Friends, we are now living in very uncertain times. Our daily routines have suddenly changed and we are all somehow living outside our comfort zones despite living within the comforts of our homes. I have been racking my brain on how Audax Randonneurs Philippines can help during these times. Aside from cancelling the upcoming Audax and providing the option to give full refunds and transfers, I feel that it's not enough. I personally don't want to encourage training outdoors as well.
When Mr. Lito Anchores proposed the idea of doing a 200km Audax and uploading it in Strava, I thought it was a fantastic idea. I believe in keeping everyone active. There really is no excuse especially if you have a working bike trainer at home. However, there are 2 things we need to be very careful about this - 1) the use of the word Audax in the virtual world. I know a lot of rides in Zwift and in different platforms allow you to ride some Audax routes and the likes (even the Tour de France stages!). I want us to respect what the true Audax rides are all about. Official Audax rides are the ones done outdoors. Clear and simple. Hence, I politely asked Mr. Anchores if we can term it differently and suggested perhaps a "Virtual Brevet" is more apt. I was so happy he agreed. 2) It would be very difficult to track this virtually as there are calibration and device discrepancies. Not everyone can do this on the same platform as well. And Audax Randonneurs Philippines will never impose on anyone to purchase a certain platform.
In short, I wanted something simple, embodies the principles of these rides and something that everyone can embrace. In short - something INCLUSIVE and ENCOURAGING for all randonneurs regardless of fitness level and ability. Because honestly, the audax rides we have been organising DO cater to people of different goals and fitness levels. I have also always been a believer of consistency. I apply this principle in my personal training and one thing I try to never skip in my weekly training are the long rides and the strengths workout. I know it's difficult to do that indoors and I know how boring it can get. I have been there so many times before... stuck at home (after giving birth or when I was recovering from nasty bike crashes) and having to build my endurance from scratch. But what made it seemed doable is the fact that I have been consistent regarding this in the past. Knowing that I've built this huge foundation of endurance makes me confident enough to bounce back. And so shall you! *wink*
Anyway, knowing item #2 mentioned above, combining the long ride concept of taking it nice and steady (and not smashing it) while keeping it inclusive and encouraging, I think it's best to have these virtual rides time-based instead of distance-based. The most number of hours I've spent on the trainer is 5 hours and it wasn't easy. I think I prefer doing an Everesting than doing more than 5 hours on the bike trainer. Let's focus on the goal of why I want this in place. I would like to think that these virtual brevets that we are about to start should complement one's goal of keeping fit and ensuring you have the fitness level to finish the actual audax rides as soon as we can organise them again. I want everyone to stay fit and healthy during these troubling times but keeping it inclusive and encouraging.
Given that, I am now presenting this simple concept of Virtual Brevets. We will focus on spending time on the bike rather than covering the distance. You can use any platform, terrain or elevation gain you want. I designed this as a progression from one Saturday to the next. I think this format will benefit us more especially if the goal is endurance maintenance or endurance building. Of course, you can still do your high intensity intervals on some days of the week. To somehow immortalise and share your effort, I will personally publish the results in the audax.ph website. So how will this work?
1) Join the Strava club, Virtual Brevet PH
2) Target to cycle (moving time) the designated time target on the following days:
- March 28: 2 hours for Cat 1 and 3 hours for Cat 2 (choose your poison!)
- April 4: 3 hours for Cat 1, 4 hours for Cat 2 and 5 hours for Cat 3 (choose your poison!)
- April 5: 4 hours for Cat 1 and 5 hours for Cat 2 (choose your poison!)
- Any day during the Holy Week from April 9-12: 5 hours for Cat 1 and 6 hours for Cat 2 (Ayos ba sa penitensya?)
* Just like the Audax, this will highly depend on your honesty. This isn't a race. You can make this as hard or as easy as you want. Please listen to your body. Stay hydrated and do this in a well-ventilated/cool place. Pace it like how you would pace in the audax. :)
3) We will publish tentative results throughout the Challenge Days. Some Strava profiles are private and we respect that. However, we can't see your activity in the Strava Club so it's best to send us the screenshot of your ride in Strava. You can send this via email (mailer.audax@gmail.com) or through Facebook Messenger (via Audax Randonneurs Philippines or via Carmela Patricia S. Pearson).
Again, this time-based format would cater to everyone of different cycling backgrounds. The goal is to keep the endurance level up or build on what we have now and hopefully be useful enough for the next official audax ride. Think of it as a long run that most runners or triathletes do once a week. I also wanted something inclusive and encouraging. Anyway, this is just a friendly suggestion to keep the motivation up. Thank you and for sure, I can't wait to see you all again on the roads soon! :)