Travelling for Audax?

[ravenbait]

I had a look in the Audax index but couldn't see a topic on this. Apologies if I have searched inadequately.

I wish to participate in Audax. Coming back to long(er) distance cycling after a substantial break due to ill health, I would quite like to try some reasonably flat (ish) 100 or 200km events before tilting at longer distances. Make sure my feet don't drop off and my organs don't explode. You know how it is.

I live in NE Scotland. I have scoured the AUK website since February. As far as I can tell, with the exception of the Tour of the Ochils (I couldn't enter because I was ill, again) and the Pythons (both closed just before I decided I was well enough to enter), there is nothing up here except a couple of 3-600km events. The Borders are a veritable feast, however Galashiels is impossible to get to without a car in time for the start unless I stay over in a hotel the night before.

Is this a normal year for Scotland? Do people generally have to travel long distances to enter audax? South of the border seems to have a greater number and variety.

(This is not meant to be taken as a complaint about our fine Scottish audax organisers, just a question about the general state of play so I can plan accordingly.)

Sam

[abc123]

This season will be a bit different because it is a PBP year, so a lot of the calendar will be skewed towards getting PBP qualification before August. I think the number of entries will also be higher for the events that are running. By this time last year I had ridden several events, but I was a bit slow getting organised this year and found that most of the local events were fully booked by the time I started looking. Anecdotally, I have heard that a few events may re-open for entries, because some riders will be booking multiple entries for a qualifying distance and then withdrawing from the other events once they have that particular distance in the bag.
Most of the events I rode last year were "local" (I travelled longer distances, by train or car, for four events) but I live near Edinburgh, so I am well placed for Fife/Central Belt/Borders events. I think the number of local events available in the NE will always be more restricted, but that's a population thing, and for the same reason you will see higher concentrations of events in some areas south of the border.

[quixoticgeek]

I had a look in the Audax index but couldn't see a topic on this. Apologies if I have searched inadequately.

I wish to participate in Audax. Coming back to long(er) distance cycling after a substantial break due to ill health, I would quite like to try some reasonably flat (ish) 100 or 200km events before tilting at longer distances. Make sure my feet don't drop off and my organs don't explode. You know how it is.

I live in NE Scotland. I have scoured the AUK website since February. As far as I can tell, with the exception of the Tour of the Ochils (I couldn't enter because I was ill, again) and the Pythons (both closed just before I decided I was well enough to enter), there is nothing up here except a couple of 3-600km events. The Borders are a veritable feast, however Galashiels is impossible to get to without a car in time for the start unless I stay over in a hotel the night before.

Is this a normal year for Scotland? Do people generally have to travel long distances to enter audax? South of the border seems to have a greater number and variety.

(This is not meant to be taken as a complaint about our fine Scottish audax organisers, just a question about the general state of play so I can plan accordingly.)

Sam

If you want flat, may I interest you in Dutch rides? The Newcastle to Ijmuiden ferry makes it relatively easy to get to (I can't comment on the ease of your place to Newcastle). Come over, make a weekend of it, do an Audax, enjoy the Dutch countryside?

J

[ravenbait]

If you want flat, may I interest you in Dutch rides? The Newcastle to Ijmuiden ferry makes it relatively easy to get to (I can't comment on the ease of your place to Newcastle). Come over, make a weekend of it, do an Audax, enjoy the Dutch countryside?

J

That does sound delightful, and is definitely on the cards for the future, but I'd like to regain my confidence in myself at longer distances. I've been in the position of rocking up to the Dun Run / Dumb Run / similar overnight centuries with no training on the basis I'd done it before (not to mention sprint triathlon), and I'd like to be in that kind of place for events of 200km or less again before I start travelling significant distances to do events. I currently consider 60-70km to be something I will do of a weekend because it's sunny without giving it a second thought, but it has been a few months since I went over 100km.

Sam

[phantasmagoriana]

Even when I lived in Glasgow, I found there to be a real lack of events - Galashiels was frustrating, because it's easy enough with a car but pretty much impossible by public transport (at least early on a weekend).

The few events I did do (I don't really cycle any more), I ended up staying over before/after in B&Bs, hostels etc.

[ravenbait]

This season will be a bit different because it is a PBP year, so a lot of the calendar will be skewed towards getting PBP qualification before August. I think the number of entries will also be higher for the events that are running. By this time last year I had ridden several events, but I was a bit slow getting organised this year and found that most of the local events were fully booked by the time I started looking. Anecdotally, I have heard that a few events may re-open for entries, because some riders will be booking multiple entries for a qualifying distance and then withdrawing from the other events once they have that particular distance in the bag.
Most of the events I rode last year were "local" (I travelled longer distances, by train or car, for four events) but I live near Edinburgh, so I am well placed for Fife/Central Belt/Borders events. I think the number of local events available in the NE will always be more restricted, but that's a population thing, and for the same reason you will see higher concentrations of events in some areas south of the border.

Thanks. The PBP qualifying year makes sense. I should have thought of that. I don't mind travelling to Fife, and would have done the TotO if I hadn't been an antibiotics at the time, but the single line through Montrose makes train travel more complicated than it might otherwise be, and I object to driving somewhere in order to ride me bike. Particularly as we are down to one car and I don't want to leave Mr Bait without.

Sam

[ravenbait]

Even when I lived in Glasgow, I found there to be a real lack of events - Galashiels was frustrating, because it's easy enough with a car but pretty much impossible by public transport (at least early on a weekend).

The few events I did do (I don't really cycle any more), I ended up staying over before/after in B&Bs, hostels etc.

Yeah. Galashiels is just impossible for me to get to for the normal start times by public transport unless I go down the day before. I think one of the reasons most of my long rides have been overnighters is simply because a late start makes it more doable by public transport.

Sa

[Paul H]

Have you looked at the permanents?  There's a couple from Newtonmore and Tain.  It is still a pretty niche sport, even in well populated areas  many rides get less than 50, in non PBP years anyway.  You could look at last years results on the AUK website to get an idea of what would normally be available.
Despite having a decent choice of local events, I like to travel for them.  I'm lucky in having plenty of time (Or unlucky in having nothing better to do!), I still don't do a huge number of calendar events, 5 or 6 a year, and apart from a couple of local ones I like to support, the others involve one or two nights away. Camping or Travelodge, sometimes train assisted, always involving some other riding, often a DIY home or part way.  I am a touring cyclist at heart, the local ones don't satisfy that, they're mostly on roads I know well and could ride anytime.
For those with just a day to spare, driving is often the only option. Whatever anyone's opinion on car use, that's how it is, people drive for leisure activities, maybe you could look for someone to car share with.

[Wycombewheeler]

I'm not local to you, but my experience in southeast England is that it is rare I can get to the the start by public transport.

300km events? start at 6, so overnight required if not driving.

Sunday events? early trains don't get there in time.

Looking back at my events from this season
5 calendar events and 6 DIYs, only one event that was relatively local, and then the train wouldn't get me to the start in time.
several of the other events were local to my son's university so i could pair them with a visit, or even start/end of term transport.

looking back to 2022
22 events, 11 DIYs (generally from home except coast to coast in a day)
6 calendar events I drove to, 5 I cycled to or used public transport.

I know some people manage to attend their audax events without a car, but I don't think I could.

[FifeingEejit]

I can't run moulin muirs in October this year due to other events, however I'm hoping to pass it over to someone else so it can make the calendar.

There may be a few shorter ones coming in Fife, and directly from a Station too. The problem is that station is Ladybank, and would likely require a change of train at Aberbrothick or Dun Dea

[citoyen]

I'm not local to you, but my experience in southeast England is that it is rare I can get to the the start by public transport.

300km events? start at 6, so overnight required if not driving.

Sunday events? early trains don't get there in time.

Same for me here in East Kent. Weekend trains used to be much better but the service has been badly downgraded over the years.

It doesn't help that there's never been much of an Audax scene in East Kent. If you really want a good selection of events without having to travel great distances, you need to live in an area where there is a thriving local Audax-focused club - ACME in Essex, for example. Wrong side of the estuary for me, unfortunately.

When I first started, there was the Kent Corners 200 from Canterbury, so I could easily ride the 8km to the start, but then the organiser moved out of the area. Aside from that, the only events in East Kent are the "Fairies five" from Bethersden. If I wanted to do the 200, the earliest train from Canterbury on a Sunday wouldn't get me there in time, which is ridiculous considering it's only 20 miles down the road. For the 300, the 2am start would mean getting the last train on Saturday then hanging around at the village hall for a couple of hours.

The dearth of rides in East Kent is one of the reasons I started organising one of my own, but I've not been able to put that on for the last few years. I tried to get my club involved in that but most of them are only interested in time trials.

There's a better choice of rides in West Kent - Tom Jackson's Hop Garden 200 and Oasts & Coasts 300 from Meopham, but getting the train to the start for those is a similar story to the Fairies events. David Winslade's Man of Kent 200 from near Tonbridge is even harder to get to by public transport.

For all of the above rides, I tend to ride to the start if I feel up to it. In the case of the Man of Kent, that's 65km. Which isn't too big a deal for a seasoned audaxer, but aside from adding significant distance to the event, it also means riding solo through the night to get there - it's a nice ride but I can see it's not an option that will appeal to everyone.

I'd like to do more events further afield, but when you start having to factor in cost of accommodation the night before, it becomes a much bigger undertaking, so I only do it for events that I think really justify the outlay - which usually means nothing shorter than a 400. 

Not that I've done any events of any distance for ages, so it's a moot point. I really ought to pull my finger out and get my event back on again.

[ravenbait]

I can't run moulin muirs in October this year due to other events, however I'm hoping to pass it over to someone else so it can make the calendar.

There may be a few shorter ones coming in Fife, and directly from a Station too. The problem is that station is Ladybank, and would likely require a change of train at Aberbrothick or Dun Dea

I'm near Laurencekirk. Everything needs a change of station. At least for a Fife event I could pair it up with a visit to my family.

I'm still planning on doing MM as a perm. As I said -- this isn't a complaint, I'm just trying to figure out what my options are. If I had the time and experience, I might consider organising one or two myself. I just seem to be slap bang in the middle of an audax desert, and I'm not getting another car just so I can go for some long bike rides.

Sam

[GdS]

When I started Audax 20 years ago there were almost no 100 or 200k rides I could get to by train without an overnight stay

now there are many although they all start from London, which was an Audax desert until the last 10 years

I mostly stick to DIYs now although many of those have involved a lot of travelling recently...

[Mrs Pingu]

I saw a 100  and a 200 from Insch on 2nd Sept posted this very day on the Audax Ecosse FB group.
https://www.audax.uk/event.../10248-insch_by_insch_200_217km
https://www.audax.uk/event-details/10249-half_insch

Also the Turra Coo next month which is probably a bit long but I didn't find it when I did a search on the AUK website.
https://audaxhighland.wordpress.com/the-turra-coo-300/

50 & 100 at Pitmedden end of April (now that I've stopped trying to use the map or location search. (ETA, sorry you already mentioned them, I didn't read properly)

[John Stonebridge]

In 2021 I organised a reasonably flat one way 200km that finished in Stonehaven close to Laurencekirk.   About half the filed were local riders who had taken the train to the start in Edinburgh and were riding home, the other half travelled back south post event. 
 
This being PBP year I've got just one event on the calendar [a 600] - my rule of thumb is that a new event will take up three weekends, one route check, one orgs ride and one event.  This means that there's not much slack for an organiser who is looking to have a serious run at PBP as many will. 

Sub 200kms in Scotland north of the Forth  look to have waned lately, the Forfar events (Scone the flat way etc) have gone by the wayside and the Peterculter ones likewise. 

They come and go

Organising an event isnt that difficult - and experience suggests that once one person in a particular area takes the lead, others follow thus sharing the burden (and enjoyment) - like socialism without the politics.

[felstedrider]

I'm not local to you, but my experience in southeast England is that it is rare I can get to the the start by public transport.

300km events? start at 6, so overnight required if not driving.

Sunday events? early trains don't get there in time.

Same for me here in East Kent. Weekend trains used to be much better but the service has been badly downgraded over the years.

It doesn't help that there's never been much of an Audax scene in East Kent. If you really want a good selection of events without having to travel great distances, you need to live in an area where there is a thriving local Audax-focused club - ACME in Essex, for example. Wrong side of the estuary for me, unfortunately.

When I first started, there was the Kent Corners 200 from Canterbury, so I could easily ride the 8km to the start, but then the organiser moved out of the area. Aside from that, the only events in East Kent are the "Fairies five" from Bethersden. If I wanted to do the 200, the earliest train from Canterbury on a Sunday wouldn't get me there in time, which is ridiculous considering it's only 20 miles down the road. For the 300, the 2am start would mean getting the last train on Saturday then hanging around at the village hall for a couple of hours.

The dearth of rides in East Kent is one of the reasons I started organising one of my own, but I've not been able to put that on for the last few years. I tried to get my club involved in that but most of them are only interested in time trials.

There's a better choice of rides in West Kent - Tom Jackson's Hop Garden 200 and Oasts & Coasts 300 from Meopham, but getting the train to the start for those is a similar story to the Fairies events. David Winslade's Man of Kent 200 from near Tonbridge is even harder to get to by public transport.

For all of the above rides, I tend to ride to the start if I feel up to it. In the case of the Man of Kent, that's 65km. Which isn't too big a deal for a seasoned audaxer, but aside from adding significant distance to the event, it also means riding solo through the night to get there - it's a nice ride but I can see it's not an option that will appeal to everyone.

I'd like to do more events further afield, but when you start having to factor in cost of accommodation the night before, it becomes a much bigger undertaking, so I only do it for events that I think really justify the outlay - which usually means nothing shorter than a 400. 

Not that I've done any events of any distance for ages, so it's a moot point. I really ought to pull my finger out and get my event back on again.

I rode the Man of Kent a couple of weekends ago and it was nice to be back in the area.   I'm also doing Oasts & Coasts.

We were discussing the loss of the old West Kent series which I used to be a part of and it just seems there's less people available to put events on.   Unfortunately several of my old clubmates who were the stalwarts are no longer with us but the club weren't having an influx of younger riders to take over.    All a bit of a shame.

I would make the trip for the platinum if you put it on again.

[ravenbait]

I saw a 100  and a 200 from Insch on 2nd Sept posted this very day on the Audax Ecosse FB group.
https://www.audax.uk/event.../10248-insch_by_insch_200_217km
https://www.audax.uk/event-details/10249-half_insch

Also the Turra Coo next month which is probably a bit long but I didn't find it when I did a search on the AUK website.
https://audaxhighland.wordpress.com/the-turra-coo-300/

50 & 100 at Pitmedden end of April (now that I've stopped trying to use the map or location search. (ETA, sorry you already mentioned them, I didn't read properly)

I saw the Insch ones mentioned yesterday, not long after I punted some money at Ride the North (I really should have checked the elevations first).

The Insch 200 has over 3000m of climbing in it, which sounds like Quite A Lot Actually.

Sam

[ravenbait]

In 2021 I organised a reasonably flat one way 200km that finished in Stonehaven close to Laurencekirk.   About half the filed were local riders who had taken the train to the start in Edinburgh and were riding home, the other half travelled back south post event. 
 
This being PBP year I've got just one event on the calendar [a 600] - my rule of thumb is that a new event will take up three weekends, one route check, one orgs ride and one event.  This means that there's not much slack for an organiser who is looking to have a serious run at PBP as many will. 

Sub 200kms in Scotland north of the Forth  look to have waned lately, the Forfar events (Scone the flat way etc) have gone by the wayside and the Peterculter ones likewise. 

They come and go

Organising an event isnt that difficult - and experience suggests that once one person in a particular area takes the lead, others follow thus sharing the burden (and enjoyment) - like socialism without the politics.

I was looking forward to Friday Night Ride to the Bay once I was fit again. Start place and time accessible by public transport, finish not so far from home that I wouldn't be prepared to ride it if necessary (but also a 10 minute train ride followed by an easy 10km if it comes to it). But it makes sense for you to focus on PBP, and this isn't a complaint (at the risk of repeating myself too often).

I'm starting to believe the reason I've only done overnight centuries is because the late start makes public transport doable. We used to travel to Dumbarton for the Dumb Run (which I haven't organised since moving north), and we did Kirkcaldy to Aberdeen about 8 years ago. Neither of these were ridden as audax, though.

Sam

[John Stonebridge]

A bit early to be thinking about next years events but if I put one event on it will be the one way ride to Stonehaven. 

Ive also got an outline of a Daylight (24) revamp of the classic 600 - avoiding Rannoch Moor.   

Id love to get the Port Navigation back but the ferry chaos renders an event with three ferry rides inadvisable right now. 

 

[citoyen]

We were discussing the loss of the old West Kent series which I used to be a part of and it just seems there's less people available to put events on.   Unfortunately several of my old clubmates who were the stalwarts are no longer with us but the club weren't having an influx of younger riders to take over.    All a bit of a shame.

Shame that Rob B, as one of the relatively younger* organisers, also moved out of the area. The Invicta 300 used to be a favourite.

I would make the trip for the platinum if you put it on again.

 



*he's a few months younger than me, at least

[ravenbait]

A bit early to be thinking about next years events but if I put one event on it will be the one way ride to Stonehaven. 

Ive also got an outline of a Daylight (24) revamp of the classic 600 - avoiding Rannoch Moor.   

Id love to get the Port Navigation back but the ferry chaos renders an event with three ferry rides inadvisable right now.

Keep me in mind if you need any help. The audax desert round here won't change if no one changes it, after all.

Sam

[Ian H]

The remoter & less-populated regions have always been less well served in the main.  Occasionally an organiser will come along and run some events, but when they move on it isn't always possible to find a successor.  Plus a lot of organisers will be discouraged by tiny fields.

There aren't any easy answers.  If anyone wants to organise events where currently there are none, please get in touch with me or your regional delegate (Andy Uttley runs Scotland & the North). 

[LittleWheelsandBig]

Andy is very approachable and helpful. Some might even say the same about Ian H.

[citoyen]

I agree, Andy is a thoroughly splendid chap. He is yet another who decamped from Kent, leaving a hole in the organising roster (he was running the Fairies Five when I first rode the 300 way back when, but luckily another organiser was found for those when he moved on - San Fairy Ann is fortunate to be a club with a strong audaxing contingent).

Anyway, Kent's loss was Scotland's gain. 

[FifeingEejit]

I can't run moulin muirs in October this year due to other events, however I'm hoping to pass it over to someone else so it can make the calendar.

There may be a few shorter ones coming in Fife, and directly from a Station too. The problem is that station is Ladybank, and would likely require a change of train at Aberbrothick or Dun Dea

I'm near Laurencekirk. Everything needs a change of station. At least for a Fife event I could pair it up with a visit to my family.

I'm still planning on doing MM as a perm. As I said -- this isn't a complaint, I'm just trying to figure out what my options are. If I had the time and experience, I might consider organising one or two myself. I just seem to be slap bang in the middle of an audax desert, and I'm not getting another car just so I can go for some long bike rides.

Sam

There's a group of riders from around Stonehaven you may be able to join up with for transport, i've put a note on my todo list.