Sportive 100km

DonBike

I am doing my first sportive this sunday - 61miles.

I have been cycling for a few years and have done plenty of 50+mile rides. However, I have never ridden as part of a large group before.

I would welcome any advice / tips on riding in a group. What are the key bits of etiquette when riding with people you don't know and how much do you ride with others?

Also, how much food / drink can I expect to be handed out at the feed stops?

All advice gratefully received.

mr_poll

I have done a few sportives and rarely ridden in a large group, things tend to be fractured pretty quickly and it is hard to find a group who go at your speed (some can be too fast or too slow). If you aren't used to riding in a group and find yourself in one then some would advise to get out of it otherwise in all due respect you could do more harm than good. Following a wheel is something best done with practice with people you know.
If you do ride with a group then the best advice would be to ensure you keep gaps to the next wheel to a minimum, communicate so others behind you (search the forums for good etiquette) pot holes, slowing for junctions, directions are a minimum. Oh and generally being civil, ask if the group are ok with you joining them and be prepared to do a stint on the front.

shadow4532

is that the exmoor beauty your doing?
when riding in a group the main piece of advice i think is to make sure you passon as many of the hand sigals as possible. i only say this as i have followed a few people who don't and it is very irritating

Bobbinogs

Agree with the above. I would add that you should try and stay predictable, so no quick swerves off line and try and stay on a decent line in corners (particularly junctions). The classic newbie mistake is usually cross wheeling (overlapping on the inside or outside) which is fine until the chap in front meets a pothole at pace and has to move offline. So, keep your head up but aware of your position.

Oh, and communication, don't be afraid to talk as you may find the bloke next to you is in the same newbie position but you have both been playing pokerface for the last 3 hours...

marylogic

Good luck with the sportive.

I was in a similar position my first sportive last year.

I ended up riding most of the route with a girl who had lots of group riding experience but not as much experience of long runs as me. I warned her straight away that I had little group riding experience but I did my share of turns on the front and pointed out potholes etc.

At the end she said she would never have finished if we hadn't joined up. I'd been so worried about etiquette I hadn't considered that I was actually contributing anything myself!

There should be enough to eat at the feed stations if you're not fussy but I would take a couple of energy bars/gels incase what is there doesn't appeal.

Schobiedoo

Good luck with the ride.

For riding in groups where you don't know those around you it's always best to be sensible, concentrate on the riders around you and not the scenery and generally relax. Watch others and copy their actions (e.g. signalling for potholes, gravel, etc) and just generally use common sense. Seen too many people who are nervous and work themselves up into a state before their first group ride and have a tendency to be hard on the acceleration and braking all the time as they're worried about leaving a slight gap with the rider in front. In my first group ride I spent the first 10 minutes just hanging out the back of a group to work out what those in front were doing. Once I felt confident then I moved up into the group. In my experience, groups in sportives are not normally well organised compared to riding in a club where you normally ride in a more formal rotation.

Unless you're right at the back, there is normally more food offered than you'd like to eat and you can almost guarantee that you can fill up your bottles at the stops. For 100km I'd chuck in a couple of gels into my pocket in case and if I don't need them then they won't go off - I'll just use them on my next ride!

raymondo60

marylogic wrote:

Good luck with the sportive.

I was in a similar position my first sportive last year.

I ended up riding most of the route with a girl who had lots of group riding experience but not as much experience of long runs as me. I warned her straight away that I had little group riding experience but I did my share of turns on the front and pointed out potholes etc.

At the end she said she would never have finished if we hadn't joined up. I'd been so worried about etiquette I hadn't considered that I was actually contributing anything myself!

That's a good story and shows the real value of cycling; that you can team up with a complete stranger and help each other achieve something. Nice one.

Gizmodo

Some good advice here, including pictures of common signals:
http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/insigh ... oup-ride-0

And some more general advice about riding a sportive:
http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/sporti ... ing-Tips-0