet or lying low. Time, eh?

[Geriatricdolan]

I remember ahead of the BCM reading how people were planning to get to Chepstow... some staying over in Bristol and then crossing the Severn in the early hours, others camping or planning to sleep in a ditch hours before embarking for a 600 km ride through Wales...

I thought my 90 minute drive in the middle of the night was bad enough... must be a softie... 

[Redlight]

Premier Inns and Travelodges are often reasonably options the night before an event, especially if there's a 6am start. For the BCM the Travelodge at Severn View seems to be the most popular option and its amazes me that they have never twigged that something happens on around that weekend every year that fills up their rooms on a Friday night, and adjusted the pricing accordingly.

I'd always prefer to get to the start of an event by bike or train so what's most annoying is when an event starts very close to a railway station... about half an hour before the first train of the day arrives there.   Sadly, I'm not confident enough to turn up very late for the start of a ride and be sure that I'll make up the time.  It would be great if organisers could bear that in mind when setting start times rather than automatically going for (say) 08.00 for a 200km.

[Lightning Phil]

When did ECEs turn up. Were they around in 2010?

[John Stonebridge]

We went 7 years without a car and it didnt feel unduly restrictive regarding audax events.  I do plenty DIY events and have 5 mainline railway stations all within around four miles of home and for most of the last 10-15 years work time has been split between Edinburgh and London. 

Even now with a car I prefer not to drive to / from audax events - I just dont like driving that much and its selfish for me to be away from home leaving my other half without access to the car as she needs it more. 

Probably the event that represented most effort was catching the train to Dundee and cycling to Kirrie for the Snow Roads.  I was happy for the offer of a lift home on the Sunday. 

The Yorkshire Gallop involves about 6 miles cycling from home to start, equivalent to a Dalmeny event. 

I havent yet used the new line from Edinburgh to Tweedbank to ride a Gala event but i hope to rectify that soon. 

Theres nothing quite like finishing a Manningtree event knowing that you dont have to drive. 

[drossall]

I like to take the train, but living a little way north of London (on the East Coast main line) does make things a bit variable. It would be the same, I suspect, in any direction from the capital, since orbital trains are rare. Only doing events up to 200km (and therefore not starting before 8am) does help.

Cambridge and Huntingdon events are easier by train than by car from here. South of Cambridge (Henham/Ugley) means going via Cambridge, or towards London and then out again, either of which adds so considerably to time that I've sometimes compared how long it would take to ECE them, but chickened out. I've done most of the ACME Witham events by train, but it takes twice as long as by car, which is mostly an issue for getting home again early enough to have an evening with my wife. Dunmow no longer has a station, so is Henham plus a ride.

Chalfont is not that far but just hopeless from here in train terms. Reading is difficult, and I usually steal what is notionally my wife's car, although I did manage the Robert Boyle one by train because it started in the town centre, whereas most of the others I've done have been a bit south or north.

Stevenage doesn't even qualify as an ECE of course, and needs neither train nor car

[postie]

Managed 30 years of audax with out  a car, living on the south coast trains are pretty good and i have always been happy to ride up to 50miles to a 200km , over the years i have had a good pick of events locally (with in 50miles) that i could ride to and train home.
I have also ridden the day before to many longer rides ,my record is 180miles to the start of a 400.

Been lucky to have some good club mates with cars

One thing i been asked many times is" are you ece this ride" never have instead choosing to do extra riding for fun.

[Salvatore]

Managed 30 15ish years of audax without  a car, living on the south coast trains 70 k north of postie trains are pretty good useless unless I want to go to London (which I don't) and i have always been happy to ride up to 50miles 50 km to a 200km , over the years ' have had a good pick of events locally (with in 50miles) that i could ride to and train ride home.
I have also ridden the day week/month before to many longer rides ,my record is 180miles to the start Milan and back for a 400 1600.

Been lucky to have some good club mates with cars

'One thing i been asked many times is" are you ece this ride' never have instead choosing to do extra riding for fun. "  with knobs on.

[hellymedic]

Since I've not ridden for decades, nothing has changed since my ancient post upthread.
Given how addled my brain has been after some long rides, I think I'll have been MUCH safer car-free.

As I've never run a car, the cost of a few nights' hotel stay pales into insignificance compared with the overall expense of car ownership.

I've stayed in a few posh hotels as well as more prosaic places.

[citoyen]

I'd always prefer to get to the start of an event by bike or train so what's most annoying is when an event starts very close to a railway station... about half an hour before the first train of the day arrives there.

Going back five or six years, it would have been possible to get to Herne Bay by train from London on either Saturday or Sunday, in plenty of time to get to my ride HQ (3 miles from Herne Bay station) for an 8am start.

Now, the first train on a Saturday gets in to Herne Bay at 8.08, and on a Sunday the first train from London gets in at 9.11.

I'd love to be able to delay the start to encourage more people to travel by train, but I'm limited by the closing time of the finish control - not to mention the fact that the last train back to London on a Saturday departs at 22.20 - although bizarrely the last train on a Sunday departs Herne Bay at 23.03.

Either way, full-value riders are stuffed if they want to get there and back by train on the day. OTOH, it is possible to camp at ride HQ the night before and/or after the event.

[John Stonebridge]

As I've never run a car, the cost of a few nights' hotel stay pales into insignificance compared with the overall expense of car ownership.

Definitely a +1  for that.

When I managed to tag on the Green & Yellow Fields 300km onto a business trip to London a few years ago my only additional costs were a pretty cheap advance London - Manningtree return train ticket and an overnight in London on the Saturday.  I decided therefore to push the boat out and stay at the Hoxton in Great Eastern Street.  I was of course the oldest hipster in town.      

[Panoramix]

Digging this one up to see what's changed in 10 years....

Wow... lot of the noughties usual audax suspects have left the forum!

Yes. And a lot are very quiet or lying low. Time, eh?

I suppose... one positive aspect of the pandemic is that it makes me think about riding my bike for stupid distances again!

Did you ride much in the past years?

[citoyen]

One thing i been asked many times is" are you ece this ride" never have instead choosing to do extra riding for fun.

I will always ride to the start if I can help it - just for the fun of it - but for me, ECE is too much faff.

For a few of my local events, riding to the start and/or home again afterwards will, for example, turn a 200 into a 280 - and I really can't be bothered coming up with a route and doing the admin to round it up to 300 for the sake of one poxy AUK point.