Sportive advice.

Teece
Teece Posts: 138
edited July 2012 in Road beginners
I'm 68 minutes away from starting my first sportive!
77 miles from Birmingham to Oxford.
Anyone have any advice for me?

Previous best: 15.0mph over 60.3 miles.

Comments

  • BillyMansell
    BillyMansell Posts: 817
    Enjoy it, it's not a race. It may be a bit hairy for the first five/ten miles until the riders start to thin out then settle down to your own pace or ride with others of similar ability, and stay hydrated and fed.

    I have a photo on my shelf of a ride I did from Birmingham to Oxford 20 years ago for Cancer Research Campaign. From memory. it starts off flat, gets a bit hilly in the middle and then flattens out as you get towards Oxford. Oxford car drivers were idiots, I don't know if they've improved.
  • Teece
    Teece Posts: 138
    Thanks, chap.
    Right, I'm off!
  • t.m.h.n.e.t
    t.m.h.n.e.t Posts: 2,265
    Get yourself in with a group,decent chat in a small group and the miles fly by.

    Too late but still of worth! :D
  • Cleat Eastwood
    Cleat Eastwood Posts: 7,508
    How was it?
    The dissenter is every human being at those moments of his life when he resigns
    momentarily from the herd and thinks for himself.
  • Mikey23
    Mikey23 Posts: 5,306
    We wait with baited breath...

    I did 50 on Somerset levels in a nice little charity sportive and quite chuffed
  • Teece
    Teece Posts: 138
    I'm back, a bit drunk and feeling a bit sick but I thought I'd report in before collapsing for the night.

    It was all going to plan - weather was okay and I was really enjoying the hilly bits of the Cotswolds.
    At 48miles I suddenly got cramp in my right leg at the top of a steep climb. I came off the bike and rolled around clutching my hamstring. After a while I could ride again, but the leg was incredibly tense and I couldn't put any effort in uphills without the pain returning. I told my two friends to continue without me but they wouldn't.
    I managed to get some decent speed up on the flats and descents but I had to spin spin spin on the climbs.
    Eventually limped in after 75 miles with an average of 14.0mph.

    I met my family in Oxford, got in the beer and music tent and celebrated my first sportive [and then got home to watch Sagan with a few more beers.]

    So thanks for asking, it was an enjoyable adventure.


    Also, how to prevent cramp?
  • MattC59
    MattC59 Posts: 5,408
    Teece wrote:
    Also, how to prevent cramp?

    Sounds Nasty !

    All I can advise is plenty of stretching before you start and an electrolyte tab such as Nunn, Zero or the like in your water. The other (probably obvious and a little late) advice is to get off your bike and stretch out the muscles at the first sign of cramp.
    Science adjusts it’s beliefs based on what’s observed.
    Faith is the denial of observation so that Belief can be preserved
  • Dan_Giant
    Dan_Giant Posts: 72
    I've found stretching on the bike helps too. Just drop your heels on your pedal with leg straight.
  • Cleat Eastwood
    Cleat Eastwood Posts: 7,508
    well done anyway - cramp is evil - tablets are a good un High 5 zeros, as is just riding more- at least you got a bevy out of it. :D
    The dissenter is every human being at those moments of his life when he resigns
    momentarily from the herd and thinks for himself.
  • slowbike
    slowbike Posts: 8,498
    Teece wrote:
    Also, how to prevent cramp?
    Fat boy coke is supposed to be good for cramp ... no good 1/2way round the circuit though and I don't think a can in the bottle cage will work well! ;)
  • Bobbinogs
    Bobbinogs Posts: 4,841
    MattC59 wrote:
    Teece wrote:
    Also, how to prevent cramp?

    All I can advise is plenty of stretching before you start and an electrolyte tab such as Nunn, Zero or the like in your water. The other (probably obvious and a little late) advice is to get off your bike and stretch out the muscles at the first sign of cramp.

    Not sure I agree with the first bit Matt. All the latest research points to an active warm up session (light spinning at the start of a ride, if not in a competition, for example) rather than prolonged stretching of cold muscles. The rest is sound, IMHO: Nuun work well (as does 1/2 tsp of salt/sugar in Ribena light) and I think that a little exagerrated walk around (think 'Ministry of funny walks') at food stops or cafes works wonders too, as well as reinforcing the belief amongst normal people that we are all a little mad.
  • Peddle Up!
    Peddle Up! Posts: 2,040
    Teece wrote:
    I met my family in Oxford, got in the beer and music tent and celebrated my first sportive [and then got home to watch Sagan with a few more beers.

    A sportive with a beer and music tent at the end! How very, very civilised. :)
    Purveyor of "up" :)
  • Teece
    Teece Posts: 138
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MFXlqh20Bs

    Nothing exciting. Just my awful video of the Birmingham Oxford ride.
  • smidsy
    smidsy Posts: 5,273
    Teece wrote:
    I'm 68 minutes away from starting my first sportive!
    77 miles from Birmingham to Oxford.
    Anyone have any advice for me?

    Previous best: 15.0mph over 60.3 miles.

    Ask for advice earlier - you will get more that way. Before 06.00 on a Sunday morning you are unlikely to be fludded with responses. :o
    Yellow is the new Black.
  • BobScarle
    BobScarle Posts: 282
    I rode the Birmingham to Oxford ride last year and was all set to do the same again this year until other things happened :evil: . Really good ride. The only problem was that the beer tent had run dry.

    As for the cramp, it may well be down to not drinking enough. My plan was to take two water bottles made up with Nuun tablets on the bike and more tablets in my back pockets. I would have expected to have drunk at least four bottles, maybe even more, on the way.

    As far as average speed is concerned, it's not important at all. It was a charity ride and a nice day out in the countryside. Average speeds are for races.
  • Teece
    Teece Posts: 138
    smidsy wrote:
    Teece wrote:
    I'm 68 minutes away from starting my first sportive!
    77 miles from Birmingham to Oxford.
    Anyone have any advice for me?

    Previous best: 15.0mph over 60.3 miles.

    Ask for advice earlier - you will get more that way. Before 06.00 on a Sunday morning you are unlikely to be fludded with responses. :o


    True, of course. I was just browsing on here before the off. Maybe settling some nerves...

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