Completed my first sportive
sarkster
Posts: 25
Managed to complete my first sportive this weekend and thought I would post about it in here, partly as im quite proud of myself, but mainly because it was the posts of others and their experiences in here that gave me a nudge in the right direction iro mindset, fuelling and other stuff.
I did the 81 mile magnificat sportive in Newbury and, in what was only my 5th outing on a road bike (in 20 years) I managed the distance in 5hrs 5 mins.
For anyone thinking about doing their first sportive I would suggest having a crack at it; you might surprise yourself.
I started quite fast taking turns in the wind with a guy in a Cycling Weekly jersey for the first 8 miles and the realised I was on the verge of cycling weakly and I had managed to burn my feeble legs out trying to keep up with a seasoned cyclist who was probably only warming his legs up so, with the upcoming hills in mind I eased off and realised I was already cramping up (great start, eh).
Rode the rest of the distance pretty much 100% but always keeping an eye on my 'always on the verge of cramping' legs,
Made sure I ate lots and drank more (nuun tablet in each bottle at every feed stop) and except for a very hairy moment at 77 miles when my right calf actually cramped up fully for a few seconds, it was relatively plain sailing.
the excellent advice I took from these forums that helped was definitely
Keep hydrated (inc replacing salts)
eat little and often and regardless of whether youre hungry
ride at your own pace and dont try and keep up with others (ok, it took me 8 miles to rememebr that rule)
when it starts to hurt, mentally take a MTFU pill :P
and lastly, remember that youre there to have fun above all else.
My super-secret weapon, though, was a trip to Adrian at Cadence Sport the morning before who ironed out some 'kinks' in my position and gave my feet a break with some custom footbeds, so thanks to NapD for constantly pimping Adrians work!
I did the 81 mile magnificat sportive in Newbury and, in what was only my 5th outing on a road bike (in 20 years) I managed the distance in 5hrs 5 mins.
For anyone thinking about doing their first sportive I would suggest having a crack at it; you might surprise yourself.
I started quite fast taking turns in the wind with a guy in a Cycling Weekly jersey for the first 8 miles and the realised I was on the verge of cycling weakly and I had managed to burn my feeble legs out trying to keep up with a seasoned cyclist who was probably only warming his legs up so, with the upcoming hills in mind I eased off and realised I was already cramping up (great start, eh).
Rode the rest of the distance pretty much 100% but always keeping an eye on my 'always on the verge of cramping' legs,
Made sure I ate lots and drank more (nuun tablet in each bottle at every feed stop) and except for a very hairy moment at 77 miles when my right calf actually cramped up fully for a few seconds, it was relatively plain sailing.
the excellent advice I took from these forums that helped was definitely
Keep hydrated (inc replacing salts)
eat little and often and regardless of whether youre hungry
ride at your own pace and dont try and keep up with others (ok, it took me 8 miles to rememebr that rule)
when it starts to hurt, mentally take a MTFU pill :P
and lastly, remember that youre there to have fun above all else.
My super-secret weapon, though, was a trip to Adrian at Cadence Sport the morning before who ironed out some 'kinks' in my position and gave my feet a break with some custom footbeds, so thanks to NapD for constantly pimping Adrians work!
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Comments
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Top stuff Adam! Great effort.
There are lots of us reading this that still have 81 miles as a challenge so you deserve a beer or two ...and then knock off that century (mine is planned for August).0 -
good workLOL road riding.0
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Well done mate 8)
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