Sore Thoughts

What’s an Audax?

An audax is not a race, and it’s not a led ride. Riders have a time limit to cover a route, following the directions and passing through the ‘controls’. Usual distances are 100k, 200k, 300k, 400k & 600k; minimum overall speed generally 15kph, including stops - sometimes slower on 100k’s. There’s no support or broom wagon. There will be hills, but very hilly rides (grimpeurs) are listed as such.
You’ll see all sorts of bikes, trikes and ‘bents, but a light tourer with a triple chainring is favourite. It helps to have the route sheet attached to your bars. A ‘MapMount’ from the CTC shop is ideal.
Start with a 100k, maybe a 200k if you’re very sure of yourself. Enter well in advance, and trace the route to see where the hills are. Clean your bike and check it over. Make sure you know how to get to the start, and get your kit ready the day before.
Arrive at the start in good time (at least 30mins if you haven’t entered). Don’t start to hard - try to find someone to ride with at a pace comfortable for you. Don’t waste too much time at controls, but make sure you eat and drink. And don’t lose your place on the route sheet (easier than you think). If in doubt, wait for someone to catch up with you and check with them. The old hands start slow and finish fast - very fast. You might find yourself dumped when it turns out that sweet old dear is a veteran time-trialist. Usually when you’ve been chatting, and not following that route sheet.

On Maps:

If you’re riding on road with a group or on an audax, you really don’t need to carry umpteen OS 1:50,000 maps. If you get lost, it’s often easiest to ask a local, who is probably a - deep breath - motorist. And can’t make head nor tail of your map, partly because the nearest town isn’t on that sheet. They - the maps, not the motorists - aren’t much use in towns, when you need to navigate ring roads or cut through pedestrian areas.
If I’m planning a route, I use OS Tour, 1:100,000. Very good coverage on each map, an index, town plans, pubs and garden centres (for tea stops). No contours, but ‘arrows’ on the nasties. Even all the cycle routes. Like an old Barts (stet) map, but without the shading. All you need. Count the contours when you get home.
For back-up on a day ride, download from multimap (see links). If you have a programme which handles graphics, you can paste and overlay to cover your area, then ‘scale’ to fit it on the page. An A4 will cope with most day rides or 100k audaxes, But unless you’ve got a laser printer, you’ll get that Wicked Witch moment if it rains.
For longer events, I use pages torn from a ‘Maxi Scale’ road atlas, 2.4 miles to the inch. Cheap and replaceable, enough to get you back on course or to the nearest civilisation.

On Luggage:

Why do so many cyclists spend a fortune on a lightweight bike, then carry kilos of gear on a day ride? Yup, you need a couple of tubes, a waterproof, and basic tools. For overnights, some spare batteries, a headtorch. Pump & lock on the bike, wallet and ‘phone in your pockets. Wear the right clothes to start with and you won’t need spares - your waterproof can double as a windproof layer. Arm and leg-warmers can go in your jersey.
My medium Ortllieb saddlebag (1.3 litres) was fine for a 400k. So why two panniers?

On Lighting:

If you do serious amounts of night riding out of town, a Schmidt hub dynamo powering a B&M ‘standlicht’ front is unmatched - probably with a Cateye LED rear. The Lightspin bottle dynamo has negligable drag, but it can slip, especially in slush. Then it all goes dark.
I now use an cheap and simple Nordlicht bottle on my fixed. The ‘replacement’ ring slips less than the original. The drag isn’t really that bad, it’s just the sound gives that impression. For my Condor, I have a pair of Cateye HL500’s under the bars. Great ouput (not LED), terrible burn time. But totally reliable. Use lithium ion batteries for all-nighters and below freezing. LED rears. Knightlite Konflux goes neatly on your mudguard, but not waterproof: If it gets wet, it comes on and won’t switch off.
Petzl Tikka/Zipka gets best head torch award.
A reflective waistcoat shows up wonderfully in car headlamps, far brighter than any lights. Technically, it’s a Hi Viz waistcoat to EN471 Class 2. Polester mesh & velcro closing. They’re available cheaply from builders’ merchants or Health and Safety suppliers (like Key Industrial).
More (much, much more) on lighting on the AUK website.

Some Reading material:

Zinn & The Art of Road Bike Maintenance. Leonard Zinn. Velo Press.
By far the best manual for modern road bikes. Worth having even if you take most repairs to the shop. Doesn’t cover canti or v-brakes.

The Long Distance Cyclists’ Handbook. Simon Doughty. A&C Black
An excellent guide from an AudaxUK rider. Kit, training & nutrition.

Cyclecraft. John Franklin. HMSO.
How to ride. Read it. You don’t know it all.

From the Pen of J.B.Wadley. Adrian Bell. Mousehold Press.
Great journalism from the ‘Glory Days’ of cycle sport. Not just for racing fans.

Need for the Bike. Paul Fournel. Bison Books
Strange and captivating. Highly recommended(by me).


Some alternative bike shops:
Support your local bike shop when you can - you’ll miss it if it goes.

Hard to Find
Tel:01296 747377 1pm to 4pm Tue/Thur/Sat
No web, no e-mail, no credit cards. But all those bits they say you can’t get anymore.

Whiskers
Tel: 01707 875448 All day Tue/Thur/Sat
Best for 8/9 speed parts, especially Campy, and bits recently out of production

Bike & Run
www.bikeandrun.co.uk Tel: 020 8815 1845
My local. Please can I have a discount?

Bike+

www.bikeplus.co.uk Used to be the CTC shop. Tour and audax specialists.

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e-mail me....................................‘Phone:020 8365 3806
Nick Bloom London N2 9NA