CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Events, rides etc.

Audax & sportive 2018

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  1. DrAfternoon
    Member

    I'm another very grateful DaveC (and also Rhona of Angus Bike Chain) Snow Roads rescue. Haven't quite worked out what went wrong but already felt not great with loss of appetite at Banchory (just over 60k) and struggled on for another 150k to Braemar, by which time I'd been sick repeatedly. Probably a combo of heat and salt depletion with careless attempts at recovery (trying to drink too quickly in combo with salty stuff). Properly ill at Braemar.

    I'd done two tough 600s in the heat only four weeks ago, but almost nothing since and after a few very heavy weeks at work was starting without having slept or fed enough. Then proceeded to blast off at the start with the fast folk against my own urging. A strong lesson in the perils of complacency.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  2. DaveC
    Member

    Next up is the New Border Raid from Kirkley Cycles.

    Who is in?

    Posted 5 years ago #
  3. chdot
    Admin

    Ok, I’m confused.

    One quirk of Audax (as at beginning of this thread) is/was that seasons started on 1st of October.

    So -

    2018 If you are at all interested in riding PBP in 2019, the advice is to ride the longest possible BRM or RM event in the 2018 season (before 31 October 2018).

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

    Posted 5 years ago #
  4. DaveC
    Member

    Riding an Audax (BRM or RM) the year before allows you to pre-register early. The longer the ride the year before, the sooner you can pre-register. To qualify for full entry you have to ride a full SR in the same year as PBP.

    I think this was because in previous years places were limited and in order to gain entry you wanted 'in' as soon as you could. Now though, there is no problem gaining entry so long as you satisfy the entry requirements in the same year.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  5. chdot
    Admin

    Yeah but which month does 2019 start??

    Posted 5 years ago #
  6. DaveC
    Member

    1st Oct 2018.

    What is the Audax 'season'?
    Audax rides are run on most weekends throughout the year, but for Awards & Championships points are accumulated over the period 1st October though to 30th September of the following year.

    http://www.aukweb.net/aboutauk/faq/#305

    Posted 5 years ago #
  7. chdot
    Admin

    That’s what I thought, which is why I asked about

    in the 2018 season (before 31 October 2018).

    Posted 5 years ago #
  8. DaveC
    Member

    Yes, most riders aiming for an SR don't bother to ride until the weather begins to warm up in March or April, leaving the longer rides until it is lightest most of the day, in June - July. This sometimes means that if you fail in your 600km attempt you risk leaving it too late.

    In a PBP year though all the qualifying rides are early in the calendar year as they have to be checked by ACP, so need to be completed by early June the same year.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  9. Frenchy
    Member

    But why the discrepancy about when the season ends - September or October?

    Posted 5 years ago #
  10. DaveC
    Member

    Dunnno. Why des the Tax year begin at the start of April?

    Posted 5 years ago #
  11. Cyclops
    Member

    Audax UK's season starts on 1st October. Audax Club Parisien (who organise PBP) and pretty much much every other national audax governing body worldwide have a season that starts on 1st November.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  12. chdot
    Admin

    Ta!

    Posted 5 years ago #
  13. DaveC
    Member

    @Cyclops, AUK's season used to start at the beginning of Sept. Are they moving it solely towards an alignment with ACP?

    Posted 5 years ago #
  14. Cyclops
    Member

    AUK's season used to start on 1st November. It was moved to 1st October a few years ago to allow more time to calculate the award winners for the Reunion. AUK's season has never started on 1st September.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  15. DaveC
    Member

    Ah, I thought it was Sept to Sept, my memory is failing me as I get older...

    Posted 5 years ago #
  16. DaveC
    Member

    I'm shattered. I completed the New Border Raid in a good time though, 36 hours 8 minutes. 608km in total. The route is available on RWGPS if you google it. The hills towards the end were troublesome, and felt very steep in the heet with ~500km in your legs. The heat was oppressive! a cycle computer suggested 32.8 degrees at Melrose around 10:30 Sunday morning.

    Wondering about doing the Snow Roads in mid August, but if this heat kept up, I may plum for a flatter 300.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  17. gembo
    Member

    if only they had taken DaveC's advice and run this 600km anti-clockwise then the hills would have been at the start?

    The only flat way into Scotland/England on the east coast is I guess A1 and path beside?

    @DaveC what time did you go through Sanquhar? It has the oldest working post office in the country, opened in 1712. The building kind of juts out into the main street. From Facebook I think you went through early Sunday morning? Temperatures were I think record breaking in The Borders.

    Massive Chapeau

    Posted 5 years ago #
  18. DaveC
    Member

    I think we left around 02:30, so maybe 6 minutes later? I was not looking out for the post office but did see a church lit up on a hill on the left.

    https://goo.gl/maps/spDmBWn3Ayy

    Posted 5 years ago #
  19. Cyclingmollie
    Member

    @amir and I also rode the New Border Raid last weekend.

    Amir was doubtful about starting as he had caught a chest infection during the week and as he had offered me a lift Dave C stepped in with a pair of free train tickets for me that he no longer required. However Amir decided to go and we drove down on Friday evening.

    We had a day of headwinds, amazing views (Hadrian's Wall, the Red Kite Way, Glentrool Forest Park), cafe and Co-op stops and unending roads before we reached the furthest point west at Girvan and chips on the prom.

    Dark and hilly to the overnight control where we were greeted by helpers who seemed to know what we needed before we knew ourselves - chilli, rice pudding, tea, beds. What seemed like a moment later it was 3.30am and we were off again into the dark, coasting downhill through Sanquar (wish I'd known about the oldest post office). Daylight by Drumlanrig. Breakfast at Annan Water Services.

    The headwind from the first day was now a taily which blew us up the Moffat Water and past the Grey Mare's Tail where the downhill took over and brought us out at Selkirk. Up to this point it had been cloudy and we'd been expecting rain but at Abbotsford the sun came out and we emerged from the woods into a furnace.

    The cooling headwind of the day before, now behind us, reduced evaporative cooling to zero. We poured water over our heads, into our shoes, it didn't help. We rested in the shade of a tree near Kelso but when we set off again up a steep hill Amir, who is usually well ahead of me on hills was nowhere to be seen. I stopped and he reached me, complaining of power loss in the heat. He was coughing constantly by this point.

    We pressed on, more slowly, taking turns at the front. At Wooler I asked Amir how he was and he admitted that he had been hallucinating!!! He was very hot looking and only wanted to get cooled down. He had some water and sat for a while before asking what I'd do if he packed. I said I'd go on and he said he was glad of that and ordered a taxi which came and took him and his bike the last 77km to the finish. His illness, two sleepless nights and the relentless heat finally brought him to a stop. He had ridden 530km.

    I rode on to Alnwick where I met up with other riders who I stayed with to the finish where Amir was waiting, looking much better having had some medical attention from the organisers. I am super happy to have achieved a long-standing ambition - to gain a Super Randonneur award - but that does seem just a bit of background noise against the full experience.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  20. steveo
    Member

    Well done guys! 530km is hardly to be sniffed at either Amir!

    Posted 5 years ago #
  21. gembo
    Member

    conditions do sound tough so hats off to all three of you and hopefully you are all on the mend.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  22. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    he admitted that he had been hallucinating

    Very wise to bale at that point.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  23. DaveC
    Member

    Tom and Amir, well done on a very hot cycle through the lumpiest bits of the Borders and Dunfriesshire.

    I can whole heartedly agree that at points the heat was so intense I had thoughts of giving up and lying down for a while. But with ~19km to go I had a greater wish to finish. It was good to see you both on the ride at times, and congratulations on your first, not hopefully not last, Series Randonneur!

    Posted 5 years ago #
  24. amir
    Member

    I'll not attempt a 600 on a cold again!

    I suspect if I'd continued I'd just have collapsed, just not in a very convenient place. And I was really glad cyclingmollie managed to continue on to get his first SR. A great achievement.

    I'll be on a break from my bike for a few days.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  25. gembo
    Member

    How much does a 77km taxi care cost?

    Posted 5 years ago #
  26. amir
    Member

    I felt worse than the fare :)

    Posted 5 years ago #
  27. edinburgh87
    Member

    Hi all,

    I recall reading somewhere on here that someone did a DIY 400 roughly Edinburgh to Stonehaven or Aberdeen and back. Does anyone have a link to a rough route I could pinch? I'm a bit unfamiliar with the roads north of Dundee so don't want to plan something that ends up on a road that looks benign on Google but is far from it in reality..
    Tia..

    Posted 5 years ago #
  28. HankChief
    Member

    You could use the 200k route we took to POPAberdeen and then retrace your steps...

    Check out this route on Strava: https://www.strava.com/routes/12344468 — Good Morning Aberdeen

    Posted 5 years ago #
  29. Frenchy
    Member

    That was @DaveC. Can't find his route, but this is the way we went to Aberdeen for PoP this year, based on his suggestions.

    Posted 5 years ago #
  30. edinburgh87
    Member

    Great thanks fenchy + hankchief!

    Posted 5 years ago #

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