Arrivée est arrivé!

[mcshroom]

AUK - where we sniff our own magazines

[hellymedic]

Why do (mostly male) cyclists delight in belittling (mostly female) newbies? Such attitudes deter women from joining many groups. I've been patronised in several CTC groups. I'm pleased my first Audax ride was a 300. Nobody could belittle that. I suppose it's 'cheating' that it was flat and there was no measurable rain on a sunny July day...

I've never known anything like this happen (maybe I'm too new to it and too young....ish...), but I would not hesitate to dish out a firm STFU to anyone being such a twat. Is it just 'men of a certain age'?

IME it's been men of *any* age, but some men have had it from women.

[Julian]

AUK - where we sniff our own magazines

Have you suggested that for the AUK tagline? 

[Chris S]

It smells OK, but nothing beats the smell of mimeographed (y'know, that purple ink) question sheets at school. Given the AUK demographic, Arrivee should smell of that!

[hellymedic]

It smells OK, but nothing beats the smell of mimeographed (y'know, that purple ink) question sheets at school. Given the AUK demographic, Arrivee should smell of that!

Roneo, Roneo, wherefore art thou, Roneo?

[smurphboy]

Please print Arrivée on a Banda machine. And send me some glue too, or petrol...

Oohhhh, boot polish.

I'm off to smell stuff.

[Peter]

It smells OK, but nothing beats the smell of mimeographed (y'know, that purple ink) question sheets at school. Given the AUK demographic, Arrivee should smell of that!

Roneo, Roneo, wherefore art thou, Roneo?

Helly, how long have you been saving that up?!  Excellent!

I'm afraid I can't agree with Arrivee's wonderful smell.  I've had to leave mine out in the yard all day to get rid of the chemical fumes!  But the magazine is great and Mike Wigley's response to that disappointing letter is first-class.  We've got a few 50s up here in the North-West that I think might tax some of the hair-shirt brigade, never mind 100s.  I like to ride hard (though that's not fast by many people's standards) but I don't care what distance people want to ride - I just love that they are riding.

[Charlie Boy]

Please print Arrivée on a Banda machine. And send me some glue too, or petrol...

Oohhhh, boot polish.

I'm off to smell stuff.

Tarmac. They're resurfacing the road outside the office. I keep going outside for a sniff.

Like the new logo too.

[Oscar's dad]

IMO it does need to be discussed. It's really important to encourage newbies; they are our seedcorn.
It's important to nurture people's self-awareness so they don't come across like the person who deterred that non-AUK.
I  might have been guilty in the past, like many of us. I hope I'm not in future.

Well said.  We need newbies.  We were all one once.

[Jules]

Please print Arrivée on a Banda machine. And send me some glue too, or petrol...

Oohhhh, boot polish.

I'm off to smell stuff.

Tarmac. They're resurfacing the road outside the office. I keep going outside for a sniff.

Beat me too it. The gas company (whoever they are this week) are currently (yes 9:40pm)  noisily digging up the street outside my house to fix a leak so hopefully they'll be something to sniff soon.

[mike]

so is JJ anyone else's hero or is it just me?

[AndyH]

Personally, dear, I wouldn't count it as a real audax unless I hammered a nail through my scrotum

Our glorious moderator, perchance?

Was it just me or is the chap on the inside front cover going the wrong way?

[3peaker]

so is JJ anyone else's hero or is it just me?

He is certainly mine. It reminded me of the true meaning of Club Spirit and the euphoria of finishing is something I will never forget. A few years ago I finished a John Ward 1000km by attaching 2 weary solos (Chris Crossland + Stefan E?) across the New Forest behind my Trike. I forced the pace and we finished with 15mins to spare.

[Wild Rover]

Personally, dear, I wouldn't count it as a real audax unless I hammered a nail through my scrotum before starting

Oh dear, I don't remember reading that in the handbook so I went out to practice.

How do you repair a nailhole and remove blood from a Brooks Swift? 

[JJ]

so is JJ anyone else's hero or is it just me?

He is certainly mine. It reminded me of the true meaning of Club Spirit and the euphoria of finishing is something I will never forget. A few years ago I finished a John Ward 1000km by attaching 2 weary solos (Chris Crossland + Stefan E?) across the New Forest behind my Trike. I forced the pace and we finished with 15mins to spare.

a) What goes around comes around.  You help him last week, I help you this week.  He helps me next week.
b) It was an absolute blast, and it saved me from what had become a morose plod, with plenty of time in hand but too slow to be a great ride.
c) I cried a little when I saw Yoshi was classified as a finisher.  That really was quite tight wasn't it!

So there.

[mattc]

I don't think this needs discussing, to be honest.

Er, so why start a discussion on it?  If I didn't know you better Matt, I'd call that trolling!

For the record (cos if 1 person has misunderstood me, maybe 200 will):
It's clear to me that GPS isn't cheating*. I have discussed the little magic boxes at length with many riders over the years, and I genuinely don't believe I've met ANYONE that thinks they are cheating!

Which brings me to my next point: I think this lady misunderstood some friendly banter. (And if so, it reinforces that women get pretty much the same treatment as men in our club - a few gentle jokes help the miles go by.)


_{*the main reason being - as I think Julian posted - Audax is a cycling challenge, not a navigational one.}

[Oscar's dad]

Which brings me to my next point: I think this lady misunderstood some friendly banter. (And if so, it reinforces that women get pretty much the same treatment as men in our club - a few gentle jokes help the miles go by.)

You could be right, we don't know, the fact that it happened more than once suggests everything might not be so innocent.  I have read the letter plus Mike's reply and the whole sorry affair will hopefully make me think twice before dishing out banter that might be misinterpreted. 

[mattc]

... the fact that it happened more than once suggests everything might not be so innocent.

Does it? Why? Maybe she just made the same conclusion when hearing the same comment. GPS is a pretty common topic for conversation on a flippin Audax, so it's not surprising it came up more than once.

You are right about "banter that might be misinterpreted", but there must be some limits. Perhaps I should stick to the weather - or just not speak to people, thus fuelling the bonkers "never make eye contact" stereotype.

[Oscar's dad]

You are right about "banter that might be misinterpreted", but there must be some limits. Perhaps I should stick to the weather - or just not speak to people, thus fuelling the bonkers "never make eye contact" stereotype.

I agree, people shouldn't be too sensitive.  I'm a great one for dishing out the banter and generally taking the piss, but then I get a lot back which I don't mind at all.  Occasionally I get it wrong and cause a bit of offence    To prevent this I try to only get involved in mickey taking with people I know, not people I've just met.   This seems to work     

[ferret]

Yes I was disapointed to read the letter from that young lady too, I am a newbie and have only done 3 rides, the last one last weekend,
1 x 200 & 2 x 100's I fully intend to carry on with the 100's so I can get my brevet 500 or what ever it is, I will also do some more 200's as well, when time and fitness allow:) and if any one wants to tell me my 100's aren't worth doing they will be told were they can put their sodding bikes in a very descriptive manner, if it's general banter I will of course do it with a smile
100k is a good distance it is relatively quick to do, doesn't take all day and you still get a sense of achievement at the finish, plus it's good practice for the longer rides if you ever feel like doing them, It's a shame the young lady doesn't come on this forum she would get a much better idea of what audaxing is about, I have received useful answers to (stupid) questions, worked out how to solve problems from reading through old posts, I can even let off steam in the right place

Edit; I still go wrong even with GPS

[Oscar's dad]

...It's a shame the young lady doesn't come on this forum ...

I e-mailed her and suggested she drop in for a quick look.

[ferret]

good idea

[Veloman]

I was extremely disappointed to read about comments made to a fellow rider while undertaking an event sponsored/supported by AUK.  Long distance means different things to different people.

Regards the introduction of banter, I often remind people that what is considered banter by some is considered offensive by others.  Banter is often used as an excuse for saying things that are later challenged as being inappropriate; “oh, it was only banter”.

I think we either accept what she said as true and the negative comments made about her using GPS was ‘cheating’ and riding distances that was ‘not worth starting for’, or we try to justify the comments made as being acceptable when put in context of being misinterpreted.  Personally, I accept what she said and welcome Mike’s response that makes it clear the comments were totally inappropriate.

There’s ample scope for polite conversation and motivating others without the need for banter.  I am aware that some riders may not have the social skills or emotional intelligence to differentiate what is acceptable or not and this will happen in all walks of life.

I think Mike summed it up well with his comment ‘there are some thoughtless people in AUK’.  Hopefully/thankfully these are the minority and their actions should not be encouraged by justifying such inappropriate behaviour.

[Jaded]

Quite.

Very well said.

[mrcharly-YHT]

I've had a bit of a read.

I'm a definite newbie, having only done one audax (and that felt like cheating because I was led around by a team).

Maybe I should expand on my brief writeup that is on here somewhere and send it in. No pictures, tho'.

I found the article on the round the world people fascinating, wanted more details. The lack of experience of some of the riders was appalling; the one on a minimal-spoked road bike, no proper luggage; what were the organisers thinking of, letting this child out? When queried about his high gears, his response was that he wasn't going up any hills - then went through the Pyrenees.

BTW, Mike Hall is in the USA atm, pass 21k and still going strong.