What's all the fuss about sportive's?

Spaniard

I've been riding my bike for around 10 years now, mostly on my own, or with a group of club mates. Recently, I've had a few people suggest I do a sportive with them. Well, curious as to what all the fuss is about sportives I entered a couple last year, not knowing what to expect. To be perfectly honest I was really dissapointed with the whole experience. I paid well over £40 quid for the events and what did I get in return? a ride in the countryside with my mates on roads that weren't closed! Hang on, isn't that what I've been doing for the past 10 years?
Oh, forgot to mention that my £40 quid got me a banana, an energy bar and drink! what a rip off!
I could have ridden the route for free without paying some unknown organisation my hard earned cash. If the money had gone to charity then I'd have been quite happy to pay it, but to pay someone to ride on roads which I can ride on for nothing seems a bit mental? Even if you're riding the sportive to try and improve your time £40 quid will buy you a watch that'll do the job just as well as a timing chip!
I am quite a competitive person by nature and did notice that some of the riders in the sportive were pressing on a bit to test each others metal - why not pay for a years racing licence (hell of a lot cheaper than half a dozen sportives) and race?
I'm sure that this post will put the cat among the pigeons, but I do think we're being fleeced by sportive organisers. I for one won't being doing them again unless it's a charity event. Why line someone elses pocket by doing something that you can do for nothing anyway?

xtc_special

I can see your point, but not having done one I can't comment further.

BillyMansell

This has been discussed hundreds of times. Use the search facility rather than starting another thread.

Wallace1492

I have done 3 Etape Caledonia's. Closed roads, 5,000 people doing it, great atmosphere, locals cheering you on. You don't get that sort of experience riding with your mates. Other, non closed road events may not be worth it, but the Etape Caledonia is special.

Tom Butcher

If you enter half a dozen road races and buy a licence you'll probably pay about as much as you would for half a dozen sportives - it'll work out at about £25 a pop.

I think it's a case of each to their own - road racing is nothing like riding a sportive - and whilst a lot of sportive riders probably do race I reckon the majority wouldn't last 10 minutes in the bunch in a road race (even if they wanted to) anyway. So they are different sorts of challenges and some people prefer one, some the other, some enjoy both.

I do agree though that some sportives are just a waste of money - unless they can deliver a big event type feel with plenty of riders then the organisation has to be superb to make up for it. The last one I rode was a couple of years ago and yes it was probably less fun than the average club run - but I've done some cracking ones before that too.

secretsqizz

BillyMansell wrote:

This has been discussed hundreds of times. Use the search facility rather than starting another thread.

yes but thats ForumNecrophilia and frowned upon.

rodgers73

I'm not in a club and nearly always ride alone if I go out. I like sportives because -

1. They introduce me to a part of the country that I probably haven't ridden in before and (usually) give me the "best" route for that area
2. Give me a nice sense of cameraderie riding with a bunch of like minded people all going through the same terrible weather/killer hills etc
3. Give me a (very) rough idea of how my riding fitness is coming on by letting me see how I match up against other keen riders. I dont "race" like some people do, but whether or not I'm overtaking others rather than being overtaken by them tells me generally if I'm training enough.
4. Allows me to concentrate purely on (and enjoy) the riding without having to stop every ten minutes to check a map/swear at malfunctioning Garmin etc.
5. Gives me a bit of a buzz for being part of a "big occasion"

Having ridden the Fred Whitton yesterday I can't imagine how much less of a ride that would have been if I'd just gone up there on my own and followed the route with a couple of bits of extra food in my pocket. The spectators along the way, the partial road closures (well, cops and marshalls holding up traffic at a few junctions) and the sight of hundreds of other riders climbing the hills ahead of me (Hardknott looked like an anthill from the bottom!) were a huge boost. It was a very memorable and enjoyable ride and well worth the £40 entry fee.

I suspect the OP needs to choose his events more wisely!

nickwill

If like me, you had joined 1300 other cyclists on the Fred Whitton yesterday you would know why people enter sportives. The atmosphere was electric. Arrival at the top of most of the climbs was met by crowds of cheering people.
The atmosphere of events like this certainly raises the game and encourages people to ride harder. The spectators on Hardknott Pass must have been a major factor in getting many people up the 33% sections.

Anonymous

Spaniard wrote:

I've been riding my bike for around 10 years now, mostly on my own, or with a group of club mates. Recently, I've had a few people suggest I do a sportive with them. Well, curious as to what all the fuss is about sportives I entered a couple last year, not knowing what to expect. To be perfectly honest I was really dissapointed with the whole experience. I paid well over £40 quid for the events and what did I get in return? a ride in the countryside with my mates on roads that weren't closed! Hang on, isn't that what I've been doing for the past 10 years?
Oh, forgot to mention that my £40 quid got me a banana, an energy bar and drink! what a rip off!
I could have ridden the route for free without paying some unknown organisation my hard earned cash. If the money had gone to charity then I'd have been quite happy to pay it, but to pay someone to ride on roads which I can ride on for nothing seems a bit mental? Even if you're riding the sportive to try and improve your time £40 quid will buy you a watch that'll do the job just as well as a timing chip!
I am quite a competitive person by nature and did notice that some of the riders in the sportive were pressing on a bit to test each others metal - why not pay for a years racing licence (hell of a lot cheaper than half a dozen sportives) and race?
I'm sure that this post will put the cat among the pigeons, but I do think we're being fleeced by sportive organisers. I for one won't being doing them again unless it's a charity event. Why line someone elses pocket by doing something that you can do for nothing anyway?

Yawn

slunker

For companies to cash in on the current boom in cycling.

nunowoolmez

i agree with Rodgers73 & Nickwill. I choose the sportives i know i will really enjoy & find a challenge, yesterdays Fred Whitton was incredible & i agree would not be the same without all that goes with it.

One of the main reasons i do sportives is that if i went for a ride on my own in alien territory i would get hopelessly lost. I only have the basic garmin which doesn't have mapability & i'm rubbish at reading maps. This way i can just enjoy riding my bike without worrying about anthing. Horses for courses i guess.

Bordersroadie

rodgers73 wrote:

I'm not in a club and nearly always ride alone if I go out. I like sportives because -

1. They introduce me to a part of the country that I probably haven't ridden in before and (usually) give me the "best" route for that area
2. Give me a nice sense of cameraderie riding with a bunch of like minded people all going through the same terrible weather/killer hills etc
3. Give me a (very) rough idea of how my riding fitness is coming on by letting me see how I match up against other keen riders. I dont "race" like some people do, but whether or not I'm overtaking others rather than being overtaken by them tells me generally if I'm training enough.
4. Allows me to concentrate purely on (and enjoy) the riding without having to stop every ten minutes to check a map/swear at malfunctioning Garmin etc.
5. Gives me a bit of a buzz for being part of a "big occasion"

Having ridden the Fred Whitton yesterday I can't imagine how much less of a ride that would have been if I'd just gone up there on my own and followed the route with a couple of bits of extra food in my pocket. The spectators along the way, the partial road closures (well, cops and marshalls holding up traffic at a few junctions) and the sight of hundreds of other riders climbing the hills ahead of me (Hardknott looked like an anthill from the bottom!) were a huge boost. It was a very memorable and enjoyable ride and well worth the £40 entry fee.

I suspect the OP needs to choose his events more wisely!

Perfectly summed up, and I totally agree.

If the OP really put his brain cells to work he'd have figured all this out himself. A bit of a troll post, I think.

Pumpkin Positive

Spaniard wrote:

I've been riding my bike for around 10 years now, mostly on my own, or with a group of club mates. Recently, I've had a few people suggest I do a sportive with them. Well, curious as to what all the fuss is about sportives I entered a couple last year, not knowing what to expect. To be perfectly honest I was really dissapointed with the whole experience. I paid well over £40 quid for the events and what did I get in return? a ride in the countryside with my mates on roads that weren't closed! Hang on, isn't that what I've been doing for the past 10 years?
Oh, forgot to mention that my £40 quid got me a banana, an energy bar and drink! what a rip off!
I could have ridden the route for free without paying some unknown organisation my hard earned cash. If the money had gone to charity then I'd have been quite happy to pay it, but to pay someone to ride on roads which I can ride on for nothing seems a bit mental? Even if you're riding the sportive to try and improve your time £40 quid will buy you a watch that'll do the job just as well as a timing chip!
I am quite a competitive person by nature and did notice that some of the riders in the sportive were pressing on a bit to test each others metal - why not pay for a years racing licence (hell of a lot cheaper than half a dozen sportives) and race?
I'm sure that this post will put the cat among the pigeons, but I do think we're being fleeced by sportive organisers. I for one won't being doing them again unless it's a charity event. Why line someone elses pocket by doing something that you can do for nothing anyway?

Haven't we been here before? How very tedious.

Davey C

rodgers73 wrote:

I'm not in a club and nearly always ride alone if I go out. I like sportives because -

1. They introduce me to a part of the country that I probably haven't ridden in before and (usually) give me the "best" route for that area
2. Give me a nice sense of cameraderie riding with a bunch of like minded people all going through the same terrible weather/killer hills etc
3. Give me a (very) rough idea of how my riding fitness is coming on by letting me see how I match up against other keen riders. I dont "race" like some people do, but whether or not I'm overtaking others rather than being overtaken by them tells me generally if I'm training enough.
4. Allows me to concentrate purely on (and enjoy) the riding without having to stop every ten minutes to check a map/swear at malfunctioning Garmin etc.
5. Gives me a bit of a buzz for being part of a "big occasion"

Having ridden the Fred Whitton yesterday I can't imagine how much less of a ride that would have been if I'd just gone up there on my own and followed the route with a couple of bits of extra food in my pocket. The spectators along the way, the partial road closures (well, cops and marshalls holding up traffic at a few junctions) and the sight of hundreds of other riders climbing the hills ahead of me (Hardknott looked like an anthill from the bottom!) were a huge boost. It was a very memorable and enjoyable ride and well worth the £40 entry fee.

I suspect the OP needs to choose his events more wisely!

I'm not going to comment on the sportive argument but this post struck me. Apart from point 5 the other aspects of sportives you enjoy can easily be achieved with a club run but you choose to cycle alone for the majority of the time. Why is that?

Bordersroadie

Davey C wrote:

you choose to cycle alone for the majority of the time. Why is that?

Lots of good reasons why many of us train alone.

For me, I'm following a HRM based training plan that requires me to ride at very specific speeds to keep my HR at the target levels, whether this is an LSD (long steady distance) ride at lower zones or an interval session (hill repeats or hilly loop repeats).

Like many people, the likelihood that a club run* (or a ride with any other rider) will allow me to stick to the exact power levels I need to, to adhere to my own training plan, is zero to negligible.

And like many solo riders, I'm seeing great improvements from my training both in endurance and power, so it's working.

* or maybe we just prefer our own company to that of a bunch of "club" riders

ariege_cyclist

Personally I had only done sportives in France (whilst living there) until last year, and all of those were mass start events so there is a real feel of a race about them, and plus you naturally end up riding with others of your own ability as the slower riders drop off and faster ones drop you. This creates a great atmosphere and ensures there's others to ride in a group with (unless it's a very minor event).
The UK sportives have been great (including the Fred Whitton on Sunday), but do lack something compared to mass start events, so I wouldn't be bothered with many sportives here, only really good local events and save the money for going to the big mountains in France or Italy and a mass start event. My personal viewpoint, that's all.

www.richtreen.co.uk

Some odd replies here - people don't want to ride with people they know and trust on a club ride in small bunch, but will happily ride with 1000's of unknown randoms !

Geting disappointing with the rising costs of what your actually get for your money for a sportive in most cases these days to - not been able to ride a closed roads event so can't comment. But am also in the current mindset of saving the cash, riding the routes I want to do (they are all easy enough to find online) with some mates and use the saved cash to go abroad and ride at the end of the year.

dead sheep

Spaniard, if you are concerned about the cost and being fleeced, etc, etc. Perhaps you ought to think about audaxing. You won't get the critical mass, the belts and braces leisure centre HQ, the waymarking or the back-up rescue but you will have a fun day out at a quarter of the cost. You'll need a GPS or be prepared to use route cards.

As for the competitive element, try riding a 200km audax with over 3000m of ascent at an average of 18mph, and you will find it a tougher experience than many races or sportives. Audax riders may deny racing but that does not always match their behaviours.

If you don't like shoestring events and prefer everything to provided at the HQ or en-route then sportives may be your only alternative.

Your view of sportives is only partially correct - there are still some good examples out there!

Davey C

Bordersroadie wrote:

Davey C wrote:

you choose to cycle alone for the majority of the time. Why is that?

Lots of good reasons why many of us train alone.

For me, I'm following a HRM based training plan that requires me to ride at very specific speeds to keep my HR at the target levels, whether this is an LSD (long steady distance) ride at lower zones or an interval session (hill repeats or hilly loop repeats).

Like many people, the likelihood that a club run* (or a ride with any other rider) will allow me to stick to the exact power levels I need to, to adhere to my own training plan, is zero to negligible.

And like many solo riders, I'm seeing great improvements from my training both in endurance and power, so it's working.

* or maybe we just prefer our own company to that of a bunch of "club" riders

I wasn't asking you.

Bordersroadie

Davey C wrote:

Bordersroadie wrote:

Davey C wrote:

you choose to cycle alone for the majority of the time. Why is that?

Lots of good reasons why many of us train alone.

For me, I'm following a HRM based training plan that requires me to ride at very specific speeds to keep my HR at the target levels, whether this is an LSD (long steady distance) ride at lower zones or an interval session (hill repeats or hilly loop repeats).

Like many people, the likelihood that a club run* (or a ride with any other rider) will allow me to stick to the exact power levels I need to, to adhere to my own training plan, is zero to negligible.

And like many solo riders, I'm seeing great improvements from my training both in endurance and power, so it's working.

* or maybe we just prefer our own company to that of a bunch of "club" riders

I wasn't asking you.

Ha ha, I realise not but I replied anyway, didn't I? I think I made a superb answer too, I'm sure you agree?

rodgers73

www.richtreen.co.uk wrote:

Some odd replies here - people don't want to ride with people they know and trust on a club ride in small bunch, but will happily ride with 1000's of unknown randoms !

Geting disappointing with the rising costs of what your actually get for your money for a sportive in most cases these days to - not been able to ride a closed roads event so can't comment. But am also in the current mindset of saving the cash, riding the routes I want to do (they are all easy enough to find online) with some mates and use the saved cash to go abroad and ride at the end of the year.

Davey C wrote:

I'm not going to comment on the sportive argument but this post struck me. Apart from point 5 the other aspects of sportives you enjoy can easily be achieved with a club run but you choose to cycle alone for the majority of the time. Why is that?

Re costs: I did the Fred Whitton this weekend and costs were as follows -

1. Petrol from Doncaster to Lakes and back - £40
2. B&B - £60
3. Misc food, drink etc - £15
4. Entry fee - £40

Bearing in mind that the Fred is the most expensive one I've entered (most are about £25) I don't feel like it's an intoleralbe extra expense, or that if I went up there another day and rode the route alone that I'd be saving enough to cover the expense of a foreign trip. But, you pays your money and you takes your choice I guess...

Re company: I'm essentially a solitary person and hence cycling appeals to me as something I can do without needing a load of other participants to make it happen (my other preferred types of exercise being running and walking, both of which I do alone). Now being in a club or amongst a group of friends is different to being a participant in an event. If one of the other riders in a sportive has a puncture, or some sort of problem, I'm not obliged to stay with them, help them out etc. The mechanical support folk take care of that (although I would stop and help if someone was in real trouble and I always ask riders who have stopped if they're ok).

However, if I fancy a chat with someone then there are always riders around me who are happy to exchange a few words for a bit. But I'm not forced to make conversation with them for 9 or 10 hours straight. I'd find that pretty tiresome, as I would if I had to hang about while someone else sorted out their puncture, dealt with their cramp, or whatever.

So, a sportive gives me a good compromise - company without the obligations. I'm not anti-social or anything, I'm just not very good in group situations, particularly groups of men. I've been a member of (non-cycling) clubs before and they just aren't for me really.

Davey C

Fair enough.

rodgers73

You did ask ;-)

Davey C

rodgers73 wrote:

You did ask ;-)

I did, and thanks for the reponse! Your original post makes a bit more sense to me now.

spanielsson

Pick and choose the right events to suit you. There are still decent events that provide good value for money and a great day out....... I'll ride at least 4 UK sportives per year.

As for racing, if it's BC races you want to enter minimum sign up with license is £68. Individual associations and leagues usually charge £20 to join before you can enter their events that range from £10-£20 per race. TLI is much cheaper, as is LVRC if you are 40 years old or over.

The last thing I'll add is that racing is a world away from other sportive riders "pressing on" and testing each other, the only similarity is the two types of events are ridden on a bike.

andy_wrx

People do sportives for the reasons that thousands of people do marathons/halfs/10k's/etc
Everybody from get-fit fun-runners to amateur club athletes

The current sportive boom echoes the running boom, just 20 years later, because cycling has become much more popular in the last 5-10 years

Ron Stuart

Smelt an immediate rat. :evil:

simon_e

BillyMansell wrote:

This has been discussed hundreds of times. Use the search facility rather than starting another thread.

The search facility is for lazy bar stewards who can't be bothered to go to the effort of posting a new thread when there are already two or three current ones asking the same question. Searching only ever brings up hundreds of old answers when the poster wants a brand new one made specially for them. It makes my day to provide suggestions that will be ignored because the OP already knows the answer they want (though some are sneaky enough to disguise this as a genuine query).

Paying to ride a sportive is not compulsory, either cough up the fee and do it or stay at home. If you pay to play golf would you complain afterwards that you could have dragged a bag of poles around a field for free? If you go to a restaurant for dinner do you then complain that you could have bought the same food from Tesco and cooked it yourself for a fraction of the cost?

:roll:

symo

Simon E wrote:

If you go to a restaurant for dinner do you then complain that you could have bought the same food from Tesco and cooked it yourself for a fraction of the cost?

:roll:

There are people on here who train in cooking and have hired teachers to perfect various techniques and recipes so that they can unleash a whole shebang of kapow in the kitchen on an amateur scale. So they would.

I like them (did Bournemouth yesterday), gives me a chance to ride with others in unfamiliar area on a nicely marked route. Also makes me realise I am crap at hills and need to hit the magic 70kg.