Banjo
Fuelled with Jelly Babies
- Location
- South Wales
koro said:
I Thought I felt a bit of a draft
What would attract you to a sportive?
- Thread starter MichaelM
- Start date
Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
I Thought I felt a bit of a draft
Pendle Witches Vintage Velo is the way to do a Sportive!
Although its relatively short but fairly challenging at 55 ish miles its early on in the year where peoples legs are still acclimatising. £10 got me a well sign posted route, feed stop with gels, choccy,sweets , huge vats of lucozade/water and pie chips and gravy....not forgetting a certificate on completion and the dodgy entertainment ( a magic/comedy duo) and proceeds go to charity. HQ is at a pub too! This is probably one of two Ill ever do again.
Although its relatively short but fairly challenging at 55 ish miles its early on in the year where peoples legs are still acclimatising. £10 got me a well sign posted route, feed stop with gels, choccy,sweets , huge vats of lucozade/water and pie chips and gravy....not forgetting a certificate on completion and the dodgy entertainment ( a magic/comedy duo) and proceeds go to charity. HQ is at a pub too! This is probably one of two Ill ever do again.
Banjo
Fuelled with Jelly Babies
- Location
- South Wales
jimboalee said:
Only done one but it met all 5 of my requirements.
If you dont like em dont do em .Personally I wouldnt dream of belittling anyone however they enjoy their cycling You can ride a unicycle naked up the high street playing a ukelele for all I care.
For me it was a great day among lots of likeminded people.The fact they are often sold out before the event suggests people are voting for them with their credit cards.
Gixxerman
Guru
- Location
- Market Rasen
Fit young ladies in tight fitting lycra! 
PpPete
Legendary Member
- Location
- Chandler's Ford
Crimmey said:
If only there were more reasonably priced ones like that.....
£25 and thereabouts? Nein Danke !
I'll just stick with Audaxes.
redddraggon
Blondie
- Location
- North Wales
jimboalee said:
Pendle is 35miles from Manchester, hardly a "fair way".
lanternerouge
Veteran
- Location
- Leafy Cheshire
I agree with Banjo, shame to see some people belittling beginners. I am a beginner and would like to have a go at one, it's a bit off putting to think you are annoying the "pros" though... I thought the point of them was that they are mass participation fun events?
GrumpyGregry
Here for rides.
lanternerouge said:
As one who could be termed 'belittling the beginners'....
.... I say good for you and go for it. By my concern is one of safety. My own, that of other participants including the noobs themselves, and that of the road users if the roads aren't closed. Riding in a group at speed on a sportive is not the place to learn how to safely ride in a group at speed. People need to do that, most probably by joining their local cycling club, before taking part in something which is a race in all but name. That way everyone can have fun, safely.
Fiona N
Veteran
We're never going to come to any consensus here, are we
Experienced non-racing cyclist want something like a good challenging Audax without the faff of the map/route card reading and with quickly available, plentiful, please-everybody victuals at the feed stations, and no wobblers thank you very much
Beginners want something they can get around and feel pleased about finishing without having to think about extraneous stuff like route finding or sorting cafe stops
Wannabee racers want to be able to ride along in big packs to get the feel of the peleton - and what's that about the Highway Code ?
Personally if I want to get the feel of the peleton, I prefer to head off to Mallorca in March for a training camp with a good mix of mainly experienced cyclists of varying ages and speeds. Audaxes I like for the range of people and the fact that mostly I don't have to, and indeed don't generally, ride them hard. So they're a good social day out somewhere I wouldn't necessarily have ridden on my own.
On sportives in the UK, there are just too many inexperienced wannabees to risk treating it as I would a Gran Fondo, say, and riding for my best time. The size of the climbs in Gran Fondo and Alpen Brevets usually keeps out the really incompetent (or at least they languish down the back of the field) and by the time you hit the first descent, you usually have a feel for any of the riders around that you are likely to need to avoid. The UK sportives (mainly) without these long climbs to sort the sheep from the goats means you can get all sorts of potentially dangerous juxtapositions of the really fast, the think-they're-fast, the incompetent, the too-tired-to-care and the just-trying-to-get-around in one piece.
On the other hand - sportives are getting a lot of new people on their bikes, which can only be a good thing for all of us, so I can't complain about all those wobbly, tired beginners because one day they (hopefully) will be the next generation of fit, experienced, oldies
BTW I don't mind if sportives organised by cycling clubs make a few bucks for themselves rather than actual charities - a bike club keen enough to organise a good sportive experience is probably also going to be the sort of club that brings on youngsters, organises small-scale local racing etc. Supporting this sort of grass roots activity is as important as making money for medical charities etc. I'm more suspicious of organisations which run multiple events for their profit alone as they tend to be the ones who cut corners with food, signposting etc. to save money and maximise profits.
Experienced non-racing cyclist want something like a good challenging Audax without the faff of the map/route card reading and with quickly available, plentiful, please-everybody victuals at the feed stations, and no wobblers thank you very much
Beginners want something they can get around and feel pleased about finishing without having to think about extraneous stuff like route finding or sorting cafe stops
Wannabee racers want to be able to ride along in big packs to get the feel of the peleton - and what's that about the Highway Code ?
Personally if I want to get the feel of the peleton, I prefer to head off to Mallorca in March for a training camp with a good mix of mainly experienced cyclists of varying ages and speeds. Audaxes I like for the range of people and the fact that mostly I don't have to, and indeed don't generally, ride them hard. So they're a good social day out somewhere I wouldn't necessarily have ridden on my own.
On sportives in the UK, there are just too many inexperienced wannabees to risk treating it as I would a Gran Fondo, say, and riding for my best time. The size of the climbs in Gran Fondo and Alpen Brevets usually keeps out the really incompetent (or at least they languish down the back of the field) and by the time you hit the first descent, you usually have a feel for any of the riders around that you are likely to need to avoid. The UK sportives (mainly) without these long climbs to sort the sheep from the goats means you can get all sorts of potentially dangerous juxtapositions of the really fast, the think-they're-fast, the incompetent, the too-tired-to-care and the just-trying-to-get-around in one piece.
On the other hand - sportives are getting a lot of new people on their bikes, which can only be a good thing for all of us, so I can't complain about all those wobbly, tired beginners because one day they (hopefully) will be the next generation of fit, experienced, oldies
BTW I don't mind if sportives organised by cycling clubs make a few bucks for themselves rather than actual charities - a bike club keen enough to organise a good sportive experience is probably also going to be the sort of club that brings on youngsters, organises small-scale local racing etc. Supporting this sort of grass roots activity is as important as making money for medical charities etc. I'm more suspicious of organisations which run multiple events for their profit alone as they tend to be the ones who cut corners with food, signposting etc. to save money and maximise profits.
Christopher
Über Member
IME lots of people take sportives way too seriously. I did the Pendle Pedal a few times, it was too hard too far and I ended up hating the experience.
Then I did genuine racing: cyclocross! Great atmosphere, great fun and only an hour long (flat out without any rest though!). For me personally it was the most fun I have had on a bike for years. Can't wait for the new season to start.
Then I did genuine racing: cyclocross! Great atmosphere, great fun and only an hour long (flat out without any rest though!). For me personally it was the most fun I have had on a bike for years. Can't wait for the new season to start.
Banjo
Fuelled with Jelly Babies
- Location
- South Wales
Maybe with my lack of experience I shouldnt have responded like that but I still say ride how you like and let others do the same.
The one I did on Sunday had a mass start of about 500 riders on a narrow B road which you might think a recipe for disaster (it certainly concerned me in anticipation) on the day my plan to start at the back didnt happen I was right in the middle everyone set off very slow and considerately until the first hill a mile or two in spread the field a bit then the fast people started overtaking .It never felt dangerous though required a bit of care and attention obviously.
,maybe all sportives arent like that.
The one I did on Sunday had a mass start of about 500 riders on a narrow B road which you might think a recipe for disaster (it certainly concerned me in anticipation) on the day my plan to start at the back didnt happen I was right in the middle everyone set off very slow and considerately until the first hill a mile or two in spread the field a bit then the fast people started overtaking .It never felt dangerous though required a bit of care and attention obviously.
,maybe all sportives arent like that.
