About Audax Rides

Last Modified: 04/09/2021

Audax Australia offers a wide variety of rides for differing club member preferences, skills and capabilities. These include:

  • Social rides, typically 50 to 100 km
  • Long distance rides, typically between 200 to 1200 km
  • Rides over road, gravel and mixed terrain.

Calendar Rides

Each region organizes and runs scheduled rides. These are displayed in the Audax Calendar. Register to go to the Regional Registration Calendar.

Permanent Rides

Brevet Permanents can be ridden anytime. They are intended for experienced randonneurs and only Audax Australia members can enter.

To search and register for Permanent Rides to go to the Permanents Register.

Ride Types

Calendar and Permanent rides contain many ride types. These ride types have developed over many decades some originating from French Audax clubs, others developed in Australia.

The mainstay of Australia’s long-distance cycling are Brevets Randonneur Mondiaux (BRM), certified by Audax Club Parisien as part of the international network of randonneuring nations.

Brevets on sealed surfaces of 1200 km or longer and registered with Les Randonneurs Mondiaux.

Brevet UAF rides are ridden as a group under the control of a captain, normally at a 22.5kph riding average and registered with Brevet Union des Audax Français.

Both the Flèche and the Petit Flèche are calendar team events in which riders set
their own course to a common meeting place determined each year by Audax Australia.

Brevet Australia rides are ratified by Audax Australia and cannot be used for international awards.

  • Calendar (BA) and Permanent (BP) rides
  • Nominal distances of 50 km, 100 km, 150 km, 200 km, 300 km, 400 km, 600 km or 1000 km
  • Reference: Audax Australia Ride Rules

Brevet Dirt are off-road rides, ratified by Audax Australia and cannot be used for international awards.

Brevet Gravel or Mixed terrain rides. They are ratified by Audax Australia and cannot be used for international awards.

  • Calendar (BG) and Permanent (BPG) rides
  • Distances are nominally 50 km, 100 km, 200 km, 300 km, 400 km, 600 km or 1000 km
  • Reference: Audax Australia Ride Rules

Audax Australia’s RAIDs are in the spirit of cycle touring with the Pyrenees and Alps RAIDs as prime examples. Similar to European RAIDs, Australian RAIDs should showcase inspiring cycle touring routes in Australia.

  • The Audax Australia Ride Rules include updated RAID rules
  • Calendar Brevet RAIDs (BR) can now be created and registered for in the portal
  • Brevet Permanent RAIDs (BPR) can now be created and registered for in the portal
  • The Audax Australia Award Policy has been updated as RAIDs now count for annual and lifetime cumulative distance awards.

Summary of Updated RAID Rides

Permanent RAIDs are listed in Permanents Register. They include:

  • The Mawson Trail – 900 km from Adelaide to Blinman SA
  • Munda Biddi Trail – 1100 km from Mundaring to Albany WA
  • Murray River RAID – 1740 km from Thredbo NSW to Adelaide SA
  • Adelaide-Melbourne RAID (via The Great Ocean Road) – 1080 km

Summary of Updated RAID Rules

  • Controls should be planned for one per day.
  • There are no time limits on intermediate checkpoints.
  • Minimum RAID distance is 400 km.
  • RAID distance should average between 100 km and 200 km each day over the route.
    Note: this does not prevent a rider from completing less than 100 km or more than 200 km in a day
  • RAIDs on unsealed routes maybe 50% of the minimum / maximum distances per day for the unsealed segment of the route

The Super Randonnée is a special class of permanent introduced by Audax Club Parisien. It is a mountainous 600km permanent with at least 10,000m of climbing. SRs are administered directly by ACP but are run by Audax Australia Ride Organisers.

Riders can elect to either of two classes;

  • Tourist – a minimum average of 75 km per day over consecutive days (7-day limit), or
  • Randonneur – with a 60-hour time limit to complete the route.

The rules of the Super Randonnée are different than any other ride. You should familiarise yourself with the official rules. The differences include;

  • there are checkpoints en route but unlike a traditional brevet ride the checkpoints do not have cutoff times, the only time restriction for the brevet is the finish time.
  • requirements for photographs for proof, and
  • no support allowed.

It is the rider’s duty to understand and comply with the rules. In addition, the rules of Audax Australia must be complied with. A brevet card must be carried and completed, and a frame badge is fixed to the bike and must be visible in all photographs which are taken to prove the route is completed.  

Australian Super Randonnées

Three Super Randonnée rides exist in Australia, refer to Feature Rides > Australian Super Randonnées.

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3 Comments

  1. David Riddel says:
    01/01/2021 at 1:00 pm

    There was once a Google Maps tool that displayed the Permanent rides. Is this still maintained?

    1. Thomas Price says:
      06/01/2021 at 4:50 pm

      Not aware of it. If someone can provide a link, I will look into it

      1. Peter Heal says:
        06/01/2021 at 6:37 pm

        On the old website I think
        https://www.audax.org.au/perms/

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