Sorrento Cycling Club

Audax Ireland and Randonne rides

What is Audax Ireland?

Audax Ireland (which has been around since the early 1980s) regulates certain long-distance cycling events under Audax Ireland Rules, and, through the use of timed checkpoints, validates and records every successful ride.  Audax events are run by established cycling clubs affiliated to Cycling Ireland.

Who can ride an Audax Ireland event?

Anyone can!  When a cyclist who is not a member of Cycling Ireland enters an Audax Ireland event, there is an additional fee in addition to the event’s entry fee, to give the cyclist temporary membership of Cycling Ireland for the duration of the event for insurance reasons.

How do I find out about Audax Ireland events?

Audax Ireland Calendar is online, at http://sorrentocyclingclub.com/html/audax.asp. Some events are advertised on the Cycling Ireland website www.cyclingireland.ie. A calendar of events in the UK (and a mine of other information) can be found on the Audax UK website http://www.audax.uk.net/.

Audax Ireland events

How do I enter an Audax Ireland event?

An Event Entry Form will be available from the organiser of the event.  Entry must be made using this form or the entry may be rejected. The entry fee will vary from event to event, and are subject to a surcharge for non-members of Cycling Ireland (for insurance purposes). Whilst entry should be made in good time before the date of the event, it MAY be possible to enter on the line.

What are Audax Ireland events like?

Importantly, they are neither races nor time trials. People ride them within their capability and to their own limitations with the objective just to get round.These events suit most cyclists, clubmen, time-trialists and recreational riders, young and veteran, male and female.

Self-sufficiency is a highly-regarded quality in Audax Ireland and it follows that direct outside support, such as through a following car, is very much frowned upon.

The success rate on these events is very high - probably only about 10% do not finish. The reasons for failure include running out of time because of accidentally going off course, having one or more punctures or suffering a mechanical failure.

How long is long-distance?

The standard distances for Audax events are 200km, 300km, 400km and 600km.  There are also some longer rides, such as the Paris Brest Paris (1200km) and London Edinburgh London (1400km). These rides are held only once every four years and in order to qualify one has to ride a Super Randonneur Series.

What are the time limits?

There is a maximum allowable speed of 30kph and a minimum allowable speed of 15 kph which should suit everyone from the fittest recreational riders, to more occasional riders who have plenty of determination. Each rider carries a Brevet card which is stamped at intermediate checkpoints and again at the finish. This card is returned to the rider as a certificate of their achievement.

For events up to 600 Km, the time allowances are:

Time limits, for individual controls, are published on the Brevet cards.

How non-stop is non-stop?

The maximum time allowed to complete the ride is measured from the time you start, to the time you finish. There are no allowances for meals or other breaks, rest or sleep or any time allowance for punctures or mechanical breakdown. This means you have to ride fast enough to have sufficient time in hand for stoppages, especially on the longer events, where you will need to rest or sleep for a while.  This is not as tough as it may sound, as the maximum time limits are quite generous, with this in mind.

What about the route?

The organisers provide a route sheet showing the roads to be used and the control towns/villages (at which the rider must get his Brevet card stamped). Whilst these should be in sufficient detail to follow the route, it is the responsibility of the rider to do so and it is recommended that a rider carry a map for the event. This is useful if you accidentally go off route.

The routes typically feature a mixture of fast main roads and quieter back roads. Some events are hilly, some are extremely hilly, and even the flatter ones usually have one or two challenging climbs.

Apart from the scheduled events, Audax Ireland has a number of Permanent rides. (See Definitions)

Can I claim an extra time allowance for going off-route?

You can try. But as following the route is your responsibility, you are most unlikely to succeed!

If I can’t finish for some reason, what happens? Do I get picked up?

Generally, no. Do not expect a sag wagon on Audax Ireland events. Nor can you expect any of the controls or the finish to be manned after the published closing time (in the Brevet card). If you pack, for whatever reason, you would have to make your own way home or back to your transport. As a courtesy, you should try and get a message to the organiser telling him/her that you have packed.

What do I get to show for it all?

Every ride completed within the time allowed is an achievement and is recorded as such in Audax Ireland’s archives. The original Brevet card is stamped and numbered by Audax Ireland and returned to the rider. As Audax Ireland events are classified as Randonne Mondial (or RM), the records are also held in the archives of Audax Club Parisien (or ACP), which is the world’s oldest-established long-distance cycling organisation. On these events the card is also stamped and numbered by ACP before return. Ratification may take several weeks, particularly at the height of the season.

Organising an Audax event

My club would like to organise an event in our part of Ireland - How do we go about it?

Talk to the Audax Ireland committee.  We can advise your club.

You and your Bike

What training can I do?

Audax events are exciting challenges and for regular club riders a 200km and 300km randonne would be very achievable. For the novice rider a 200km ride would be a motivating goal and you would need to look at building up your training mileage gradually. Don’t increase by too much too soon or injuries will start to surface. If you look at a basic rule of thumb of a 5% - 10% increase every two weeks or so, soon you will be covering a fair distance each week and with relative ease.

Over training is as detrimental as under training so put in rest weeks (where you drop your mileage back roughly 20% - 30%) every fourth or fifth week and then the following week go back to the distance you logged on your previous high week. Above all, we need to listen to our bodies and one training program does NOT suit everyone.

Find what works best for you training wise and stick to it.

What kind of bike is best for Audax?

The truth is that almost any sort of bike will do. The important thing is to make sure that it is roadworthy, properly maintained and checked before the start of any long ride. The most popular type of bike is something at the fast end of touring with comfort more important than speed a consideration.  Many Randonneurs find that a triple chain ring is an advantage, with a lightweight steel-framed club racing bike with big enough clearances to use a largish tyre if required and brazing for mudguards and a luggage rack mountings a plus.

Are mudguards or lights compulsory?

Audax Ireland generally does not require mudguards although for some events the organiser may require or strongly encourage their use.

Lights are required by Irish law if you ride between the times of dusk and dawn. In practice this could happen on any of Audax Ireland’s events except summer 200s and some shorter events.  Minimal lighting, such as a small rear LED light and a modern, compact front light, weigh very little and take little space. It’s a sensible insurance.

Some Definitions

Audax

It is the Latin for bold or daring, and was first used in the context of endurance sports towards the end of the 19th century.

Audax Ireland Rules

These are the regulations governing long distance (Randonne) events organised by or on behalf of Audax Ireland, the representative in Ireland of Les Randonneurs Mondiaux.

Brevet

It means certificate, more or less. It’s the card you carry that gets stamped at controls and ultimately is validated by AUK as proof of your ride. The word is often also used to describe the event itself.

Randonne

Randonne is a French word which loosely translates as long journey. In cycling terms it has come to mean a long ride, generally of the sort organised by Audax Ireland.

Randonneur

A Randonneur is someone who has completed a recognised 200 kilometre ride.

Super Randonneur

A series of one each of 200km, 300km, 400km and 600km rides, in the same season.

Permanent

This is a ride on a set route, ridden by a cyclist on a date that suits him. It is subject to the same speed limitations as a standard event but without manned controls. The onus is on the rider to prove that he/she has visited the controls. Proof is, typically, through dated receipts from a shop in the control town/village.