It is with great sadness that we acknowledge the passing of one of Audax Australia’s true gentlemen. Lindsay Green passed away on Tuesday 26 May 2020. He would have turned 88 on the following Sunday.
Lindsay has been an Audax member since 1995 when he shifted his focus from bicycle racing to endurance.
Lindsay, although in his sixties when he joined Audax completed 109 brevets with a homologated total of 21,069 km. His most notable achievements were Paris Brest Paris (PBP) 1200 in 1995, The inaugural Perth Albany Perth (PAP) 1200 in 1997, 2 x 1000 km brevets and 2 Fleche Opperman All Day Time Trials.
He held the position of Queensland Region Secretary/Treasurer for 15 years from 1995 to 2010. He was the Ride Organiser for numerous rides including his signature April Animation 300 km brevet that he ran annually up until 2015.
In Queensland it is acknowledged that Lindsay Green was the “father” of Audax Queensland and that the strength of the Region today is due to Lindsay’s extensive and ongoing support of the administration and ride organisation of the Club.
Lindsay is survived by his wife Connie, children Tony and Jennifer and his grandchildren Lauren and Grace.
A role model and mentor for many, Lindsay will be sadly missed by his family and cycling friends.
2020 is certainly a year that will be memorable for all generations. Whilst each of us can reflect on our individual circumstances, Audax is starting to return to more certain times at the moment with Queensland Covid-19 restrictions easing where we are now allowed to have larger gatherings and even travel and overnight stays are possible.
In recent weeks we have seen some restrictions that have shaped how we can run our events and with easing restrictions we can have some larger rider groups at the start but we are reminded to observe social distancing and hygene guidlines. Audax Australia has published the Framework for Resuming Rides which is complemented by the Regional Ride Limitations and held in accordance with the Queensland Government directives which can be accessed here. In summary, the information shapes how we are organising our rides or delay our re-introduction of events in locations such as Far North Queensland.
Some of us have started to look at how newsletters can be improved for our members. Whilst some of the ideas are about how the newsletters are created (this will save me a lot of time) others are all about the stories you can share with readers. The Queensland Newsletter has evolved over time to include ideas that riders have talked about and some are based on our website capabilities we have the opportunity to look at more ideas to see what we can incorporate into our newsletters.
Drop me a line at qld.communications@audax.org.au if you have any likes, dislikes or ideas for something you would like to see. Don’t forget that rider contributions such as ride reports and photo albums are important so please keep them coming. Tiffany Winchester (National Committee) has also put out a call for assistance with the new newsletter format. You can contact Tiffany at Tiffany.Winchester@audax.org.au to offer help.
In recent newsletters we have let people know about any updates to ride formats.
RAID format
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
Some of the Iconic RAIDs proposed include:
Brevet Gravel
This season there are 2 new awards:
The rides must be completed within a single season within Australia, and riders may substitute a longer ride for a shorter ride. Both BGs and BPGs can be used for these awards.
I had a bit of a look at the ride reports section of the Audax website with no new reports so I penned my own recollection of 2020 riding. Have a read of my 2020 jumpstart
Whilst we are in a bit of an Audax hiatus with limited new ride reports, I thought I would have a look at some older articles to remind some of us of times gone by and I thought about the first time I heard about Audax – quite by accident as it seems but in a copy of Ride-On magazine where Sarah Chaplin told of her first GSR in 2016 and this peaked my interest as I had just started riding after a 35 year break (but I could never see myself riding those sorts of distances). Bearing in mind that I grew up in Tasmania and everyone over the age of 16 drove cars rather than rode pushbikes except for the one triathlete we had in our circle of friends (no, not the same one). Driving for a few hours got you to the other end of the state and roads back then were really terrible.
My cycling reboot was health related – I needed to lose weight and get fitter – type 2 diabetes was encroaching on my life and age was against me. I had started walking and treadmilling but boredom with those got the better of me so I bought a bike and went riding. Most of my rides were suburban and in the first month or so I recall encountering a cyclist fixing a flat and he was on a 170km training ride. I was thinking he was a bit mental at that stage mainly because I was yet to receive my first and impressionable copy of the magazine.
Looking through the re-vamped Audax Australia website I discovered the Checkpoint archive. I would like to feature the 1983 winter edition of ‘The Journal’ – the first Audax Australia publication in the archive that that contains images. This edition is scanned from the original and contains the start of a series of articles by Graham Woodrup. This edition can be found here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jf8Fno1f5-zquy2xJ-z-jFbdxbJDftcu/view and the entire Checkpoint archive is here: https://audax.org.au/media/checkpoint-archive/
Favourite Rides
We have such a large and great place to ride in that whilst we are not riding or traveling so much that I would like to be able to share people’s favourite rides. I have a few memorable rides and I think my favourite 300km ride is the Easter 300km ride in Brisbane and shortest is probably the Redcliffe railway bikeway. I would like to hear about and publish your favourite rides. If you would like to share yours, please send me a sales pitch of up to a page, with or without photos, and we will start sharing them with our members so people can see what a great place we have to ride in. Send them to qld.communications@audax.org.au
Beach and Bush (7th March 2020) 200km, BRM. This is an amazingly scenic 200km ride with a bit of everything in it. Seven riders completed in times ranging from just under 9 3/4 hours to just under 11 3/4 hours.
Roller Coaster Ride (March 14th, 2020) 103km BA. A tough little ride with over 1500m of climbing. 13 riders finished between 4 1/2 and 6 1/4 hours.
Horizontal Hundred (23rd May 2020) 101Km BA. A quick flat 100 with riders restarting their season in times between 3 1/2 hours to 5 3/4 hours.
Flat fifty (23rd May 2020) 50km BA. Flatter than the 100. Completion times were between 2 1/4 hours to just under 2 3/4 hours.
Inland Indulgence (30th May 2020) 100Km BA. An undulating 100 with a river crossing. Riders completed in times between 4 hours and just over 5 1/4 hours.
River Loop May (30th May 2020) 50Km BA. 7 riders finished in times from 2 1/4 hours to just under 3 hours.
Glorius Foursome (7th June 2020) 161km BA. One intrepid rider completed this hilly ride with 4000m of climbing in 10 1/2 hours.
Maleny Mee (6th June 2020) 50km, 100Km BA. The 50km finished in just over 3 hours and the 100km riders completed in times from 4 1/4 hours to 6 hours.
The RO’s calendar workshop is on the 12th July to plan for next season. We have an August deadline for submission of our proposed BRM calendar as it is published world wide. The strategy in the calendar workshop is to support any participation in long rides (such as a 1200km) with qualifying and training length rides and then complete the calendar with the remaining selection of rides based on RO availability and sensible time of year. It is really nice to have an option for a calendar 100 on the same weekend as a 600 to allow those of us with ‘shorter legs’ to get out for a calendar ride.
Here is the challenge – if you want to propose a ride for the next calendar year or want to be a Ride Organiser and help share the load, now is the time to start thinking about and planning your proposed ride for next year. This season we saw a large number of new rides included which gave us the ability to plan for different distances (and potentially routes) on the same weekend – ie a BRM and a BA. We have achieved this on rides such as the Yeronga Medley and Bedrock in the past but this year we have been fortunate enough to include completely different locations as well. This has been in response to feedback from riders and the uptake of shorter rides in the far north. To achieve a wider variety, we will need more routes and organisers to help share the load.
If you have any questions you can get in touch with the Peter Jenkins, Queensland calendar co-ordinator at qld.calendar@audax.org.au
I have compiled the results of people’s submissions and not surprisingly there are a some good units in amongst the list. I do have my personal favourite that I have had since it got turn by turn navigation but you can see the results below.
What I have noticed when riding routes with crossing paths is that some GPS lead you in the wrong direction – please let me know which one’s they are (the Wahoo doesn’t)
| Brand | Model | Good / Bad | Comments |
| Bryton | 330 | Good | Long battery life (24h+) |
| Bryton | 330 | Good | Compact size |
| Bryton | 330 | Bad | only reports whole km after 100km – not good for cue sheets with close turns |
| Bryton | 330 | Bad | Freezes up almost 1 in 10 rides. |
| Bryton | Aero60 | Good | Long battery life (30 hrs plus) |
| Bryton | Aero60 | Good | Strong GPS signal with multiple options |
| Bryton | Aero60 | Good | less than $200 |
| Bryton | Aero60 | Bad | No turn by turn unless you create the map in the Bryton software |
| Bryton | Aero60 | Bad | Uses a proprietary mount so can’t combine light etc. |
| Garmin | Edge 1030 | Good | Battery Life (up to 20 hours) |
| Garmin | Edge 1030 | Good | Navigation screen zooms in when a direction change is near |
| Garmin | Edge 1030 | Good | Easy uploading of RWGPS Routes |
| Garmin | Edge 1030 | Good | Ease of changing screens with a finger swipe |
| Garmin | Edge 1030 | Bad | On the fly navigation – need to set city, house number, street as separate settings unlike google maps. |
| Garmin | Edge 1030 | Bad | Live track feature is sometimes unreliable. |
| Garmin | Edge 1030 | Bad | Slow to react when multiple turns are in close proximity |
| Garmin | Edge 1030 | Bad | Special mount required for extended battery. |
| Garmin | Edge 1030 | Bad | Occasional lockups. |
| Garmin | Etrex 30x | Good | Absolutely reliable over many years (bombproof) |
| Garmin | Etrex 30x | Good | Uses AA batteries with a very long run time (no recharging required during long rides) |
| Garmin | Etrex 30X | Good | Replaceable AA batteries |
| Garmin | Etrex 30X | Good | Colour screen with Topo maps (good for MTB adventure) |
| Garmin | Etrex 30X | Good | Small size |
| Garmin | Etrex 30X | Good | Can record performance metrics |
| Garmin | Etrex 30X | Good | AA batteries will last a 1200km ride |
| Garmin | Etrex 30X | Good | Never fails |
| Garmin | Etrex 30x | Bad | Getting rides on and off is a bit painful via USB cable. |
| Garmin | Etrex 30x | Bad | Bit bulky on handlebars as it is larger than most GPS. |
| Garmin | Etrex 30X | Bad | Sits proud of the handlebars (prone to being knocked off easily) |
| Garmin | Etrex 30X | Bad | Continually reads so if you travel between rides it will record that unless you ”çlear” the ride. |
| Garmin | Etrex 30X | Bad | Small screen |
| Garmin | Etrex 30X | Bad | Navigation capability |
| Garmin | Etrex 30X | Bad | Rides over 350km need to be ”çhopped” up |
| Garmin | Etrex 30X | Bad | Uses cable to upload but you can use an OTG cable to use your phone. |
| Garmin | Etrex 30X | Bad | Small font |
| Garmin | Etrex 30X | Bad | Gets confused on rides with multiple loops |
| Iphone | RWGPS app | Good | Easy to use |
| Iphone | RWGPS app | Good | Convenient to load rides form Audax calendar |
| Iphone | RWGPS app | Bad | Hard to hear |
| Iphone | RWGPS app | Bad | Sometimes may miss a turn |
| Wahoo | Elemnt | Good | Simple to load routes from RWGPS or Strava |
| Wahoo | Elemnt | Good | up to 13 hours battery (17 hours for the Roam model) |
| Wahoo | Elemnt | Good | Reliable. |
| Wahoo | Elemnt | Good | Auto upload of results |
| Wahoo | Elemnt | Good | Easy to read display (configurable from 25mm text downwards) |
| Wahoo | Elemnt | Bad | Companion app on phone used to configure (100% reliable) and also used to enable spot tracking – not 100% reliable. |
| Wahoo | Elemnt | Bad | Charging on a ride – port is underneath and needs tricky manipulation to get it plugged in. This is fixed on the Elemnt Roam |
If you want to add to the list, please send me some info about your GPS to qld.communications@audax.org.au in the following format:
Brand / Model
Two good things
Two annoying things
I participated in a discussion one evening about rider cramps in particular night cramps. I recently had an episode that not only caused a lot of irritating pain but also caused difficulty as I couldn’t negotiate stairs for a couple of days. Whilst the only conclusion we could come to was that there may have been an electrolyte deficiency, none of us were sure other than it was more frequent in the warmer months.. I welcome any helpful information that may clear this up. As for remedies, suggestions are the good pickle juice (or as I did – I had pickled cucumbers) but also the occasional electrolyte supplement.
To view the full calendar, head to https://www.audax.org.au/portal/rides/calendar
6:30am start for the 200km, 6:45am start for the 150km and 7am start for the 100km, startling at Tudor Park, Clarks Rd Loganholme. These rides head into the Brisbane City via Logan road and the South East Bikeway. The 200 km goes to Scarborough before returning over the Gateway bridge and the bayside suburbs. The 100 km returns over the Gateway bridge and follows the Bulimba Creek bikepath. These rides may be easier with a navigation device because of the number of turns and intersections.�The route is on back roads or Cyclepaths where possible, most other roads have a good shoulder.
6am start for the 400km, 6:30am start for the 300km at Illowra St The Gap. A scenic ride including Yamanto, Peak Crossing, Rosewood, Laidley, Kilcoy and Peachester
7am start from Fernvale. Fernvale to Esk (via Randalls Rd.) and Return. The “long” ride in the BVRT Dirt series. As much fun as the others but more of a good thing.
6:30am start for the 200km, 6:45am start 150km, 7am start 100km, 7:30am start 50km. All rides start at the Ferny Grove Train Station. Scenic rides heading north from Ferny Grove.
6:30am start at Anzac Park Toowong. A traffic free ride up Mt Glorious via the Goat Track. Descending the back leads to a flat return via Fernvale, Rosewood, and Mutdapilly. Two short sections of dirt road well-suited for road bikes.
Starts on the Brisbane Corso – 200km starts at 6am, 109km starts at 6:15am. Starts near the toilets on the corso. Reasonably flat course with distances of 100, and 200, km. We start with part of the river loop, and then head west, with the 200km taking in the Brisbane & Lockyer Valleys.
6am start at 45 Rhyndarra St Yeronga. Reasonably flat 400. We start with part of the river loop, and then head west, taking in the Scenic Rim and the Brisbane & Lockyer Valleys.
7am start at Albert Park, Ramu St Beenleigh. A new ride in an area we haven’t explored previously on a flat course north of the Gold Coast.
6:30am start at Lowood. A rural ride on relatively quiet roads starting at Lowood and roving around the Brisbane and Lockyer Valleys. Enjoy a break at Ma Ma Creek store before rolling into Mulgowie for a supported lunch stop.
Start time is yet to be announced for the workshop. Please note it usually takes a couple of hours to work through the season. Please contact Peter Jenkins at qld.calendar@audax.org.au. Peter will proactively contact current RO’s to confirm availability and dates for current rides prior to the workshop.
That is a wrap up for the this edition of the newsletter. If you have any articles, please send them to qld.communications@audax.org.au. If you have any ride reports, please enter them on the website.