There’s luggage but this isn’t touring; there’s sleeping on the floor but this isn’t bikepacking. There’s a time limit but this isn’t a sportive; there are awards but this isn’t a race. This is audax, a discipline as old as the hills, one on which early editions of the Tour de France were based, where riders traversed huge distances on two wheels with little more than a checkpoint map and their wits.
The event photographed here by Fergus Coyle was the 2022 Moonrakers and Sunseekers audax run in November. The ride is 300km, starting out from Bristol at 10pm, turning round at Poole and then heading back to Bristol, with riders needing to get their brevet cards stamped at checkpoints to prove their long-distance mettle. As per the official rules, each rider has 20 hours to complete
