Go ride a sportive or stay home and watch the Giro?

campagone

Don't know if I am asking this in the right place but I've got a bit of a dilema.
The Chain Reaction/CycleOps road sportive in Llandovery Wales is on the 21st of May and I really fancy having a go. However, the Monte Zoncolan stage of the Giro is on the same day and that's one I really would like to watch as it happens. If I go for a ride it will have to be Sky+ again but I'd rather watch live, and I do like to watch the racing especially when they're in the mountains. It's somehow not the same watching a recording.
What do you guys normally do, stay home and watch the racing or record it and go and ride your bike? (This is why I'm asking this in pro race) Or is this a silly question and I should never allow cycling on the telly stop me from riding my bike? :oops:

dougzz

Given this is the Pro Racing thread it should maybe why would you ever let riding your bike interrupt racing coverage

Personally Sky + and watching it later in my own time is fine for me. Given the lack of general media coverage avoiding the result is hardly a problem, and generally here there's proper use of 'Spoiler' so the delay is as good as live, but later.

Buckled_Rims

Life's full of lookers, but fewer doers. In 100 years time it doesn't make a single difference as it'll all be not remembered, er, except somewhere on the old internet that "campagone" entered sportive CTC/Cycleops. It wont register that he watched stage 14 of the Giro.

CyclingBantam

Buckled_Rims wrote:

Life's full of lookers, but fewer doers. In 100 years time it doesn't make a single difference as it'll all be not remembered, er, except somewhere on the old internet that "campagone" entered sportive CTC/Cycleops. It wont register that he watched stage 14 of the Giro.

+1

Got to ride the sportive then watch the recording. That way you can do both. If you watched it and it was not the stage we hope for then you would be gutted looking out the window if the weather is nice!

58585

You'll be mildly peeved if there is mist and rain on the Zoncolan and there's no live images from the motos...
The only sensible thing to do is set the rollers up in front of the TV.

hammerite

58585 wrote:

You'll be mildly peeved if there is mist and rain on the Zoncolan and there's no live images from the motos...
The only sensible thing to do is set the rollers up in front of the TV.

Or the preceding tennis/motor racing/snooker over runs so all you get is the last 2k of racing with the field spread out across the mountain.

Do the sportive.

rick_chasey

The Monte Zoncolan is special but not that special...

The racing on it is very predictable.

You spend a lot of time going "look how slow they're going! It must be steep!" and trying to work out the steepest bit.

sampras38

hammerite wrote:

58585 wrote:

You'll be mildly peeved if there is mist and rain on the Zoncolan and there's no live images from the motos...
The only sensible thing to do is set the rollers up in front of the TV.

Or the preceding tennis/motor racing/snooker over runs so all you get is the last 2k of racing with the field spread out across the mountain.

Do the sportive.

I always record the programme right after it, but yeah, do the Sportive. That's what I'll be doing on Sunday. Hampshire Hilly 100.

Ron Stuart

It's a No Brainer, do the Sportive, record the Giro and like me you can fast forward the numb-nut adverts. Best of both worlds my son

mattshrops

this is the difference between cycling and other sports (mostly) we all do the sport we love to watch. get out and ride. 8)

Tusher

Do the sportive- you'll feel fantastic and afterwards you can justifiably sit on the sofa and eat your own body weight in chocolate, pastries, pies and beer whilst watching the Giro.

calvjones

What everyone says. Watching pro-cycling is a million times more satisfying after a tough day out.

sampras38

Tusher wrote:

Do the sportive- you'll feel fantastic and afterwards you can justifiably sit on the sofa and eat your own body weight in chocolate, pastries, pies and beer whilst watching the Giro.

That's why loads of sportive riders are fatties..;-)

shinyhelmut

CyclingBantam wrote:

then you would be gutted looking out the window if the weather is nice!

He is in Wales. the weather won't be nice.

Ride the sodding sportive anyway!

moray_gub

dougzz wrote:

Given this is the Pro Racing thread it should maybe why would you ever let riding your bike interrupt racing coverage

Personally Sky + and watching it later in my own time is fine for me. Given the lack of general media coverage avoiding the result is hardly a problem, and generally here there's proper use of 'Spoiler' so the delay is as good as live, but later.

That used to be the case but these days Sky Sports News can catch you out but generally you should be able to avoid it if you do the sportive.

Kléber

Ride.

As exciting as the Zoncolan might be, and the preceeding climb, the real drama might well come in the last half hour. Do it right and you could be home in time to watch live?

RichN95.

OP, consider yourself lucky. On the same day I have my parents coming to visit, as it's my birthday (like I care about that at my age). So it'll be a long lunch followed by a couple of hours aimlessly pottering about. I can't even watch the end as my dad wants to watch the Heineken Cup final (I offered to get tickets which would have been good, but he wasn't interested).

So Sky+ it is, but this has it's own problems. Last year their visit clashed with the Strade Bianche stage all was fine until my mate sent me a text saying "What a brilliant stage. Cadel is a legend".

Gingerflash

I'lll be doing the mountain bike event the next day as well, so I'll have two stages recorded, to be watched after a weekend's camping and getting home at about 9pm.