Audax tips and tricks?

Got your beard on the go?

Only joking. I like audaxes me. Deffo get a bar bag, it's the best way of getting at all your stuff on the go. One with a map holder on the top is a plus...

assuming it's 15-30kph then 215km is going to take, erm, between seven and fourteen hours if it's your first then best to take it easy i'd say, aim for maybe 12hrs total and pick up the pace a bit if you're feeling okay after the halfway mark.

Will your bike be comfortable? well, you'll find out seriously though, there's no way of knowing other than trying. don't be afraid to tweak your position if you do get uncomfortable.

Hi Austen, which audax is it?

The LVIS ball buster on 28 March, think that there were a few people on here thinking about signing up. I'm pretty familiar with the loop south of Bristol as I live out in the Chew Valley, loop north is a bit of a mystery at the moment (but that's the fun).

At least the long route doesn't finish over Dundry Hill!

see you on the start line

I've only done one before but the experienced guys (including a PBP veteran) had map holders for the route guide along with a handy rubber band to move down to the next instruction line so you could see at a glance where you were heading next.

essential ingredient for rides of 200km and above imo is sheer bloody mindedness. Physically you may not 'enjoy' it, especially the second half, the first couple of times until your body gets accustomed. Eat before you get hungry, drink before you get thirsty, use the toilet facilities when you get the chance, and fill your water bottles when you can. Don't waste time at controls; having a control checklist can help with this. Adjust your clothing as required, layers! use your gears to make life easy and as others have said, pace yourself. YMMV.

All good stuff thanks, rubber band for the instruction line is a great idea.

More overnight thinking has got me wondering about how to rig up my Petzl headtorch onto my helmet for reading the course notes if (when) it gets dark. Not that I have one, but I presume GPS is frowned upon/banned?

Fully expecting to grovel the latter stages workhand. I'm not sure what you mean by a control checklist though, do you mean a list of controls or is there some funny multi-faceted 'masons handshake' I need to do at each control? You've got me worried now!

Riding in to work this morning I'm quite looking forward to it.

To save carrying your OS maps, why not get a cheap road atlas and rip pages from that? You can pick one up for a couple of quid from discount shops and so on, or maybe a secondhand bookshop.

GPS is not frowned upon or banned. Or if it is frowned upon, then the frowning was done behind my back! Or maybe they didn't notice, or don't know what one is.

If you have a bar mounted light then I would guess that a saddlebag rather than a barbag might be a good idea

It is a real advantage to have a route sheet holder. Mine is made from corrugated plastic

My top tip is don't follow other people, follow the routesheet

My first 200 wasn't like this. The day after I might have felt a bit tired but I don't remember it being such a struggle. I definitely enjoyed it.

Will see you on the start like Austen, will be interesting to say the least. Im doing the three peaks trial in the Brecon Beacons the day before so you and Dave may have to push me up the hills!

Im relieved that the long one doesnt go over Dundry, some people at Badtri reckon that it does...just winding me up I guess.

No route of Dundry but it does go up and one of the roads out of West Harptree up onto the top of the Mendips, can't remember which one off the top of my head, but all are evil so it doesn't really matter!

After the trial and Saturday I think you'll deserve a push, I'm planning on spending the day preparing by lying down as much as possible!

I'm riding that one too. Most important thing that I've found is just to eat and drink regularly.

I'll be riding a Hewitt frame if anyone wants to say hello.

I'll either be on my shiny new Genesis Equilibrium (if i can get it built up in time!) or a Salsa Fargo...

I'll be on my blue Kaffenback (XL with a lot of seatpost showing) so say hello if you're there. There is a small possibility I'll be accompanied by a 'larger gentleman' on a CAAD9 too (if he actually turns up...).

I did part of the route over the Mendips and down to Glastonbury last weekend and it really was beautiful, should be a good day out.

Do you see the mental conditioning I'm doing already ?

I'm doing the wussy short one, though I feel justified as my baby is less than a year old and it's my first one and all.

Off to purchase a map holder now. I am relying a lot on my friend being more organised than I am and me knowing the last bit, including evil Dundry.

I'm planning to drive the bit of it I don't know, just so I've got a vague idea as well.

I'll be the worried looking lady on a steel Pinarello covered in maps.

I will likely be on a felt ar4 donning a road.cc jersey.

i will be on my Boardman single speed as all the other bikes are in bits, but only doing the 100km as got to get home to eat cake.

doesn't look like jersey weather right now:

http://www.metcheck.com/V40/UK/FREE/dayforecast.asp?zipcode=bath&day=6

The Genesis lives! so i'll deffo be on that. it has mudguards. which it looks like i'll need.

Looks like fun, lovely cold, wet weather for a 215km ride!

Looking forward to seeing this genesis of yours.

La, la, la, not listening (looking?). Weather is going to be perfect...

Looks like this: Ultegra, Racelight fork, Alpha Q bars, Charge saddle. Actually the bars need changing to a shallow drop, gonna get some Salsa Bell Laps.

classy, I am envious of the mudguards in view of the weekend.

looks good and considering that our english summers tend to be more wet and mild as of late and that a genesis equilibrium takes 'guards and that frame and fork package comes in at around £350, i think it kind of looks like a perfect british all round bike..think i'm gonna have to take a lump outa the kids inheritance.

good point well made Fringe, it appears to be great value for money. Are you going to make an appearance earlier to wave off the intrepid (stupid) 215km audax'ers?

It's not until next weekend
The weather could get far worse by then

i may well, or maybe i'll just catch you up

that's what i'm hoping. while i'd love to be a racer the reality is that even at 15kg lighter than last year i'm still going to have my arse hanging out up the hills and i might as well go for something a bit more comfy and set up for the UK while i'm pootling along back there. that for me means steel, and 'guards. I love the Salsa Pistola but there's no 'guard eyelets and although the ride is superb the Equilibrium gives it a run for its money, and in terms of value it's a different league. I was hoping it'd sneak under 20lb with pedals but it's about 20.5lb kitted out as it is.

Took it out on the long (10 mile) commute today which includes a bit of unsurfaced stuff, some back roads and a nasty climb, and it's a sweet ride. I love it to bits. Needs shallower drops though but i've got that covered, hopefully in time for sunday...

WEATHER UPDATE: a bit wetter but *much* less windy is the forecast right now. I'd take that

Metcheck is just saying cloudy at the moment, but I won't abandon the waterproof socks just yet. I know overshoes probably are better but they look sooooo wrong.

I'm hoping it's not too windy cos that bit around the Severn estuary is horrendous for channeling wind.

We got hugely wet on Saturday and I don't look forward to repeating it. Is taking a hip flask out of order?

Yeah we might get away with it. Every time I look the weather has completely changed. yesterday sunday was looking barmy

I am not going to look until saturday evening...Ive got this off road run on saturday, thats going to be hellish if the weather stays as it looks.

After a run across the somerset levels into a headwind a couple of weekends ago I'm hoping for little wind (or a freak South-Easterly). Still resisting looking at the forecast.

Definitely interested in having a look at the Equilibrium too, it could be a good replacement for my Kaffenback (my patience has just about run out with mini-V brakes). The replacement will need to be a little longer in the top tube and maybe a little lighter, I'll just go and check out geometry...

Whatever you do, *don't* look at the metcheck forecast right now...

so how was the 200km LVIS?..didnt get any rain on the 100km..only the occasional geographical embarressment's (but i like to think that was more the route card being a bit vague) and i think the last 10km up and over West Dundry Lane caught a few people out with its gradients.. good ride though.

the 200km was fantastic. really lovely route and the women's institute don't half make a decent pavlova

went round with jon burrage – chapeau to him cause he did a 20 mile offroad run in the brecons the day before – and a guy called ian who did some sterling pacing work on the flat run in. The 200km finished with an altogether more gradual and serpentine climb up to falfield that on another day might be described as nice, but not today really. plenty of cake left at LVIS HQ when we got back too!

saw austen at the start but not out on the road - how'd you get on chap?

when we got to Glastonbury (145km in) at 3pm we were told that the first chap through had arrived at 1:28pm. on a fixed. chapeau to him too, think it might have been Gary off of www.trackdropouts.com cause he's a bit of a machine by all acounts. Saw cab from the alleycat the other week too and a couple of familiar faces from the exmouth exodus and all.

hang on, got to add my points!

A good day was had, clearly Marcus has a sense of humour with the loop of glastonbury tor that included an up and over to add a few feet of climbing.

As with you Fringe, we has very little in the way of rain, the odd splattering but nothing major at all...seemed to come in at about 8pm so a couple of hours after our finish.

Good to meet you Ian, 35kph over the levels on the way in after 190km of riding was tough but immensely useful.

See you all again next year, though I heard Marcus talking about route changes...

Set off late as my riding partners turned up to the start at 7.58 for the 8am start. Then had the embarrassment of my rear rim exploding a few miles in - it was clearly a lot more worn that I thought. Muddy winter commuting doesn't half ruin the bike.

Had a long walk back to clifton carrying the bike before I could wake up the misses to come and pick me up.

Very disappointed not to get round, Rich and Rich made it back at about 7.30pm. Been regaled with stories of the WI cake already this morning and feeling hungry as a result. Sounds like a great day out.

Will be planning to get out and ride the route in the next couple of weeks to make amends.

that's rotten luck, sorry to hear it. still, at least it didn't happen somewhere on the remote mendip plateau. or, for that matter, on the descent to wookey hole

Pics being uploaded as we get them. The first two galleries are available:

http://www.lvis.org.uk/gallery.htm