Scottish Audax Noob Chat!

Crapaud

screebs wrote:

... Just need to make sure i remember to pick up my repaired bike from my LBS.

Good idea. If I see a Bently without a bike on the roof I'll assume that it's someone else's and let it go by.

Now that I think about it, how will we recognise each other? Do we need a secret handshake or something?

I'll be on this contraption...
... but without the mobile home and the air brakes.

screebs

Crapaud wrote:

screebs wrote:

... Just need to make sure i remember to pick up my repaired bike from my LBS.

Good idea. If I see a Bently without a bike on the roof I'll assume that it's someone else's and let it go by.

Now that I think about it, how will we recognise each other? Do we need a secret handshake or something?

I'll be on this contraption...
... but without the mobile home and the air brakes.

I'l be wearing a pink carnation!

I don't think there will be many folk meeting there at 6.30am with a bike already on the roof of the car!

screebs

Crapaud wrote:

Joycie wrote:

Me and my mate have signed up to it now too. ...

Good on ya Joycie!

So, who's all going now? I make it 9:

screebs tyax themightyw AMcD lmk1 + friend (?) Joycie + friend Crapaud

And Satan's Budgie

lmk1

afraid i'll not manage as have some demanding weans at the end of their school holidays sorry folks. i'll be on glasgow to edinburgh ride next month though!

Satans Budgie

screebs wrote:

Crapaud wrote:

Joycie wrote:

Me and my mate have signed up to it now too. ...

Good on ya Joycie!

So, who's all going now? I make it 9:

screebs tyax themightyw AMcD lmk1 + friend (?) Joycie + friend Crapaud

And Satan's Budgie

thanks for remembering, I'll be on the Tricross with the green Barley full of jelly babies, please say, Hi, so I know who's cogs I will be counting.

See you all on Sunday

Andy

screebs

lmk1 wrote:

afraid i'll not manage as have some demanding weans at the end of their school holidays sorry folks. i'll be on glasgow to edinburgh ride next month though!

Shame m8 - i'm going just to get away from the weans!

themightyw

Am utterly gutted but I think I'm going to have to give it a miss. My month of being the unluckiest man in the world continues, as I put my back out yesterday and still haven't quite shaken this blooming chest infection. Am toying between the idea of turning up, gritting my teeth and getting through it (since I've been looking forward to my first audax for ages) but tbh I know I'm not well enough and will then end up unable to get on the bike for ages again. Will give this one a miss and will have to find another couple of challenges before the end of the summer. Satan's Budgie and I are working on a cunning plan... more to be revealed soon!

lmk1

guys and gal i've already said i can't be there but just checked the five day forcast on bbc for forfar they are currently forecasting a 24mph wind on sunday so take care it'll be a slog!

richara3

Have a good onr this weekend and I hope the weather holds for you .. FAT CHANCE!

I quite fancy riding a few audax ( or is it audaxes) and was wondering what and when the next events are. And if there are any minimum requirements regarding ability and equipment, do I need mudguards etc...
cheers in advance
Andy

lmk1

andy
if you google audax uk you'll find a website called aukweb.net and there you shall find a full list of audax runs many in england though. there is an interesting overnight one crossing the border which if numbers were high enough might be safe enough. good luck in your search; are you doing glasgow to edinburgh? sept 13th.

Crapaud

richara3 wrote:

Have a good onr this weekend and I hope the weather holds for you .. FAT CHANCE!

I quite fancy riding a few audax ( or is it audaxes) and was wondering what and when the next events are. And if there are any minimum requirements regarding ability and equipment, do I need mudguards etc...
cheers in advance
Andy

It's audaxes I think. Mudguards are rarely neccessary these days. There are no minimum requirements re. ability, but I'd suggest that you pick ones that you have a good chance of finishing; only you'll know what your capabilities are. For the shorter brevet populaires you'll not need anything more than you'd take on a day ride or sportive.

The organiser of the Lethnot and Lunan on Sunday is taking entries on the day if you fancy joining us.

AUK calender
AUK FAQs

The next ones that I'm planning are:

100 km 29 Aug Newtonmore Grantown Gallop 10:00 Sat BP £3.00 82 km 30 Aug Newtonmore Strathspey Treasure Hunt 09:30 Sun BP £2.50

And then:

100 km 01 Nov Dalmeny The Forth Finale 09:00 Sun [1100m] BP £4.00

There's also a 160 and a couple of 200s before the end of the year if you fancy something a bit further.

Crapaud

lmk1 wrote:

guys and gal I've already said i can't be there but just checked the five day forcast on bbc for forfar they are currently forecasting a 24mph wind on sunday so take care it'll be a slog!

I've just had a look at the Met Office data and it does look a bit blowy, but on the plus side it means a good tail wind for half the ride. Also it's going to be dry which is always welcome. I'll still be taking my waterproofs though - you never know.

Noodley

I'll be there for the 100.

The forecast is looking favourable for the first leg, with quite a strong side/tailwind and there is no rain forecast for the whole day 8)

I'm riding with a new clubmate who has never done an audax before - my pace will be guided by him I suppose.

But I'll be there at the start and finish so look out for my red/black/white Angus Bike Chain kit - there will be a few of us there but I'll be the only one wearing a cycling cap rather than a helmet. And I'll be riding a Bianchi.

Crapaud

Noodley wrote:

... The forecast is looking favourable for the first leg, with quite a strong side/tailwind and there is no rain forecast for the whole day 8) ...

Yeah, it's looking good. There might even be some sunshine, so I'm bringing my Olympus compact. I've often thought that Angus would be beautiful if the sun ever came out, but it's always been raining when I've been over. Actually, it still looks pretty good through a heavy drizzle.

I'm really quite looking forward to tomorrow.

Is there anywhere on the route that's good for a quick nosebag, Noodley? (I'm assuming that we'll have time.)

Noodley

Crapaud wrote:

Noodley wrote:

... The forecast is looking favourable for the first leg, with quite a strong side/tailwind and there is no rain forecast for the whole day 8) ...

Yeah, it's looking good. There might even be some sunshine, so I'm bringing my Olympus compact. I've often thought that Angus would be beautiful if the sun ever came out, but it's always been raining when I've been over. Actually, it still looks pretty good through a heavy drizzle.

I'm really quite looking forward to tomorrow.

Is there anywhere on the route that's good for a quick nosebag, Noodley? (I'm assuming that we'll have time.)

There are two cafe controls for food at 43k and 86k. The first at Stracathro Hospital is well used by cyclists and they have a good selection of decent enough food at cheap prices. The second cafe is part of a Farm Shop/Cafe place at Milton Haugh and does very nice cakes, very very nice cakes in fact - hence I do not plan on stopping too long or I might never make it home

The wind is fairly whipping up just now in a westerly direction, and if it stays the same the outward leg after Memus should be fast! And most of the route after this will be with a side wind and only the final 10 miles will be a headwind....and a good deal of it is flat or downhill.

I'm currently waiting on Mrs Noodley coming home with a pre-ride curry and nan

themightyw

All the best for today, folks.

Noodley

Noodley wrote:

The wind is fairly whipping up just now in a westerly direction, and if it stays the same the outward leg after Memus should be fast! And most of the route after this will be with a side wind and only the final 10 miles will be a headwind....and a good deal of it is flat or downhill.

Okay, so I was right about the tailwind after Memus, but wrong about the sidewind as it was hard going after Hillside into a strong headwind. Hard enough that I revised my plan of not stopping at Milton Haugh and had a drink and some cake to get me fuelled for the final 10 miles.

I spoke to Dave the organiser at the end and he said 56 started today - 31 for the 200 and 25 for the 100, with a good BR presence on the 100 swelling the numbers....

Hope everyone had an enjoyable day out on the roads of Angus. 8)

Satans Budgie

God, I'm very, very tired.

Excellent event good company when I could keep up and the wind was dispiriting towards the end but who cares about going backwards despite doing my best to keep up a head of steam.

Thanks to Dave and the smiling faces of the BR clan, nice to meet you all and a team photo to come 8) .

Right what's next .......100 miles in to force 10

Crapaud

Satans Budgie wrote:

...Excellent event good company ...

Ditto!

A nice balance between hilliness and distance through some excellent countryside. The headwind on the climb up to Milton Haugh was a bit of a slog, but a toastie at the cafe seemed to revitalise my legs and improve my route finding, leading me to believe it's the perfect rocket fuel / brain food combo. It's just a pity that we didn't have enough time to sample some more of the menu - it did indeed look good, Noodley. We arrived at the last control at 3.00 and it was only then that we realised that the max finishing time was 3.40 and, had we not already ordered, we would have finished in time.

It was good to put some faces to posters. Meeting Joycie and friend (sorry, I don't think I got your name) at Stracathro was a pleasant surprise.

My thanks to Screebs for transporting me to Forfar and back, Joycie for being our tour guide through the Montrose stage and Dave, and any helpers, for organising and putting the ride on. And to all for your company.

All in all, a great day out.
*

*5/5 Crapauds is virtually impossible to get.

themightyw

It would make me feel a lot better about missing it if you all had a thoroughly miserable time, so tone it down a bit please

Glad it was such a good ride, and congrats to you all for battling the elements.

AMcD

It was indeed a great day, even though I failed to finish :x . Great meeting you all. Sorry I couldn't keep up Screebs and Crapaud but at least I found the phone box without having to double back .

The sun came out and the views as we sweeped down to the phone box control were fantastic (although the descent was a bit scary). Edzell was very pretty in the sun too. I took a wrong turn after Stracathro, going back to the main road at Edzell and finding the dual carriageway from there (as I presume Satan's Budgie did too?) and ended up doing an extra 4.8miles before getting back on route. Having to deduct 4.8 miles every time I referred to the route directions was becoming tiring as I hit the wind at Montrose. Finally gave up there after crossing the bridge and finding a comfy bench just waiting for me .

Well done to everyone who finished.

Oh, and the dogs say 'thanks, Joycie, we had a great time at the beech!'.

PS photo to follow.

richara3

lmk1 wrote:

andy
if you google audax uk you'll find a website called aukweb.net and there you shall find a full list of audax runs many in england though. there is an interesting overnight one crossing the border which if numbers were high enough might be safe enough. good luck in your search; are you doing glasgow to edinburgh? sept 13th.

I will have a look at the website. In the meantime I will have a go at the Glasgow to Edinburgh. In fact I am thinking about cycling to the start from home and cycling back from Edinburgh. I hope to make it just over the 100 miles all in. I amgoing to check out the start times to see how early I will have to get up. That may put the brakes on the cycle to Glasgow for the start.

As for the mudguards I will be fitting them again soon for the winter anyway.


Andy

richara3

Crapaud wrote:

AUK calender
AUK FAQs

The next ones that I'm planning are:

100 km 29 Aug Newtonmore Grantown Gallop 10:00 Sat BP £3.00 82 km 30 Aug Newtonmore Strathspey Treasure Hunt 09:30 Sun BP £2.50

And then:

100 km 01 Nov Dalmeny The Forth Finale 09:00 Sun [1100m] BP £4.00

There's also a 160 and a couple of 200s before the end of the year if you fancy something a bit further.

I have family commitments on the 29th aug... and dont fancy the drive up to Newton more for a 50 odd mile cycle on the Sunday.
I will also be working on the 1st Nov so will miss the dalmeny one. Shame as its so close. I will have a closer look at the audax uk callander ...there must be something


Andy

Andy

richara3

The Three glens explorer looks good on the 20th sept because its local.. Looks a bit hilly though ...6000 odd feet of climb. I will see. I cant help but think I am getting carried away now.

Andy

Noodley

richara3 wrote:

The Three glens explorer looks good on the 20th sept because its local.. Looks a bit hilly though ...6000 odd feet of climb. I will see. I cant help but think I am getting carried away now.

Andy

The 3 Glens Explorer is not too bad, one long tough climb IIRC and the rest is either early on so you'll have fresh legs or not too bad at all.

The Forth Finale on 1 November (wrongly titled as the start of an audax "season" is 1 November!) is supposed to be a very good ride and attracts a lot of non-audaxers every year. I think I'll make an effort this year to ride it as I always seem to have 'other stuff' on at the start of November.

Joycie

Well it was lovely to meet some of you (AMcD, Crapaud, Screebs and Satans Budgie) and I'm glad the dogs enjoyed Lunan Bay - it is a lovely spot and Screebs - the roast chicken was lovely

And what a shame we missed out on the photo opportunity at the start (glad it wasn't scheduled to be at the end or I would have been looking slightly red of face but I think I may have missed that one too)

I didn't enjoy the headwind much but congrats to my mate for putting in a prime performance on his mountain bike, complete with knobblies!

The next event will either be one in Fife (Satan's Budgie mentioned that there's a couple of good ones coming up) or The Forth Finale...

screebs

Joycie wrote:

Well it was lovely to meet some of you (AMcD, Crapaud, Screebs and Satans Budgie) and I'm glad the dogs enjoyed Lunan Bay - it is a lovely spot and Screebs - the roast chicken was lovely

And what a shame we missed out on the photo opportunity at the start (glad it wasn't scheduled to be at the end or I would have been looking slightly red of face but I think I may have missed that one too)

I didn't enjoy the headwind much but congrats to my mate for putting in a prime performance on his mountain bike, complete with knobblies!

The next event will either be one in Fife (Satan's Budgie mentioned that there's a couple of good ones coming up) or The Forth Finale...

Joycie - it was a good day, but hard work all the same. Nice to put faces to usernames - think Satan's budgie needs rebranding! (That's what happens when you let your kids choose your moniker!)

Finally got home after M80 roadworks and Mrs Screebs had saved me some dinner - would you believe it, Roast Chicken! :roll:

Screebs

Crapaud

themightyw wrote:

... Satan's Budgie and I are working on a cunning plan... more to be revealed soon!

Well??? Enquiring minds want to know. Have we set a date for this yet?

I've been a lazy git since L & L, but I'm going to make a determined effort to get back out early next week (whatever the weather). Had to cancel the Newtonmore weekend and have decided that I'd not make it round the 160 km Three Glens Explorer. So this mystery tour of Fife will be my next big ride before the Forth Finale 100 km.

lmk1

any posters doing the pedal for scotland/ glasgow to edinburgh run a week on sunday? i

AMcD

Satan's Budgie, Screebs (with Ventoux top!), AMcD, Crapaud.
Joycie, I thought I saw you turn up but the guys thought 'Joycie' on the forum was a guy so I didn't call you over for the photo shoot, sorry!

Hi LMK1, no not planning on the Glasgow - Edinburgh run. Next one for me will be the Forth Finale. Hope you enjoy the Glasgow ride.

Does anyone have a link to the Forth Finale route - plan on doing a recce before the day . I suspect it might go around the Forth and over the two bridges? Just a thought.