Rules

Adapted only from the Rules & Regulations governing both Burnley Cycling Club (BCC); Audax United Kingdom (AUK) and, in certain cases, Audax Club Parisien (ACP) and Les Randonneurs Mondiaux (LRM).

Event Rules

The events are open to all cyclists, with the following provisos:

(i)  Non-members of AUK may be required to obtain temporary membership of AUK for the duration of an event.

(ii)  Minors may take part, providing they have the consent of their parent or legal guardian.

Any kind of bicycle may be ridden, with the following conditions:

(i)  The cycle is propelled solely by human effort.

(ii)  The responsibility for ensuring that a machine complies with the road traffic laws rests solely with the rider.

Rider Conduct

Riders agree that they are on a private excursion and are responsible for their own safety and conduct.

Riders must follow the rules of the road and show consideration to other road users.

Riders who infringe AUK regulations, ignore event officials’ instructions, or behave in a manner likely to bring an event, an organiser, or AUK into disrepute may be excluded from the event and from future AUK events.

Participants may ride singly or in groups and may pace each other but may not be paced by any other cyclist or motor vehicle.

Organisers may provide support such as food and rest facilities at controls and route guidance. Riders remain responsible for their own welfare and may stop for food and rest at any place.

Riders must be self-sufficient. Personal support is only permitted at the discretion of the organiser, with the agreement of AUK. Where riders’ personal support is permitted, the rider and their helpers agree:

(i)    Personal support is only allowed at controls.

(ii)   Not to drive a motor vehicle on a section of route in use by riders, except within 1km of a control or in the case of an accident or emergency.

(iii)  The rider will be held responsible for the behaviour of their personal helpers.

Insurance

All riders must have 3rd party liability insurance cover for the duration of an event.

(i)      All AUK members, including temporary members, who are normally resident in the UK, are provided with private 3rd party insurance while participating in the event.

(ii)     Non-UK residents must arrange suitable insurance cover.

(iii)    AUK has public liability and employer’s liability insurance for organiser’s (and their helpers) of events registered with AUK and for members acting in a voluntary capacity for AUK as directors, officials, committee members or delegates.

AUK regulations state ‘all riders must have 3rd party liability insurance cover for the duration of an event’.

To promote access to AUK events, public liability insurance is provided by AUK’s insurers to affiliated and temporary members normally resident in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man.

This insurance applies to Audax UK authorised events in the UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man. Cover commences when riders sign on at the assembly point for the event and ceases from the point when the event closes, or from the point the rider signs off on completing the ride or otherwise abandons or cuts short the ride.

Riders alleged to have been at fault for an incident where a third party has been injured, or their property damaged, are provided with up to £5 million of Public Liability cover in respect of a successful third party claim.

The policy is subject to a £500 excess payable by the rider incurring the liability. The policy covers legal liability for damages, legal costs and expenses in the event of negligence only and does not cover deliberate acts.

AUK insurance does not cover everyday cycling, riding to and from an event or participation in CTT events as AUK members and it does not cover any other risks. Members are therefore strongly encouraged to take out individual insurance to cover their cycling activities generally.

Employee Liability, Public & Products Liability cover is also provided for AUK staff and volunteers, i.e., all those involved in delivering Audax UK authorised events including registered organisers and helpers.

Full details of insurance policies, the cover provided and the restrictions which apply are available on application to the General Secretary.

Entry Fees

Entry fees to AUK events are usually very much lower than comparable commercial or charity events, because the organisers and their helpers are all volunteers giving freely of their time, and not expecting to make a surplus over the cost of the facilities they provide.

In order to continue to keep the fees as low as possible please take note of the following:

AUK Policy on Entry Fees

Whilst it is recognised that there are occasionally circumstances which prevent riders starting audax events they have entered, Audax UK policy has always been that entry fees are NOT REFUNDABLE and NOT TRANSFERABLE.

There are a number of reasons for this:

  • AUK events are not commercial events, they are organised by individual volunteers who give up their time freely and who set their entry fees at a level sufficient to cover their direct costs.
  • The organiser’s costs are, for the most part, fixed and have to be paid upfront, Items such as hire of starting and control venues which are independent of the number of riders turning up on the day.
  • Organisers will factor in to their event planning and budgeting a certain percentage of ‘no-shows’, and this will make the number of places offered as great as possible and keep the individual entry fees as low as possible.

As a result the entry form for all AUK events (whether signed in the paper version or submitted online) makes it clear that Entry Fees are not refundable.

It is therefore the responsibility of the rider to enter only those events that they expect to ride, and to be prepared to forfeit their entry fee if circumstances prevent them from doing so on the day.

AUK provides no mechanism that allows entry fees to be transferred from one rider to another, or from one event to another, although occasionally individual organisers may, under exceptional circumstances, be able to offer the latter.

Whilst it is polite to let the organiser know, as far in advance as possible, if you are unable to start an event which you have entered, this will not necessarily allow another rider to take your place as Organisers typically plan for a number of DNS (Did not Start).

Organisers receiving requests for refunds or to transfer an entry from one rider to another, just when they are at their busiest preparing for an event, may wish to simply send out a link to this page rather than engage in individual discussions.

WARNING:

It is only possible to enter an event directly with the organiser listed on the event page, using AUK authorised entry forms or systems.  Anyone purporting to resell entries to events is doing so FRAUDULENTLY.

If you:

  • attempt to transfer or resell an event entry
  • encourage anyone to ride under a false name
  • encourage anyone to just ‘ride along’ with the event without an entry
  • attempt to reverse the payment of an entry fee

you risk being banned from future events.