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Tuesday, 27 October 2009 11:58 |
Seven members of the Axe Valley Pedallers entered the 2009 Dartmoor Devil Audax cycle ride organised by Kevin Presland and members of the Devon section of the Cycle Touring Club (CTC).
It is an extremely well run event, which has stood the test of time for a ride at the end of October, this year was the 17th.
It is not specifically a fund raising event, however Devon CTC raised £95 for Rapid UK a search and rescue charity.
But what exactly is an Audax ride some of you may ask? Well in brief, Audax is non-competitive, time-limited long distance cycling. The word 'Audax' is Latin for ‘bold’ or ‘courageous’, and it was first applied to cycling in 1897 when a group of Italian cyclists rode 200km between sunrise and sunset and became known as "les Audacieux". These days classic ride lengths are 200, 300, 400 and 600km but rides can be a lot shorter - starting at 50km - and a lot longer. Audax events aren’t races; they're undertaken with the aim of completing the event within a given time. The maximum time to complete the whole ride makes no set allowance for stopping of any kind, no breaks, meals nor mechanical stops. If you can get ahead of schedule, you take a break, if not you must pedal on relentlessly.
For the Dartmoor Devil the distance is not that far, only about 106 km, however and this is a big however, the amount of altitude gained is like cycling up Snowdon from sea level twice and adding a bit more for good measure. Add to that twisting descents covered in wet leaves, a forceful headwind to battle against across the open Moor and you realise that this is one of the toughest Audax rides in the country and is not to be taken lightly!
Checkpoints are set up along the route at known distances, with a surprise checkpoint thrown in for good measure. A card is stamped to ensure that everyone rides the correct route within the allowed time frames. As a treat, yes treats are allowed; the friendly folk of Devon CTC also lay on some cakes, which are just the best!
So how did our Pedallers from the Axe Valley get on? This year 25% of the 169 riders that started failed to finish, however all of the seven members of AVP completed the ride and are all feeling justifiably proud. The members that took part were: Baggie, Sono, Madal, Woodworm, Leaping Diesel, Nelly and Quiff. Well done to the ‘Magnificent Seven’.
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