First Audax [Long]

Mark Thompson said:

After all the recent witterings about audax riding I thought I'd have
a go too.

Glad you enjoyed it Mark. Which one was it?

"Mark Thompson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

After all the recent witterings about audax riding I thought I'd have a
go too. A quick look at <URL:http://www.audax.uk.net/cal/index.htm>
showed one that started just down the road. I had a choice of 157 or
200km & sensibly plumped for the 157 (routesheet revealed it to be
154km).

Finally got round to preparing the bike the night before. Cleats finally
readjusted, brakes adjusted, the cycle computer converted to km, the slow
puncture finally fixed (eventually just whacked a new tube in), aldi
'uniform' laid out for the morning, then off to a party or two (exam-
finishing-season).

Walking into a room full of cyclists is quite shocking for someone that's
never experienced it before. An absolute riot of clashing neon, day-glo
and retina searing colours assaults the eye. Fortunately they're as
friendly as their clothing is bright.

snip

I am quite jealous, I have always wanted to do Audax but there seems to be
so few in the Tees Valley area and I, like you, have doubts about going on
my own.

The only local Audax I have seen is from Darlington over Hartside Pass and
it is while I am on holiday and I have been over Hartside on the c2c and
still have the psychological scars to prove it. I don't think I fancy it for
my first time.

Cliff

Quoted message said:

Glad you enjoyed it Mark. Which one was it?

The Delamere 157 from Cheadle, Stockport (routesheet revealed it to be 154
which pleased me no end).

Next one's at the end of February if anyone local is toying with the idea.

Mark Thompson said:

Quoted message said:

Glad you enjoyed it Mark. Which one was it?

The Delamere 157 from Cheadle, Stockport (routesheet revealed it to be 154
which pleased me no end).

Next one's at the end of February if anyone local is toying with the idea.

I am doing the Newport-Audlem 200 on Feb 27th out of Cheadle

Mark Thompson said:

After all the recent witterings about audax riding I thought I'd have a
go too.

Nice one.

Quoted message said:

Finally got round to preparing the bike the night before. ...
then off to a party or two (exam-
finishing-season).

The partying may partly explain why you started to suffer after 100km,
especially if booze was involved.

Quoted message said:

The first few km of the ride was fantastic. Riding in a big group is
lots of fun.

Yup.

Quoted message said:

We maintained a fairly fast (for me) pace of 25-30kph. These guys looked
like they could keep the speed up all day, whilst I knew I couldn't.

Again, this may partly explain why you suffered on the later stages of
the ride. However tempting it is to latch on to a group, you should
always ride at your own pace - and listen to your body when it tells you
that you are pushing too hard.

I know this from bitter experience of a century I rode last year. For
the first 35 miles, I was riding with a bunch that I could barely keep
up with, even with the benefit of riding in their draft (averaging well
over 20mph on the flat bits). By the time I hit the 70 mile mark, I was
seriously suffering. By 95 miles it was only the fact that the finish
line was in sight that kept me going... A few weeks later I rode 250km,
which I took at my own pace and finished with a higher average speed
than on the century, and with a lot more juice left in the legs.

Quoted message said:

After the 100km mark it suddenly became a lot harder - up till then it
was lots of fun but now it was hard work. I started to trail behind.
The two lejoggers waited for me when I dropped off but as I wouldn't be
able to keep their pace for the rest of the ride told 'em to carry on if
they dropped me again. Of course this they quickly did! :-)

Well, it was good of them to wait for you - on the 250, I did ride with
a bunch for part of the way, until they got lost. They found their way
back on to a main road that was going in the right direction, put their
collective foot down and promptly dropped me! It took me a while to
regain the proper route and added several km to the ride (it was
originally meant to be a 200...).

Quoted message said:

A little training first tho!

And an early night the night before!

Quoted message said:

I'm guessing not all route sheets are
created equal.

Some rides have no route sheets at all...

Anyway, glad you enjoyed it.

d.

Mark Thompson said:

Quoted message said:

Glad you enjoyed it Mark. Which one was it?

The Delamere 157 from Cheadle, Stockport (routesheet revealed it to be 154
which pleased me no end).

Next one's at the end of February if anyone local is toying with the idea.

Cheadle's my hometown :-)
Will you be doing the next one Mark? I think I'll give it a go.

Chris

Quoted message said:

I am quite jealous, I have always wanted to do Audax but there seems
to be so few in the Tees Valley area and I, like you, have doubts
about going on my own.

You won't be on your own for most of the way - assuming it's vaguely
popular they'll be a huge bunch at the start. Arrive half an hour early,
chat, and insert words like "new" and "slow" into the conversation. Be
extra friendly when someone says "me too" and memorise what their back
looks like. Follow them and doublecheck their route (stops you getting
bored and is dead useful too.)

Oh, and don't forget to ask how fast their friends are - everyone was
modest about their own performace but was more honest about the people
they rode with.

As insurance,
-have the routesheet in something waterproof & fixed to your handlebars,
-Cycle computer correctly adjusted and displaying km
-take a map with the route highlighted (one that shows road numbers -
pages ripped out of cheap atlas'll do). A compass'll be useful for
getting the map the right way up too.
-credit card and mobile phone

The first two stop you getting lost, the thirds finds you again and the
fourth gets you home if it goes [censored] up, or gets your body identified if
it goes worse :-)

You will now be completely self-sufficient. A 15kph average speed works
out at just 9-10mph. If you own a bike you _will_ be able to do this all
day. The only problems will be boredom and tiredness (mostly in the
mind) or mechanical (d'oh).

Quoted message said:

The only local Audax I have seen is from Darlington over Hartside Pass
and it is while I am on holiday and I have been over Hartside on the
c2c and still have the psychological scars to prove it. I don't think
I fancy it for my first time.

Ah. Hills scare me too! If it's under 150 go for it -if you made it
through my essay you've got the mental toughness- otherwise just park
your bike up at the end and pretend like you've finished it (there was at
least one suspiciously clean bike noticed by the regulers at the end) and
lap up the tea and biscuits afterwards.

Chris Heys said:

Will you be doing the next one Mark? I think I'll give it a go.

I'm going to have a go at the Newport/Audlem 201km on the 27th. In fact,
I popped into the finish on Subday evening on the way to my brother's
house - there was me, reasonably clean and fresh on my bike with lots of
dirty sweaty buggers - I kinda wondered about blagging that I'd done the
whole thing ;-) but didn't. However, I DID get to pick up my route sheet
for the 27th.

Currently in training for that one then...

bfn,

Tony B

Quoted message said:

pretend like you've finished it (there was at
least one suspiciously clean bike noticed by the regulers at the end) and
lap up the tea and biscuits afterwards.

ha ha.. I am undone. However, I HAVE admitted it just now, and I was
only checking where the hall was, honest gov. In fact, it wasn't untill
I saw all them bikes with good lights on that I remembered there was an
event this weekend.

Oh, and it shouldn't have been that clean, I had just done a 30 miler to
Greenfield and back (hills again!)

bfn,

Tony B

Mark Thompson <[email hidden]> wrote:

: -Cycle computer correctly adjusted and displaying km

Some route sheets give distances in miles however, so if you intend to follow
the turns this way check first!

--
Arthur Clune PGP/GPG Key: http://www.clune.org/pubkey.txt
It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness

Cliff said:

Quoted message said:

snip

I am quite jealous, I have always wanted to do Audax but there seems to be
so few in the Tees Valley area and I, like you, have doubts about going on
my own.

Despite what the others are saying, they said it to me last year, you
may end up on your own. Like you I was sceptical about doing an Audax on
my own but I persuaded myself to enter one in September. There were 8 of
us, two guys were going at it to beat their previous years time, another
three were keeping up as were the rest of us. I could either stay with
them or ride alone. I can ride alone anytime I want so kept with the
group for most of the day. The group shattered just before the second
and last control when the strongest whizzed across a junction just
before a car so that no one else could follow. I crossed with another
guy and I thought we'd gaive chase. He stopped for his mates so I
ploughed on alone. I caught the other two on a 'hill' and stayed with
them to the control. The three of us left the control together but split
soon after as one guy didn't want to ride as slow as me and his mate.
His mate decided to stop for a rest so I finished the ride on my own and
was second man home. I could have chosen to stay with some of the others
but they were not very friendly - I think the pace [censored] a few people
off and no one wanted to say so. I would not have completed 153km in 5
hours 53mins (inc stops) if there'd been a slower group and I was quite
dissappointed with my first Audax. Thankfully now I have found at least
one, maybe two buddies with whom I am going to do some soon.

Quoted message said:

The only local Audax I have seen is from Darlington over Hartside Pass and
it is while I am on holiday and I have been over Hartside on the c2c and
still have the psychological scars to prove it. I don't think I fancy it for
my first time.

Cliff

I have Hartside in my diary actually .Theres a few out of Easingwold
which is not too far from you if you have bike carrying transport. I
have Hartside in my diary actually.

Mark Thompson said:

Quoted message said:

Glad you enjoyed it Mark. Which one was it?

The Delamere 157 from Cheadle, Stockport (routesheet revealed it to
be 154 which pleased me no end).

Next one's at the end of February if anyone local is toying with the
idea.

No, but I'm contemplating the Plains 400 (hill-disliking wuss that I be) in
that neck of the woods in the summer.

--

Dave Larrington - http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk/
World Domination?
Just find a world that's into that kind of thing, then chain to the
floor and walk up and down on it in high heels. (Mr. Sunshine)

Tony B said:

Chris Heys said:

Will you be doing the next one Mark? I think I'll give it a go.

I'm going to have a go at the Newport/Audlem 201km on the 27th. In fact,
I popped into the finish on Subday evening on the way to my brother's
house - there was me, reasonably clean and fresh on my bike with lots of
dirty sweaty buggers - I kinda wondered about blagging that I'd done the
whole thing ;-) but didn't. However, I DID get to pick up my route sheet
for the 27th.

Currently in training for that one then...

bfn,

Tony B

Just posted my form :-S
Should be good fun, looking forward to it and meeting you gents there
:-)

take care,

- chris

Quoted message said:

Just posted my form :-S
Should be good fun, looking forward to it and meeting you gents there

Form for 150km sent off. Are you doing the 150 or 200 Chris?

Mark Thompson said:

Quoted message said:

Just posted my form :-S
Should be good fun, looking forward to it and meeting you gents there

Form for 150km sent off. Are you doing the 150 or 200 Chris?

200. Would have prefered the 150km for my first audax but it'd leave
me short of an imperial century (for the C+ forums Century a Month
Challenge thingy). I'll be the guy at the back on an old Dawes Galaxy
(blue) complete with mudgaurds, rack and new rock hard Brooks saddle (
/must/ soften it up before the ride - ouch!) Hoping to get the
routesheet asap so I can program the GPS - I'm such an idiot when it
comes to directions!

Better get some miles in... all the best,

- chris

Quoted message said:

Better get some miles in... all the best,

Hopefully the shorter distance'll let me get started on the cakes before
you lot arrive. See you at the end then!

Mark.

in message <[email hidden]>, Chris Heys

(') said:

new rock hard Brooks saddle (
must soften it up before the ride - ouch!)

No. This is myth, and it seems quite a lot of people damage their
saddles this way. You do not want to 'soften up' a new Brooks saddle.
It either fits you or it doesn't; if it doesn't, you either need a
different model or a different make.

Yes, Brooks saddles do mould themselves very gradually over time to fit
you better but unless they're a reasonable fit first off this isn't
going to work. Furthermore, they work because they're hard. If you make
them soft they will conform too much and you'll end up with weight on
your soft bits just as you would if you'd bought a padded saddle in the
first place.

A bit of Proofide on the top (and some say on the bottom, too, but I've
never done this) once a month or so is all they need, and that's mainly
for cosmetic reasons.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

---===***<<< This space to let! >>>***===---
Yes! You, too, can SPAM in the Famous Brooke Rotating .sig!
---===***<<< Only $300 per line >>>***===---

Simon Brooke said:

in message <[email hidden]>, Chris Heys

(') said:

new rock hard Brooks saddle (
must soften it up before the ride - ouch!)

No. This is myth, and it seems quite a lot of people damage their
saddles this way. You do not want to 'soften up' a new Brooks saddle.
It either fits you or it doesn't; if it doesn't, you either need a
different model or a different make.

Yes, Brooks saddles do mould themselves very gradually over time to fit
you better but unless they're a reasonable fit first off this isn't
going to work. Furthermore, they work because they're hard. If you make
them soft they will conform too much and you'll end up with weight on
your soft bits just as you would if you'd bought a padded saddle in the
first place.

A bit of Proofide on the top (and some say on the bottom, too, but I've
never done this) once a month or so is all they need, and that's mainly
for cosmetic reasons.

Thankyou for the advice Simon. My mistake though, by 'soften up' I
mean 'wear in'.
I've gone through a fair few models of Brooks saddles before I found
my ideal, the B66 narrow which is (typically!) no longer made. My new
saddle is the Flyer which uses the same frame as the dual-railed B66,
but with single rails. So far it's great, but IMO needs a couple of
hundred miles yet for the leather to soften and it to be as comfy as
my B66 which has seen several thousand miles.

I agree, the myth with quick softening the saddle leather is not
productive and often results in irreparably damaging it.

- chris

Simon Brooke said:

A bit of Proofide on the top (and some say on the bottom, too, but

I've

Quoted message said:

never done this)

I put some proofide on the underside of mine for the simple reason that
I don't have mudguards on the bike - the saddle pouch takes most of the
spray but some does get past so it is worth doing (until I eventually
get around to fitting mudguards). I just dab a bit on occasionally and
don't rub it off, so it stays there as an effective waterproof layer -
not perfect but better than nothing.

d.