My dad did audaxing in the early 1980s. So to my 13 year-old self, it was some remote impossible to achieve cycling event that was measured in hundreds, not tens. These rides were such achievements that they even gave riders who managed to complete them medals. To my 40 something year-old self, audaxing sums up many of the things I value. I can explore the geography of the country without the sensory deprivation forced on me by the car and train. It has taught me to appreciate the seasons and the week by week change in familiar routes. Audax represents what can be achieved by willing volunteers who organise themselves for the love of what they do without sponsorship, profit or vanity. It has shown me I can still learn new tricks, do tomorrow what yesterday I thought was impossible. I can leave my London front door on a Monday morning and be in Scotland on a Tuesday just by turning my legs. When I'm riding through the night, I'm part of a secret club of who reclaim the roads while others sleep on, unaware of our existence.