'First back' & Strava links: not in the spirit of Audax?

[xrichx]

Audax appealed to me *precisely* because of the non-competitive ethos: it seemed to be the opposite of the racing-obsessed, macho, 'wish I was a professional athlete' sportive scene.

I've really enjoyed taking part in Audaxes because you feel included, and the achievement is that you finish, not that you come first, second, third etc. Call me a mug, but I believe in that.

So it's disappointing to see folk post here and there that they were 'first back', and post passive-aggressive Strava links that make it clear they do regard it as a race in some way.

Is it just me? Or is this increasingly a 'thing'?

[LittleWheelsandBig]

Audax has always been used by racing cyclists as training. Some early Audaxers were formidable riders who aimed to set times, so nothing has changed there.

Please remember that what somebody else does on an Audax doesn't actually affect the validity of your ride. Audax is a simple objective pass/ fail test. Everything else - first back, full value or anything else- is just for individual amusement.

[TigaSefi]

Do you care? Does it bother you? I would say dont worry about it. Audax will never publish times. At most, the organiser may say that it been completed in a new record time.

[dim]

Audax is about you and your own time that it takes you to complete the route .... most people give it their best shot and want to finish within a good time

If you are a fit/fast rider you will want to finish in the top ten and will be proud and boast

If you are unfit/old and slow, you will/may get pissed off if people are faster than you, especially if they brag/boast about their achievements 

[ian_oli]

I have been first and I have been last. The biggest drawback of both can be the same - nobody to talk to.

[L CC]

most people give it their best shot and want to finish within a good time

Really? I thought most people wanted to have a good time?

I've been first and I've been last. I've had a great time and I've been fecking miserable.
Speed is only one aspect of the ride.

If you are a fit/fast rider you will want to finish in the top ten and will be proud and boast

If you are crass you will want to brag about it. Few are impressed- if you're actually fast you would be racing.

[jsabine]

If you are a fit/fast rider you will want to finish in the top ten and will be proud and boast

And if you do, you're quite likely to be disappointed in the reception your boasts receive.

While if you've just spun round in a fantastically quick time I will be delighted for you - no, really, it's simply fabulous that you've done it and it's giving you so much pleasure - I'll probably have a little more empathy with (and admiration for) the rider who's dealt with a bike's worth of mechanicals, bounced off the time limits all the way round, and finished anyway.

[dim]

most people give it their best shot and want to finish within a good time

Really? I thought most people wanted to have a good time?

I've been first and I've been last. I've had a great time and I've been fecking miserable.
Speed is only one aspect of the ride.

If you are a fit/fast rider you will want to finish in the top ten and will be proud and boast

If you are crass you will want to brag about it. Few are impressed- if you're actually fast you would be racing.

depends how old you are .... I'm old, but enjoy giving it my best and I've always been competitive.... When I was younger, I was the same (used to do triathlons)

Compare apples with apples .... compare your time with other people who have ridden the same course/segments on the same day with the same wind/weather conditions, and also compare your times with other's in your own age group



every ride that I do, is against the clock .... thats the way I am, and I know there are many others who do the same

[dim]

If you are a fit/fast rider you will want to finish in the top ten and will be proud and boast

And if you do, you're quite likely to be disappointed in the reception your boasts receive.

While if you've just spun round in a fantastically quick time I will be delighted for you - no, really, it's simply fabulous that you've done it and it's giving you so much pleasure - I'll probably have a little more empathy with (and admiration for) the rider who's dealt with a bike's worth of mechanicals, bounced off the time limits all the way round, and finished anyway.

I'm sure that people like Kristof Allegaert will agree with you

[Bikeabilityman]

I don't do strava, but if I can record the whole ride on my gps, I like to upload it to garmin connect to show my wife and kids what I've been doing while they have a lie in. I like to build up a time bank in case of mechanicals, but I also want to stop at a 'spoons or cafe for a veggie breakfast, something unthinkable when I used to chase gold times on sportives. Enjoy the ride, the food (and beer!) and the scenery, and let the fast ones get on their way, and out of the way ☺

[αdαmsκι]

I don't use Strava. I often post links to a tracklog on Ride With GPS to allow others to see the route and I believe this may be useful in future years. I view Strava links in the same way.

[Martin]

I don't think I've ever seen any posts / Strave links relating to the OP in This Parish; in fact the only comments are about getting full value!

I've only ever posted any of my rides on Strava to get a free little cloth patch off Rapha (the only item of theirs I own)

I am first back on a lot of my Audax rides though as they are solo perms or ECE .....

[jsabine]

I'm sure that people like Kristof Allegaert will agree with you

Splendid - thank you for that vote of confidence. I didn't realise you knew him, but it's nice that you're able to relay his views with such certainty.

It's just a shame he's so much faster than me that I'll never get a chance to ask him about it.

[dim]

I'm sure that people like Kristof Allegaert will agree with you

Splendid - thank you for that vote of confidence. It's just a shame he's so much faster than me that I'll never get a chance to ask him about it. I didn't realise you knew him though, being able to relay his views with such confidence.

never met him, but like I said .... you race against yourself .... give it your best shot on every ride and hopefully you will get some PB's along the way if the wind is in your favour.... if you are fast, well done, brag about it but don't be fussed if slower people get cheesed off... and if you are slow, don't get cheesed off if there are faster people than you (there's always people who will beat your personal KOM)

[Feanor]

I really don't care one way or another.

I upload my rides to Garmin Connect for my own records, and I allow that to forward to Strava too.
If I post a link here, I post the GC one, not the Strava one, because its less performance-oriented; I'm just trying to show a route.

For shorter events, I might be vaguely interested in my time, but for longer events like a 600, I actually plan to use the full 40 hours available.
I aim to finish at the end of hour 38 ( leaving 2 hours for contingency ).
If I'm finishing much earlier than that, it means I could possibly have had a longer sleep-stop ( subject to making the first control after the sleep-stop in time ).

[rob]

Interesting.   My current penchant for long distance time trialling is less competitive than audax.   That's a turn up for the books.

I care very little for Strava and virtual racing, but I do the odd self congratulatory social media post.

[Kim]

Please remember that what somebody else does on an Audax doesn't actually affect the validity of your ride. Audax is a simple objective pass/ fail test. Everything else - first back, full value or anything else- is just for individual amusement.

This.  As long as they're not doing anything that might spoil things for others involved.  (And this one goes both ways: I've been almost as irritated by people bimbling along obliviously in a group the entire width of the lane on a Perfectly Good Descent as I have by dodgy passes from the fast boys who think it's a race.)

I don't see much point in competing with anyone other than myself on Strava, and audaxes aren't the best time for it, but if someone wants to, then why not?

Strava, like the bicycle, is a tool that can be used in non-competitive ways.  Linking to the log of a ride is a convenient way to show people the route.

[Jaded]

I've won a few Audaxes.


That's the beauty of DIY.

[Brakeless]

I really don't recognise anything in the OPs post. Once you're riding you're in your own 'bubble' whether you're quick, slow or whatever it doesn't matter and what others are doing on the same event has no bearing on your ride. If someone posts a Strava link I'll have a look and might think 'they were quick' but that's about it, I certainly wouldn't read anything into it.

[jsabine]

I wonder if we've been misinterpreting the OP's concerns. They may be common, but I don't think boast-post strava links are that frequent.

[frankly frankie]

I would suggest "not in the spirit of yacf" perhaps.  Audax itself is a very broad church.

most people give it their best shot and want to finish within a good time

Really? I thought most people wanted to have a good time?

It's the really tough rides where bloody-mindedness was most needed, that are looked back on with most pleasure.  Any enjoyment at the time was only of the most twisted kind.

[phantasmagoriana]

First back = not enough time at the cafe stops.

Strava, like the bicycle, is a tool that can be used in non-competitive ways.  Linking to the log of a ride is a convenient way to show people the route.

Absolutely. I use it to keep a record of how far I've ridden and where I've actually been, since I'm navigationally-challenged enough not to have a clue half the time. (Oh, and it's handy to track component wear, too, but hardly anyone but me seems to bother with that bit.)

[DCLane]

Yes I've been 'first back' (once, about 3 years ago  ) and I upload to Strava, although I don't think I've posted them here. It's my way of tracking my mileage.

But does it matter. Really?

An audax is about getting round, enjoying the ride, company and finding new places. It doesn't matter whether you're first back or get back 10 seconds inside the time limit (done that too  ) - we all get exactly the same result.

Having ridden PBP in 2015 and needing to 'keep going' due to an 80-hour ride limit as a Vedette I'm convinced I missed out on a lot just to make sure I made it inside that limit. If I ride PBP again then I'll probably go slower, enjoy more and not need to worry so much about the spare time I was needing to build up, which in PBP's case wasn't needed anyway.

[Bairn Again]

Somebody has to be first back. 

Braggers gonna brag, strava or not. 

Not really in the audax spirit of "quietly badass" but no big deal.  I can see how it grates though.   

Amazing how many folk have been both first and last back.  Me too!

   

[Ian H]

It's bad when the organiser tells you that you have to 'win'.

Quite a few years ago, at the start of the Trefil Travail, Dave Lewis announced that his finish controller had let him down, but not to worry as Ian [pointing at me] will get back first and man the control.