Audax as Cycle-Touring?

[andyoxon]

I seem to be able to manage relaxed/full value 200km rides, with 2-3hrs stopped time - including time for random breaks, photography etc.  For me a total distance of e.g. 1000km in west coast of Scotland, done as a series of 200km DIY rides each day may be doable as a 'tour'.  The whole distance done as a single DIY, involving considerable night riding and lack of sleep, would not constitute a 'tour' for me, even if I was capable of riding it.  IMO the advent of mandatory route DIYs, while accepting a certain 'lack of freedom', certainly gives more scope for routes on roads I prefer, without having to go much over distance. 

[Exit Stage Left]

The contrast between the Semaine Federale and PBP is interesting. You can do rides of 200km a day as DIYs, adding a bit to the longest rides of about 180km. That is avowedly a festival of cycle touring, and has all the components that make PBP such a delight, without the sleep deprivation.

But PBP is a culture shock the first time you do it, it is an alien experience. Worth experiencing as a sort of exploration, which is what lots of people do.

[Genosse Brymbo]

Audax is basically cycle touring for people that have to be at work on Monday. There are lots of 400s and 600s with really nice routes but give me one good reason why you would want to cram it into 2 days rather than 3 or 4, other than that you've got work on Monday?

Pretty much sums up my view of Audax

[frankly frankie]

yacf like most such online fora creates its own self-fulfilling biased view of the world.  Most people who post here on audax topics seem to have found a strong correlatiuon between 'audax' and 'cake'.  Happily, audax has something for everybody, and there is still room on the road (at least at night in the small hours) for everybody to do their own thing.  At one extreme there are records of UK events ridden by a then reigning world road race champion, whilst at another extreme one PBP was completed by a quadriplegic tandem 'stoker'.

[mattc]

Happily, audax has something for everybody, and there is still room on the road (at least at night in the small hours) for everybody to do their own thing.  At one extreme there are records of UK events ridden by a then reigning world road race champion, whilst at another extreme one PBP was completed by a quadriplegic tandem 'stoker'.

Yup.

It's like almost every segment of cycling really; be it racing, off-roading, "proper" touring - there is huge variation within these categories, and room for almost everyone to enjoy some aspect. Some of us even do a variety of rides within the same "discipline" - gosh, how diverse I feel! Or use the same bike across different segements - much to the frustration of bean-counting  bike-makers.

[mattc]

Audax is basically cycle touring for people that have to be at work on Monday. There are lots of 400s and 600s with really nice routes but give me one good reason why you would want to cram it into 2 days rather than 3 or 4, other than that you've got work on Monday?

that is broadly true. But a "good" reason for me is:

A week's touring round Wales is nice, but not special; a lap of Wales in a weekend is 'king cool. (Some might even say bad-ass.) I do _occasionally_ get those moments, on describing an event I've done, where a civilian is suddenly struck by the massive daily distances. Even "normal" cyclists who ride 50-100 miles way faster than me are sometimes (not often) genuinely impressed. Its not necessarily the athletic aspect - it's more about looking at the map.


For many of us there is also the challenge aspect. If you fall into the category ("most" riders as you stated earlier) that are not challenged by the 15kph/13.3 etc min speeds, you could always try for 20kph. Or whatever.

[andyoxon]

Yes, e.g. the Bryan Chapman 600 (not that I've done it) could be seen as an 'I've only got a weekend to spare tour of wales' - then back to work, but my guess is that it's the whole Audax challenge experience (as Kim mnetioned) which is the principal draw - in great scenery.  AFAIUI most of the first day to Bangor Menai is a long (~300km) ride in daylight (just about), with the 'return' being a challenge of night riding, coping with the managed sleep, doing the whole distance within the time limit.  Perhaps Audax generally fits into the sub-category of 'fast touring'..?

[Whitedown Man]

My most impressed / gobsmacked reactions came when I told friends, colleagues, hell  - even strangers in the street - that I had recently cycled "to Wales & back in 24hrs".

[Exit Stage Left]

Touring cyclists are most likely to encounter Audax through Paris Brest Paris. They’ve been told that somewhere over the rainbow, there’s a land that they dreamed of, once on a lullaby. There are three lands actually, one for cycle-sportifs; the Vedettes. One for dyed in the wool Audaxers; the Randonneurs. And one for Touristes. They overlap, but the biggest territory belongs to those Touristes who take more than 85 hours.

There’s an element of ‘challenge’ in it, but it’s a realiseable project for many. The destination is in itself a journey, and we embark on a series of journeys to get there. Those journeys can present themselves as a series of narratives, and many are driven to relate their stories. I’ve long been interested in travel writing, and accounts of cycle tours have been a rich vein to be mined for inspiration.

Everyone has their favourite form of storytelling, and mine is the length of a magazine feature, between 1,000 and 4,000 words. I like a bit of reflection in what I read, reflection on experience, and a reflection of what I’ve done or might do myself.

Audax might clash with the ‘ethos’ of the tourist in a number of linked senses. The use of pre-determined routes, with time limits, implies repetition and subordination. These militate against the idea of freedom, which many will identify as part of the appeal of touring. Having a minimum speed also creates something of an elitist feel. It sets limits on who can identify with such a project, and who might find inspiration.

There will be many who are capable of Audax speeds, but see a spirit of exclusivity as a barrier. They’ll wonder how Audaxers differ from themselves. The range of participants does increase during qualification for Paris-Brest-Paris , and during preparation for London-Edinburgh-London. Experiencing those rides is akin to a cycle tour. One in which the place you are visiting is both static and mobile.

Encounters on a tour generally happen off the bike, in Audax they are mainly on the bike. At PBP and LEL those encounters can be with the people of 50 nations and more, all keen cyclists.

Those are a few of the ways in which Audax might be presented to touring cyclists with concerns about the underlying ethos. But thinking about such things is reflexive, and it has made me wonder if I should be simply taking off on a tour.

I like the writing of the US rider Kent Peterson, and he covers a lot of the ground I’ve been thinking about.

His LEL 2001 account is topical.
http://www.carsstink.org/peterson/LEL2001.html

But there are lots of others.
http://www.carsstink.org/peterson/rando.html

[Exit Stage Left]

I had a go at a 6 minute film about Audax and Touring. It's come out as if Audax is like touring, but in an altered state of consciousness.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIdSJTQCRmI