Audax series background

Audax rides are NOT races. Everyone rides to their own limitations and the primary objective to ‘get round’. There are minimum and maximum time limits, which are designed to suit everyone from the fittest of recreational riders, to more occasional riders who have plenty of determination. The routes typically feature lots of quiet, scenic lanes. Many events can be quite hilly, and even the flatter ones usually have one or two challenging climbs.

The name Audax is Latin for “Courageous” and was first used in 1904 in France where this type of event was developed. Audax riding is designed to test the rider’s spirit of self-reliance and resilience to complete the route within the set time limits. Audax events are sometimes referred to as ‘brevets’, meaning ‘test’.

For official Audax UK events, each rider carries a ‘brevet card’ which is stamped at intermediate checkpoints and at the finish. When validated, the brevet card is later returned to the rider as a certificate of their achievement. Some famous Audax’s include London-Edinburgh-London (LEL) and Paris-Brest-Paris (PBP). The club has had a good number of participants complete both these events.

The club runs its own series of seven Audax events each year starting with the 50km Audax in January and progressing monthly by an extra 25km each month up to a challenging 200km Randonnée in the summer.

These are a great way to start with a really achievable ride and progress to longer and longer distances. Please see the calendar for the events planned.

Audax Medals

There are three levels of achievement award for cumulative distances ridden in the club Audax Series events at 350km, 500km and 750km.  Prestigious medals will be awarded to club members as follows and presented at the club’s Annual Awards Evening:

Bronze Audax Medal – for completing 350km total distance in the club Audax series events

Silver Audax Medal – for completing 500km total distance in the club Audax series events

Gold Audax Medal – for completing 750km total distance in the club Audax series events

Note:

• a minimum of 4 of the 7 club Audax events need to be ridden to qualify for a medal
• only the nominal distance of the event counts towards the total distance i.e. 50km, 75km etc.
• for example, you could earn a Bronze Medal by riding the 50km, 75km, 100km and 125km events making a total of 350km ridden across the 4 events
• if you ride all 7 events you could actually achieve a maximum of 875km total distance, but it’s not necessary to ride all the events to earn the highest (Gold 750km) level, but you’ll need to ride at least 5 or 6 of them to achieve 750km and qualify for Gold – and this will need to include the 200km event!

Open Audax

There are many open audax events running throughout the year and many of the local ones are frequently ridden by club members. Examples include Gospel Pass 150km, Barry’s Bristol Butt Buster 200km, Heart of England 300km, Brevet Cymru 400km and the Bryan Chapman Memorial Welsh End-to-End 600km. Open audax events can be entered through the Audax UK website.

Chippenham Wheelers puts on its own open event in support of audax cycling in general. This is affectionally known as “Fletcher’s Flapjack”, named in memory of Eric Fletcher who organised this event for 20 years since the very first running in 1999. This events is advertised for entry through the Audax UK website as numbers are limited. It typically attracts over 100 riders. Club members are encouraged to volunteer to help make this event run smoothly. Club members interested in riding and/or helping at this event should refer to the details in the Chippenham Wheelers website calendar. For 2026 we have decided to take a rest from organising Fletcher’s Flapjack, but we plan to bring it back bigger and better in 2027.

Club members riding in open audaxes are encouraged to register themselves with Audax UK as riding for Chippenham & District Wheelers, so that points earned contribute to our club’s standing in the Audax UK club championship.

Club Audax series 2026

Distance	Date	Start time
50km Audax	18 Jan 2026 (Sunday)	10:00
75km Audax	15 Feb 2026 (Sunday)	09:30
100km Audax	22 Mar 2026 (Sunday)	09:00
125km Audax	19 Apr 2026 (Sunday)	08:30
150km Audax	17 May 2026 (Sunday)	08:00
175km Audax	14 Jun 2026 (Sunday)	07:30
200km Audax	11 Jul 2025 (Saturday)	07:00

Event details are available in the club calendar, where GPX routes are made available for download approximately 1-2 weeks before each event.

Please pre-register each ride entry on the event page in the club calendar and arrive at the start at least 10 minutes before the start time to check-in and hear the ride briefing.

In 2026, the whole Audax series is free to members. Non-members are welcome to come and try a few of the Audax rides where there will be a £2 charge. Also new for 2026 is the use of established cafes for refreshments rather than village halls.

A few points to note about our Club Audax Series:

1. Routes are not mandatory unless otherwise stated, however all riders are expected to visit the designated control points shown on the RWGPS route map to be sure of completing the required distance.
2. You can ride on your own or in a group with other riders as you wish. It is however, more fun riding with others.
3. Control points are usually cafes which are indicated on the RWGPS route map.
4. The designated control cafes are usually chosen for their suitability and have advance notification of our club’s visit, so please support them with your custom.
5. Our club audax rides are based on a minimum average speed of 14km/hr and a maximum average of 30km/hr. The speeds are designed to suit a wide range of riders from new to the more experienced. You just need to finish before the event closing time.
6. You should be self-reliant with spares and able to repair punctures and simple mechanicals. In the unlikely event you cannot continue the ride then you will need to find your own way home, the club doesn’t provide a rescue service (as we’ll be riding our bikes too!)
7. If you are unable to finish the ride in time please email audax@chippenhamwheelers.org after you get home to let us know.
8. To qualify for the prestigious Club Audax Series Gold, Silver or Bronze medal awards see the information further above.
9. All audax rides have to be ridden on the date of the advertised event, with the exception of the Helpers Ride (see below).
10. Helpers Ride – we usually need a few people to test the route a couple of weeks before the event. Anyone offering to do this “Helpers Ride” can have their ride validated so that it counts towards the medal awards.
11. In the unlikely event of cancellation we will try to re-schedule if possible, subject to being able to secure control venues.
12. In poor weather conditions riders are free to find alternative routes e.g. following gritted roads rather than country lanes when conditions are icy.
13. You don’t need to return to the finish location if you prefer to cycle directly to your home, provided you complete the nominal distance of the event, 50km, 75km, 100km etc. There is one major exception to this which is Fletcher’s Flapjack 100km Open Audax, run under Audax UK rules, so you MUST return to the finish at the Sports Club on the Flapjack to have your brevet card validated.
14. For further advice on risk, cancellation and ride preparation please refer to our Club Activities page