Audax – audacious, bold, daring…or foolhardy? Here’s a dummy’s guide…

It’s five in the morning, outside in the dark it’s raining and I load the bike onto the car. Most sensible folk are warm in bed, re-charging themselves for the next week at work. At the start now, other folk come into the car park, some on bikes some by car, a few emerge sleepily from their vans, occasionally a rider creeps out from under the doorway where they spent a few hours having ridden through the night, extending the ride. A few birds are singing now, their cheerful chorus heralding dawn, as weak daylight starts to lighten the chill air. It’s still cold and we check in, collect our brevet, pull on lycra and prepare our bikes. Lights, computer, food, drink… check the tyres, turn the cranks. 10 hours and 200km later, at the finish, there are no high-fives, no medals, no rewards other than hot soup and cake. I re-load the bike and drive home…

image credit - cycling plus

Audax is riding long distances in a specified time – it’s that simple. The rides are self-sufficient, if not always self-supporting. You follow a route and prove you visited the controls. There is no sag wagon to sweep you up and cart you back to the start/finish and no mechanics; it’s a bit like doing a reliability ride on steroids.

Some history…

Italian athletes started it all in 1897 – you could choose to either swim, run, walk or cycle for a period of 14 hours, the time between sunrise and sunset; the cycle ride was 200km – a ‘randonee’, and successful riders received a Brevet d’audax. These events still continue with a guide leading the walkers or riders at randonneur pace.

Then the French took over…

Audax Club Parisienne (ACP) are the audax gods, a bit like the UCI. They validate international brevets (a brevet is a randonee) of 200km or over; aka Brevet Randonneur Mondial (BRM).

PARISBRESTPARIS is iconic

In 1891, to prove the utility of the bicycle, a race was conceived from Paris to Brest and back to Paris – a distance of over 1200km. The race was open to both professional and amateur riders, to be ridden as a single-stage. It was won in a little over 71 hours. Henry Desgrange soon became involved and later imagined a race around France with multiple stages. This, he believed, would capture the imagination of the public and silence the professional riders unhappy with the rigours of a 1200km single-stage race. With six stages and covering 2428km the first edition of La Grande Boucle rolled out of Paris on July 1 1903. The following year ‘Brevet d’audax’ certificate holders formed ACP.

Brit Barry Parslow completed his first PBP on his trike in 1966 and interest grew in the UK; the qualifying ride was a 600km brevet but, at the time, there were no qualifying rides in the UK, so when the 1975 version came round members of the 24 Hour Fellowship, who had ridden 375 miles or more in a 24 hour time trial, were given leave to ride; 19 riders completed, it was Barry’s 3^rd PBP. The following year Windsor-Chester-Windsor (WCW) was organised and audax UK was created. The UK contingent are now the second largest at PBP, after the French...

You don’t need to ride for 4 days across France to enjoy audax.

Let’s debunk the myths…

You need to be superfit…

Anyone who can ride a Sunday club run could complete a 200km brevet. You get over 13 hours (the minimum speed is 15kph/9mph) and that’s plenty of time to spin round and even stop and have a meal during the day. Shorter rides of 50km or longer to ease you in are arranged, but most riders seem to prefer 100km, a century (162km) or a 200.

It takes up a load of time… to get fit!

Just ride your normal ‘training’ rides. Come to the longer ride with a ‘can do’ mindset and you’ll finish.

I’ll need a special bike…

The bike you're riding now is just fine. Any bike can be used as long as you find it comfortable for a full days ride. There are riders on everything – fixed, single speed, 1x, doubles and triples; trikes, recumbents and elliptigos, Bromptons and Moultons, straight or drop bars.

image credit: Jack Driver

You need to be fast…and fit.

If you can ride at 11mph for a day, then you’ll get round. Just don’t stay at the café for too long.

Audax riders are slow…

PBP in 43 hours! You go at the pace you want, but the average max. is normally 30kph. You can arrive too early, but maybe only at the first control. Yes, there is a competitive side.

It’s expensive…

No. It’s cheap! Often the entry fee is £10 or less and you often get some basic grub at the start and finish. auk membership costs less than £20 per annum and this gets you ride insurance and a copy of the auk magazine and newsletter – arrivee. Some events have amazing catering from a team of friendly volunteers.

It’s about clocking up miles…

Strokes for folks… Many audax riders enjoy the 200 randonnee and will ride a few of these in the summer and autumn. Others are hard core and ride all year round – a Randonneur Round the Year (with its own accolade). Committed riders will ride a Super Randonneur, a series of 200, 300, 400 and 600 events in one season and many then aspire to complete multi-day events over 1000km – like PBP.

It’s dangerous…

So, any ride has its risks, even a short one. I was knocked off my bike on Romney roundabout, 500 metres from home.

There are complicated and stupid rules, like riding with mudguards…

Well, there are awards and so there are rules. Its really not that complicated once you’ve ridden a few brevets and you don’t really think about them, you just collect your proof of passage. Mudguards are no longer obligatory, but it’s a courtesy to other riders when the roads are covered in shit; and then there’s stuff like letting the organiser know that you’ve packed etc.

image credit: the adventure capitalist

Is it for you…?

If you like cycling with friends, riding in different areas or challenging yourself; whatever that means to you - becoming faster, more confident, having more fun or doing more miles or all of these. Then, yes. And remember; it’s not a race!

Steve Scott