Sportives

Kieran_Burns

coriordan wrote:

tetm wrote:

alansd1980 wrote:

Any other SCR's signed up for the wiggle up and downs 100 mile ride?

corirorioriroriroridan and I are with a couple of mates, feel free to get involved. corirorioriroriroridan is likely to faint after 15 miles or the first hill, whichever comes first.

*guilty*

Or the 1st junction, as she gaily sails off into the sunset....

Anonymous

I don't get it....

Kieran_Burns

coriordan wrote:

I don't get it....

Whoops!

Wrong one :oops: people with similar names :oops:

alansd1980

tetm wrote:

alansd1980 wrote:

Any other SCR's signed up for the wiggle up and downs 100 mile ride?

corirorioriroriroridan and I are with a couple of mates, feel free to get involved. corirorioriroriroridan is likely to faint after 15 miles or the first hill, whichever comes first.

I suppose that means he and I will be finished about the same time!

That good to know there might be some semi friendly faces about.
What will you guys be riding and I will keep an eye out

Wrath Rob

I'm doing the Sandown Cyclone with a couple of mates on Sunday. Anyone else going? http://www.ukcyclingevents.co.uk/events ... -sportive/

clarkey cat

Hi Rob, I could be tempted by that... was just going to do the KW club run though, seems to go over the same ground. I've never done a sportive before. Is it more fun than a club run?

cyclingprop

Suggestions please chaps - I'm back on for some short (very short) rides as of the first week of May, but I'd like to get a sportive or two in this year. The BHF L2B doesn't count. And I need a way of keeping the miles up as there is a risk I won't be commuting if my client changes (BOO!)

So what rides would you recommend that are scheduled for June onwards, and preferably (to begin with) aren't going to kill me with hills. Recognise I need to work on that bit, but I don't want to stress the ankle too much to begin with.

cjcp

Looks like I have a pass for the May Flyer

padders

Wrath Rob wrote:

I'm doing the Sandown Cyclone with a couple of mates on Sunday. Anyone else going? http://www.ukcyclingevents.co.uk/events ... -sportive/

Yup, just got back from completeing the standard route, regret not going for the epic now as the weather held out so well.

Got around with an average of 17.1mph which considering that the usually faultless afline hub was crapping out whenever I laid down the power, leaving me around 4 usable gears isn't so bad. Time for an oil bath and cable replacement!

Wrath Rob

Padders wrote:

Wrath Rob wrote:

I'm doing the Sandown Cyclone with a couple of mates on Sunday. Anyone else going? http://www.ukcyclingevents.co.uk/events ... -sportive/

Yup, just got back from completeing the standard route, regret not going for the epic now as the weather held out so well.

Got around with an average of 17.1mph which considering that the usually faultless afline hub was crapping out whenever I laid down the power, leaving me around 4 usable gears isn't so bad. Time for an oil bath and cable replacement!

Did the Epic and it was great fun. Slightly annoyed that the advertised 81 mile route turned out to be 79 miles. Anyway, averaged 17.8mph and put in a big attack on the last little ride before Esher and managed to drop my ride buddies and the drafting fairies we'd picked up (guy in the green top, this means you!). We all got the gold standard but I've not seen the results yet. Felt so much better than the sportive I did last year, although I was feeling very rough 1/2 way up Whitedown :shock:

@CC, sorry I missed your post. They're like a very well organised and sign posted club run with added feed stations at a couple of points around the course and loads of friendly people rolling around the roads. The route was great, even though it did a lot of the usual KW hills. Other ones help you explore areas you might not otherwise try. They're normally good fun. My next is the Kent Castle ride, doing the 104 mile course. I think my average will do down a little for that as I'll be riding with a couple of slower guys.

asprilla

cjcp wrote:

Looks like I have a pass for the May Flyer

Give me a wave as you go past.

cjcp

Asprilla wrote:

cjcp wrote:

Looks like I have a pass for the May Flyer

Give me a wave as you go past.

Au contraire. Hopefully, JG will enter, too. Fancy riding as a group?

asprilla

cjcp wrote:

Asprilla wrote:

cjcp wrote:

Looks like I have a pass for the May Flyer

Give me a wave as you go past.

Au contraire. Hopefully, JG will enter, too. Fancy riding as a group?

I've agreed to ride it with a chap from work. Given I had to wait for him three times in a lap round RP and the furthest he's ever ridden before is 50k I don't think we are going to pulling up any trees.....

cjcp

Fair enough. Do you have a start time?

Right, need to enter, now.

Anonymous

Went out for a Sunday ride to catch the sun with tetm, had my carbs, recalibrated by speedo and decided to smash it down Chelsea embankment to see if I could wind it up to 30. Mid-high twenties and im out of the saddle setting the tarmac alight putting down power which would make Hoy tremble when the chain drops from the big ring right down the bottom bracket. I went flying! Bump on shoulder, torn base layer, jersey and scar on elbow and bruised hip. Crawled off onto the pavement as the cars just drove around and a kind motorcyclist (AGHAST) stopped and picked up my pump and now 'peeled' energy bar. Must have landed on my inner tube or something as no real scars, just a bit of road rash.
Called tetm to whine about bruising and pain and my misery, but thank god he didn't pick up, as I would never live it down if he heard my whimpering. Dusted myself off, went round to his and FINALLY I had an attack at Box Hill, after hearing so much about it. Bit disappointed by the hill itself, but the riding around there is beautiful (and hilly! WOOP WOOP!). Had a piece of cake at the top and set about punishing myself on the ups and chickening out on the downs. Must have joined the Sandown Cyclone at some point as there were plenty of cyclists around and we followed some signs. Quite liked the savage hill with the 'pain is temporary' poster on it (the one with the old school looking shagger taking photos half way up).
Jolly good day out, will probably be taking it easy tomorrow.

asprilla

cjcp wrote:

Fair enough. Do you have a start time?

Right, need to enter, now.

If I remember from last year you just rock up and they let groups of 20 go at two minute intervals.

Headhuunter

Anyone doing the Pearson 150 on 20th May?

http://www.pearsoncycles.co.uk/store/co ... -Sportive/

150km from the edge of south London to Brighton and back. It was pretty well organised and the ride back through the Surrey Hills was pleasant enough....

Wrath Rob

I'm already booked on the Kent Castle 100 that weekend

http://www.action.org.uk/castle_ride_100

Headhuunter

Wrath Rob wrote:

I'm already booked on the Kent Castle 100 that weekend

http://www.action.org.uk/castle_ride_100

Looks good but £50 entry is a bit steep!

okgo

I'm amazed people are willing to pay so much for these things. What is the attraction of one over a club run? Given that you can easily get 10 people to go on a club-run with you?

I can see why people may do the odd one here and there, but I speak to a bloke at work that does a couple a month, it probably cost him more than it does me for racing!

padders

Results and photos are up for the Sandown Cyclone; confirming again that however cool I imagine I look on a bike, I'm not looking my best when cresting White Down Lane.

The Pearson 150 looks like fun, I'm now on a mission to convince a couple of mates that it'd be a great idea too.

asprilla

For me it's a bout a new long route and the number of riders out and about.

A club run is generally about 50 miles or so (I'm aware that KW have a very long club run each week but that's the fast guys) whereas a sportive will generally be around 100 miles topped and tailed with a another 10 or so.

okgo

I think your view is shared by a lot of the club which is why we have the issues with numbers on the shorter runs.

The longer rides are often a bit quicker than club run pace, but for most people on here, well within capability.

tetm

coriordan wrote:

tl;dr

Realised the two of us were stood behind Blonde Cyclist and the Twickenham crew at the Box Hill face stuffers convention. Hello to you.

Wrath Rob

Headhuunter wrote:

Wrath Rob wrote:

I'm already booked on the Kent Castle 100 that weekend

http://www.action.org.uk/castle_ride_100

Looks good but £50 entry is a bit steep!

£28 for entry, which includes lunch, plus £22 minimum sponsorship. Yes its not the cheapest but it comes highly recommended and raises money for a good cause, not just to line Wiggle's pockets.

Gazzaputt

okgo wrote:

I'm amazed people are willing to pay so much for these things. What is the attraction of one over a club run? Given that you can easily get 10 people to go on a club-run with you?

I can see why people may do the odd one here and there, but I speak to a bloke at work that does a couple a month, it probably cost him more than it does me for racing!

+1

Complete waste of money imo.

Join a club and learn to ride properly in a group!

londonlivvy

okgo wrote:

I'm amazed people are willing to pay so much for these things. What is the attraction of one over a club run? Given that you can easily get 10 people to go on a club-run with you?

I can see why people may do the odd one here and there, but I speak to a bloke at work that does a couple a month, it probably cost him more than it does me for racing!

A) Club runs involve a lot of faffage. Waiting at the start for people who are late / forgotten stuff / have punctures etc etc. Then you have to have a coffee stop so it ends up taking well over 5 hours to do 4 hours of riding. I'd rather just do the ride, then get on and go and do something else.
Club runs are by their nature usually in your local area. I already know those roads and don't need a club run to show me them. Sportives have shown me some lovely other rides (a short train ride away) in a planned event which not only means I discover new areas, but also if I have a gear failure, I don't have to walk 10 miles to the nearest station.
C) Club runs can be intimidating and not very friendly (in my experience, as a not-particularly-good female rider). By comparison, I've met stacks of lovely people on sportives and had a lot of fun.
D) Club runs either seem to be of the fast boys 18mph+ variety or old boys' 15mph if you're lucky, with coffee stops. I'm not fast enough for the fast boys and too fast for the old boys (edit : I was faster than the old boys last year. This year I'd struggle to keep up with the old boys. But c'est la vie).
E) Clubs tend (again, in my experience) to be about racing. They keep trying to persuade you to race and can't accept that you might not have any desire to do so. They also have commitments for marshalling and all that jazz. It's much easier (and nicer) just to go to the sportives you want to go to, than have to defend why you don't want to race all the time!

Just my point of view of course.

bigmat

I agree sportives are a bit (a lot!) overpriced these days. There are some good ones still, where you get what you pay for with good marshalling, signage, food stops and goodie bags, but lots just take the p**s. I might do a couple this year - the best ones are those with a really interesting, scenic or challenging route and / or sufficient volume of people that you can easily find a group to ride with. I'd rather give some road races a go as plan A though, even as a very raw 4th cat I've found myself too far up the field in the last few sportives I've ridden to be able to find more than a handful of people quick enough to ride with (thank the lord for JFree at Hell of the Ashdown!)

Blonde Cyclist

tetm wrote:

coriordan wrote:

tl;dr

Realised the two of us were stood behind Blonde Cyclist and the Twickenham crew at the Box Hill face stuffers convention. Hello to you.

Hello! I'm afraid I can't remember who was behind me, being slightly spaced out at the time (I left home at 6:45am and Box Hill was number 6 in our 7 hills...) I think we did a large portion of the sportive route you did on Sunday, although noticed that you managed to descend Ranmore and Barhatch (nasty climbs). Lovely morning for a ride though!

okgo

londonlivvy wrote:

okgo wrote:

I'm amazed people are willing to pay so much for these things. What is the attraction of one over a club run? Given that you can easily get 10 people to go on a club-run with you?

I can see why people may do the odd one here and there, but I speak to a bloke at work that does a couple a month, it probably cost him more than it does me for racing!

A) Club runs involve a lot of faffage. Waiting at the start for people who are late / forgotten stuff / have punctures etc etc. Then you have to have a coffee stop so it ends up taking well over 5 hours to do 4 hours of riding. I'd rather just do the ride, then get on and go and do something else.
Club runs are by their nature usually in your local area. I already know those roads and don't need a club run to show me them. Sportives have shown me some lovely other rides (a short train ride away) in a planned event which not only means I discover new areas, but also if I have a gear failure, I don't have to walk 10 miles to the nearest station.
C) Club runs can be intimidating and not very friendly (in my experience, as a not-particularly-good female rider). By comparison, I've met stacks of lovely people on sportives and had a lot of fun.
D) Club runs either seem to be of the fast boys 18mph+ variety or old boys' 15mph if you're lucky, with coffee stops. I'm not fast enough for the fast boys and too fast for the old boys (edit : I was faster than the old boys last year. This year I'd struggle to keep up with the old boys. But c'est la vie).
E) Clubs tend (again, in my experience) to be about racing. They keep trying to persuade you to race and can't accept that you might not have any desire to do so. They also have commitments for marshalling and all that jazz. It's much easier (and nicer) just to go to the sportives you want to go to, than have to defend why you don't want to race all the time!

Just my point of view of course.

Fair enough, some of that stuff I do agree with. Other bits are a bit wide of the mark.

But I was just wondering about the ones that are local to people, that's all. I mean, the Fred Whitton or something for those based in the SE is a great way to see stuff you wouldn't normally with the safety nets you mentioned. Just can't see the attraction of anything Surrey Hill related myself, at least not for more than £10-£15. Still, different strokes I guess.