Sportives

Blonde Cyclist

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.

Whereabouts are you in London? Twickenham CC run a girls ride about once a month and the idea is that girls of lots of different standards meet and ride at a pace everyone can do, but not stupidly slowly either. I've been on a few and we have members who wouldn't normally go on a club run and others who have been racing in Europe, all riding together, just enjoying being out on the bikes. Unfortunately I couldn't make yesterday's as I wanted to do the hill ride instead (Fred Whitton in 3 weeks...) but otherwise I would have been there. Keep an eye on the Twickenham CC facebook page - they normally get put up there a week or two beforehand. (Also if you're local it's a great club and we normally have at least 3 different paces going so most people can find something that suits!)

clarkey cat

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.

+1

Although I don't bother with sportives either. Just go out on my own or with some mates.

bigmat

Other plus point for sportives is that it is a lot easier to negotiate a pass for the day if you have booked and paid for something and have it in the diary weeks in advance. With club runs, its always "just a club run" and life tends to get in the way. That alone has been worth £25 on a few occasions!

asprilla

BigMat wrote:

Other plus point for sportives is that it is a lot easier to negotiate a pass for the day if you have booked and paid for something and have it in the diary weeks in advance. With club runs, its always "just a club run" and life tends to get in the way. That alone has been worth £25 on a few occasions!

Haha, I was just about to post this!

jonginge

Asprilla wrote:

BigMat wrote:

Other plus point for sportives is that it is a lot easier to negotiate a pass for the day if you have booked and paid for something and have it in the diary weeks in advance. With club runs, its always "just a club run" and life tends to get in the way. That alone has been worth £25 on a few occasions!

Haha, I was just about to post this!

CJ to thread, CJ to thread.

Also, it's less easy to bail on a ride if you've said you're going to ride it and have actually paid for it. I'm phenomenally lazy. There, I've said it.

veronese68

The last few posts are the thing that could get me to try one. That's one of the reasons I do the occasional mass participation charity ride. Now I'm a bit fitter maybe I should try a sportive.
One thing that puts me off a bit is coming down a steep hill in a large group with a load of blokes that think they're some kind of hero but actually have no idea. Do you get this in many events? I should also get a bike with better brakes.

okgo

Most people riding a long sportive you would hope have done some group riding before, but after doing the L2B I don't intend to ride a mass public event again, full of idiots with no idea.

asprilla

Veronese68 wrote:

One thing that puts me off a bit is coming down a steep hill in a large group with a load of blokes that think they're some kind of hero but actually have no idea. Do you get this in many events? I should also get a bike with better brakes.

Nah, the field generally thins out on these things pretty quick, it's not being in the peloton. There will be people around you in a large event, but they aren't crowded.

alansd1980

Went out for my first club run yesterday with cosoveli (I think) and we did quite a lot of the sandown sportive route so may have rubbed shoulders with some of you lot when I was out.

For non club cyclists the sportives are good motivational tools to get training towards something and to have the safety net of a supported ride. Wouldnt pay to do them regularly though.

JamesFree

I have only done a few but I see it as a great way to take in a new route without having to worry about looking at maps or getting lost but some are ridiculously over priced.

I really enjoyed the Hell of Ashdown though, was a great route and brilliantly marshalled and signposted, also the High 5 goodie bag of gels, drinks etc at the end was worth a few quid too so didn't mind paying the fee for that sportive.

cjcp

JonGinge wrote:

Asprilla wrote:

BigMat wrote:

Other plus point for sportives is that it is a lot easier to negotiate a pass for the day if you have booked and paid for something and have it in the diary weeks in advance. With club runs, its always "just a club run" and life tends to get in the way. That alone has been worth £25 on a few occasions!

Haha, I was just about to post this!

CJ to thread, CJ to thread.

Also, it's less easy to bail on a ride if you've said you're going to ride it and have actually paid for it. I'm phenomenally lazy. There, I've said it.

Very true!

Some people prefer club runs, some sportives, some racing. Each to their own. S'all good.

the_fuggler

BigMat wrote:

Other plus point for sportives is that it is a lot easier to negotiate a pass for the day if you have booked and paid for something and have it in the diary weeks in advance. With club runs, its always "just a club run" and life tends to get in the way. That alone has been worth £25 on a few occasions!

This is very much the case for me - they are special events for which I can be given time off for good behaviour that I would be able to negotiate if it was just a club run.

It's horses for courses really. Try one. If it's not for you, it's not for you!

cjcp

May Flyer entered.

alansd1980

If anyone wants an entry to the ups and downs epic this weekend I have one going free to a good home. I am in wales on the mtb all day saturday so getting out for 100 miles sunday would be pushing my luck!

First come first served!