Sportives, MAMILS and competitive spirit

phreak

I know sportives aren't supposed to be competitive events and all that, but I suspect most of the MAMILs that do them like to think of them as races. Some new research suggests that this urge grows until we get to 50 when we get a bit more sense and stop trying to compete in everything.

http://www.adigaskell.org/blog/2011/11/ ... ive-at-50/

Not sure my better half will appreciate me doing this for another few decades

Brian B

Stop competing at 50 you must be kidding. Any experienced spotive rider would have came across 'the goatie bearded 60+ year old rider on an audax bike' who lurks unseen behind you and every time you stop he passes and smiles. You then pass him at furious pace only for the same to happen again 30odd miles up the road.

sagalout

Hah, you mean like this guy on the Colomba ride last week?

http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/cyclos ... Sportive-0

Scroll down to the first picture

phreak

Haha, brilliant

Trevor Ward

I only registered so I could comment on the story about the latest closed road sportive - Durham in Oct next year - but ended up here, so pls indulge me. This latest is another one aimed at the Rapha brigade - £61 for a bike ride on your own bike on public roads!!! Will 2012 will be the year of the first £100 sportive? I fear so. Etape Caledonia - another £60+ sportive - is sold out. I'm planning on holding a Not The Etape ride on the same day, on a beautiful route around Loch Tay that mirrors the real Etape. Entry will be £5 on the day and will go direct to charity. Anyone who shares my frustration and fancies it - it will be first or second Sunday in May - let me know at trevDOTwardATvirginDOTnet

Brakeless

What are you actually frustrated about? If you don't like certain events don't do them, if other people enjoy them then whats to get frustrated about?

de_sisti

Trevor Ward wrote:

I only registered so I could comment on the story about the latest closed road sportive - Durham in Oct next year - but ended up here, so pls indulge me. This latest is another one aimed at the Rapha brigade - £61 for a bike ride on your own bike on public roads!!! Will 2012 will be the year of the first £100 sportive? I fear so. Etape Caledonia - another £60+ sportive - is sold out. I'm planning on holding a Not The Etape ride on the same day, on a beautiful route around Loch Tay that mirrors the real Etape. Entry will be £5 on the day and will go direct to charity. Anyone who shares my frustration and fancies it - it will be first or second Sunday in May - let me know at trevDOTwardATvirginDOTnet

How are they going the keep the roads closed for so long, considering the probable finish times of the first
and last rider? It'll be good if it happens, but I wouldn't bet on it.

bigpikle

why do people get so worked up about other peoples events they dont want/plan to enter...just take a deep breath...

Subsy

sagalout wrote:

Hah, you mean like this guy on the Colomba ride last week?

http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/cyclos ... Sportive-0

Scroll down to the first picture

brilliant!

Garz

Brian B wrote:

Stop competing at 50 you must be kidding. Any experienced spotive rider would have came across 'the goatie bearded 60+ year old rider on an audax bike' who lurks unseen behind you and every time you stop he passes and smiles. You then pass him at furious pace only for the same to happen again 30odd miles up the road.

I agree with Brian here. I have only participated in a handful of sportives but on each of them there is always a stereotypical guy waving the flag for their niche.

Brian B

Great thread - dont litter it with posts about sportives with closed roads. I live close to the etape caledonian route and would never ride it(I have posted about this before) due to the roads being very light on traffic all year round but thats a topic for another thread. Every year thousands of people return to do the event, as in life each to his/her own!

On a lighter note here is a pic of the 'archtypical goatee audax rider'. Funnily enough I am also actually in this pic from 2010 in the black/white Assos Mille top and only stumbled upon this site several months ago. At the ripe old age of 40 I am now looking forward to a few more decades of cycling in an non competative way.

http://www.cyclo.co.uk/2011/07/the-ken- ... august-21/

John.T

sagalout wrote:

Hah, you mean like this guy on the Colomba ride last week?

http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/cyclos ... Sportive-0

Scroll down to the first picture

Dave. That is a fellow Harrogate Nova member John Yates .

Hugh A

Excellent - dishing out out to the walkers in the background - mind you it could be worse - as anyone who has ridden with Drew Buck can tell you. It can be damaging to the ego to be passed by an apparently elderly chap dressed in a striped shirt riding a hefty 100 year old bike with a large string of onions on the front and suitcase on the back. To make matters worse, he may pass you going uphill while pedalling backwards, as that engages his 2nd gear!