Sportives - level of riders ?

RandG

As a newbie and oldie to road riding, I'm interested in doing a Sportive, however, I'm wondering what level of rider competes in these events. Now I know it's not a race, but it can't be ignored that it seems to the outsider (me) that they seem way above my level of riding. :?

So what type of rider does these events....serious riders - probably lots. Semi serious riders - a good amount. Everyday cyclist - Not so sure ???

RoadMeridaBen

Theres no required level just give it a shot, its not a competition anyway its just a bit of fun

Wirral_paul

Seems to be a range of riders from idiots who think its a race and make it dangerous as they havent a clue how to race safely, to those who plod around and enjoy the scenery.

Dont worry about the standard honestly - just find a route and distance you like the look of and go and enjoy yourself. I often hang back at the start and leave 15 mins late - get the nutters out of the way and then pick them off when they are knackered (and nicely spread out) in the 2nd half of the ride. Regardless - you'll no doubt find a group doing the same pace as you and most riders are happy to form a group with others doing the same thing

Gizmodo

All types, from fast club riders, older cycling enthusiasts to people on moutain bikes. Honestly you get every type!

Take the Cannock Chas 100km Sportive a few weeks ago, the fastest time was 3 hours 33 min, the slowest was 6 hours 33 min. That's an average of 9 miles per hour!

As long as you can manage the distance, don't worry about the time!

Mikey23

I'm a newbie to the sportive world and enjoy it thoroughly. As someone said, some treat them as a race and tend to come whizzing past which makes me a little nervous, but once you have got them out the way, you can settle down and have an enjoyable time, have a long ride and enjoy the scenery. I tend to Pootle around at the rear end and have done them at between 11 and 14 mph depending how challenging they are. I would advise doing the shorter distances until you haves done a few and are confident with those 100 milers! An issue is that unless you are lucky, you will do quite a lot of the riding on your own

ShutUpLegs

It's only a very small percentage of w@nker$ who treat it competitively

cyberknight

Gizmodo wrote:

All types, from fast club riders, older cycling enthusiasts to people on moutain bikes. Honestly you get every type!

Take the Cannock Chas 100km Sportive a few weeks ago, the fastest time was 3 hours 33 min, the slowest was 6 hours 33 min. That's an average of 9 miles per hour!

As long as you can manage the distance, don't worry about the time!

That was a fun sportive, as you say there were riders of many abilities on that ride from serious riders to those who went out for a fun day out.Unfortunatley i missed a turn off sign and ended up doing an extra 9 miles and a couple of phone calls to get back on track so i did not bother with my time.Saw a number of riders with similar issues and i think on that particular sportive the signage could have been a little better and i know of 2 who said the signs did not match the gps maps.
As long as you can do the miles then go for it !!!

StillGoing

Gizmodo wrote:

All types, from fast club riders, older cycling enthusiasts to people on moutain bikes. Honestly you get every type!

Take the Cannock Chas 100km Sportive a few weeks ago, the fastest time was 3 hours 33 min, the slowest was 6 hours 33 min. That's an average of 9 miles per hour!

As long as you can manage the distance, don't worry about the time!

Bloody show offs!

DavidJB

ShutUpLegs wrote:

It's only a very small percentage of w@nker$ who treat it competitively

Bitter much?

rolf_f

I've done a few Sportives. Never seen any of these 'dangerous' riders. Some riders are very fast but that doesn't mean they are any more dangerous than I am - just better at cycling than me!

Mikey23

probably not any more dangerous than you or I. just feels more so because they are competent riders and probably assume that everyone else is. they come from behind so fast and so quietly that you often dont know they are there. i did the somerset levels thingy a few weeks ago which was also a family bike ride and so had lots of occasional cyclists and wobbly youngsters alongside and i did think there was potential for disaster on several occasions as they were rounded at speed. Now that I know the sportive setup, i would tend to start later and remain at the back

daysofspeed

Look to see when the broom van comes along (eg the latest they'll allow you to finish) - if you can beat it, go ride.

Only done one, had same reservations, didn't need to feel intimidated, was friendly - organised and the food stations were very welcome!

adm1

I've done quite a few over the last two years. The first one, I ended up pushing the bike up a few of the steeper hills but finished anyway - and was happy just to have done so. These days I have improved to the point that I normally just slip inside the "Gold" time limits.

There's an incredible spectrum of riders - I did one in Surrey/Sussex recently and there were people cruising round slowly on mountain bikes. So don't be put off - just choose a distance you think you can do (most seem to offer 2 or 3 distances), and concentrate on getting round in your own time and having a fun ride.

As has been said, if you find a group going at a similar pace to yourself, hang with them for a bit and have a nice chat as you go!

RandG

There is one near me a week on Sunday with three distances. Obviously the shorter distance is the one I'm thinking about, biggest problem for me though is my lack of bike time. I only got my bike a week past Saturday and only been on it 3 times. 20, 32 and 35 miles respectively. The 35 miler on Saturday was alone and found it pretty tough, so all a bit apprehensive.

jason78

Like a few on here i haven't been riding long,but got the bug and contemplating doing the wenlock-meandeville 26th Aug...amyone else doing this

Mikey23

If you can do 35 you should get round ok provided that you do not get too carried away. Hopefully the weather was ok. My first was the kilo2 go cornish tor in appalling weather, gale force winds, driving rain and a tough course

handful

I just did the Mendips Sportive on Sunday, a 63 mile hilly course that was a lot further than my previous longest ride of around 40 miles. 4500 ft of climbing as well which I did find tough but got round without too many issues and only had to walk around 100 yards up a steep hill around 5 miles from the end after cramp got the better of me!

The time wasn't fast, just over 5 hours with stops, about 4 hours 37 mins of moving time with an average speed of 13.7 mph according to my Garmin.

I am 50 though and only have limited road riding experience (with flat bars), most of my riding has been on a mountain bike and that's only been around 3-4 years.

By christ there were some fast riders on it though, both men and women. :oops:

adm1

RandG wrote:

There is one near me a week on Sunday with three distances. Obviously the shorter distance is the one I'm thinking about, biggest problem for me though is my lack of bike time. I only got my bike a week past Saturday and only been on it 3 times. 20, 32 and 35 miles respectively. The 35 miler on Saturday was alone and found it pretty tough, so all a bit apprehensive.

Maybe do the shorter course then to get a feel for it. One thing to note about most Sportives, is that the organisers will almost invariably plan the course around the longest, nastiest hills in the area (sportive route planners are all sadists) - so even though the short route may be the same length as you are used to, it may also be significantly hillier if you haven't been out and tackled all the local hills yet.

See if you can download the route in advance so you can get a feel for the hills on the course and make a decision based on that.

RandG

adm1 wrote:

Maybe do the shorter course then to get a feel for it. One thing to note about most Sportives, is that the organisers will almost invariably plan the course around the longest, nastiest hills in the area (sportive route planners are all sadists) - so even though the short route may be the same length as you are used to, it may also be significantly hillier if you haven't been out and tackled all the local hills yet.

See if you can download the route in advance so you can get a feel for the hills on the course and make a decision based on that.

the shorter route is a two lap route of 23 miles, ye I know, 45 miles is nothing, but it's more than I have ever done before. Anyway, I did a lap of it on Saturday. It has a killer start, First 4/5 miles is all up hill, after that it's not too bad but that was just one lap I did, still anxious about it.

dodgerdog

Key things are:
- Don't be put off - any level of rider should be able to do at least one version of which ever sportive you are considering.
- Look carefully at the route and note where the hills are - they will be there and it is esential to plan for them.
- Look carefuly at where the feed stops are (particularlr with respect to the hills)
- Plan on at least 10 mins per feed stop to have a snack, rest and if necessary stretch your legs.
- Enjoy the ride and make sure you chat to others as you go around.
- Don't mind that others are faster/more experienced/more practised riders.
- Make sure you take note of the likely weather and plan accordingly but try not to overpack

As a way of recounting from experience, I also did the Somerset Hills last weekend but did the Epic route. I thought I knew the major hills but also was caught out by the final climb out of Wollard and mashed my way up at a ludicrously slow pace :shock: partly due to lack of familiarity but also because I had failed to have a snack long enough before to make sure I had the energy to spin up it. :oops:

slowbike

My first sportive I went in over prepared .. I was riding with someone else who was capable of both the speed and distance - so that helped - but we took so much cr4p in the back of the car that we didn't need!!

What was (in hindsight too) sensible was taking an instant porridge and a flask to have before the start - second breakfast! It meant that instead of stopping after 10 miles like I used to do, I could carry on for 35miles before needing a stop ..
What I didn't do was eat enough whilst riding - that became apparent on the last 30 miles (it was 85 tot) where my legs felt tired ... fortunately, my riding pal gave me motivation to carry on and we still put in a quick time (for me!) ...

Mikey23

better to be over prepared i think than have something vital missing. im doing one in the new forest on sunday and they are doing porridge breakfast at the start... sounds good