PBP qualification log

[Lars]

Distance	Planned ride	Date	Completed?
200	Willy Warmer 200k	17/01/2015	☑
200	The Horsepower 200k	07/03/2015	☑
200	Wormingford Dragon 200k	28/03/2015	☑
200	Double Dutch 200k	04/04/2015	☑
300	Green and Yellow Fields 300k	11/04/2015	☑
300	Oasts and Coasts 300k	25/04/2015	DNS (illness)
400	Asparagus and Strawberries 400k	09/05/2015	☑
400	Moors and Wolds 400k	16/05/2015	☑
600	The Flatlands 600k	23/05/2015	☑
600	Three Coasts 600k	20/06/2015

[Cycling Daddy]

Dear Paul

So sorry to hear about your son. I found having a  poorly child is one of the hardest things I have had to face.  You are in my thoughts as is your son. 
Les

[paul851]

Many thanks for the best wishes 


Paul

[Aunt Maud]

Aunt Maud's all Scandinavian PBP jaunts 


Brande  DK                 6th of April                    300  </Done>
Göteborg Sweden        18th of April                  400   </Done>
Aalborg DK.                 1st May.                       300  </Done>
Göteborg Sweden        9th-10th May                600   </Done>

All done.

I'm getting to like riding in Sweden very muchley indeedy. 

[jamesld8]

3 x 200 qualifiers:

TEWKESBURY 203 07 Feb 2 0 2,300
 
 ANDOVERSFORD, Nr Cheltenham 200 14 Mar 2 0 0

 LEOMINSTER 210 21 Mar 2 3.75 3,750


2x 300 qualifiers

OXFORD 307 28 Mar 3 4 4,000

 UPTON MAGNA, E of Shrewsbury 305 11 Apr 3 5 4,950

1x 400 qualifier
 
 CHEPSTOW 401 02 May 4 2.25 4,900


1 x 600 scheduled BCM, 23 May done

(and another 400---Avalon Sunrise 5 June and another 200, 300 and that`s it) 

[jamesld8]

Aunt Maud's all Scandinavian PBP jaunts 


Brande  DK                 6th of April                    300  </Done>
Göteborg Sweden        18th of April                  400   </Done>
Aalborg DK.                 1st May.                       300  </Done>
Göteborg Sweden        9th-10th May                600   </Done>

All done STV.

I'm getting to like riding in Sweden very muchley indeedy. 

BUT it`s not very hilly though

[Aunt Maud]

We had 5000m on the 600, which made for a good PBP dry run.

What it lacks in hills, it makes up for in scenery, empty roads and considerate drivers (Sweden anyway).

Managed to see four Elk too, which was nice. I wouldn't want to run into one at night though 

[T42]

400k in the bag, assuming the P.O. don't lose the control postcards.

The central P.O. in Remiremont wasn't open yet when we went by but we tapped on the window and the nice lady inside reached out with her official stamp. People can be very obliging when you tell them what you're about.

[hippy]

Distance	Planned ride	Date	Completed?
200	Wye Wednesday	18/02/2015	☑
200	Kennett Valley Run	07/03/2015	DNS - Crash
300	The Dean	28/03/2015	☑
300	3Down	04/04/2015	☑
400	Severn Across	09/05/2015	☑
600	Beast from the East 'elpers	16/05/2015	☑

[JohnOnABike]

Just one ride to go... 

Distance	Planned ride	Date	Completed?
200	Willy Warmer	17/01/2015	☑
200	Steam Ride	15/03/2015	DNS - Illness
300	3 Down	04/04/2015	☑
300	Oasts and Coasts	25/04/2015	☑
400	Severn Across	09/05/2015	☑
600	Windsor Chester Windsor	30/05/2015

[DCLane]

Mine to date, with one to go:

Distance	Planned ride	Date	Completed?
200	Red Rose Ride 200k	16/03/2015	☑
300	Everybody rides to Skeggy 300k	18/04/2015	☑
400	Llanfair PG 400k	10/05/2015	☑
600	East and West Coasts 600k	20/06/2015

Still not sure about doing PBP but I'll pre-register anyway.

[αdαmsκι]

WCW successfully completed, so I'm qualified

[wilkyboy]

Qualification by way of my third Essex SR, thank you Tomsk 

[jefmcg]

I haven't joined this thread up to now, but my running out of steam on WCW shows me not only that I can't qualify for PBP 2015, but I wouldn't be able to finish, if I did. 

[Phil W]

Qualification complete with WCW 600 over weekend.

[Phil W]

I haven't joined this thread up to now, but my running out of steam on WCW shows me not only that I can't qualify for PBP 2015, but I wouldn't be able to finish, if I did.

Sorry to hear that, was it the weather, and the flat hills that Danial promised?

[LMT]

I haven't joined this thread up to now, but my running out of steam on WCW shows me not only that I can't qualify for PBP 2015, but I wouldn't be able to finish, if I did.

Who says?

99.99% of audax riding is in the mind. The Pair of Kirtons is running this weekend, looks to be a great ride, with good weather, easy with little climbing apart from some gentle rollers in the last 100k. And the great thing is you'll have a tailwind for much of the ride according to the weather.

Closing date is the 4th of June, Travelodge just down the road from the start and a sleeping stop some 350k into the ride.

[Aunt Maud]

I haven't joined this thread up to now, but my running out of steam on WCW shows me not only that I can't qualify for PBP 2015, but I wouldn't be able to finish, if I did.

Who says?

99.99% of audax riding is in the mind. The Pair of Kirtons is running this weekend, looks to be a great ride, with good weather, easy with little climbing apart from some gentle rollers in the last 100k. And the great thing is you'll have a tailwind for much of the ride according to the weather.

Closing date is the 4th of June, Travelodge just down the road from the start and a sleeping stop some 350k into the ride.

The Audax Crack Dealer.

[L CC]

I haven't joined this thread up to now, but my running out of steam on WCW shows me not only that I can't qualify for PBP 2015, but I wouldn't be able to finish, if I did.

Who says?

99.99% of audax riding is in the mind. The Pair of Kirtons is running this weekend, looks to be a great ride, with good weather, easy with little climbing apart from some gentle rollers in the last 100k. And the great thing is you'll have a tailwind for much of the ride according to the weather.

Closing date is the 4th of June, Travelodge just down the road from the start and a sleeping stop some 350k into the ride.

IIRC jefmcg rode this in its Holland Back incarnation and was several hours out of time.
Unless she's become significantly faster over the last 2 years she is unlikely to successfully complete.
And sadly, I think she's right. That's the point of the qualifiers - to sort the triers from the succeeders. If you can't get round a (standard) UK 600 in time you're unlikely to succeed at PBP.
As experienced audacers we like to belittle our athleticism but it isn't all in the mind. You need the legs too. The legs alone aren't enough (see my woeful 2014 season)  but wanting it isn't enough either, however much determination you have.   

[Von Broad]

IIRC jefmcg rode this in its Holland Back incarnation and was several hours out of time.
Unless she's become significantly faster over the last 2 years she is unlikely to successfully complete.
And sadly, I think she's right. That's the point of the qualifiers - to sort the triers from the succeeders. If you can't get round a (standard) UK 600 in time you're unlikely to succeed at PBP.
As experienced audacers we like to belittle our athleticism but it isn't all in the mind. You need the legs too. The legs alone aren't enough (see my woeful 2014 season)  but wanting it isn't enough either, however much determination you have.

As a full value rider myself, or just being me, a bloke who rides a bike, any 600 is always going to be touch and go. Even though I finished the Flatlands 5 hrs before the cut off time, that was with zero quality sleep, [save collapsing on the side of the road for 10 minutes twice]. So in many ways it wasn't an easy stroll in the park really, not when you look at the time factor. And the Flatlands is not a difficult 600. Both times I've done the BCM I've got round only just in time with no sleep. PBP 2007, I think I got 4 hours kip and got bang on 90hrs. It was pretty much the same in 2011. It's no fun when you're always up against the time barrier. If you want to finish in time, it becomes very stressful. No matter how much food you take on board or how much positivity you have in your approach, if the body needs to sleep, there's nothing you can do to override that [dope?], especially when you want to keep using it to go further! It's just not going to respond to your desires. And it's not an enjoyable place to be for any length of time.

OK, so the obvious answer is to get fitter and faster. That requires attitude and some dedication, but more than anything it requires working the body and probably pulling back from the longer distances and maybe doing shorter ones. But even then we're all different. Some might respond very well to a lot of training and others might find it very difficult. But more than anything, what you've got to watch is that riding Audax doesn't become the reason you ride a bike, and if you don't make the Audax times, you should never allow it to affect your purpose for riding a bike in the first place. It can seem like a bit of a vortex sometimes, easy to get sucked down into it all.

[jefmcg]

Sorry to hear that, was it the weather, and the flat hills that Danial promised?

No.  It's just that 600km (ok 624km) is a fecking long way.       It took me 3 goes to finish a 200 (first one I had a good excuse), my 300 I had 2 minutes in hand, my 400 about 12.  So this was close to inevitable.  On the upside, I guess I can get my broken collarbone operated on, now that I am out of contention.

Who says?

99.99% of audax riding is in the mind. The Pair of Kirtons is running this weekend, looks to be a great ride, with good weather, easy with little climbing apart from some gentle rollers in the last 100k. And the great thing is you'll have a tailwind for much of the ride according to the weather.

Closing date is the 4th of June, Travelodge just down the road from the start and a sleeping stop some 350k into the ride.

You are indeed a crack dealer.  I did this ride 2 years ago, and also ran out of time.  Though finished in this case.  But money is an issue, so 2 or 3 nights in a travelodge, and return fare from London rules this out.  Plus, can you complete a 600 a week after 500km cycling?

Leighton Buzzard might be an option, but probably just for SR.  For other personal reasons I'd rather not get into here, I don't think I can go to Paris

Postscript: Von Broad and fboab have said some sensible things while I was typing the above.  I'm not fit enough.  Honestly, I think I have the mental part, but I was falling asleep on the bike.  And because of the personal shit I have going on now, I'm not totally sad.  I would like an SR though, and dammit, there are no 600s outside the PBP qualifiers.

Post postscript: when i woke up this morning after 12 hours (!!) sleep, I didn't have another 600km in my legs.  Not fit enough!  Will harass you people a little later about training, though I am thinking working on speed over 200km might be a good approach - I guess I should do a RRtY. I've got one in April, and 2 in May, so only 10 months to go!

[wilkyboy]

Plus, can you complete a 600 a week after 500km cycling?

Yes, but you do need the underlying fitness to recover at least most of the way from the 500 and you also need to help your body recover.  After a 300+ then I absolutely aim to have 3-4 protein milk shakes (that's 200-300g of High5 Protein Recovery mixed with milk, four large glasses of it) starting within the first hour of finishing to help my body recover: if I don't take in this protein then my whole body feels properly stiff and aches for a week; if I do take in this protein then I barely feel it next day.  Chalk and cheese, night and day.  It helps if you mix in a decent amount of EPO too *

I would like an SR though, and dammit, there are no 600s outside the PBP qualifiers.

You can get an SR by riding a 600km perm at any time, not just a calendar 600.  The Flatliner is very flat, but you would definitely need to pick a weekend without wind!!  There are a fair few other 600km perms dotted around the country, some hillier than others. 

You could also do a 600km DIY -- either by collecting receipts or by recording a GPS track of your ride.  DIYs are a bit more work to plan, BUT they have the huge advantage that you can ride from your own home — you can do a 350km circular ride from home; sleep an hour or two in your own bed; and then go out and ride another 250km loop from home.  No travelling or hotels.  And you can do it when it suits you.  You can DNF as often as you like and try again, so long as you do the bulk of it before September 31st == SR done 

Post postscript: when i woke up this morning after 12 hours (!!) sleep, I didn't have another 600km in my legs.  Not fit enough!  Will harass you people a little later about training, though I am thinking working on speed over 200km might be a good approach - I guess I should do a RRtY. I've got one in April, and 2 in May, so only 10 months to go!

Also look at speed work over much shorter distances.  If you want to keep it "audax" then you should look at 50km and 100km rides — you won't get points and they don't count for RRTY, but they are still well thought out routes with route sheets and GPX files and over a shorter distance you should be aiming to maintain a higher average pace while still practising controlling efficiently.


* that's not true!!  Actually, it probably is true, but it's not good, don't do it 

[Aunt Maud]

I can thoroughly recommend these........https://sites.google.com/site/grimpeursdusud/


They are hilly, some are very hilly, but don't let that put you off.......... you get 10hrs to do a 100km, AAApoints (if that's your thing) and if you do 5 between Jan and December you get in the GdS Poo Bear Club thingy which is fun.

The calendar events are exceptionally well run, although I've only had the chance to do The Whitchurch Winter Wind Down And The JSM (That's hilly  ) and theres a great sense of camaraderie.

Martin OTP is the man to speak to and I believe he's running the AAA Milne 100 calendar around the Ashdown forest soon.

https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=1254.700

[LMT]

Sorry to hear that, was it the weather, and the flat hills that Danial promised?

No.  It's just that 600km (ok 624km) is a fecking long way.       It took me 3 goes to finish a 200 (first one I had a good excuse), my 300 I had 2 minutes in hand, my 400 about 12.  So this was close to inevitable.  On the upside, I guess I can get my broken collarbone operated on, now that I am out of contention.

Who says?

99.99% of audax riding is in the mind. The Pair of Kirtons is running this weekend, looks to be a great ride, with good weather, easy with little climbing apart from some gentle rollers in the last 100k. And the great thing is you'll have a tailwind for much of the ride according to the weather.

Closing date is the 4th of June, Travelodge just down the road from the start and a sleeping stop some 350k into the ride.

You are indeed a crack dealer.  I did this ride 2 years ago, and also ran out of time.  Though finished in this case.  But money is an issue, so 2 or 3 nights in a travelodge, and return fare from London rules this out.  Plus, can you complete a 600 a week after 500km cycling?

Leighton Buzzard might be an option, but probably just for SR.  For other personal reasons I'd rather not get into here, I don't think I can go to Paris

Postscript: Von Broad and fboab have said some sensible things while I was typing the above.  I'm not fit enough.  Honestly, I think I have the mental part, but I was falling asleep on the bike.  And because of the personal shit I have going on now, I'm not totally sad.  I would like an SR though, and dammit, there are no 600s outside the PBP qualifiers.

Post postscript: when i woke up this morning after 12 hours (!!) sleep, I didn't have another 600km in my legs.  Not fit enough!  Will harass you people a little later about training, though I am thinking working on speed over 200km might be a good approach - I guess I should do a RRtY. I've got one in April, and 2 in May, so only 10 months to go!

I'm thinking I may of been a tad flippant with my comments whilst not showing any empathy for where you are at the moment on a bike.

In answer to your question, yes I could, but then again I have the bike to do it on. I have nothing but respect for people who can do audax on a DF bike, good luck with the clavicle op and I hope you get a 600km perm in by the end of the season.

[jefmcg]

Thanks again for the feedback.  The AAA way is probably a good one, as so far I have been avoiding all AAA as I am crap at hills, but focusing on shorter, steeper rides will probably address my faults.