CityCyclingEdinburgh was launched on the 27th of October 2009 as "an experiment".
IT’S TRUE!
CCE is 15years old!
Well done to ALL posters
It soon became useful and entertaining. There are regular posters, people who add useful info occasionally and plenty more who drop by to watch. That's fine. If you want to add news/comments it's easy to register and become a member.
RULES No personal insults. No swearing.
The. Angus audax crew provide very good catering at the end in Kirriemuir anyway
Though that is where I did hear the extensive discussion about saddle sores that was off putting
Audaxes are longer than sportives so require longer pass from caring for children.
I like that the brevet is stamped in the local bike shops in France but in the local bakers in Scotland.
Here's my trace from the Three Glens:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/228611853
moving time 7h14, but lapsed time 8h54.
IIRC I was kidnapped by DaveC and friends and made to sit in a cafe and eat icecream... Note also that that is not the official route between Stirling and Bo'ness - they decided to go a different way, you are allowed to do this.
Not that I'm likely to have the time for the next few years but are vaguely socially phobic/incompetent people permitted to get on with going on them for the riding-a-bike-a-long-way aspect without being aggressively socialised at?
@wingpig there are some that prefer to ride solo - you could antisocialise with them.
@fimm presumably that was to avoid Skinflats (not a mechanical term), though Alloa isn't that much fun.
Thanks Fimm, that's a helpful point of reference. Looks like I'll need to earn a whole day pass before then for it to be a goer.
@wingpig, I find audax to be quite an inclusive activity. Indeed, unless you are determined to 'chain gang' in a group you are very likely to end up riding a fair distance on your own. It depends on the ride and the mix of cyclists. Sometimes events are full of faster riders and slower ones get dropped into solo riding. Other times the ability/speed range is wider and riders leapfrog each other of form ad hoc bunches at times.
Perfectly fine to cycle on one's own if that's the preferred mode. For longer distances, given the amount of time on the road, some companionship can be welcome, even if only at control stops or cafes.
I have ridden a fair few DIYs and tend to do them alone. Can be quite liberating but also find it harder sometimes to keep up the pace without other riders to 'race'...
+1 to what crowriver said.
"kidnapped and made to eat icecream" was intended to be humorous and as is the way of these things on the internet maybe didn't come over like that :-)
My experience on both Auaxes was that I cycled with and chatted to various people, but also spent good chunks of time on my own.
On the Snow Roads, I cycled with one chap from down south for quite a long time before gradually feeling that I was working slightly harder than I wanted to to keep up with him, so I told him this and let him go ahead. Later a group including some of the people I'd met in the village hall the night before caugh up with me and encouraged me to stop at a cafe (not one of the official controls) with them; I wouldn't have done this if I'd been on my own but it was very nice to stop and sit down somewhere cool for a bit! We gradually split up between there and Braemar and I left the Braemar control before they did - I thought I would be slow up the Glenshee climb & they'd catch up with me but they never did.
" "kidnapped and made to eat icecream" was intended to be humorous and as is the way of these things on the internet maybe didn't come over like that :-)"
Don't think anyone would imagine you'd be forced to do anything you didn't want! (Audaxers aren't allowed to carry guns.)
@chdot it was wingpig's line about "being aggressively socialised at" - I was concerned that I'd given the impression that it would have been difficult to/not the done thing to refuse the invitation; that isn't the case (in my experience anyway).
@fimm
Ah, OK
I took you to mean 'offer I couldn't refuse - because I like ice-cream'!
"I was kidnapped by DaveC and friends and made to sit in a cafe and eat icecream"
Now I'm not sure if you knew DaveC before he kidnapped you!
@chdot - that's what I meant, but I was concerned that it was not what wingpig had understood....
Audaxers aren't allowed to carry guns.
I don't think that's covered by AUK regulations but someone will be along to correct me in a minute if it is. Best not to provoke a hungry audax rider though, just in case...
@fimm It was unfortunate that my post appeared immediately after yours. Mine was not written in response to yours.
Thought I'd post on this thread more about how I found the experience of Audaxing following today's 3 Glen Explorer.
I had heard here that audaxers were a friendly lot and I wasn't disappointed. Chatted to a guy on the cycle to the start and whenever we met during the rest of the ride he asked how it was going, as did the CCErs that I met.
The controls were not very onerous and also good a taking on more food - impressive amount for 'free' given the sub £10 entrance fee - and also allowed you to see familiar faces departing/arriving as you are arriving/departing.
I got into a group of 3 as we all left a checkpoint together. 10 miles down the road, something fell out of my pocket and despite my encouragement for them to leave me, they soft pedalled so I could catch them up (wouldn't happen on a sportive..)
Ignoring the routemap, seems to be part of the fun. DaveC's cheeky shortcut in Kirkliston brought us to the front of the field (until Inverkeithing) and my group decided to avoid the Col de Boness (main road climb) for a quieter backroad climb.
However I found it slightly disconcerting to see Darkerside coming into Auchterarder on the same road we were heading out on & my garmin didn't like the detours and beeped at me a lot.
The spread of food at the end was impressive and very tasty.
There was no mention in the post event chat about what time you did it in and there were no commemorative Tshirt/buff/coaster/medal, it was more about having a good day out, completing the course and enjoying yourself.
I was worried about it being feeling like a slow day compared to sportive. There was a bit more time off the bike but not exceptionally so - I had about an hour off the bike during the ride and half an hour at both the start & finish (mainly eating), and you didn't need to wait for your wave to start.
Question is, what audax to plan for next year...
So, if Mr SRD was looking for an audax to try next year, what would you recommend (bearing in mind we don't have a car, so he'd either need to ride to the start or cadge a lift)?
SRD, does he like riding in cold weather or does he prefer the warmer months? How does he feel about 200km?
No objections (in principle) to cold weather, although probably not icy roads. 200k would be a bit of a struggle without a bit more practice. At the moment, I can probably do 100k comfortably....
The Tour of East Lothian? It gets diverted onto lower roads if the route is icy. You get to choose a start time. In theory that means company all the way round - if you want.
Thanks. That looks about right. And I more-or-less know the terrain and some of the roads. Will sign up.
@Hankchief
By that point my Garmin had completely thrown in the towel and was refusing to even turn on, so I was following some chap with ‘local knowledge’.
A subsequent accidental visit to the Alloa industrial estate proved that it is surprisingly hard to estimate distance with no speedo and on flat roads with a slight wind.
A more robust backup method might be in order...
I always take pages from a road atlas - but if there is someone confidently leading, the temptation is to follow...
I was lulled into a false sense of security by having no problems whatsoever with an EDGE 705 on 1400km of LEL. The 810, however, was having none of it.
I'm still not sure how I missed the massive roundabout with a clear sign "Stirling (A91)" though.
Sorry if this is a silly question, but what type of bike would one be typically riding on such an event? Would I be out of place/out of my depth on my mountain bike with intermediate tyres on?
Cheers
A mountain bike would work, just a bit harder to get tucked down onto the wind. My neighbour rode the Crystal Run the week before last on a hybrid.
Going through Milnathort on Sunday a dozen of us passed a bloke on a mountain bike. He told us "you get fitter on an old bike". Two minutes later he overtook our entire group while we cheered him on.
I did the Crystal run on a Hybrid (I'm not Cyclingmollie's neighbour, at least not knowingly!). I never got comments on my bike from anyone, only good chat and encouragement as a fellow cyclist. Apart from there being a tandem which motored past me on the Redstone Rig climb, I couldn't tell you any distinguishing features of any other bike...
The point of Audax is to finish and not to race round, so as long as you have the legs to deal with the distance, the climbing and definitely in my case the wind, it doesn't matter what bike you are on.
I'm of the opinion that when I've lost 10-12kg off my gut, maybe then I'll deserve to consider shaving a few kg off the bike :-)
The longer the ride, the more important comfort (opp for recomb advert). Fatter tyres could add comfort on typical roads but you also want to avoid add extra resistance. Drop handlebars can give you more hand positions, including the aero tuck, relieving pressure points. I am not sure there is a right answer, but in audaxes you will see some experienced long-distance riders who presumably have made their choice of equipment on the basis of hours of pain.
In the end the important thing is that you're out there enjoying it.
Thanks all.
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