Author Topic: Off-road audax  (Read 23183 times)

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: Off-road audax
« Reply #125 on: 25 October, 2016, 08:40:45 pm »

I don't think you have to worry about times for a 100 do you?  So that looks like great fun.

I'd set a minimum speed of 10 kph, and some might need it. It was great fun (at an overall average of about 15 kph including riding up Blakey Ridge from York), and everyone loves offroad climbs at gradients of 1:4, right? ;D
Yes, I do!

On foot and without a bike to push...
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

JayP

  • You must be joking
Re: Off-road audax
« Reply #126 on: 25 October, 2016, 09:56:51 pm »

Also interested in the routes, Peter. As DIY GPS if they're not going to be calendar events.

JayP and I just did my Off-Peak Return 200, which used all the Peak rail trails, twice

Is there a map?

I recorded a gpx track-log of the ride. (So did Peter but then he lost his logger.)

You can download my tracklog here http://www.gpxeditor.co.uk/routes2/users/jayp/OffPeakReturn/download
or just view it in OS here http://www.gpxeditor.co.uk/routes2/users/jayp/OffPeakReturn

It's a bit confusing coz we double tracked everything. The order of events was:
Start Wye Dale Car Park- to Bakewell on Monsal and back.
Over  to HPT via King Sterndale then HPT to High Peak Junction (Nr Cromford) and back as far as Parsley Hay.
South on Tissington Trail to Ashbourne over to Waterhouses via Blore and up Manifold Trail to Hulme End.
From Hulme End retrace to Waterhouses and back to Trail at Ashbourne Via Swinscoe
Finally all the way up Tissington Trail to the bitter end near Earl Sterndale and back to Wye Dale car park via Cow Dale.

Re: Off-road audax
« Reply #127 on: 25 October, 2016, 10:47:15 pm »
Deano that looks fantastic. I'd love to see more of this sort of thing on the calendar - maybe I should get off my put together a peak district route along those lines.

What sort of ratio of road / off road did you have?

I think the route will be about 25% offroad.  I could add more, but they're all natural shortcuts, which I like, and I like the easy start i've planned. Adding more would turn it into a monster.

Re: Off-road audax
« Reply #128 on: 26 October, 2016, 12:22:54 am »
The Off-Peak Return 200 that JayP and I did is at least 75% off-road but it isn't gnarly, like Dean's proposed 100, just not tarmaced.  In fact, as we say round here, "You'll be fine on 23s!"

mattc

  • n.b. have grown beard since photo taken
    • Didcot Audaxes
Re: Off-road audax
« Reply #129 on: 26 October, 2016, 08:28:43 am »
The Off-Peak Return 200 that JayP and I did is at least 75% off-road but it isn't gnarly, like Dean's proposed 100, just not tarmaced.  In fact, as we say round here, "You'll be fine on 23s!"
I wonder if "traffic-free" would be a less confusing term. (are these the Peak District railway lines you're talking about? The bits I've used are a better surface than most English roads!)

One of the problems of this sort of audaciousness is classification. "off-road" covers a whole range of conditions, putting uncertainty into riders' minds about what equipment/skills they need. On a "regular" event, you might prefer certain kit for certain roads, but it's perfectly feasible to use any road-bike on any UK event*.



*That is of course an open challenge for riders to quote hideous sections from some event!
Has never ridden RAAM
---------
No.11  Because of the great host of those who dislike the least appearance of "swank " when they travel the roads and lanes. - From Kuklos' 39 Articles

Re: Off-road audax
« Reply #130 on: 26 October, 2016, 10:11:25 am »
Having found that 44mm Snoqualmie Pass tyres fit my steel bike, I'm well up for some of this. They roll great at 40psi. Recommended for anyone venturing on mixed terrain.

PaulF

  • "World's Scariest Barman"
  • It's only impossible if you stop to think about it
Re: Off-road audax
« Reply #131 on: 26 October, 2016, 10:41:15 am »
....

One of the problems of this sort of audaciousness is classification. "off-road" covers a whole range of conditions, putting uncertainty into riders' minds about what equipment/skills they need. On a "regular" event, you might prefer certain kit for certain roads, but it's perfectly feasible to use any road-bike on any UK event*.



*That is of course an open challenge for riders to quote hideous sections from some event!

OK I'll bite ;D I didn't do the ride but it's one of my regular MTB routes. Not sure that the last section from the Ridgeway to Sparsholt on the Old Roads (I think) qualifies for any road bike!

Re: Off-road audax
« Reply #132 on: 26 October, 2016, 11:34:30 am »
@ mattc

Matt, semantically, it's a moot point:  it is not on roads, therefore it is off road, although traffic-free is also a fair description.  I think off road is a perfectly satisfactory definintion in cycling terms, as we have "rough stuff" (and that has an honourable and ancient history in cycling) to describe the gnarlier stuff.  But I'm not  bothered really!  I suppose it might become a talking point if this type of riding were ever to become an official sub (or super) section of rides.  Certainly, "traffic-free" would represent a big attraction for many riders.  Then again, experience shows that offering a ride that contains a lot of trails puts off people who are not used to having to wash their bikes!

Peter

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: Off-road audax
« Reply #133 on: 26 October, 2016, 11:38:02 am »
People who are not used to having to wash their bikes must only ride in summer and even then only on main roads! Or else they have someone to do it for them...
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

mattc

  • n.b. have grown beard since photo taken
    • Didcot Audaxes
Re: Off-road audax
« Reply #134 on: 26 October, 2016, 01:03:49 pm »
People who are not used to having to wash their bikes must only ride in summer and even then only on main roads! Or else they have someone to do it for them...
Very true.

But define "trails"! Even that covers a multitude of surfaces. I honestly think that describing an event as "off-road", and without further info, would put off twice as many riders as it attracts. I don't want to have an argument; except that if we do have one, it will prove my point that classifications can be problematic :P
Has never ridden RAAM
---------
No.11  Because of the great host of those who dislike the least appearance of "swank " when they travel the roads and lanes. - From Kuklos' 39 Articles

Kim

  • Timelord
    • Fediverse
Re: Off-road audax
« Reply #135 on: 26 October, 2016, 03:17:59 pm »
I think the pragmatic answer is to provide further info, or at least sufficient details of the route that specifics of the conditions can be sought elsewhere.

And it's best if that's done in a "the surface is like this" way rather than "suitable for this kind of bike" way, as riders will have their own tolerances and skills.  (For example, I'm perfectly capable of riding on hard-packed coarse gravel on a rigid bike with normal audax/touring tyres, but if I do more than a couple of kilometres of that my wrists will hate me for the rest of the week.  If I knew a route involved large amounts of it I'd probably use wider tyres or even a MTB, in spite of not needing the extra grip.)

Similarly, "traffic free" means you don't have to deal with cars, but says nothing about the wandering children and dogs factor.  On popular trails that can limit your speed more than technical surfaces.

Re: Off-road audax
« Reply #136 on: 26 October, 2016, 11:19:08 pm »
Having found that 44mm Snoqualmie Pass tyres fit my steel bike, I'm well up for some of this. They roll great at 40psi. Recommended for anyone venturing on mixed terrain.

You probably need to get well first

Re: Off-road audax
« Reply #137 on: 26 October, 2016, 11:25:42 pm »
But if a calender event entry provided a link to an external site with photos like those above, there'd be no confusion and it would be pretty clear what sort of terrain was on offer.

I think the more problematic part would be controls on a longer route.

mattc

  • n.b. have grown beard since photo taken
    • Didcot Audaxes
Re: Off-road audax
« Reply #138 on: 27 October, 2016, 08:12:03 am »
But if a calender event entry provided a link to an external site with photos like those above, there'd be no confusion and it would be pretty clear what sort of terrain was on offer.
Yes; it's not an insoluble problem.  :thumbsup:

(still extra effort and things-to-do than organising a road event)
Has never ridden RAAM
---------
No.11  Because of the great host of those who dislike the least appearance of "swank " when they travel the roads and lanes. - From Kuklos' 39 Articles

Re: Off-road audax
« Reply #139 on: 20 December, 2016, 01:46:21 am »
Well, there's at least one more of these in the calendar now...

https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=100815.0

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: Off-road audax
« Reply #140 on: 20 December, 2016, 11:48:39 am »
"Brevet Unpopulaire"  :D :thumbsup:
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.