sportives

[gavroche]

Who has done at least one on here?
I would like to do one in Chester area next year but know nothing about it.
Please can you explain the procedure and how fit you have to be. Thanks

 

[cyberknight]

I have only done 1.
I was about to sign up for another 1 on the 25th september but in the last month my son was in hospital for a week with a kidney infection and my pregnant wife had to go to A+E this weekend with sickness and dizzy spells.

The one i have done was called the midland monster and had 2 routes , along with feed stops and motorized support and an emergency number for a pick up.They are not officially a race so you can go at the speed you like, one guy did the 100 miler on a hybrid and it took him 9 hours .

Most sportives will have at least 2 distances so you can pick a distance you are comfortable with , remember that if you can get into a group of other riders they can drag you along much like F1 cars drafting each other as this can save you up to 40 % of effort.

I used this site to find a sportive..


http://www.cyclosport.org/
and this
http://www.aukweb.net/home/

My ride was 73 miles in total , i had only done up to 40 on my own before hand .

 

[Chris James]

You can be any fitness to ride a sportive. As cyberknight says, they tend to run different disatnces so you can pick the one most suitable to you.


I don't get out much wit two small kids, so have a shortage of endurance. I have entered a few 60 mlers and tend to be at the faster end, so there are plenty of slowcoaches entering!


The Broken Spoke looks a decent run near the Chester area. There's the Cheshire Cat too starting near Crewe.

 

[pepecat]

I've only done one as well - the Dartmoor Classic. Either 100km or 100 miles. I did the 100km back in the summer (65 miles). Took me 7 hrs 20 in all, only 6hrs 5 of that was cycling - i had a few stops along the way!!
How fit do you have to be? Well that depends on the distance and the gradients and how fast you want to do it. People say you shouldn't do the full distance before hand, but work up to about 85-95% of the distance, and if you can do that, you'll be ok. I'd only done 40 miles prior to Dartmoor, and if i do it next year, I'll make sure i can do more than that easily, AND cope with nightmare hills!

The Dartmoor one worked that you register the day before (they prefer you to do that, though you CAN register on the day), and you get a timing chip to stick to your helmet and have a number you have to display on the front of your bike. The two distances had different coloured numbers so that marshalls could divert people from the longer route to the shorter one if they weren't going to make the time check. We were given a route card, and though it's pretty well signposted and has marshalls stopping traffic on some junctions (most sportives are not closed road events), it's your responsibility not to get lost. There were just over 2000 doing the event though, so it's pretty hard to get lost!
There were two timing checks for those on the longer route and one for those of us on the shorter route. If the people on the longer route didn't get to the first check in a decent time, they were diverted on to the shorter route. The time check was also the feed station where we could get water / squash / cake / bananas / quiche etc, go to the loo, have a rest.....

You have to carry your own food though and not rely entirely on what's provided cos the food station comes after 35 miles, and also take spare tubes, puncture kit, multi tool, and, cos it was dartmoor, they recommended we take at least a rear light in case the weather got crappy.

From what i can see, most sportives work in a similar way - Dartmoor started rather early in the morning, so if you enter a similar one, get in a few early morning rides to get used to getting up early and putting in effort!

As others have said, and as I'd say, it depends on distance, gradient, and how fast you want to complete the event.

 

[gavroche]

Do they insist on wearing a helmet as I don't have one and don't wear one.( not legal requirement yet).

 

[pepecat]

I only about the one I did, but helmets (hard shell ones) were compulsory for that one. It was a UCI event so we had to wear them. I don't know if all sportives are the same.

 

[BrumJim]

Some do, some don't. No real pattern.

 

[Fiona N]

Do they insist on wearing a helmet as I don't have one and don't wear one.( not legal requirement yet).

Generally not but although I don't wear a helmet as a rule, including for long Audax events, I do wear one for sportives for the simple reason that there are usually loads of excited inexperienced riders dashing about so the chances of getting knocked off your bike at slow speeds around checkpoints/food stops are high

 

[TVC]

Check the conditions of entry for helmet wearing, I've seen someone refused a start for not having one.

Sportives aren't a race so you can go at your own pace, though you will see some weekend warriors bowling off into the distance to try to be in the first few to finish, not that that's something I would do

 

[fossyant]

The Cheshire Cat at the end of March is a good one to do. Early season, and the hilly stuff is over with by 35 miles. That said, it's generally a tough drag all the way out to the Welsh Boarder (prevailing winds) and a short blast back into Crewe.

If you are planning a hilly 100 miler, then a compact is recommended so you aren't honking up to many hills as it will kill your legs.

 

[Banjo]

Re how fit do you have to be,some sportives have time limits some dont .They usually have at leasst two distances as well.

The procedure varies, usually you enter in advance then collect a rider number and timing chip on the morning then either set off as a mass start or in small groups .

The route will be signed but its wise to have a map just in case. Usuially there are food and water stations every 30 mile or so but most riders still take 2 water bottles and some food.

Lots of debate as to wether they are value for money or not but its a fun day out with lots of other cyclists around you ,small groups of similar speed riders form naturally so you usually have some company.

There is usually a van (broom wagon) follows the route to collect anyone to knackered to go on or with a broken bike.
Good Luck

 

[billy1561]

I did the Liverpool Chester Liverpool 50 miler in July and helmets were not compulsory. Not too hilly other than the tunnel and was a good relaxed ride with around 3000 riders for 4 different distances.