Audax IrelandHaving found myself seemingly in a minority of one for my discipline at the (very enjoyable) cycle training camp last weekend, I decided there might be an untapped market among women cyclists for Audax cycling in Ireland, if I could spread the word.

Audax riding is a form of unsupported long-distance touring or randonneuring where the main challenge is the distance rather than the speed. All participants are required to cover a set distance within a designated time (a ‘brevet’). As there is a minimum and maximum time limit, it is up to the cyclist to set a pace to match their ability. The minimum speed, including stops, is usually 15km/h, the maximum 30km/h, giving a large leeway of time for completion of an event and making it accessible to anyone with a reasonable level of fitness. The Randonneurs Mondiaux organisation and Audax Club Parisien are the world organisations which oversee Audax. They validate all completed brevets sent in by local organisers, then send back official medals to successful participants.

At the start of the event, participants are issued with a route sheet and brevet card, which states the location, distance and opening/closing times of the controls. At controls, time and proof of passage must be recorded, as proof that the ride was completed within in the specified time. The ‘classic’ distances for Audax events are a ‘Super Randonneur’ series of 200km, 300km, 400km and 600km, but for anyone who develops a taste for it, the sky’s the limit! Admittedly these distances may appear daunting to anyone who has not covered this type of ground before, but in recent years several people have ridden all the events in the same year, not having exceeded 200k before. I personally was only introduced to Audax in January 2007, my longest event prior to that having been the Wicklow 200 about five years ago, and I don’t race either. However, I managed to complete the series, which finished at the end of May, despite starting from a very low base (around 60km) in January. Completing an Audax event is at least as dependent on mental determination as physical fitness (a good saddle also helps…), and we know that we women have plenty of that! The key to completing it is to ride at your own pace. Since 1987 Ireland has been represented at the Paris Brest Paris (1200km). Run every four years, this is the blue riband event of audax cycling with over 5000 cyclists representing 45 countries having taken part in August 2007. 13 Irish cyclists qualified for this event, 9 of them here under Audax Ireland plus 4 who were based abroad, by cycling a Super Randonneur series in 2007. Of the 9 qualifying here, 5 had never cycled more than 200-300km before. All 13 finished PBP and Ireland was one of the few countries to have a 100% success rate. A report on this event should be appearing shortly on cyclingireland dot com.If you are interested in cycling further than normal or completing a super randonneur series, there’s more information on the website of Sorrento Cycling Club, sorrentocyclingclub dot com, through Paul O’Donoghue. I’d also be happy to give more information to anyone who might be interested, email mieke at eircom dot net.