First Sportive - Short or Long Course

northdown83

Hi,

Looking for some advice about completing my first sportive this weekend. I am fairly new to cycling and have been mainly commuting in and out of work for the past 2 months - a 24 mile round trip - each day, but with no longer rides.

I am taking part in the Giant's Causeway Coast Sportive on Sunday. As i had yet to manage any longer rides i entered the 36 mile event rather than the 80 mile. Now i am closer to the event, i am beginning to wonder if i should try to give the longer course a bash. Grateful for any views if it is possible to manage this kind course without any long rides under my belt.

Thanks for any views!

http://www.giantscausewaycoastsportive.com/

nickel

To be brutally honest I'd say if you've never cycled further then 24 miles then you're best off sticking with the 36 mile route. Just had a look at the route map (I apologise, Im not familiar with the area in the least so can only go by the garmin route data), there's over 5000ft of climbing, which is quite a lot if you've never done a ride of that length with that many hills. It may well be doable but will be slow and painful. If I were you I'd do the 36 miler, you can then build up distance on your own if you want, if you feel ok with the 36 mile route perhaps go out on your own the following weekend and aim for 50 miles? From there you can build up distance by say trying a 70 mile route. You could always aim to complete a long sportive next spring to keep you motivated over winter.

northdown83

Thanks for the advice Nickel. When i thought it through at the start, i was sure the shorter route was the best start for me. I just had a nagging feeling that i might be missing a good oppertunity, so good to have a dose of reality to confirm the shorter course is the right option.

sadlybiggins

I'd agree with Nickel: at this stage I think it'd be better to finish the short course and feel as if you've achieved something/possibly could have ridden further than enter the long course and suffer badly/not finish at all. You'd then have goals to work towards. Whichever you do, I hope it goes well and don't forget that the keys are sensible pacing and keeping up the nutrition/hydration.

boogi11

do the long one, i just did my first sportive after biking a little less than you, should have been 109 miles, i did 120 because i got lost, and i could have done more, was also over 5000ft, 7.5hrs, 36 miles wont challenge you at all, take advantage of the food stops and the well marked route and do 80 mile, my one bit of advice would be to do it with a mate.

danowat

Two scenario's....

1) You'll do the short one and end up kicking yourself wishing you'd done the long one

2) You do the long one and struggle round (or fail to finish, unlikely)

Which of those is preferable.

andyeb

A rule of thumb which seems to hold true in practice:

You can do double the distance you normally ride as a one-off

On that basis I'd say go with the shorter one.

Once you've done that, build up to doing 40 miles in a day, then look at an 80 mile sportive.

Enjoy the ride!

GBR1

I did my first last weekend, I chose the short course even with some certainty that I could complete the middle course an extra 25 miles over the 44 miles I did.. As it was my first sportive i decide to go along make sure i could complete the course, meet a few people and generally see what its about.

I did all that and had a great time and am now doing another this weekend. Had I gone there tried the middle course, not completed for example then I am sure I would not have enjoyed it as much and may have put me off for the future..

So I would say do the short course, if you are feeling good then go for a good time, chase down some riders in front and have fun.. Then the following weekend you can sign up for the longer course!!

CiB

I'd go for the long course. What's the point of paying an entry fee to cycle 12 miles further than you normally would in a day?

80 miles will test you, push you beyond what you imagine you're capable of and open you up to the reality that distance cycling isn't that much harder, it just takes longer. And think of the satisfaction you'll get from doing 80, instead of just a couple of hours or so riding 30+ miles.

rolf_f

CiB wrote:

I'd go for the long course. What's the point of paying an entry fee to cycle 12 miles further than you normally would in a day?

80 miles will test you, push you beyond what you imagine you're capable of and open you up to the reality that distance cycling isn't that much harder, it just takes longer. And think of the satisfaction you'll get from doing 80, instead of just a couple of hours or so riding 30+ miles.

This. Daft to pay for 36 miles. This is an opportunity to go further with the confidence of a bit of support. You can always plan an escape route if you do think it is getting a bit much.

Make sure you turn up in time for the first off so you can be an early starter and then you won't be under much time pressure.

Edit - £35 is a steep entry fee. I wouldn't pay a pound a mile. It would be cheaper to drive the course!

t4tomo

long one.

had it been 60 miles or 100miles then I'd have said short, but 36 miles is just a warm up.

Mikey23

for the more experienced rider with epic climbs and hair raising descents says the blurb...

tough choice but i think the organisers are pointing you towards the most appropriate distance. sure you will do 80, but i would personally rather be left gagging for more than put off for life... to me the 36 is the most sensible option. i went for an over optimistic distance earlier in the year and suffered

djfleming22

I think its more about attitude than ability ......if you have the ability to do the miles and you don't have the attitude then you will not do it ... i started cycling in January on a Tacx Flow got on the road in April and did my first 108 mile in June because i knew and wanted to do it.... i did 5 back to back 100 + miles every other Sunday and about 140 miles on top of that during the week so i was doing 200 + every week not to show off or anything but because i was enjoying the great the weather and having a great time.

As Dave Brailsford director from the sky team was telling his riders its was all about there attitude he cleared all the obstacles in front of them so there attitude and focus was right for cycling and it worked.

If you know you have the attitude to complete it ...do the longer ride if not stick to the shorter one

Mikey23

I'm sure the op has plenty of attitude, and I'm sure he tempers it with basic common sense. I've been a roadrunner for many years and I've seen the consequences of inadequate training many, many times. People who run the London marathon on a hot day having not been over 10k in training for instance and nearly died as a result. Perhaps I exaggerate but such gung ho advice is, in my humble opinion misplaced. The op knows his own capabilities and I wish him every success.

northdown83

Firstly, a big thanks to everyone who took time to offer me advice. I have never really posted on a forum like this before, and am really impressed by the resource on the boards here.

In an ideal world I would love to follow the more ambitious advice and really feel like I have achieved something. As some have said, I probably could bash out the miles on a one off. But having read the advice I think it sounds like the realistic option is the shorter route, and being able to get on the bike on Monday morning for another weeks cycle commuting.

If this ride goes well I might try to get over my newbie fear and join a local club so I can work up to the larger distances. Who knows, I may have changed my mind again by the race. Will certainly log on after and report back on my regret of not going far enough or a struggle to finish! Good luck to anyone else who is taking part in the event.

CiB

Rolf F wrote:

Daft to pay for 36 miles. This is an opportunity to go further with the confidence of a bit of support. You can always plan an escape route if you do think it is getting a bit much.

Make sure you turn up in time for the first off so you can be an early starter and then you won't be under much time pressure.

Edit - £35 is a steep entry fee. I wouldn't pay a pound a mile. It would be cheaper to drive the course!

Fair enough OP but what Rolf F said is top advice. Up to you though.

madtam

Stick with the short course but aim for a fast time. This way you will be able to push yourself but not to the extent of not finishing.
I went round a local MTB challenge at the weekend with my youngest son who is 13. He was on his newish bike that he has only ridden for a few weeks this summer so elected for the shorter 18 mile course rather than the full 33 miles. His longest ride to date has been 25 miles with about 50% off road so it seemed sensible not to overdo things.
As it happened it was a good day and he went round fast and with perhaps some encouragement from myself in the final sections, he finished in good style. So much so that of the 70 or so doing the short course he was first back. Now with hindsight , and better pacing, he could have finished the full course but he would have been just another finisher somewhere in and amongst the other 250. Instead he has taken enormous satisfaction in being the fastest finisher (by a good margin) and is now looking at taking on other challenges and longer distances.

secretsam

I did a 75 earlier in the year with a maximum previous ride of 40 miles that year - but was absolutely fooked at the end

Odd to have a 36 and 80, and nothing in the middle, if it was a 55 or something I'd say do it, but if it's hilly...