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New to Audax

MartinGTMartinGT Posts: 475
edited February 2011 in Sportives/audaxes/training rides
Hi guys

I tried looing for a newbie thing on here but couldnt seem to find one.

Anyways, I am doing the sportive the day before the Tour of Flanders and was looking to do some Audax rides before then. I have a friend who has done a couple and basically wanted to know a bit more.

Do I need a membership to do some?
How do you join one?
Etc really

Thanks :)

Posts

  • danowatdanowat Posts: 2,877
    Do I need a membership to do some? No
    How do you join one? Find one on the Audax UK website, and enter, get route sheet, turn up, ride
  • mrushtonmrushton Posts: 5,182
    Hello MartinGT.

    prob. the best site to look at is the audaxuk w/site and the best forum is over on www.yacf.co.uk

    Leeds is quite near some of the northern rides and you should have no trouble finding a few good rides. VC167 are one of the best 'clubs' that ride audax and a lot of their members are northern based. If you want any more info you can pm me but generally the yacf site has all the info/tales of joy + woe you could imagine. You don't need a beard/sandals or mudguards to ride an audax
    M.Rushton
  • danowatdanowat Posts: 2,877
    mrushton wrote:
    You don't need a beard/sandals or mudguards to ride an audax

    The first two are recommeneded :wink: , the last one is down to courtesy, if the route is a bit wet and dirty
  • MartinGTMartinGT Posts: 475
    Thanks for the replies and thanks mrushton. I have mudguards and sandels so its ok :)
  • BobbinogsBobbinogs Posts: 4,841
    Not sure if you have the audax website listed above but here it is just in case:

    http://www.aukweb.net/events/

    Just play around with the settings and find an event in your area. Some folks do everything online including payment, some still do snail mail with cheques and enrolment forms before sending out paper routemaps, etc.

    All good fun though but don't get fooled into thinking they are all an easy option. The durations are usually long enough for a relatively enjoyable pace (20-30kph as a max avg is the norm) but they can include a lot of climbing as well as a lot of miles.
  • petemadocpetemadoc Posts: 2,667
    Why are there no Audax events in North Wales . . . or mid wales for that matter . . . . or sportives ?!?

    We've got some of the best roads in the UK here
  • mrushtonmrushton Posts: 5,182
    Certain routes pass thro' Wales. Brian Chapman 600 being well known and another (the name escapes me) that runs from Chehire thro' Buluith Wells and then back thro' Staffs. You might have good roads but controls may be difficult to organise due to the remoteness of some locations (same as in Scotland) away from major centres. You could organise one yourself eg a 100 or 200km? The people at yacf or audaxuk will happily advise you how to go about it.

    http://www.aukweb.net/events/?From=25%2 ... gion=wales

    Prob. more than I thought
    M.Rushton
  • petemadocpetemadoc Posts: 2,667
    mrushton wrote:

    Prob. more than I thought

    They're all in south Wales, check out the Audax map

    http://www.aukweb.net/events/map/

    There are clubs, a cyclocross league and races but no Audax or sportives.

    Wouldn't have the first clue where to start organising one but not a bad idea
  • mrushtonmrushton Posts: 5,182
    if you go to the site and put in the regions box for the midlands or the north there are rides that go into Nth.Wales. The organisers of these things are only too happy to pass on their assistance and advice. If you do organise one remember that you can have the start from your home or a local car park, it doesn't have to be a ride with a bunfight at the end. People are generally looking for a good ride that's challenging/scenic but not too stupid unless you are specifically going for a Grimpeur. The BC Memorial is a perennial favourite due to the distance/route and the 'Old 240' from W.Yorks is almost mythical in it's brutality (on a bad day) yet always attracts a good number of entries.
    M.Rushton
  • jeffacrossjeffacross Posts: 4
    > Why are there no Audax events in North Wales .

    Dave Mathews runs the The Clwydian' Audax, out of Corwen: 212km - 22nd October 2011.


    This guy used to run some hilly ones around Llangollen but he says nobody turned up:
    http://events.norvil.net
  • vorsprungvorsprung Posts: 1,953
    jeffacross wrote:
    > Why are there no Audax events in North Wales .

    Dave Mathews runs the The Clwydian' Audax, out of Corwen: 212km - 22nd October 2011.


    This guy used to run some hilly ones around Llangollen but he says nobody turned up:
    http://events.norvil.net

    It's the long distance cycling club. Part of the fun is riding to North Wales in the first place. So it's unlikely that rides will actually start there

    I'm doing this one this year, from near Shrewsbury, goes to Holyhead via Bala

    http://www.aukweb.net/cal/calsolo.php?Ride=11-898

    and the afore mentioned "Bryan Chapman Memorial" which also visits North Wales

    The OP might like my A-Z of Audax
    Audaxing Blog - Long Distance Cycling
    follow on twitter-c.png
  • sub55sub55 Posts: 1,025
    Will concur, most if not all calendar events start in either south wales or the boarders and from there go to mid/west/north wales. Although there are alot of permanents that could be ridden from start points in north wales , colin bezant does several perms that pass through bala and you could use that as your start base.
    Did a real brute of a ride that passed through bala back in january. Nearly 4000 m of ascent. Crucified me but i did`nt half enjoy it.
    constantly reavalueating the situation and altering the perceived parameters accordingly
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