Stage Fright

jackk1992

Hi guys,

Just after a bit of advice or hopefully reassurance really.

I'm a complete newbie to road cycling, as in, completed my first ride this morning. I've bought one to train on as I'm a mountain biker the rest of the week. Too give me the motivation to use the road bike, I signed up to one of the events that Evans Cycles are hosting (http://www.evanscycles.com/pages/rideit-north-wales-sportive-ride-8th-june-2014). It was only after I paid and signed up, that I actually read the description...Do i have a right to be petrified of this? I have only signed up to the short route for now, but the mileage isn't an issue, its the climbs!

My worry is I'm going to turn up with a load of professionals warming up on the line and I'm gonna finish when all the marshals have finished packing the course up haha.

Just wondering if there is anyone out there who has done this course, or has done a similar one really. I just don't know what to expect.

sungod

judging by the route info, if you're reasonably fit you should be ok

it'll help if you've got a low enough gear to get up the long steep climb at a decent cadence, if you have to grind up in too high a gear it'd be a bit grim, but all climbs come to an end, eventually

it's a sportive, there'll be a mix of abilities, don't worry what others do, ride at a pace you're comfortable with and have fun!

jackk1992

Oh good! I have no idea what to expect. Just gonna turn the pedals and hope for the best! Not really sure what my smallest gear is. I'm just going to cycle to some hills by mine and go up and down, up and down until I feel comfortable.

Thanks for your help.

dilatory

Garmin map says 6,500ft elevation on the long route and their description says over 8,000!

There's one heck of a climb in the middle of that route, 1,000ft in 2 miles hehe.

jackk1992

It has taught me one lesson at least....read the description haha

dilatory

You'll be fine! Best way to deal with hills is to ride up 'em. They're not so daunting once you're at the top!

jackk1992

Ill let you know how I get on :P

Initialised

Really, don't worry, my approach at the start of sportives is to draft a big bloke. You've got one big climb ~1000ft over 2 miles, this will be tough, but you've got a similar descent just before it so use the flat bit ~10 miles in, just before the climb to the big descent to fuel up for the big climb.

You've got a month so find a decent local climb and do circuits for a couple of hours once or twice a week.

ForumNewbie

Most of the fast or regular riders will be doing the long or medium routes, so you will be fine with the short route. I'm guessing you are reasonably fit as you are a mountain biker, so you are unlikely to be anywhere near the slowest on the short route. Just use it to have fun and gain experience of road cycling.

jackk1992

ForumNewbie wrote:

Most of the fast or regular riders will be doing the long or medium routes, so you will be fine with the short route.

That is a good point, I hadn't thought of that

Wirral_paul

That route is pretty local to me and for a short route - i'll be honest and say that its a bit of a brute!!

The climb up to Eryrys is ok - just take it steady and you'll be fine. The Bwlch (Old Bwlch) though will be "fun". Go easier than you could at the start through the trees as once you reach a junction then it ramps up to about 20% and to be fair can be a bit of a killer. The worst bit is the hairpin bend so watch for cars / cyclists coming down and aim for a clear gap to allow you to go as far right as possible.

Once you're around that then the rest feels pretty easy in comparison - honest!!

What gearing do you have?

jackk1992

See now I'm nervous again haha :P I'm tempted to track this hill down and give it ago before hand so I know if i can do it or not, or is that cheating?

I have a 53 and 39 cog on the front and then on the rear I have (11,12,13,14,15,17,19,21,24,28) Not sure if this is the standard setup or what. Only just got the bike, and never done road cycling.

DavidJB

39 / 28 should be fine. Thats not a "standard" rear cassette but the 28 will help up hills!

jackk1992

What is the usual set up? Like I said "complete beginner" :P

Pituophis

If the worst comes to the worst, you won't be the only one pushing up the steep bits.
Don't worry about it, it's supposed to be a fun ride, just go and enjoy it.

markhewitt1978

jackk1992 wrote:

What is the usual set up? Like I said "complete beginner" :P

An 11-28 cassette is pretty normal (strong men or flat land dwellers will say 11-25 but what do they know)

On the front you have a "standard", 53/39 which is really mostly used just by racers these days as most beginners have a 'compact' which is 50/34.

Not going to lie, your bottom gear is pretty big for the worst of the climbs, so don't be surprised if you have to get off and push for the worst parts.

Initialised

I sometimes struggle when gradients go north of 20% on 34 x 32 so 39 x 28 is going to be hard for a beginner.

One tip is to zig-zag across the road.

Of and don't get off and walk, get off and rest for 30s then get back on, you'll be faster than those who get of and walk.

markhewitt1978

Initialised wrote:

Of and don't get off and walk, get off and rest for 30s then get back on, you'll be faster than those who get of and walk.

Especially if it's really steep, pushing your bike up hill is still hard work!

jackk1992

I have a month as of tomorrow to get ready for it so I'm going to smash the riding in and blitz the hill like its a flat road. Failing that i will push it and blame it on my gearing (Thats the usual excuse isnt it? :P )

fat_cat

That looks quite challenging for a short route, but the up side is the confidence it will give you when you finish it.

Most other UK Sportives (with one or two exceptions) would be a breeze by comparison.

Don't worry if you have to get off and push, you'll have plenty of company. If you choose to stop to catch your breath try and pick a slightly less steep bit otherwise getting going again could be tough!

norvernrob

I don't understand why anyone gets off and pushes. Just stop if you have to, get your breath back and go again. It doesn't matter how many times you have to stop, at least you'll have the satisfaction of having ridden up.

My first ever time on a road bike (only 3 months ago) I rode 25 miles to Holme Moss, it was a ridiculous mistake as my legs were gone well before I even got there. No idea how many times I stopped on the ascent but I never got off and pushed, I made it up with cramp to boot then had to ride 30 miles home from the other side. Not pleasant!

This Sunday just gone I did a 75 miler including 5,000ft of climbing and didn't have to stop on any hill, it's amazing how quickly you improve if you just keep getting out there.

So....don't be ashamed of stopping, but DONT get off!

markhewitt1978

Agreed with that, excepting for that bit of road which is just too steep to get going again!

jackk1992

I think i just need to pretend its flat :P if i see the hill coming ill doubt whether I can do it or not then ill chicken out or give up! Pretend its flat and stick at it! I dont car if i have to get off every mile afterwards anymore, All i want to complete is that hill now :P thats my challenge! All you experienced cyclists are probably laughing saying "pftt call that a hill!" :P ahha

BLW

I did my first sportive ride last weekend (on my own too) again opted for the shorter route due to a few reasons, ’m a MTB person at heart like you and just got a road bike only a few weeks ago.

Anyway just wanted to say you won’t have anything to worry about, it’s really quite straight forward as I discovered (and I’m a ditsy brunette lol).

Just turn up in good time, sign in, make sure you go to loo plenty, sounds daft but you’ll no doubt of been getting well hydrated the night before, get yourself ready (any change of clothing etc) and make sure everything is in your bag (map, keys, phone, spare inner tube, bike tool kit and a waterproof that easily rolls up) basically plan things so the last thing you need to do is get your bike out of the car/off the rack, as you can’t leave your bike unattended it if you decide to nip back off somewhere, (if you are on your own that is) that is unless someone is kind enough to keep an eye on for 5 minutes but then there probably busy getting themselves ready.

Give your bike another quick check over in case you’ve knocked the brakes getting it out/off the rack, check your tyres again and fix your number on your bike and that’s it really, meet up at the start, simples!

You’ll go through a timing gate which will activate your time from your number and then they may set you off in groups (to prevent causing any traffic problems if you are straight out onto a main road) then just ride and enjoy it, keep your eye out for the arrows for your route and don’t rely on following other people as it’s quite easy to all follow each other and miss a turn off lol

If you are used to biking half the distance on a MTB then you won’t struggle doing double the distance on a road bike, ok so our MTB’s are slow and hard work on the roads but by heck….they don’t have get you fit!

Enjoy and good luck, I can imagine the scenery will be lovely in the Welsh mountains, I’m a wee bit jealous I have to say!

markhewitt1978

Just keep an eye out for the turns, last sportive I went on I was twice going down a hill at 30mph and went straight past a turning.

jackk1992

Cheers for that post BLW. I'm hoping to get a Garmin GPS before the event anyway so I'll be loading the map onto that Really starting to look forward to it now tbh, I can see me getting a bug to do more (and i havent even done this one yet)

fat_cat

Be a bit careful on just relying on a Garmin. It's not unknown for there to be some last minute detours.

Miles253

Walking up hills in cleats is difficult and demoralising, I did it for a while trying to get up Yorks hill near me, really puts you off. If it's safe to do so, zig zag as has been mentioned, it will reduce the gradient. Do not stop, as you might very well find yourself falling over, and it's difficult to get going again on a hill if you're clipped in(are you riding flat pedals?). Try doing a similar hill and test your legs, if you're finding it really tough, consider upper your lowest gear to 32 on the rear. To do this you may however have to change your rear mech to a long cage one, but we, or your lbs can advise you on this.

jackk1992

Just bought the Garmin 810 so i will be going have ago at the route one night next week! Call it cheating if you like...i call it preparing :P

simon_masterson

You'll be fine. Other mere mortals have climbed the same hills with harder gears than yours. There's only so pleasant slogging up steep hills is ever going to be anyway!

johngti

I'll echo a small bit of the earlier advice - watch out for the hairpin on the bwlch, take it wide if you can because the tight line is, I think, too steep to ride up. I used to live in Ruthin and had a couple of moments on that small section in a car! The other climbs will be toughish so spin and take your time and enjoy the views!

Here's a video. Don't let it put you off - it's hard but not as hard as you think and like I say, the views are awesome! When you get near the top, if you look down to your left, you'll see a small stand of trees about half way down. There's a story behind them - the final resting place of a coach that was run off the road by the highwayman that terrorised the road when it was a drovers route. That'll keep you going

http://youtu.be/TgFBNRU4QP8