Cycling 623km, 3 Countries, 41 Hours | Super Randonneur Journey the Final Audax
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- Опубліковано 17 жов 2024
- This was the final ride of the series of rides I'm doing to achieve Super Randonneur status. It was a 600km DIY Audax with a lot of strategy behind it to help boost the chance of finishing within the 43 hour time limit. Watch to learn why I chose a DIY, and the reasons for cycling the route we did.
A big thank you to Olight who supplied us with their M2R Warrior light and bike mount. The visibility the Olight gave us at night made riding so much easier and made sure we were very visible to other road users. You can find out more about the light here: bit.ly/OlightUK... They have supplied me with a 10% discount code for you you to use as well OlightUK2019. They are really solid lights and have a magnetic attachment for easy charging while riding.
Other kit in this video:
No Gods No Masters (Cap/Jersey/Bibs/Gilet) - bit.ly/NGNMKit
*Siroko sunglasses: bit.ly/sunglass...
Tailfin - Nathan is using the original T1, Michelle is using the new Aeropack: bit.ly/taifinwe...
Ride Info:
Audax UK: bit.ly/AudaxUKW...
The ride on Strava: bit.ly/623kmAud...
More about my bike: • Canyon CF SL Road Bike...
🛍️ One Less Car Shop the best cycling accessories for those who get around by bike: onelesscar.life
📷 Instagram: / cycling_woman
📰 Sign Up for the One Less Car Newsletter here to be the first to find out about live Q&A's, contests, outlet sales, as well as tips and information to make sure you enjoy your ride: bit.ly/2XNJBX6
🎦 Kit I use for making videos:
Insta360 Go 2: *bit.ly/insta36...
GoPro: *amzn.to/3kSnAy1
Vlog Camera: * amzn.to/3eNlWv... wireless mic: instamic.io/
Shotgun Mic: *amzn.to/3znbUZY
Pixel 2: *amzn.to/2V5XhLG
**LINKS TO THE ONE LESS CAR SHOP, thank you for your support. 💗💗💗
affiliate link, helps with the costs of running this channel (license fees, equipment etc). #OneLessCar
Congratulation, well done ride :D My longeste ride was 762 km in 63 hours with only 4½ hours of sleep :)
Congrats you two for persevering the miserable weather and the health issues 💪🏼💪🏼
Thank you. When you're that close and there's hope you can't help but to persevere!
I was looking forward to this video. I even thought he wouldn't come anymore ... But, it's there. Congratulations to you and your husband. I am in love with long distances having already done several AUDAX. This distinction - Super Randonneur - is not for those who want, but for those who can stand all the hardships of every race to get there! Once again, congratulations ... !!! I'm your fan.
Very well done Michelle and Nathan. You pair stuck in well on the injury and feeling unwell, oh and the weather.
It was you both I saw in Dunkirk, abysmal weather, I suffered too, but riding into the wind.
I did mention I saw you in your last vlog.
Well done, enjoy the well earned rest
Mark
Hi Mark! Thank you for the comment, I know you left one somewhere but when I went to reply to you I couldn't find it then I wasn't sure where you'd posed it. Was it at the junction on the outskirts of town when it was tipping it down that you saw us (you were on the other side going the other way?) We were grateful that the wind was in our favoure it was the one saving grace for us that day.
Yes, it was definitely tipping it down. It was on a cycle track, I was heading out of Dunkirk to catch the ferry home, you was heading to Dunkirk, 400 + KM in at that stage, I now know!
Really like your vlogs and your style. Well done, keep up the great work.
It's such a small world, I think I remember seeing you and thinking poor soul having to cycle into the wind on top of it all. Helped us feel less sorry for our situation.
Have been waiting for the news... Well done both of you !!
Thank you Debanjan!
Congratulations to you both...
Congrats on the ride! Hope everyone is doing well now...
We are back to "normal" 😉 now.
Awesome job! Hats off to you. Hopefully one day I'll get my Super Randonneur status too.
Thank you and good luck on your journey to Super Ranonneur!
Does the scenery help you cover the distance the entire way, or does it fail to distract at some point?
Great question. I'm saving the answer for this one for the next video! Should hopefully be out next week if all goes well this weekend (I'm packing house at the moment!).
Way to go! Working toward becoming a Super Randonneur someday
You'll get there, you just take the lessons from each ride and apply them to the next to go faster or further! 😀
Congratulations, well done to you both!!
Thank you!
Nice video! Congratulations! 600km is a long way, definitely need to re-fuel - my motto is you can’t really over eat when you’re riding >100mi+ over several days!
Congratulations to both of you! Certainly an accomplishment to be proud of.
A ride we will never forget! :D
Hats off for you guys. I envy you that you are located so close to the continent and having a convenient connection to get there as well, you are able to make these trips just by riding from a country to another, just beautiful. My best regards from the back eastern corner in the EU 🙂🚴
As a Canadian having so many countries to explore just a ferry ride away is a dream and one of the things I love most about living in Europe. What part of Eastern Europe are you?
@@OneLessCar I'm located in Helsinki, Finland. Two hours ferry trip to Estonia, and from there its hours drive by car to center Europe...OK located close to the continent as well, but still far away from center Europe
Great video! I’m doing my first audax this Summer, and it will be 700 km. Your videos have been a good source of inspiration!
Congratulations! That was an awesome effort--well done! Sorry Nathan wasn't feeling too well. Sounds like you were suffering quite a bit as well. I'm glad you both pulled through ok!
As long as we had hope it gave us motivation to push on, we were so close we couldn't not keep trying.
Hi!! I just discovered your channel and I love it :) I also love the fact that you started at my hometwon ahah
Hopefully one day I'll actually get to see it! 😀
Really, really well done to both of you. 👍👍 I had seen the ride on Strava and was looking forward to your video, and it certainly didn't disapoint! Looking forward to the follow up videos on your awesome achievement!
Thank you Andrew, glad you enjoyed it. Still processing the ride in some ways so the follow up video will hopefully be interesting for you too.
Thanks for the wonderful video and congratulations to you both for completing the ride. 👍🚴♂️🚴♀️😎
Thank you Johnny!
What a great video, strangely just watched a totally unrelated video about caravan touring to Europe and spotted you and Nathan riding off the ferry in France!
Congrats on achieving your goal atb
Thank you! It was a difficult challenge, looking forward to getting my SR badge!!
Woohoo 🙌🏾🎊🎉👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 congratulations! Cheers! So awesome! You did it! The video footage was great 👍🏽. Your commentary filled in any blanks you couldn’t show on film. I knew you would conquer this challenge 😉. Looking forward to the next videos.
My question: did you guys have a time frame in mind you wanted to complete the ride in, or is there a time requirement to finish within? I think it was awesome you got to choose the route- major incentive! Thanks so much for sharing your journey.
Thank you Shelly! We were aiming for a midnight finish. The time limit was just over 43 hours and we had an hour and a half to spare at the end. One of the mistakes on our route planning was going into populated areas too much. Some we didn't realize would be that populated (part of the difficulty planning a ride in unknown places) and some like Dunkirk were much bigger than we realized. This slowed our pace due to all the stopping and starting for junctions and such.
Congratulations once again and thank you for the video that shares your feat. Wow!
Thanks JaBig, you are about to top this big time. I look forward to your stories from the road!
Congratulations to both of you, great video and great ride. Hope you have both recovered.
Congratulations on this great achievement! Thanks for sharing the experience!
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed watching.
Congrats both on your SR.
Route looked fab.
Like that you explained a backup plan collecting receipts in case of GPS problems.
The route was great, we have lots of places we want to go back to now. I Belgium was particularly good and there were some amazing villages in France we went through - those Chateaus!
Nathan's Garmin doesn't like the big routes and recording, we had a hick-up on the 400km with his so we knew we might need to have a backup, we should have tried harder to get another GPS device really.
WELL DONE to you both !!!. Looking forward to the next video. Love the channel x
Thanks Sheila! Hopefully the videos will inspire a few more women to get out and try an Audax event.
i'm glad you found your motivation to ride back Michelle. Nice video, fun to follow you around and it made me want to get my bike out again . And i'm jealous that you have your husband that has the same passion as yours, my wife Don't follow me around... Too bad you didnt pick earlier this year to do the 200-300-400-600K sequence, you might have been able to join the PBP 2019. Cheers from Montréal !
Congrats on your achievement
Any tips on what to pack on such an epic ride
Well done to both of you 👏👏👏👏👏👏😀👍
Well done both of you, an awesome achievement. Looking forward to the next videos.
Love you guys, enjoyed watching your trip alot! Tnank You :) I wish I could have a partner for such a great ride like you did...
Glad you've enjoyed watching. It's fun to do this together and if we didn't we might not see much of each other, especially in summer! 😂
Congratulations well done, remember never say never you probably do another 600km
😂 You are right.
We love your vídeos!
Best Regards from Brasil!
Thank you Sergio!
Great video thank you, enjoyed watching this. I’ve done a couple of audax rides but never multi-day. One question for you (and apologies if you’re not comfortable talking about this) but the reason I haven’t tried a multi-day is that I get terrible saddle sores after a long ride, especially if it’s been wet and rainy. It would be too uncomfortable to ride another long distance the next day. I feel that I’ve tried most things including chamois cream and antibacterial/antifungal creams and sprays on shorts and body and nothing seems to prevent them forming. Do you have any tips for this at all? Or do you get saddle sores and just power through regardless?
It's always a combination of a multitude of reasons, including, apart from things you mentioned, the saddle position, the saddle size, type and even the cover material. My saddle of choice (I've gone through some thirty by now) is the colour version (any colour but black!) of the Selle SMP Plus. Depending on the distance between your seat bones, a narrower saddle (i.e., Selle SMP Avant or even Lite 209) might be a better fit. I stress the colour, because, while the colour cover versions of Selle SMP upholstered saddle range are microfiber, the black ones are leather. The leather ones (black), while equally as ergonomic as the colour versions (microfiber), aren't quite as comfortable, because the leather sticks and causes irritation. Unfortunately, the black ones are somewhat easier to come by and usually cost a couple of tens of €/£/$ less than coloured ones of the same model. It's easily worth (I would say, imperative!) to pay the premium and et a microfiber one. There is a saddle finder on Selle SMP website: check it out and see which model is the best fit for you.
I'd recommend against the cheaper models with injection molded foam base (i.e., TRK, etc.). Some like them, but not only do they look and feel cheaper - they're not nearly as comfortable.
To summarise the problem with most saddles, most cycle saddles are designed for the rider to seat ON. Most Selle SMP models, like horseback riding saddles, are shaped so as to put the rider IN the saddle. That alone makes a huge lot of difference: it solves three issues at once (four, in the case of coloured versions of said saddles): 1. The pain, caused by inner thigh rub (against the saddle sides); 2. The pain in the ischial tuberosities (i.e., seat bones) and the soft tissue around them; 3. The perineal area & genital area numbness, pressure and irritation; 4. Coloured (i.e., microfibre) versions also solve the issue with skin irritation.
The penalty for comfort in SMP saddles like my favourite Plus, the Avant, the Lite 209, etc. - is their price and the weight. The Plus, while a professional line saddle, weighs almost half a kilo. That's two to four times as much as most road racing saddles! And costs (in coloured version, which would be my recommendation!) ca. €/£/$ 200,-, sometimes more. And yet, having ridden ca. 30 different saddles, I do not see myself ever using anything else.
If you do happen to buy one, I'd be interested to hear back from you with your own findings. Cheers.
Great watch and well done!
When you are at IBIS or other hotel, do they allow you to take your bike into the room or do they offer a bike locker? cleaning services?
We only stay places that allow us to bring our bikes into the room or have a secure room to store them in.
God you are adventurous!! Yeah, go for that award!!
Great channel by the way, been following for some time, great stuff! :-)
I recongnize your handle! I worked with a lefty so it's a memorable one for me! Glad to see you've stuck around :)
Wow 600+k ride.. Very entertaining coverage, missed your Zeeland bit, but you had a good reason for it ;-)
Sounds Amazing.. congratulations!
You had to do at least one 600... congratulations. My wife did one, and I did a couple more. Then, we did children. Turns out that the 600k’s were easier than the children.
Well done on completion, they say the tough ones you always remember.
They are hard to foget that's for sure. Distances are a lot shorter this summer.
Good for you and Nathan for doing the 600km.We were in Belgium two years ago great country.Do go back some time.
It's very high on our list of places to go back for a ride at a more leisurely place, everyone was lovely and lots of good beer and food! The cyclig paths were pretty extensive too, very impressed with Belgium.
Congrats, really enjoyed the series.
Well done!
Inspiring. Subscribed and following on Strava. Thanks for the time making these videos.
Thank you for the lovely comment. I don't think a lot of people realise how time consuming it actually is! Comments like yours are all part of the motivation to keep making them. 😃
@@OneLessCar You're welcome. I just watched your 400km video earlier today (so I'm going back in time lol). I noticed your closing comments questioning whether you really wanted to do this 600km ride as it gets less fun after 250km or so. I'm glad you decided to go ahead with it but I wondered if there was a similar point in this ride where it because less fun for you?
@@LAnonHubbard It's always between 260-280km for (even on the Vatternrundan in 2018 ut was the same) that I hit the I've had enough feeling. The reasons I ride just don't warrant going through that kind of distances especially with the time limits pressure. I have nothing to prove so I'm not ego-driven. I ride for the joy and pleasure and to celebrate and remember how amazingly strong we can be when we put our mind to it. You will likely not see me do Audax events over 300km in future. I prefer to do multi-day tours which I really missed doing this year.
@@OneLessCar Thanks for replying. I appreciate the insight.
Great effort! Keep on going! Never give up! You both are super!
Congrats for the achievement. After the ride how you guys came back to home? Just put the bikes in a train, plane,etc?
Congratulation to Both of you and good job
Thank you! Glad it's done now and we can go back to normal rides :)
Well done to you and Nathan on getting an SR. Plans to ride more audax in 2020?
Did you ride on the EV4, is it suitable for road bikes? thanks!
Another question: along with the joy of knowing you accomplished such a feat, are there perks or advantages of being titled a super randonneur?
Great effort - like you say it would be nice to do a similar route at a more leisurely pace some time - love those minimalist racks - I mostly use a bikepacking set up now but those racks are awesome 👍
Dominic Carroll tailfin.cc I’m looking to buy those, pretty steller.
Terrific looking ride.
There was some amazing sights and scenery we can't wait to go back and do it at a more leisurely pace! 😀
Which of the tailfin bag solutions do you think is best? For one bag strategy.
oooh that's a tough one! I'll be sure to mention the pros and cons of each in the next video.
Brilliant achievement......well done you. Nice one
Amazing effort, well done to you both👍 Do you have to renew your super randonneur status from time to time or is it a lifetime achievement?
The SR is based on a single season, so once a year. I think there is another 'award' for 5 and 10 years in a row.
Congrats - you two make great riding partners. Great video - interesting content. However, I will the 600k rides to you guys. At least you are riding on the "proper" side of the rode!
Thank you Steve. We both went around a roundabout the wrong way once!! 😱 Luckily no traffic (part of the reason we got confused).
Again, I appreciate your honesty about the ride. Keeps it real. Now must get back to work before my boss sees that I have been watching you video rather than working.
Great achievment.
great ride
Hi Michelle, I’ve just spent Sunday evening watching the complete box set of your epic Audax rides; well done. I noticed both you and Nathan had mudguards during your 400 km ride but not during the 600 km ride. As it rained during both events I thought I’d seek your advice as to whether or not they’re worth putting on. Cheers, Mark
Box set, love it! The mudguards were a requirement for the 400km. In the Audax world, it's considered the polite thing to do in wet weather. As our 600km wasn't an event that involved other people we left them behind, there were a few factors that were involved in the decision, we were carrying stuff so it was a little weight reduction, but mostly so we were concerned that on the train/boat journey they would get knocked around and become a faff, and also the forecast was dry when we left 😭
If you want a set of mudguards for your road bike, handy to have in winter more so, these are great, light weight and once you get them adjusted to fit your bike they are pretty quick to take on and off (the first time was a faff sizing it).
Ride On Cycling, thanks Michelle, that makes perfect sense. 😊
Great movie!
My first long ride is 500km/3days at last summer, in Hokkaido Japan.
I like all musics in this movie.
Could you tell me song names?
Maximum kudos.
Next time will you consider using mudguards? You might stay a bit drier. Nice video, as usual. 👍
Mud guards won't keep you dry riding 8 hours in the pouring rain. (Same reason we didn't bother with putting on shoe covers). Though my backside stayed cleaner due to the Aeropack on the back 😂
A Very well done to you guys.
Thank you Andy 😀
Nicely done.. two tailfin products. Hope to own both soon.
My first long ride was 325 km and it took 14:30 hrs... i slept like 16 hours afterwards
That feeling when your head hits the pillow after a long ride 👌it's the best.
so, I have to ask. My longer ride is of like 470km. And I think I could still have gone a bit farther, my legs still had some juice. But my ass!!! it hurt soooooo much. Even with all the chamois cream I had brought, every time I had to stop and get off the saddle for a traffic light, it hurt so much when I had to sit again... I think my saddle fit is ok. How do you do it...?
My personal opinon on this as far as what seems to work for me is to get as much weight on your sitbones which means a more upright postion, rather than the slightly agressive postion that most road bikes have. As my rides got longer I tried to make the Canyon as much like my touring bike in position as I could (I contemplated using my touring bike but decided in the end to go with the weight savings). That and spending as much time in the saddle increasingly as you get used to the longer miles. Idealy I would have done a 600km ride after my ride across Canada, 74 days of bike riding my butt could have taken anything! As it was for this 600km I could have used more saddle time ideally but it was bareable (I don't use chamois cream).
@@OneLessCar wow, thank you very much for taking the time to share so much information. Maybe I should try a less aggressive position, and longer daily rides as you say. 600km with no chamois cream though, omg, respect! :D
I feel like people use chamois cream to try and deal with issues like poorly fitted shorts, poor positioning, not building up time in the saddle etc. For me it's a ffaf and I find it feels gross. Nathan doesn't use it any more either after forgetting to put it on for a couple rides and realizing it didn't make a difference.
Congratulations! Unfortunate weather and a tough slog but a great accomplishment. Did you find the GoPro or is lost forever?
Ah well luckily it was just the screw I lost not the camera! I don't remember why I even noticed it missing. Which reminds me I need to sort that out for the GranFondo Whistler in 10 days!
Ride On Cycling
Excellent that it was just a screw.
Very impressive well done guys!
When you qualify as a Super Randonneur one time are you considered a SR forever or do you need to keep qualifying?
You're a SR for life! 😀🍾
@@OneLessCar Awesome achievement, truly.
@@OneLessCar Not strictly true AFAIK. You're an SR for that season but if you want to be considered an SR next season, you'll have to ride another series. Of course, nobody can take the glory away from you for any series you complete and you're well within your rights to say you've done an SR. A great achievement whichever way you look at it though woohoo!
@@graceqom4175 It's for life 😊😊 (unless AudaxUK is wrong) The Super Randonneur award was established by ACP in 1977 and is the ‘gold standard’ award. It consists of the BR(M) series: 200 km, 300 km, 400 km, 600 km, all completed in the same Randonneur year. A longer distance can be substituted for a shorter. Like Randonneur, the title Super Randonneur is a once and for always award. www.audax.uk/results/achievement-awards/randonneur-awards/
Very good 👍
Are you wearing a baseball cap 🧢 under your helmet? I tried it and like the idea.
It's my cycling cap 😊 also known as a cassqutte in more traditional circles. They are great for keeping the sun and rain out of your eyes but since the brim is smaller you still have a good line of sight when riding. I have a winter one that covers my ears 😀 love that one.
When I rode Audax events in Australia the time limit for 600km was 40 hours, have they changed that now?
When we submited the route (616km) it gave us 43 as the time limit. We are awaiting official confirmation from AudaxUK... But that's what I've based the timing on.
@@OneLessCar Maybe they've allowed extra time for the Ferry crossing.
Have you considered a hiviz pannier cover or jersey? The route looked fun.
BRM is 40 hours BR is longer.
Chapeau 🧢
How long did you sleep?
Can't remember exactly we got in the room, had a quick shower plugged in everything to charge and before we knew it it was breakfast. I think it was about 2.5 hours. 😭
@@OneLessCar Thank you. Planing my first 400k ride without sleep. Next year probably a 600 k ride.
SUPER Randonneur, means you get to wear your undies on the outside!!! ;)
What?! I'm a cyclist I don't wear undies!! 😂
🇧🇷 BOA TARDE!!!
Phinal aila ?
I detect an Irish accent there. 😀
600km in 43 hrs? a tough ride.
Not enough time for all the good passteries and beer we cycled past 😭
@donny Lee Check out PBP 2019 which is 1200km event. one of the rider(Hajo Eckstein) finished it in 43h 49. It requires practice
@@OneLessCar haa.~~
@@TheChennaiMachha 1200km in 44 hours is insane
Pawan Tomar but Hajo wasn’t riding a bicycle in PBP.
Hi are you a vegan ??
ua-cam.com/video/h0ATfo8z8ZQ/v-deo.html has the answer to your question...
In continental Europe it is probably smarter to ride with a pannier on the right side of the bike.
I always ride with my panniers car side, it makes me look wider, with the hopes that cars will give me a few more inches. 😊 Also when you are riding on the right with one pannier it weights the bike away from the drivetrain side.
@@OneLessCar Not sure about cars giving more room because a pannier makes one wider below the driver's eye level. But first and foremost I would just worry that if a pannier hook disengaged, the falling weight would drag me towards the traffic. If the cyclist is dead tired, they might not react to this quickly enough.
I trust my panniers to stay put, if all the hooks failed at once and it fell off I'm pretty sure I could still cycle forward, and not get dragged off my bike by a bag falling off. On a longer tour most travel with bags on both sides for hundreds of thousands of miles.
This falls into the category of things I I don't see the point in worrying about. However cars pass me everyday and anything that helps give me more space that's valuable to me.
Pannier bag was on the wrong side for France. Let's hope you were saying goodbye to the EU Commission.
I always put my bag car side it makes you look wider and hopefully they give you a couple more inches. Having it on the left also means if it falls due to the extra weight on one side it won't land on the drivetrain side.
@@OneLessCar - I think Dick's comments meant to be a joke. I thought it was funny.
I get mansplained regularly and cycling has silly rules people take too seriously. So unless I see an emoji.... You could be right.
I somehow doubt the brexity comment was a joke
There's been another comment about the panniers.... I think it's a thing but I choose the car side for a reason I suspect more women have to make themselves look bigger/wider more than men 😀 it's been shown cars pass us more closely.