My first Sportive tomorrow!

Leodhasach

I’m taking part in my first Sportive tomorrow (Cairngorm Classic) and I’m a wee bit nervous about it having only been road biking for a few months. Any one got any ‘do’s and don’ts’ for a newbie? I’m planning on giving it a good go but don’t have a particular finishing time in mind and want to be fairly relaxed on route.

Be nice to the punter on the Boardman Team Carbon wheezing and swearing his way up the hill to the cairngorm ski carpark!

clanton

Do: enjoy!
Be predictable in your riding, don't brake unexpectedly, veer off line etc.
Eat and drink, little and often.
Pace yourself, don't get too excited right off the bat.
Carry at least one spare tube and the wherewithal to use it.

Rodster

Leodhasach wrote:

I’m taking part in my first Sportive tomorrow (Cairngorm Classic) and I’m a wee bit nervous about it having only been road biking for a few months. Any one got any ‘do’s and don’ts’ for a newbie? I’m planning on giving it a good go but don’t have a particular finishing time in mind and want to be fairly relaxed on route.

Be nice to the punter on the Boardman Team Carbon wheezing and swearing his way up the hill to the cairngorm ski carpark!

That was my first Sportive yesterday as well and what a Sportive it was. The conditions were pretty poor at the beginning but kida got better as it went on.
The climb up to the Caairngorms Ski centre has to be the hardest climb i have ever done (yeah im a noob) but suppose after 97 miles of cycling its gonna be. Quite chuffed i got round in under 7hrs though.

How did you get on?

Brian B

I was going to do this sportive but did not go as I had jut drove up from England on Friday night and was tired and did not want to drive again early Sat morning. How bad was the weather as this was the deciding factor for me not to do it?

scapaslow

We were really lucky with the weather given the forecast. It was misty up at the start which made the initial descent interesting. We had very light rain for the first hour or so then it gradually cleared up and the sun came out later in the day. There were a couple of hailstone showers thrown into the mix.

I'm glad i went as it was a great day with a fitting finale. I had been thinking twice about it the night before and driving up through the rain i thought i must be mad.

I got a bit hot in the feet with waterproof socks and overshoes due to the forecast.

The roads were in good condition, organisation was good and i'd definitely consider doing it again. It wasn't as hilly as i had thought it would be given the climbing stats but the last 10 miles were tough with a gradual uphill then the climb up to the ski station which was a tester with 90 odd miles in the legs.

kaiserpc

First sportive I've done in ages so was quite worried before the start..

However I really enjoyed it, and the organisation / marshalls / feed stations were excellent. First time I've done it, but will probably do it again.

Felt good on the last the last climb and managed to pass around 10 - 15 people (and didn't get passed by anyone) :-)

Hope you all managed to smile for the photographs ;-)

Weather could have been worse, the start was pretty awful - fog and rain, but it got better as the day went on. By the time I got to the finish there was no wind (nearly unheard of at Cairngorm car park) and the cloud was breaking up.

All in all a great day and welll worth the money!

Finished just over half way through the field at around 6:15 :-)

joesteve

My first sportive also and thoroughly enjoyed it. I managed to latch on to a fast group from the beginning that dragged me along until the first hill up to the long and short ride split. Another few guys helped me over the next hill then we arrived at the Glenlivet turn off to find all the faster riders had missedthe turning due to the sign being missing. The group heading down the Glenlivet road must have been over 100 with faster riders trying to overtake from behind, pretty hairy. I manged to stay witha fast group all the way round. When we got back towards Coylumbridge I concentrated on staying near the front so that when I died on the hill I'd have a few wheels to latch on to. All the way up the climb I expected people to be coming past but it never happened, I think I lost three places and finished in an astonishing time of 5h17mins. Considering I normally average about 15mph on my training rides I was fully expecting to be drugs tested.

Marshals and organisation were great and I ended up getting sunburnt waiting at the finish for my wife to come in. So apart from the miserable start a great day out.

If you check the forum on the event website you'll find a link to some photos on Flickr.

Leodhasach

Rodster wrote:

That was my first Sportive yesterday as well and what a Sportive it was. The conditions were pretty poor at the beginning but kida got better as it went on.
The climb up to the Caairngorms Ski centre has to be the hardest climb i have ever done (yeah im a noob) but suppose after 97 miles of cycling its gonna be. Quite chuffed i got round in under 7hrs though.

How did you get on?

Great thanks. Had a great time. I was soaked through within about 5 minutes but it didn't seem to matter, the camraderie was really good and I kept bumping into the same people throughout the day. A great intro to my first Sportive and I'll be doing more in the near future. (I'm doing the Ullapool Mor in September!!)

I managed it in 3 hours 44 - The 50 NOT the 100 Not superfast but I didn't mind. I had two goals, to finish under 5 hours (I'm still very unfit) and to get up the ski road hill without having to get off. I managed both! Very chuffed.