The Audax Rides

What the heck is an Audax Ride? The following definition is from the Randonnuers USA website.

Audax (oh docks) - A style of group bicycle touring found mostly in France, but also in Holland and Belgium to lesser degrees. A steady pace is set by a road captain, who is in charge of a group of fellow club members. In modern times the pace is usually about 22 km/h (13.5mi/h) between stops; the itinerary and resting places are planned in advance.

For the purposes of this blog, we are talking about doing a 200 kilometer (approximately 125 mile) audax style ride. Ours will go on Sunday, May 18, 2014.

Why should I do this thing?  One could be forgiven for wondering that.  Here’s an attempt at an anser:

• It feels good to meet a challenge (and 125 miles with a mountain in the middle certainly qualifies)
• It’s good to engage with others in a mutual goal.
• There is a sort of magic synergy that occurs when a group of riders decides to enter a non-competitive endeavor.  Somehow our strengths add and our weaknesses diminish.
• It’s an absolutely great day!

Getting Ready:

To aid folks in preparing for this style of riding, and this particular ride, I’m leading four “tune up” rides.

Audax Tune Up Rides:

2 March (Sunday): 1:00 PM, 45 miles (approx)

23 March (Sunday): 1:00 PM, 45 miles (approx)

13 April (Sunday): 11:00 AM, 65 miles (approx)

27 April (Sunday): 11:00 AM, 65 miles (approx)

I can pretty much assure you that, if you do all four of these, you will be able to handle the 200K. 

We will ride these in an Audax style. The group will stay together. The pace will be moderate. We will be riding a predetermined course. Anyone who is willing to abide by the intent and spirit of these rides is welcome to come along. The rides will leave from the front of Bicycles Unlimited, in Peachtree City, GA.

A necessary few words about the Tune Up Rides:  The group will stay together in mutual aid and support.  There will be no SAG.  We’re doing this as self-supported rides.  The terrain for these rides is (deliberately) more hilly and more challenging than that which will be encountered on the 200K.  The idea here is simple.  “If I can do something that is harder than the actual ride, then I’ll certainly be able to standup to the ride itself.”

There will be a fee for the actual Audax Ride, on 18 May. This fee will cover your lunch (sit down at a good restaurant), a post ride sandwich snack, and water refills along the ride. There are no fees for the “Tune Ups.” Ride fee is payable, in advance, by check or cash.  I don’t have enough info yet to set a precise number on the fee, but it will most certainly be no more than $30.00.

Hope to see many of you all there.

I'll be posting more info on all of this soon.

Oh yes, one last and critically important note: Helmets required on all rides.

Dirt Road Ride Report

I’m going to list this one as a success.  Sure, the turnout was very small, but we had us some major fun.

One rider who is extremely new to this kind of thing found out that she could handle it, and actually relaxed and started to enjoy it before we came back off of the dirt.  She said,  “Well, that was a completely different kind of workout!”

Here’s how it all went down:

To begin with, we had about the best weather one could expect from late January.  The sky was mostly sunny, and the temp was 53 degrees at ride time.  I actually saw 59 degrees in the middle of the ride, and temps didn’t begin to fall until after we had finished.

We started out from Bicycles Unlimited, and did a very short section of the city’s paths.  Then we were on paved county roads for about three miles before turning onto the first dirt road section.

That first two miles of dirt road, was pleasant.  The surface was in good condition, not wet, and not too loose.  Of course there was absolutely zero traffic too.  The road did dip and rise a coupe times, but that was not a problem as there are no sharp turns.

After two miles on dirt, we again turned onto paved roads, and resumed traffic riding.  After a stretch on pavement, we hit the dirt again.  This time we started with a sharp downgrade, but then the road straightened out and it was just cruising, with the occasional “washboard” section.  Five miles of this and we were back on pavement and ready to return to the shop.

The total trip was just at 15 miles.  No one was injured.  No one fell.  I was the only one who skidded, and that was a deliberately induced “demonstration slide.”

I’m planning to try this again late in February.  (Watch the Southside Cycling Club Calendar or the Bicycles Unlimited Events Calendar for dates and times.)  I sincerely hope to see more of you out there.  This could be the start of something grand.

Dirt Road Riding: The Whole Gravel Grinding Thing

This coming Sunday, 26 January 2014, I will be hosting a ride that intentionally features some sections of unpaved roads.  This will be an easy paced, keep the group together, learning type of ride, but should be enjoyable for the more advanced ride too.  The intent is to bring some of you newer riders into the fun of dirt road riding.  The choice of route is designed to be enjoyable, and not very challenging.

Now, what’s it all about?  Read on…

Lately, it’s been called “Gravel Grinding,” and it’s become very popular.  There are several regular gravel/dirt/unpaved road rides going on in this area.  I’m very pleased to see this.  If you are interested, but just not quite sure about this “Thing,” here’s a low impact way to get started and have a lot of FUN!

What is “Gravel Grinder”?

The expression is a newly coined phrase.  It can sound kind of intimidating and super-mach, but when it’s not dressed up for church, it simply refers to riding a bicycle on an unpaved road.  A “Gravel Grind” might be a ride on roads that are not paved, or it might be an organized race.

Why is it suddenly a “THING”?

Who knows?  There are plenty of people who have been riding bikes on roads that weren’t paved.  In fact, we pretty much started out that way.  Bicycles predate paved roads by a goodly margin.  Perhaps it has something to do with the rise in popularity of Cyclocross style racing.  (“Cyclo Bikes, or Cross Bikes are just about ideal for riding off pavement.)  Randonnuers have been investigating this stuff for quite some time.  Perhaps it has something to do with the increasingly crowded conditions on the paved roads.  Could be some or all of the above, or maybe it’s just time.

Why do I want to do it?

Maybe you do, and maybe you don’t.  Here’s what’s good and bad about riding on unpaved roads.

The Good Stuff:

Less traffic

Good scenery

Interesting road surfaces increase the fun factor

Dirt roads often provide “shortcuts” or usable alternatives to other routes

Not as tricky or challenging as “singletrack” mountain bike

Surfaces provide the “fun factor of mountain biking with a greatly reduced fall risk, and greatly reduced traffic concerns.

Great adventures!

The Not So Good Stuff:

You do run into the occasional dog challenge

You have to clean you r bike up a bit more after a ride

Occasionally deep small gravel forces a dismount and walk situation

A true narrow tire road bike can be a bit of a handling challeng

If it rains you get really “yucked up.”

 What do I need?

You need a bicycle!  You could do dirt roads on almost any kind of bike, but…

Some bikes work a bit better than others.  Here’s a breakdown:

Cyclocross (also know as CX) bikes:  These are almost ideal for this kind of fun.  The wider high volume tires do well, and the quick handling road bike configuration is great for this kind of thing.

Tourists:  A bike intended for loaded touring will have the gears and brakes.  It will usually have a bit wider tires too.  All to the good.

Mountain Bikes:  Not a bad choice for the shorter rides.  The wide tires and low gears are a definite plus.  Suspension helps, but isn’t strictly necessary.  On the downside, the single position flat bar configuration is less than ideal for longer riders.  (NOTE:  A mountain bike will work well for this coming Sunday’s ride ~~  It just isn’t that long.)

Hybrids:  A good “can do” type bike.  These will handle the rougher road surface with aplomb.  Like mountain bikes, they are great for the shorter rides, but not so much for epics.

Cruisers:  Okay!  Just BE that way!  You can, but I wouldn’t.

Entry to mid-level Road Bikes:  Hey, I do this all the time.  It works.  Yes, the road bike’s stiffer ride and narrow tires can be a bit of a handful, but they are built to ride on roads, and paved or not, these are roads.

High end (read racing) road bikes:  Probably not the best choice.  Yes, Pros can and do,  but you are not a Pro.  Besides, Pros don’t have to pay for the damage.  You do.

Older 27 inch or 650B type road bikes:  If they are in good repair they are almost ideal.  The only real lack that most of these have is brakes.  Generally that old Schwinn or Raleigh had really crappy brakes.  The tires are great for it, and the riding position is not bad.

Fixies?:  If you can ride it, bring it!  (I do this a good bit and I’m still alive.  In fact I appreciate the added control of the fixed gear on the sketchy sections.

Other Equipment:  Helmets (of course!)  Glasses or sunglasses (it’s dusty and the debris does fly.)  Full finger gloves.  Dress for the weather.

So come on out and let’s have some fun with this!

For more info, please check out the Bicycles Unlimited Calendar HERE