Are UK sportives beginning to have a laugh?
Comments
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I'd pay to ride in a sportive on CLOSED roads though.0
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On Sunday I rode an excellent event organised by LVIS of Bristol. If there was ever an event that would make a rider doubt why they should expend a fortune on an entry fee, this was it. 400 riders paying an entry of £6 rode either 100km or a 200km through scenic countryside. It was not an event designed on the back of a fag-packet. The organisation of the event was of the highest professional standard and the atmosphere amongst riders was superb. And no there was not a single beard in sight. Most riders I spoke to had never entered an audax before and vowed that they would return.
For details, see: http://www.audax.lvis.org.uk/0 -
FransJacques wrote:What fixation do people have with collecting medals or certificates? I hope it's because you give them to your kids to play with. Otherwise, there is nothing sadder than a 40+ or 50+ year old man queuing for any amount of time for a cheapo, made-in-china piece of tin on a string. Come on folks, get some self-respect.
Is that what anyone wants their cycling/ their precious free time to be about?
I've a coupla medals but I never wear them. They're too darned heavy! Why couldn't they have made them in Ti?0 -
I'm with a combination of Pokerface and Philip. I've given up riding overpriced sportives and stick to some fantastic (route, value for money, friendliness, post-ride grub!) audax rides these days, but were there to be a sportive on closed roads in an interesting part of the UK, I'd probably be prepared to fork out £50 for the privilege.0
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I said "...were there to be" one. Never ridden it myself, but the Etape Caledonia is (I think) the only UK sportive that has closed roads, and there are plenty in mainland Europe.0
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There are some that have portions on closed roads I think?
If, for instance, they did the Tour of Britain Sportive thingy here (where you ride a stage of the TOB) all on closed roads - that would be brilliant.
It's hard enough to get a rolling road closure though. Forget about closing the road all day!0 -
I think the rolling road closure for the tour itself is difficult enough, especially when the race breaks up. I can't see it happening for the "Tour Ride" sportive with thousands of riders unless they specifically planned the route with this in mind!Pokerface wrote:If, for instance, they did the Tour of Britain Sportive thingy here (where you ride a stage of the TOB) all on closed roads - that would be brilliant.
It's hard enough to get a rolling road closure though. Forget about closing the road all day!
I did the Stoke Tour Ride myself last year, it was £40 but all of this went to charity so was quite happy to pay it. Well organised too if people's experience of other sportives are anything to go by.0 -
Closed roads... tickskinsey wrote:...but were there to be a sportive on closed roads in an interesting part of the UK, I'd probably be prepared to fork out £50 for the privilege.
Interesting part of the UK.... tick
Fork out £50 for the privilege... tick
Get yourself to Perthshire! Next year mind you, this year there are obviously enough people already who think it's worth it.0 -
hmmmmm
first off a lot of you need to hit Euro Sportives and get some perspective.
Maratona Dles Dolomites -
Fantastic roads (fully closed) stunning scenery, a sense of being part of something (8000 riders) different charity supported each year, celeb riders (as in Cippolini - not Katie Price) Feed Stations with local produce - braesola, hams, cheeses, pizza, pasta, sandwiches, muesli bars, cake, fruit, cola, tea, sports drink etc. etc. portaloos.
Goody bag included - Jersey from Biemme, Programme, samples from Elite, Bottle, Samples from Enervit, Nestea Iced Tea. Baseball cap, finishers pin, stickers.
Exhibitor stands from Pinarello, Sella Italia, Campag, Mavic, Miche, etc.etc.
Pasta party, drinks and food after.
Atmosphere - Electric - Helicopters filming you all the way round, bands playing in the streets, people on the side of the road all the way cheering you and offering you water etc.
Extras - Photos/Video
Cost - Around 50 euro (2008)
Marco Pantani (Aprica)
- Truly challenging (mortirolo!)
Historic and again a feeling of being part of commemorating a hero(villain!)
Food stations pretty much as above
Goody bag as above give or take + a shoe bag from Vittoria with an image of Pantani printed on it.
Exhibitor stands similar + Lightweight, Vittoria, Bianchi
Atmosphere - A little more subdued but lots of groups forming, good pasta party.
40 Euro(ish) 2008
TirolWest Radmarathon (now Arlberg RadMarathon)
Entries on the day
Open roads in places but with big groups escorted by Polizei, surprisingly tough route with a bit of everything
feed stations really good for a 'smaller' event - not as many spectators but its Sunday in Austria! (Ghost town!)
Goody bag - Jersey (Chiba) bottle, samples etc etc.
Entry = 3o Euros!(bargain!)
Was the only Brit! came 93rd of 3000
Etape du Tour (Foix Loudenville)
Big exhibitor village
Closed Roads
Prob. the best etape route ever - a bit of a killer - they wimped out this year in my view)
Lots of brits which is a + or a - depending on what you like.
My first euro sportive so a big eye opener
Again good feed stations etc..
No jersey (that was a £50 extra from Nike) but a bottle, samples & t-shirt in the bag & a medal & sticker for finishing.
Oetztaler Radmarathon
The daddy of Sportives - Faultless!
Closed Roads with escort vehicles (BMW X6 all pimped up by redbull with carbon shiny bits!)
AMAZING food stops - suppe, pasta, potato stew, sandwiches, energy bars, fruit etc. Red Bull (by the gallon) sport drink you name it, & Mechanics at every stop.
Goody bag of kings - a training calendar (which must have cost £20 to print), finisher jersey, cotton cap, finishers pin, all your photos, a DVD documentary of that years event, elite samples, red bull too much to remember!
Biggest hills i've done in a sportive, great crowds even at 9pm when people were still coming in...
70 Euro
Compared to -
Bealach Mhor - Random start pattern - open roads, no food at first feed station and a drum of yellow water, start 'village' a village hall rammed full of people, parking either in a ditch or about a mile away, not much local accom and pretty expensive, spent all day riding on my own in the wind and pissing rain till i binned it on the top of the big hill and waited for a lift. No mechanical backup(to their credit the ambulance folk on top were really nice) £40 (a souvenir mug - for finishers)
Radar Ride - Open roads - awful road surfaces - some b roads with huuuuge potholes and loads of gravel, didn't see many marshalls til really late. Messed up the timing so my mate came in twenty minutes down on me (but prob the other way round) cut short route due to wind (understandable). £15 (nae goodies!)
Polka Dot Challenge - Good route, no backup, no timing. Open roads which you really know about - had drivers rolling down windows to shout abuse and throw stuff or beep horns etc. Route marking wasn't great, binned it as my mates bike packed in and I got freezing cold waiting 35mins in pissing sleet for his dad to bring his spare bike. £15 - nae goodies.
Etape Caledonia
Done this twice now - never again
first year was good - first time i'd been on closed roads, did well - 97th, thought it seemed good despite awful torrential rain the night before leaving some dodgy surface conditions.
OVERPRICED - @ £50 you get nothing above any other UK sportive other than closed roads - which now have a slightly different kind of spectator yep - the NIMBY arsepieces that plague the side of the road with banners and tacks (fortunately missed that year)
Now the Maratona & Oetztaler both support charities - as does the Etape I believe - I don't see this pushing prices up, closed roads means you can put more riders out ergo more cost effective. Feed stations are part of the experience and from working in catering I know that shite food can cost as much as good food - both however cost more than no food - except they just cost you a repeat entry and some bad press. I personally haven't had a single good experience with UK sportives let alone GREAT experiences - Until someone puts something on the UK calendar thats worthwhile and worth the money I'll be hitting Europe...
That said...I'm looking at helping organize something in the West Highlands soon which might be the answer...0 -
Oh dear! Was that a "yes" or a "no" in reference to the OP?
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sorry - ranted a bit - yep OVERPRICED - the big ones anyway - EC, Bealach etc. little ones organized by clubs tend to be value for money just not amazing event...
Right now I'm blowing a fuse over my Paris-Roubaix Challenge entry - still not sure what to do about it, glad I have another Oetztaler entry though! 0 -
Ever thought that the money from a sportive should be used to fund a club / community program or a half decent road race on the same day as a public spectacle?0
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akastana wrote:hmmmmm
first off a lot of you need to hit Euro Sportives and get some perspective.
Maratona Dles Dolomites -
Fantastic roads (fully closed) stunning scenery, a sense of being part of something (8000 riders) different charity supported each year, celeb riders (as in Cippolini - not Katie Price) Feed Stations with local produce - braesola, hams, cheeses, pizza, pasta, sandwiches, muesli bars, cake, fruit, cola, tea, sports drink etc. etc. portaloos.
Goody bag included - Jersey from Biemme, Programme, samples from Elite, Bottle, Samples from Enervit, Nestea Iced Tea. Baseball cap, finishers pin, stickers.
Exhibitor stands from Pinarello, Sella Italia, Campag, Mavic, Miche, etc.etc.
Pasta party, drinks and food after.
Atmosphere - Electric - Helicopters filming you all the way round, bands playing in the streets, people on the side of the road all the way cheering you and offering you water etc.
Extras - Photos/Video
Cost - Around 50 euro (2008)
Marco Pantani (Aprica)
- Truly challenging (mortirolo!)
Historic and again a feeling of being part of commemorating a hero(villain!)
Food stations pretty much as above
Goody bag as above give or take + a shoe bag from Vittoria with an image of Pantani printed on it.
Exhibitor stands similar + Lightweight, Vittoria, Bianchi
Atmosphere - A little more subdued but lots of groups forming, good pasta party.
40 Euro(ish) 2008
TirolWest Radmarathon (now Arlberg RadMarathon)
Entries on the day
Open roads in places but with big groups escorted by Polizei, surprisingly tough route with a bit of everything
feed stations really good for a 'smaller' event - not as many spectators but its Sunday in Austria! (Ghost town!)
Goody bag - Jersey (Chiba) bottle, samples etc etc.
Entry = 3o Euros!(bargain!)
Was the only Brit! came 93rd of 3000
Etape du Tour (Foix Loudenville)
Big exhibitor village
Closed Roads
Prob. the best etape route ever - a bit of a killer - they wimped out this year in my view)
Lots of brits which is a + or a - depending on what you like.
My first euro sportive so a big eye opener
Again good feed stations etc..
No jersey (that was a £50 extra from Nike) but a bottle, samples & t-shirt in the bag & a medal & sticker for finishing.
Oetztaler Radmarathon
The daddy of Sportives - Faultless!
Closed Roads with escort vehicles (BMW X6 all pimped up by redbull with carbon shiny bits!)
AMAZING food stops - suppe, pasta, potato stew, sandwiches, energy bars, fruit etc. Red Bull (by the gallon) sport drink you name it, & Mechanics at every stop.
Goody bag of kings - a training calendar (which must have cost £20 to print), finisher jersey, cotton cap, finishers pin, all your photos, a DVD documentary of that years event, elite samples, red bull too much to remember!
Biggest hills i've done in a sportive, great crowds even at 9pm when people were still coming in...
70 Euro
Compared to -
Bealach Mhor - Random start pattern - open roads, no food at first feed station and a drum of yellow water, start 'village' a village hall rammed full of people, parking either in a ditch or about a mile away, not much local accom and pretty expensive, spent all day riding on my own in the wind and pissing rain till i binned it on the top of the big hill and waited for a lift. No mechanical backup(to their credit the ambulance folk on top were really nice) £40 (a souvenir mug - for finishers)
Radar Ride - Open roads - awful road surfaces - some b roads with huuuuge potholes and loads of gravel, didn't see many marshalls til really late. Messed up the timing so my mate came in twenty minutes down on me (but prob the other way round) cut short route due to wind (understandable). £15 (nae goodies!)
Polka Dot Challenge - Good route, no backup, no timing. Open roads which you really know about - had drivers rolling down windows to shout abuse and throw stuff or beep horns etc. Route marking wasn't great, binned it as my mates bike packed in and I got freezing cold waiting 35mins in pissing sleet for his dad to bring his spare bike. £15 - nae goodies.
Etape Caledonia
Done this twice now - never again
first year was good - first time i'd been on closed roads, did well - 97th, thought it seemed good despite awful torrential rain the night before leaving some dodgy surface conditions.
OVERPRICED - @ £50 you get nothing above any other UK sportive other than closed roads - which now have a slightly different kind of spectator yep - the NIMBY arsepieces that plague the side of the road with banners and tacks (fortunately missed that year)
Now the Maratona & Oetztaler both support charities - as does the Etape I believe - I don't see this pushing prices up, closed roads means you can put more riders out ergo more cost effective. Feed stations are part of the experience and from working in catering I know that shite food can cost as much as good food - both however cost more than no food - except they just cost you a repeat entry and some bad press. I personally haven't had a single good experience with UK sportives let alone GREAT experiences - Until someone puts something on the UK calendar thats worthwhile and worth the money I'll be hitting Europe...
That said...I'm looking at helping organize something in the West Highlands soon which might be the answer...
Great post!
Hmmmm I wonder where we should go on our next family holiday
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If its any use by way of comparison, I run a lot of 10km races. The typical cost of entry for these events is £14/16 for a runner like me who isnt a member of a running club.
For that I get to run a road course that is signposted and marshalled, but sometimes not closed to traffic. At the finish I'll get a bottle of water (sometimes Lucozade or similar, but rarely!) and a cheap commemorative t-shirt. Thats it. Not great value for money really, but not enough to complain about.
At the Cheshire Cat on Sunday I paid double that but got a ton of food at the stops (gels and bars and energy drinks that would have cost me a quid a go each in the shops) that on its own nearly covered the fee, bearing in mind that I ate a lot and took away quite a few items to eat en route (not very excited by the commemorative snood and certificate though!).
Getting a hot meal at the end was great too! To buy the equivalent from a takeaway would have cost £3-4, so adding it all up cash-wise, I was pretty happy.
It was my first event as I'm very new to cycling and I enjoyed the atmosphere, and the knowledge that there were support motorbikes etc on the route was a genuine comfort for me.
I didnt think twice when I paid up on entry, I just compared it to the 10kms and imagined the huge extra amount of work involved in signposting a 100 mile route compared to just 6 and a bit.
One thing that money cant buy though is the support of the locals. The crap attitude of motorists was depressing. I'd love to do one of the European events if it meant having some people cheer you on rather than swear at you and beep their horns.0 -
Lots of quality sportives in Europe. There used to be the Golden Bike series run by the UCI but Italy and France have something happening every weekend without mentioning the big rides (Nove Colle, Pinarello,Etape,Marmotte). Cyclosport.org generally has them all listed.M.Rushton0
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Welcome to riding in the UK. While training on the A24 just north of Dorking on the way to Leatherhead I had an almost full hot coffee in a take away cup thrown out the window in front of me. I don't think it was on purpose, some driver was just done with their coffee I guess and decided that on a biker was where it belonged.rodgers73 wrote:One thing that money cant buy though is the support of the locals. The crap attitude of motorists was depressing. I'd love to do one of the European events if it meant having some people cheer you on rather than swear at you and beep their horns.
The Chti Tour and the Hubert Arbes are just two great events with hot sit down dinners in rented out recreation centers after the rides for all comes - riders and their families. There are volunteers walking around with bottles of white or red local wine providing refills. Can you imagine that north of the channel? We are savages in comparison. No manners. It's all: take take take as much as we can. Can you really blame the organizers?When a cyclist has a disagreement with a car; it's not who's right, it's who's left.0 -
...telling us what we already know. Fancy discovering that the Maratona is a bigger and better event than the Etape C. I'd never have realised! [/childish sarcasm]akastana wrote:about 1000 words....
Which is the point of this thread, really. There has been a culture of road cycling in general, and sportives in particular, on the continent for a long time. Over here we're into the wind and uphill and it's a bit of a miracle that the sportive scene is going like it is. But who knows, perhaps all these despised masses of MAMILS entering despised masses of overpriced, under-resourced sportives might be helping to push things in the right direction, no?
FWIW there weren't any banners or tacks at the Etape C last year, I saw really quite a lot of people clapping and cheering all round the course - the fact that the atmosphere and support have grown over the few years it's been running would, I suggest, give a little bit of evidence to my foolish notion that the culture might be changing a bit.
Good luck with your west highland maratona, TBH I'll be very surprised if it manages to be significantly better than what's already on offer in this country, but I will be more than happy to eat my words if I'm proved wrong!
One other minor detail about the costs - a big reason I enter the Etape C is that it is local to me: that makes total costs (transport, accommodation etc) pretty much the entry fee plus a few quid. That can hardly be said for anything on the continent, you have to be talking hundreds straight away - never mind the medical fee!
But if you look at it that way, it's like skiing in Scotland or the Alps: no-one seriously claims that Glenshee is on a par with Zermatt, but that doesn't mean that going there isn't worthwhile.
As for the cost, it's what it is - already discussed plenty on this thread, but no-one's really produced any actual figures.0 -
I think Akastana should get his facts right before spouting off about the Polkadot--No Timing--thats news to me there has been timing on all 9 events---Poor routing--he needs specs-150 No 16" by 8" fluo arrows--No goodies---what about the Polkadot feeding bottles
He had a bad day because it was wet & his mates bikes fell apart--hardly the fault of the organiser!! I've run 15 events over the last 9yrs & very few complaints--we were the first sportive to "Arrow" the whole course--6,870 individual entrants in that time (& £70,000 to the Charity)---if it was as bad as Akastana says I don't think we would still be getting entries
Dave Riley Organiser0 -
Last year there was a sportive around Rotterdam (a TdF side event) where 500 riders could ride 120 km's in a peleton with a rolling road closure. In such a format, the riders have to stay behind a few riders of the organisation who ride a certain average speed. There was a police escort and traffic controllers at junctions. It seemed to go well until a fatal crash of a heli who filmed the event, after which the event was cancelled.thegibdog wrote:I think the rolling road closure for the tour itself is difficult enough, especially when the race breaks up. I can't see it happening for the "Tour Ride" sportive with thousands of riders unless they specifically planned the route with this in mind!
When organised this way, other traffic is only blocked for a limited time. However, this kind of format is still very rare in cycling-minded Holland. It seems very hard to convince the local government to close off the roads, even for a short time. It pretty much has to be a special event, not 'just another sportive'.0 -
Cipodog wrote:I think Akastana should get his facts right before spouting off about the Polkadot--No Timing--thats news to me there has been timing on all 9 events---Poor routing--he needs specs-150 No 16" by 8" fluo arrows--No goodies---what about the Polkadot feeding bottles
He had a bad day because it was wet & his mates bikes fell apart--hardly the fault of the organiser!! I've run 15 events over the last 9yrs & very few complaints--we were the first sportive to "Arrow" the whole course--6,870 individual entrants in that time (& £70,000 to the Charity)---if it was as bad as Akastana says I don't think we would still be getting entries
Dave Riley Organiser
Do you still get the fights breaking out between the car drivers and the riders up Winnat's, do the Ladies still share the loos with the blokes at the start, do the cars still get bogged down in the car park/field if it's wet and do the riders still have to take that silly bit of paper round that gets sodden on a wet day or lost so you can't get a finish :?:
Lastly Dave do you still look fed up at finish
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In reply to Ron S--The ride doesn't go up Winnats!!---since doing one ride each year instead of the usual two its run on the "Spud" route---I never had a report of any "fights" anyway & the 6 times I rode it myself I & the people round me didn't have a problem. In any case is an organiser now responsible for drivers behaviour as well? There is & always has been 3 loos for men & 1 for ladies at Woodford HQ. Yes, on wet days some Heavy right foot drivers have "spun" their vehicle into the field but if its a problem you can always park your car 1/2 ml away & ride to HQ---Timing cards were always given out in a waterproof case but some riders couldn't be ar---ed to keep it in the case & therefore it did get wet---That won't be a problem this year --we've gone electronic however, its cost £4:30 per rider & thats why the entry fee has gone to £25.With regards my stessed out face at the finish-- maybe if some of the riders who spend all their time complaining on Forums did some organising they might look like that at the end of the day!! Dave R0
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Zingzang wrote:Could you possibly divulge the cost of the Police Notice, and indicate the nature and cost of the insurance you take out? I have been an event organiser of Open time trials for 23 years and the Police Notice has only ever cost the price of a stamp, whilst insurance is included in club affiliation to CTT. Maybe things are radically different for sportives.
The police notice is the same - although you will have to perform a risk assessment on the route which will take time (these will have been done for the CTT courses) The insurance is unknown as the Hell of Ashdown doesn't use someone who publishes it. The BC sportive insurance is 60 pounds per 100 riders (but 101 is 120) so 60p a rider if you have a round 100 (it's refunded too if they don't turn up and actually start).
If Hell Of Ashdown used BC insurance though their costs would go up as they'd have to have more feedstops I believe as BC sportive's must have a feed station every 40miles.Jibbering Sports Stuff: http://jibbering.com/sports/0 -
Just wanted to say that I think the attacks on the Polka Dot and it's organisers are well out of order. AFAIK they started the British sportive scene. I rode the original Polka Dot 2 or 3 times and found it to be excellent value, well run by enthusiastic cyclists and one of the friendliest events I've ever done.
If there is a British disease its main symptom is complaining. We haven't got the cycling tradition, the sheer number of quiet roads and the tacit acceptance of the general public that organisers of foriegn sportives can draw on. Bearing all of this in mind, I think we do well to have the thriving sportive scene that we do have.0 -
Dave - sorry should have clarified - route marking - yep big luminous arrows were good - it was the faffing about with roundabouts and built up areas near the start which wasn't great. Deffo didn't get a bike bottle (not that i'm that bothered for the cheap entry fee - esp. in light of the charity status) The most miserable part wasn't standing in the sleet getting cold - it was the attitude of the locals as mentioned by RON - full on horn pressed down for a minute or two riding up after cat and fiddle, stuff lobbed out of car windows and some shouts from windows/pedestrians.
As mentioned by others its the attitudes that let down a lot of British Sportives - yeah it might be a bit weird to enjoy thousands of spectators lining the route cheering you on but its a hell of a lot better than the opposite (see above!)
I know its something that organizers can do little about but perhaps involving the communities more in the event is the way forward - Scouts, bike clubs, local catering etc. I'm sure many of you do this to some success, i'm just saying i've seen little of it in my experiences.
@bompington - i thought the question was are UK sportives overpriced? Next time i'll just write YES without giving comparative data to show my reasoning! The argument for not going abroad 'cos it costs money is redundant if it costs me close to £500 to attend the Bealach (accom, fuel, food, entry etc.) ...and I live in central Scotland so the English riders must really have to pay a packet... I'm merely pointing out that value for money is far better in Europe for events which are supposed to be of a similar nature. I hope you eat your words too - If I didn't think you would then, given my experiences of UK sportives, I wouldn't be spending any time looking into a 'WH Maratona' -- do I expect it to be of that scale? absolutely not - but I do expect that it will be good value for money, a good route, well organized and well attended.
Your ski resort comparisons are interesting because it doesn't really work when comparing something like the tirolwest radmarathon to the etape caledonia - which have similar numbers of participants (prob more for etape cal - which has more registrations by far) but I would say the tirolwest has great organization, value for money and atmosphere - and the etape cal doesn't. Etape cal gets a tonne of publicity and has a big following -TirolWest is only advertised on a4 leaflets in the local area and signups are taken right til the start. Only ever had to do a medical for the Etape du Tour & Paris Roubaix Sportive (ASO...ha) so theres another misconception.
Its one thing to know that attitudes are different in the UK towards cycling, its another thing to accept them and think its OK...somewhat like Scottish skiing which potentially is a fantastic product, albeit not the same as skiing in Zermatt, but constantly has to live with a second class citizen reputation - Glencoe had more snow on it two weeks ago than anywhere in Europe and had customers on the hill that had cancelled going to the Alps in favour of Scottish conditions...
@Slow - I didn't realize that I couldn't comment on charity Sportives in this thread...is that like not being allowed to call someone a knobend if they are terminally ill - even though they are actually a knobend?!0 -
Cipodog wrote:In reply to Ron S--The ride doesn't go up Winnats!!---since doing one ride each year instead of the usual two its run on the "Spud" route---I never had a report of any "fights" anyway & the 6 times I rode it myself I & the people round me didn't have a problem. In any case is an organiser now responsible for drivers behaviour as well? There is & always has been 3 loos for men & 1 for ladies at Woodford HQ. Yes, on wet days some Heavy right foot drivers have "spun" their vehicle into the field but if its a problem you can always park your car 1/2 ml away & ride to HQ---Timing cards were always given out in a waterproof case but some riders couldn't be ar---ed to keep it in the case & therefore it did get wet---That won't be a problem this year --we've gone electronic however, its cost £4:30 per rider & thats why the entry fee has gone to £25.With regards my stessed out face at the finish-- maybe if some of the riders who spend all their time complaining on Forums did some organising they might look like that at the end of the day!! Dave R
I notice you did change the route. When I did it some years ago it certainly went up Winnat's and as it was a fine summer’s day every man and his dog from Sheffield and Manchester etc wanted to be around Castleton. The pass was like a battlefield with cars and riders all jockeying to have their rightful place up the narrow pass, so much swearing by both riders and drivers my wife who was waiting just past the top cattle grid to refresh my biddons was needing to have her hands over her ears. She recalled several incidents of things like riders kicking cars and cars deliberately stopping in front of riders to make them have to get off. I did suggest after the event that you maybe should think of an alternate route to avoid Winnat's as it wasn't a savory spectacle.
As I inferred previously some blokes were when I was there using the Ladies rather than queuing.
Good to hear the timing changed.
Oh! And Dave you seem to have found time for the forum... not so much organizing these days?
Regards
Ron (retired) and loving it, plenty of time you see 0 -
UK Sportives ? Did one once. Never again. I ride my bike to get away from people !
The Ronde van Vlaanderen, though. Different kettle of fish. VFM and all that.0 -
Nelson Longflap wrote:UK Sportives ? Did one once. Never again. I ride my bike to get away from people !
The Ronde van Vlaanderen, though. Different kettle of fish. VFM and all that.
Why would you enter a sportive then?0 -
What, you mean there are few enough other people in it for your tastes?Nelson Longflap wrote:UK Sportives ? Did one once. Never again. I ride my bike to get away from people !
The Ronde van Vlaanderen, though. Different kettle of fish. VFM and all that.0
