First Audax- it has to be done, please recommend one

[Gandalf]

As above really.

I've decided that I have to do one this year whatever happens.  From what I can gather from the arcane and unfathomable world of Audax a 100 doesn't seem to count as a 'proper' one.

On that basis I'm looking for a newbie friendly 200 which would allow me to ride to the start rom SW London, preferably in the latter part of the summer so I can train for it.

If I have to travel miles to the start  and enter into a train vortex it will just provide an excuse.

A relaxed attitude to mudguards and/or beards & sandals would also be an advantage. 

TIA

[PaulF]

A relaxed attitude to mudguards and/or beards & sandals would also be an advantage. 

From what I know about Audax you needn't worry about your beard and sandals, they're mandatory in most

HTH

(More seriously if I weren't leaving the country for a while I'd join you in this as I harbour a similar ambition)

[geraldc]

Don't jump straight into a 200, especially if you think you may have to train for it. Go for a 100 instead.  The Stevenage Start of Summertime 100, is very easy to get to from London, and is well attended.

Audax UK Calendar

That was my first taste of audax and was a nice intro.

[Ian H]

Don't jump straight into a 200, especially if you think you may have to train for it. Go for a 100 instead.  The Stevenage Start of Summertime 100, is very easy to get to from London, and is well attended.

Audax UK Calendar

That was my first taste of audax and was a nice intro.

Refine your search in the AUK calendar by choosing the type of event and area. There are quite a few 200s in Kent, Berks, Sussex, and elsewhere around London over the next few months.

[Chris S]

Do one of the Henham 100's.

Great atmosphere, Great organisation, Great company. You'll love it - and the occasion will carry you along, even if it hurts a bit.

I agree with others - 200 might be too big a bite first time out.

[Fidgetbuzz]

Do one of the Henham 100's.

Great atmosphere, Great organisation, Great company. You'll love it - and the occasion will carry you along, even if it hurts a bit.

I agree with others - 200 might be too big a bite first time out.

+1.  I used to crack at 80kms - start gently with a 100 and when comfortable do a 200

[ludwig]

Just one thing though. If you start with a 100k you might well feel completley shafted at the end and probably won't be able to contemplate getting back on and riding another 100km. Don't be put off by this. Two weeks later you will try a 200 and you'll feel only slightly more shafted at the end as you did after 100. Give it a go you'll get a great feeling of achievement.

[PaulF]

There's also an article in this month's Cycling Plus "100 miles made easy" which claims to provide a training plan for a first 100 miler. I haven't read it yet...

[duncan]

Just one thing though. If you start with a 100k you might well feel completley shafted at the end and probably won't be able to contemplate getting back on and riding another 100km. Don't be put off by this. Two weeks later you will try a 200 and you'll feel only slightly more shafted at the end as you did after 100. Give it a go you'll get a great feeling of achievement.

Indeed. I find there is a patch between a third and a half of the way around where I start to wonder what exactly about this is supposed to be fun. This seems to be distance independent, and always wears off...

Duncan

[Gandalf]

OK chaps, thanks.  Sounds like discretion is the better part of valour.  I'll pop off to the quaint AUK site and have a rummage. 

[Wowbagger]

Next Saturday's Brazier's Run is fine. 100k, and Jan and I have done it twice on the tandem. We've pushed the time limits on both occasions though.

We're not doing it this year. We're going for a ride from home instead. To get from Saarfend to Henham by train involves 2 1-hour journeys with Lpoo St in the middle. I don't like driving to bike rides.

I'm doing the 150 with Peli (on the tandem) 2 weeks later, also from Henham.

[αdαmsκι]

I've not done any Audax rides, but I have done a number of rides that were 200 km or more & from that experience I'd also suggest gearing up to a 200km.

From what I can gather from the arcane and unfathomable world of Audax a 100 doesn't seem to count as a 'proper' one.

You've spent too long reading about Teethgrinders rides! Seriously, I think the number of people doing 400s, 600s etc. rides who post on yacf isn't the norm even for Audax riders (?). 

[Manotea]

Putting on my contrarian hat, I'm really not convinced about this 'building up to 200km' malarky, or to put it another way, you're all a bunch of wusses!

Assuming Gandalf has a basic level of cycling fitness and is comfortable riding, say, 30miles/50km, physically there's no reason why he couldn't manage 200km. After all, its not the pace thats the problem, the minimum average speed of 15kph/10mph is walking pace in cycling terms.

The thing that makes a 200km outing different is the need to pace yourself through the ride aware that you will be out for a full day. This means taking time to enjoy the ride, work and rest as needed, and not lingering at controls whilst ensuring you eat and drink enough to fuel you through the day. This is a completely different mindset to a 100km, Thats why real audaxing starts at 200km (ouch!).

So whilst its probably not a good idea to start with a 200km grimpeur, if you want to ride a 200km, ride a 200km. As to which one, if you want a ride handy from South West London checkout the Taste of the Test in May. You'll be guaranteed lots of company.

Edit: Once the clocks change I'll look to get down to ride some surrey hills a midweek evening. I've got a couple of nice 30mile loops which takes a couple of hours. I'd welcome some company.

[Really Ancien]

It all depends on what the aim is. If you are wanting to build up to a respectable showing, riding with some of the faster lads, i.e. if you want to treat a 200 as a cheap Cyclosportive, then you will have to build up distances, doing each one at a fastish pace.
If, however you just want to do 200km, then you should go out next week and not go off with the fast lads but station yourself at the back of the field, in the beard and sandals zone. You can take pace off experienced riders.
Any ride of over 100 miles will alter your metabolism to some extent, it makes you feel different. You can't experience it without doing it. Pay attention to how you feel a week later and not how you feel at the end.
My advice is not to concern yourself with how you look or feel, just do it.

Damon.

[Hummers]

It is with a measure of alarm that I notice that no one has warned you of the real dangers of wanting to ride a 200.

I talk not of the mileage, the terrain or the "arcane rules of AUK". It is the foray into the seemingly harmless world of Audax that is where the real risks to wealth and domestic or marital bliss truly lie.

If you are lucky, you will suffer an epic fail on your first attempt. You'll give the idea up as a bad job and your life will continue very much as it is now. The pain of a DNF will soon ebb and within a month, you will shrug your shoulders and say "Oh, Audax? I tried that once and it wasn't for me. I don't need to do that sort of thing to enjoy riding my bike". Within a year, you will have probably forgotten all about it.

However, if you are one of the hapless many that have been sucked into the AUK underworld, finishing your first 200 won't be enough. You will be just one step further towards an obsession that will leave your friends shaking their heads and your spouse/partner wondering what went wrong and where you have gone.

People that would have ridden pootles with you in the past will now treat you with an air of mistrust and will say things like "...but we've heard all about your cycle rides and just want a bike ride, not some bloody endurance event".

Trips to see friends or family will become an excuse to squeeze in a DIY 200 or even DIY 300. You'll become excited about getting up at 3am on a Saturday morning to cycle the 125+ miles you would otherwise shared with your wife/partner in the comfort of your car; eating wine gums and experiencing together the delights of the Light Programme.

Simple events like FNRTTC or the Dun Run will just be an excuse to ride to/from London to start/return from the ride, doubling the distance you would have normally considered appropriate.

Places like 24hr service stations and tea rooms will take a new prominence in your life and you will be overburdened with the knowledge of how much a toasted tea cake costs across the whole of southern England.

Through taking part in events, you will start to socially mix with men and women that your close friends and family will never quite understand, regard as 'cycling weirdos' and never fully accept as being part of your life.

Sure, you'll fool yourself that you are in control and can quit at any time but that, dear Gandalf, is an illusion. Once you have crossed the line, where you no longer measure a ride by distance but by time, there is no way out and your life will never be the same again.

My advice is leave it all well alone.

Think on.

H

[frankly frankie]

If you are lucky, you will suffer an epic fail on your first attempt. You'll give the idea up as a bad job and your life will continue very much as it is now.

Brilliant!
Though you fail to mention (only hint at) actual marital breakdown - quite common.

[Hummers]

Though you fail to mention (only hint at) actual marital breakdown - quite common.

In 2006, I arrived home from the 3 Moors 300 only to be presented with a list of the weekends where I had been home vs the weekends I had been on the bike since the beginning of the year.

Mrs H had run out of patience for my PBP obsession and I offered to give the whole Audax and PBP thing up - even though I had already entered the K&SW for the following weekend to complete my first SR. It wasn't just the time away from home, it was being at home but not really being there (if you understand what I mean) that made things worse.

Needless to say, she relented and I managed to get my 'issues' under control in time for PBP and this year (so far) LEL.

H

[LEE]

Yes, far better not to to get started with this Audax lark at all but, if you insist on doing one (and don't say we didn't warn you when you find yourself in in some Welsh Service Station at 4am one day) then start with a 100.

a 100km Audax lets you figure out the nuances of getting around an Audax route without the pressure of darkness falling or being too far from the start.

A 200 is 125 miles.  Any ride over 100 miles is a long way (for most people) and, if you are not used to it, can get your body in all kinds of 'bother'. 

There's no need to do anything macho, most of us started with a 100km ride (and probbaly felt pretty knackered at the end).

[Chris S]

 

Erm... am I the only one reading this thinking "After all this practice, I still feel pretty knackered after 100km..."?

I think what does come with practice is how you deal with feeling knackered, and how you manage it as you move forward through the next 100, and the next 100, and the next 100.

[Wowbagger]

Definitely start with a 100k ride. I tried a 200k after only 2 * 100k warm-ups, and it definitely wasn't enough.

Come to think of it, there's no amount of warm up which makes 200k rides enjoyable.

[Really Ancien]

It's probably a big city thing that makes a 100K ride into a big deal. Most club riders around here would view that as a Sunday jaunt.
A lot of this marital break-up stuff is exaggerated. Once the spouse has made the adjustment, they generally appreciate the newly re-invigorated and svelte partner. One trick is to position a picture of oneself at one's most blubbery in a prominent place.

Damon.

[Hummers]

Erm... am I the only one reading this thinking "After all this practice, I still feel pretty knackered after 100km..."?

Nope.  

I seem to lose power in my legs at 80-100k but have learnt to ride through it (albeit on impulse power).

I am sure that it is to do with nutrition and not eating enough.

H

[Chris S]

One trick is to position a picture of oneself at one's most blubbery in a prominent place.

Damon.

Indeed - or wear clothes that show off one's athletic bum, and permit groping and squeezing of it by SWMBO.

[αdαmsκι]

Come to think of it, there's no amount of warm up which makes 200k rides enjoyable.

I'd suggest a number of 400 km rides. After that, your next 200 km will seem relatively short and you'll be surprised that you finish the ride on the same day as you started.

HTH.

[hellymedic]

My first Audax was 300km.
I felt fine afterwards.
It was flat and I was well-prepared.
Andrew Morris's first Audax was the LEL in 2005...

Not eveyone 'builds up'.