1st Audax Ride; I wasn't really sure what to expect, so rocking up at Warwick Racecourse to get my instructions early on a cold, windy, soon to be wet Saturday morning was a little nerve racking tbh. The ride I was doing was "The Warwickshire Lamb"
There were 2 groups of people, those doing a 200 km ride, going off at 8 am and those doing the 100 km ride leaving at 9 am. An eclectic mix of people, all very friendly and chatty. There was a guy on a fixie, a lovely looking bike with a blue frame, but with no gears!! 😲 A nice bloke wearing cycle shorts & a cycle jersey, he looked cold, given that the temperature was only 5 degrees, I think he probably was frozen. One guy was riding his bike with trousers to his knee's, (I have since found out they are called plus fours) and long socks with a vintage shirt and a flat cap. People who seemed right up my street (so to speak)
I registered with the desk, and received my Brevet Card, it had the instructions on for 4 stops or control points, at the first 3 stops/control points, you get the card signed and/or stamped, the last stop was to find the word that was underlined on a notice board at Stoneleigh. The 2nd control point was a café, so a great opportunity for a coffee and a bacon sandwich 😋, it was raining by now so we all huddled under a very small canopy outside the Café! The atmosphere and camaraderie was great and much better than you get at Sportives. Along with the control points a time limit for completion of the ride is given, we had to complete our ride by 4.30 pm. I rode with a guy called Kev. who was from South Derbyshire, he was very friendly and told me he had done very many of these rides, he gave some really helpful and useful information.
Everything seemed really relaxed and well organised, the route was lovely, lots of quiet country lanes. I finished back at a Pizza place in Warwick at 2.30 pm and came home. Given how friendly everyone was, how easy it was to turn up and be welcomed onto the ride, I have signed up for 2 more rides! More Audax to come 🚵♀️
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Well done just getting back into road cycling and have 3 100km rides penciled in here in Devon.... Great write up 💪👏👏
Enjoy every minute, I loved the eclectic mix of people and the sociable aspect of the event. 😊🚴♂️👍
Hi Wendy, that was a lovely write-up of the first Audax I've organised, thanks. I can agree with your impressions of the people you met; I have ridden many Audaxes and there is usually a very friendly bunch riding them. Good luck with your future Audaxes!
Hi Dave, for your first event I would say a big success, these things are not always easy to organise, I'll look forward to your next one 😊✅