Good weather for a Sportive?

Mikey23

Fairly new to all this after years as a roadrunner. Have done some sportives now to get a feel for doing long distances on the bike in nice but hilly parts of the country. The first was the kilo to go just down the road from me in Cornwall. Weather was appalling with 50mph winds and driving rain. Despite the conditions, half turned up and most got round. Signed up for a charity 50 miler around the Somerset levels this weekend which was cancelled because of a 'severe weather warning'. Looked around but no obvious weather warning to be seen, forecast for today being damp and drizzly but otherwise ok. So I'm left with a wasted hotel booking and race entry fee putting me out of pocket by £80 and looking out of the window on pretty good riding conditions. Would be unheard of for a running race to be cancelled in these circumstances.

So is this others experience? Is it the difference between a 'commercial' and a 'charity' event? Or am I just a tad pissed off?

desweller

Are they not going to refund the entry fee?

cougie

A sportif isnt a race.

Running races were cancelled last week due to high winds and again with flooding a few weeks back.

I think youve been unlucky - but Id have just ridden the route as best I could ? Where are you from ? Theres so many sportifs around that Ive never needed a hotel for one - the drive hasnt been that far.

rolf_f

I once turned up for a Sportive a day late. It was drizzly and I was lonely there all on my own. I could have got back in the car and driven home but I thought I might as well do the ride so I did.

Sorry, but I really don't get why you didn't just go to the hotel - you'd never have got that money back anyway so you might has well have gone and done something! Ultimately, a Sportive is a good way to motivate yourself to go for a ride and the atmosphere can be great but ultimately, the main thing is that it is a bike ride and you don't need the Sportive facilities to actually do the ride.

That said, I think they should still have run it. I did the Fred Whitton last year and some people experienced pretty terrible weather on it but it still ran. The organisers no doubt would suffer significant criticism if the weather conditions were genuinely dreadful at the start but the correct thing would have been to have set up for it but warned people of a possible cancellation on the day.

Rob Somerset

Not sure why it was called off. The weather was ok all weekend. I rode some of the course on sunday and it was bone dry until late afternoon. The event has a lot of riders but its all done at a very sedate pace on flat roads with no technically difficult riding needed, so I can't see that there was too much risk because of the anticipated weather. I do think that some people just worry too much. To the OP , you should have used your hotel and gone off the levels to some much better rides on the Mendip Hills.

nickel

I can only assume the organisers were being overly cautious as when it rains heavily the levels can flood extremely easily.

Bobbinogs

Hang on a mo', I would not count the BHF Somerset Levels as a sportive and I think we can swiftly move on past the reference to "race entry fee" . It is a charity ride, mostly done by folks at strolling pace given that the average person attending sees 50 miles as a big challenge (hence all the sponsorship money raised). I have even seen a team running around the 27 mile route dressed in fancy dress, good on 'em.

If I am honest, a pan-flat 50 miles in the 5 hours it takes my wife to go around is not challenge for me so I don't ask friends to sponsor me but I do chuck a large chunk of cash in as an additional contribution when signing up. I normally do the 50 miler and enjoy the whole vibe. It was also the last ride I did with my wife and father in law before he died of a heart attack (on a club ride) a couple of years ago so it is an emotional pilgrammage for us (and I think many of the other folks doing the ride judging by some of the tears of joy/sadness at the end).

I ended up actually driving some of the route yesterday (back from Somerset to Glos) and it was definitely rideable. My wife has also trained for 2 months for the ride so the postponement was very frustrating for us...does that make me peeved with the orgainisers? Absolutely not. I am not sure exactly why they cancelled it but on Friday the wind was so strong you could hardly stand, there had been a week of heavy rain and more rain predicted for Sat night. the levels also flood regularly due to the amount of water hanging around so I suspect the postponement was one of those things that made sense at the time but looks over cautious now. Anyway, bring on the revised one and here's hoping that the BHF coffers are generously filled by it.

Oh, my wife and I got up early and went out on a nice spin around Wheddon Cross/Exmoor, so all that training by her didn't go to waste after all

Bobbinogs

FYI, this ride has now been rearranged for 1st July:

http://www.bhf.org.uk/get-involved/even ... ps=1001344

Peddle Up!

The same happened to the BHF Worcestershire ride when the weather turned, no stayed sh*tty. Unfortunately it was rescheduled to a date that clashed with the BHF Cotswold Bike Ride - a firm favourite always ridden on the "pub bike", so I couldn't participate.

Mikey23

Yup, all fair comments... Was just venting my spleen. I'm very new to the the sportive thing and thought it would have been a good antidote to the the kilo to go ones I have done up to now. Wasn't confident to go up and find my way around the course. Could have used the room, quite like to go up with missus so she can go off with her camera and just join me at the finish. Must be a very difficult call for the organisers but did seem a little OTT on this occasion. I see it's been rescheduled for 1st July ...