done a couple of sportives in the past and was struck by the wanna be racers jumping lights etc, does this sort of thing happen in audax? the fact that one such prat went into the back of me whilst i was fiddling with a contact whilst waiting at a red light may have coloured my opinion?

as for cost, what does an audax miss out, timing chips? just thinking about doing something that i can use as a focus and a challenge.

I’ve done a few sportives and one audax so far, but my partner’s done loads of audaxes. There’s a joke that sportive riders like to pretend they’re racing, and audaxers like to pretend they’re not! Audaxes cost much less to enter, and don’t use timing chips, and are much more relaxed and down to earth. They’re more of a personal challenge than a competition, and at the end of the 207 km one I did last year and had a severe case of the bonk, there was a wonderful lady brewing up and serving lovely free food!

Audaxes are class!

Cost me £7 for a day license and entry to a 220km event from Cardiff to Kidwelly and back. Me and a mate of decent fitness entered thinking we’d hammer the old gents and be back before they’d unwrapped the sarnies.

First card stamp, the old boys are just finishing there coffee’s when we get there (we check we’d not taken a wrong turn)

Second card stamp, the old lads are finishing there fish and chip pub lunch (we double check we’d definitely not taken a wrong turn)

They got to the last cafe in Swansea before us to! never underestimate the power of an OAP paceline!

I think I was to tired to scoff the sarnies when I got back….

scratch – I totally agree about the older gents, and ladies. It was a bit like the hare and tortoise, we stopped for a couple of punctures and 2 cafe stops during the ride, and every time we stopped the old guys would appear from nowhere and trundle past! My partner did a 400 km and a 600 km audax last year and a lady well into her 60s did both of them.

Ta for the reminder <off to check audax calendar>

as for cost, what does an audax miss out, timing chips? just thinking about doing something that i can use as a focus and a challenge.

No timing chips, no feed stations (generally use cafes/pubs etc where you buy your own food) and quite often no (or very limited) route marking.

You get a little card which says:
45.0 L at X-roads
45.6 R at T-junction

and so on. Sometimes not even that, just the names of villages en route. Helps if you know how to navigate!

Also, the distances make most Sportives look like a warm-up in comparison so it tends to cut out the wannabe racers.

Deleted.

I’m trying to be nice today.

There is or was a cap on top speed?
The route you take from a to b is up to you, so technically you can’t go wrong.
Strangely you get a sense that (for want of a better word) the winners are those who are out the longest.

Deleted.

I’m trying to be nice today.

Oi, put back what you wrote originally!
It was funny. 🙂

Sportivers pretend they’re racing, audaxers pretend they’re not racing

🙂

Audaxes are sportives with the MAMIL pretend racer posturing and marketing removed, and extra cakes and cafes added instead.
Very low key and friendly but hardcore cyclists:
Last 500 km with a snapped downtube

Last audax I did had a mandatory stop in a cafe. This cafe was actually closed to the general public for the day – you were only allowed in if cycling!

Audaxes have a set route to follow and maximum and minimum speeds they also put a secret control on sometimes to make sure you ride the correct route.You have to think to ride an Audax as you are not spoofed a signed route but just get a route on paper to follow

Audaxes are brilliant, I did three last year, a 100, 200 and 300.

just to give you an idea of how well organised they are, the 300km cost 7 quid, and included a cooked breakfast in a cafe after about 50km, and a massive spread at the end. theres always a fast group, get in that and you’ll be in for a good time, we did the 200km at a avg of about 18mph

got talking to an old guy on the 300, must have been 70, he was bemoaning the fact he drives to 300km audaxes now, as back in the day he’s ride upwards of 200km to get to an audax the day before. bivvy overnight, do the 300km, bivvy again and then ride the 200km back. Stone cold legend.

The ones I’ve done allowed variation on the recommended route as long as you went to the checkpoints i’e you could take an A road the whole way or meander through the lanes.

Done different ones to me then oldgit

Given up riding sportives since I discovered audax – done quite a few local 100k baby ones, a couple of 150ks, this year I’m determined to find a fairly local 200k event, as the old guys and gals seem to regard anything less as a Sunday club run.

Very relaxed – unless you get into things like London-Edinburgh-London territory – no idea how they can run them so cheaply, with hire of village halls and (usually) free tea and cakes included for a fiver

Last autumn I did an audax from Bolsover and one fairly elderly couple did it on a tandem, and collected a dead pheasant somewhere on route, as it was securely bungeed to their pannier rack at the finish. Now that’s a proper post ride recovery meal….

Only downside with audax is that they are only just getting to grips with online entry rather than cheques and SAEs, but definitely more online options this year.

Done different ones to me then oldgit

Just low key ones where the route was ‘advisory’ and no secret controls to show you’ve kept to a pre set route, just proof of passage required.
Pretty sure this is right. My map reading was dreadful so I was very concerned about this.
IIRC AUK say all routes should be advisory, but if the organiser says otherwise then you respect the organiser. 😐

The max/min speed, isn’t top speed, it’s average. Near on impossible to get 30kph top ave speed if you stop for egg and chips at the first cafe/checkpoint, then apple pie and custard at the next.

Think I had the best sausage roll I’ve ever tasted on an audax. No idea where I was though.

Sorry should have said average .We did the flapjack 100km from Chippenham to much cake and beans on toast for free to go very fast

I do both and don’t try and race either, whilst there probably are more racer wannabe’s on sportives they’re also on audaxes to – basically it’s the person that’s the tosser not the event.
As has been said, route marking and feedstops are included on sportives, as is usually some form of timing. That said more and more audax are sending out gpx routes so they’re more accessible and the feedstops, even though you have to pay, are generally a lot better than the cheap supermarket sponge cake and banana affairs that most sportives seem to offer.
Some audax can be a PITA to enter as well, it’s the 21st century I want to be able to click online to enter not send a cheque from an non-existent cheque book – thankfully on-line entry is becoming much more common to.
I wish sportives would do away with timing, 99.999% of people that want a time will have some sort of bike computer on (or heaven forbid a watch) that they can use and only a complete tosser cares how their time compares with others on the same event and that’s the type of people that give sportives a bad name.
Sportives really should just be audaxes with route signage, gps files and free food stops (of decent quality), sweeper van and about £20 max entry fee. Unfortunately they seem to be going in the opposite direction, more advanced timing, extra bells and whistles most people don’t want and a £40+ entry fee.

“The max/min speed, isn’t top speed, it’s average. Near on impossible to get 30kph top ave speed”

Memorys of doing the deeside loop in a 6 man train and having to sit at the pub in glenshee village to bring our average speed down.

route is not fixed on audaxes unless specified by the controls – never seen a secret control before.

they route via most direct – often youll find folks take a safer route to avoid main roads – many audaxes ive done have been routed up the a9 as its the direct route by the rules but we often took the back roads to keep off the a9

TR – 30kph average is pretty easy (well in my normal fitness not at the moment!) – but not when you’re stopping for a couple of cooked meals, which seem obligatory at most Audax events!

oh yes but this was a 200k with only one control – the aforementioned pub.

Sportives in the UK should be like they are here in France. Races for the masses typically over hilly/ scenic routes rather than doing multiple laps of an industrial estate or a set of country lanes near some hicksville village (bunch races). You always get a hot cooked meal at the end; usually a salad starter, pasta main dish, cheese and then a tart for example.

French Sportive winning times for 100-140km routes are upwards of at least a 38km/hr ave, the starts are typically on closed roads through the town and are mass hectic starts. Routes are signposted and marshalled, vehicular traffic usulally held up at junctions etc.

I did a local ‘rando’on Saturday organised by a local ‘cyclotouriste’ club (it does not literally translate) I guess they are a bit like open access Audaxes or middle ground between UK sportive and UK Audax: Food stops, food at end but no timing chips on a signposted but non marshalled route, no need for a licence or the ubiquitous medical certificate and around 1/4-1/5th entry price of a sportive.

done a couple of sportives in the past and was struck by the wanna be racers jumping lights etc, does this sort of thing happen in audax?

Well it can happen anywhere that people are cycling but it’s probably less common.

as for cost, what does an audax miss out, timing chips? just thinking about doing something that i can use as a focus and a challenge.

We run an audax which is very popular but the entry fee is only £6 (plus the £2 Audax UK day membership if necessary) and still make a reasonable profit (which mostly goes to charity). Sportives IME tend to be run for profit so there’s that to factor in plus the additional cost of signage and things like timing chips, etc.

The standard joke of course is:

Q – what’s the difference between and Audax and a Sportive?
A – About £20

Obviously it’s not completely fair as suggested above but there’s some truth to it.

Back to the OP though, audaxes are a great way of setting goals and a lot cheaper thouhg it might be worth investing in a GPS if you’re interested in the training side of it and if you’re really quick, you should consider that there are maximum speed limits set too.

Sportives are for people who like to brag how fast they have ridden.
Audaxes are for people who like to brag how far they have ridden.

Audaxes are great fun and good value , It’s pretty funny getting passed when your struggling up Redstone Rigg by an old guy on a touring bike with panniers who Isn’t even out of breath. It’s definately tortoise and hare though as you may pass the same person who Is trundling along four times and still find they are right behind you at the end.

Audaxes are great fun and good value , It’s pretty funny getting passed when your struggling up Redstone Rigg by an old guy on a touring bike with panniers who Isn’t even out of breath. It’s definately tortoise and hare though as you may pass the same person who Is trundling along four times and still find they are right behind you at the end.

or being tailed by a legend on a raleigh 20 in a rain cape after 260km into a 300km ride when its rained all day!

where do you find out about Audaxes? I’m beginning to like the sound of this.. must be due to turning 40 a few months back.

freeagent: http://www.aukweb.net/

and a write up of our audaxes
http://road.cc/tags/lvis

(I should add that there’s a 100k route too and this year’s weather made it particularly tough – it’s usually a much more comfortable experience!)

The only thing that has wound me up with the audaxs I have done is my own inability to follow written instructions! Maps I can handle (I’ll even admit to an evening in with a beer looking over a map for no particular reason being up there in my favourite pastimes!) but words – nah! They did not have a map at HQ or hand out one – just a little card with things like “at 27.6 miles take 4th left at cleft in road”. Like weather forcasts I am happy with charts but give me a bunch of wordy information and I’ve tuned out after 30 seconds.

I’ve vowed if I do another I’ll make myself transfer all the information onto a map and throw that stupid sodding card in the bin before I set off!

I tend to agree which is why I’d suggest a GPS. YMMV as some say that aspect is an important part of the fun of an Audax.