Audax Australia


Audax Australia Cycling Club runs cycling events under the auspices of Audax Club Parisien and Union des Audax Français. Rides are normally from 50 km to 1200 km in distance and operate throughout Australia. The club also has a list of long distance rides that can be ridden at any time called raids.
The name Audax Australia is a misnomer as the organisation runs events that are predominantly in the style of randonneur, although it also runs audax-style where a ride captain dictates the speed of the ride.

Ride types

Calendar rides are held on a specific date and appearing in the Audax Australia calendar. Permanent rides can be ridden by Audax Australia members at any time.
Calendar and permanent rides take several forms:

The Fleche Opperman All Day Trial

The Fleche Opperman is a ride for teams of three to five bicycles and is held over 24 hours. The course and distance are chosen by each team and must be at least 360 km long and finish in either Rochester or the capital cities in other states. The ride is named after former patron of the club Sir Hubert Opperman, and its format based on the French equivalent Flèche Velocio.
First run in October 1985, the finish coincided with the Bicycle Expo, held at the world Trade Center Melbourne. Although the Fleche Opperman All Day Trial is a non-competitive ride, teams successfully completing the furthest distance are officially recognised. In its inaugural year the Port Fairy Cycling Club, including Graham Woodrup, achieved this honour completing a total distance of 570 km.

Sunshine State 1200

The inaugural version of the Sunshine State 1200 randonnée starts in Brisbane and crosses the Great Dividing Range to an area known as the Darling Downs, makes two loops centred on the bustling town of Oakey before returning to Brisbane. The ride has been postponed.

Great Southern Randonnee (GSR)

The GSR runs every four years in Victoria for distances between 300 km and 1200 km, with the next edition been held on 7-11 November 2021.

Tour de Tasmanie

The Tour de Tasmanie is a circumnavigation of the island based on a traditional cycle touring route, and is held every second year during the summer. The next ride will be a 1200 km ride with 14,500 m of climbing held in February 2021.

Sydney–Melbourne Alpine 1200

The SM1200 runs every four years starting on the foreshores of Sydney Harbour and finishing in downtown Melbourne. The route travels through Australia's national capital, Canberra, and traverses Australia's alpine range, the Snowy Mountains.

Perth Albany Perth (PAP)

The PAP runs every four years in Western Australia. The first 3 editions followed a traditional "out and back" route through the forested South-West of the state. From the 4th edition, in 2010, the route has been changed to a loop, passing down the west coast to Margaret River, along the south coast to Albany and then returning to Perth via the wheat-belt and the Stirling Ranges: a very scenic route. The next PAP will be held on October 2022.

Awards

Riders can obtain awards for completing BRM, BUAF, BA and BP rides. Most awards are available only to full members of Audax Australia.
There are four Riding Award categories:
An Audax riding season is between 1 November and 31 October.

Single Season Awards

Defined Rides

Australian Super Randonneur: 1500 km minimum, comprising one ride each of 200 km, 300 km, 400 km and 600 km.
Australian Interstate Super Randonneur: as above, where each distance must be ridden in a different State or Territory of Australia.
Gran Turismo Super Randonneur: a specified series of Audax Australia calendared events of 200 km, 300 km, 400 km and 600 km all ridden within a 9-day period.
Year Round Randonneur: One ride each calendar month for a total of 12 consecutive months, ride distance to be at least 200 km.
Petit Year Round Randonneur: One ride per calendar month for a total of 12 consecutive months, with a minimum ride distance of 50 km.
Dirt Series: 205 km minimum comprising one Brevet Dirt ride of each of 35 km, 70 km and 100 km.
Nouveau Randonneur: 300 km minimum comprising one ride of each of 50 km, 100 km and 150 km.

Cumulative Distance

The Audax Australia Annual Award recognises the cumulative total of Audax or randonneuring kilometres ridden in a single season. Award distances are as follows:

Defined Rides

The Woodrup 5000 Award consists of 5000 km minimum of road rides within 4 continuous seasons, including:
The Ultra Randonneur requires 50 road rides without time limit. These must comprise the following:
The Australian Randonneur Award recognises lifetime riding achievements for the following cumulative distances:
Audax Australia's magazine Checkpoint is produced quarterly and is circulated to current financial members. The Journal was first produced in summer of 1983 by Terry Gross.
The first National Rides Calendar was produced in 1995 by Peter Moore.

History

Audax Australia was formed in 1981. The first officially homologated Australian ride took place at Easter of that year, following near-simultaneous letters to the ACP by Alan Walker and Russell Moore. Riders started simultaneous 600 km rides from Melbourne and Sydney finishing in Albury.
The club offers a calendar of events in all states and the Australian Capital Territory, and in New Zealand. Since late 2010, Kiwi Randonneurs has operated as an unincorporated society and operates randonnees in New Zealand under an individual agreement with the Audax Club Parisien.

Introduction of new ride types

Dirt Rides

Dirt, or MTB rides, were initiated in the 1997/98 season with the first ride being the 70 km Tracks of My Tiers on Sunday 2 November 1997 in southern Tasmania, followed by the 35 km, 70 km and 100 km 'Down and Dirty' rides on Sunday 8 February starting at Trentham, Victoria. These rides then traversed around the Wombat State Forest and Lerderderg Gorge.
Dirt rides are normally run over three distances of 35 km, 70 km and 100 km. A Dirt series award is riding all three in a season.

BUAF

Fixed-pace rides following the model of the Union des Audax Français were introduced to Audax Australia in 2008, and are often referred to as "BUAF" to distinguish them from randonneur style rides. BUAF brevets are ridden as a peloton with a leader, generally averaging 22.5 km/h between checkpoints. The organiser has a published ride schedule, noting the expected time the peloton will reach each turn and rest stop and the time the peloton will leave each rest stop.

Patrons and Life Members

Patrons