Audax Tips

In preparation for my first Audax I asked the Bearbones forum for tips and advice. Much of the advice as you might expect, was certainly of the “good advice for any long ride” variety but there was also a lot of Audax specific guidance covering some of the subtleties of the format that come from the experience of actually taking part. I thought I would write up a list of all the things that people contributed, things I did for my own preparation, plus anything I learnt from my first experience. I plan to update this as I become more experienced with the format and learn more about what works for me.

Contributors – Chew, Jameso, ScotRoutes, BenS, johnnystorm, Dyffers, BobCatMax, Jamiep, AlexGold and myself.

• Even if the forecast is wall to wall sunshine all day, take a waterproof. Being wet and cold with another 6 hours of riding ahead of you makes it hard to keep your head in the game.
• Make sure that you have all the tools and spares you need to be self-sufficient. Don’t rely on any outside help.
• Take lights. Even if you feel that you will be home before you need them, it’s always worth having them just in case something goes wrong and you are delayed. Alternatively, you might be in some reasonably hilly geography which on a bad weather day could be mean very reduced visibility. Having lights could save your life.
• Take pocket food, something you can dip into whilst riding to cut down stopped time and keep your digestion going between your larger stops for food.
• Eat a little, often. Eat before you are hungry.
• Drink a little often. Drink before you are thirsty.
• Set your GPS to display overall average speed and make sure that you are maintaining at least or slightly above, your planned speed.
  • I have changed my map screen to not have any distance related information on it. I find it much easier to not have a constant reminder of how far is left/to go. I tend to think, “I’ll take a look at far I have gone in an hour or so” and then it always feels like more progress has been made.
• Start slower than feels normal and aim to finish at that same pace, it’s like a long winter base-pace ride. Take the hills really easy.
• Personally I’m fine with starting quickish for the first hour or 2 but
• If you are able to get in a group that is working together do so, even if the pace is a little higher than you might have chosen on your own, it will still be more efficient.
• Often the 1st half-hour is slow-paced as no one wants to be the person who rides off the front. Riding off the front, however, will often get you to the 1st control at the front of the queue and can make things a lot quicker.
• Stopping massively affects your overall average speed and is hard to make up again so be quick when you stop. As the ride goes on, often less resting means a more comfortable pace when riding.
• Take something to write with (and a backup, so 2 somethings to write with), as you’ll need to write on your Brevet card.
• If you forget a pen take a picture with your phone. It’s possible to rescue a ride by taking a picture outside the control.
  • Generally, I take a picture of the information required for the control then get my card and pen out later on when I’m stopping anyway and write it down then.
• The Brevet card should tell you the controls and the time window you should arrive at them. When you reach a control just make sure you have a look at when the next one is so you don’t ride past an info control.
• I had a list of distances that represented where controls were so that I could easily remind myself of when I should be looking at for an answer to a question.
• 2 different ways of approaching information controls.
  • Look at the question in the card at the previous control, then remember the answer and only write it down next time you stop.
  • Take a picture of the information control and write it on your card at a convenient time. This is personally how I approached it as I don’t want to rely on remembering the answer when fatigued at the next control point.
• Depending on how efficient you need to be at controls, order something you can eat straight away as well as something that needs to be prepared.
• Ask for water bottle refills when you order your food at a cafe, not when you about to leave.
• Stop immediately to put on/take off waterproofs rather than getting soaked then doing it. Same goes for layers. As soon, as you think I’m warm/cold, do something about it.
• Stop immediately to check out any sort of untoward noise or feeling from the bike, before it ends your ride.

…and finally, something that I learned on my first ever ride through the night. You will always hit a tough patch. Just accept that you feel like crap now but it won’t last forever. Eat something and keep pushing forward. Every pedal stroke, every moment that you are moving forwards you are still getting closer to the finish.