All the world's a stage of course.
Of the various societies I've had contact with, Audax is the most democratic. My mother was a leading light in amateur dramatics and musical comedy, and that's an interesting arena.
There are usually only a few members who can take the lead roles, and the rest of the members support them with varying degrees of approval and resentment. But it's accepted that a few talented individuals will carry a lot of the responsibility for the performance.
In events such as PBP and LEL the organisation is the show, and the riders and their supporters are the audience. At the other extreme, in the 24 hours, the stars are the 500 miles + riders, who constitute a long distance elite.
In between those two extremes, there's a choice to be made in where the attention falls. An equation with riders on one side, and media interest on the other. Riders who get attention become akin to the leading lights of the amateur stage.
Arenas such as Facebook and YACF are available to lobby for casting. On PBP the media get a list of interesting potential subjects, the oldest, the youngest, wacky bikes, that sort of thing. It helps promote coverage of the event.
If you've come to Audax because you like the lack of competition, and the absence of Prima Donnas, then this is a bad time to assess the purity of that vision, because all the exhibitionists are in full display. There used to be a four year cycle in such activity, but media attention to cycling has upset that.
It's also increasingly uncertain as to what part of Audax is the most interesting, with a bit of a contest between mass participation and individual adventure.
