About the Audax Rides:

If you look at the Tour Calendar gadget, up to the left, you will notice dates for the Audax Ride and for several “Tune Ups.”  This heralds the annual build up to our Audax Ride.  And for those of you who are latecomers, that might just take a bit of explaining.

Audax:  The word comes from a Latin adjective meaning bold or daring.  That captures at least part of the endeavor very nicely.

In Europe Audax Cycling is a kind of group touring ride.  This style of riding is seldom seen in the US.  The idea is that the group will stay together, riding a predetermined route.  The spirit of the ride is “One for all, and all for one!”  The pace is controlled by a group leader or “Road Captain.”  Stops are pre-planned and a schedule is met.  Reservations are made in advance for enroute meals and (where appropriate) over-night accomodations.

Our Audax Ride in a nutshell.  It’s a 200K.  That’s 200 kilometers, or about 125 miles.  We will not be staying overnight.  We do it in one day.  There are several planned rest stops along the way, and a full on sit-down lunch in the middle.  Lunch is at the Bulloch House, in Warm Springs.

If you never ride a long ride, then you’ll never ride a long ride.  One of the benchmarks for the fairly serious recreational cyclist is the “century” or 100 mile ride.  New riders tend to be a bit awed by that distance.  Seems almost impossible.  Over the years, I’ve taken a lot of folks on this ride.  A surprising number of them have never done a 100 miler before, and yet they manage the 125 just fine.  That’s been a source of interest and joy to me.  This isn’t just a ride, it’s a program.

In the next few weeks I’ll be sharing tips and tools to help you get ready for this thing.  The biggest one, I give you right now.  Commit to this.  Do it now.

“But just what am I committing to?” one might well ask.  In general, to an average of nine hours a week of training and preparation time.  It starts off easy, with around five hours per week, and builds.  You’re committing to doing the Tune Up rides, and to spending a day doing the actual ride.  You are committing to a $27.00 fee to cover lunch, water, and a post ride snack.

Tomorrow:  Beginning preparations for the Audax Ride.