Cycle Sportives

[Start here:

](http://http://www.sportivescene.co.uk/2012-cycle-sportive-calendar/)

Etape du Dales, Fred Whitton and Dragon Ride. Hard, high and pretty - a good combination for riding ;)

Find a good club and some good riders, find some routes and go and do them.

I did a few of sportives in my first year of cycling they were fun but I found it odd to be paying to ride roads I could do any day of the year. At least in Europe the roads are closed for the cyclists.

Perhaps I am spoiled but I have the option to go for long club runs with a lovely bunch of guys. There is no dick swinging on the training rides even though many of them are very strong racers in their own right and do compete.

I just struggle to justify paying to ride roads I am allowed to ride on, with just the offer of a stale roll, a banana and an energy drink at the feedstops. I can do better with the food in my jersey and stopping en route to refill at service stations or pubs.

Forgive my cynicism, I have just slotted into being a happy content club rider.

they are the cycling version of the London Marathon, some people can't ride every weekend, or devote the time required to race (with any success i.e. not getting dropped) yet still want one or two targets a year with a "big event" feel......So I'm all for them, especially if they encourage more people to take up the sport I love.

British Cycling

i'd pay catford cc, dulwich paragon , rollapaluza, brixton cycles for organising a ride or big event, rather than one of the big brands (evans), or on-line companies (wiggle) for a mass sportive

supporting the local club scene and businesses, is where i feel most happy.. and there are plenty of rides on this forum to prepare for the big ones when you are ready

london to brighton, although i'm not sure if entry is still available.

they are the cycling version of the London Marathon, some people can't ride every weekend, or devote the time required to race (with any success i.e. not getting dropped) yet still want one or two targets a year with a "big event" feel......So I'm all for them, especially if they encourage more people to take up the sport I love.

I agree and some people also want to ride these nice cycling routes without messing about with GPS and signage and rubbish. It's fast touring for a small price and I'll continue to ride 'em.

Everyone knows racing is best saved for your commute anyway...

Just had the best sportive experience on the Princes Risborough St Georges (heartily reccomend!) some really sporting entrants.

I fucked myself trying to pick up a tow from a quick small group, fell off the back quickly and was offered a tow back by one of them - who repeated the favour a while later.

Some serious carbon fibre and aero wheels being used on some awful surfaced roads.

Just signed up for the Hell of the West CX Sportive in Dartmoor in July. Had to take the plunge and commit otherwise I knew I wouldn't never get around to doing a cx sportive or any sportive for that matter. Looking forward to it, moving to Oxford next week so should find it easier to get out and put some off road training miles in.

Just had the best sportive experience on the Princes Risborough St Georges (heartily reccomend!) some really sporting entrants.

I fucked myself trying to pick up a tow from a quick small group, fell off the back quickly and was offered a tow back by one of them - who repeated the favour a while later.

Some serious carbon fibre and aero wheels being used on some awful surfaced roads.

That's my training ground.
I did wonder what all the signs were for out that way last weekend.

Anyone doing the wiggle ups and downs on Sunday? It's gonna be pissing it down and hefty wind all day...

Any tips on how to keep morale up / maintain sanity for 6 hours out in that weather? Other than a hip flask in the jersey pocket.

I'm doing the Suffolk sunrise 100 in a couple of weeks. Sets off from Woodbridge and heads up inland then eastwards to southwold and back down the coast. Some lovely roads there - my in-laws live there, I've done a fair few rides nearby - and quite gently rolling, so it should be possible to cane the living daylights out of it with no fear of being hurted by big slopey bits.

It is organised by action medical research. Their rides tend to be well run, with good tucker to boot.

Easy fixed century. I, however, shall be using gears, as I have fully turned to the dark side...

Jim - I'm doing ups and downs with about 7 of us (and some guys from work, randomly). I'm the only one with guards. Typical

What are your plans for getting there? We were gonna team TT it out of london, but that's off the cards due to weather so going for 9am arrival by train. Useless trains!

There better bloody well be hot water when I get home! (and bubble bath)

Jim - I'm doing ups and downs with about 7 of us (and some guys from work, randomly). I'm the only one with guards. Typical

What are your plans for getting there? We were gonna team TT it out of london, but that's off the cards due to weather so going for 9am arrival by train. Useless trains!

There better bloody well be hot water when I get home! (and bubble bath)

Hey dude, I'm getting the 8 oclock train n'all, and a mate's joining me at clapham junction.

I'll come over and say hi if i see 8 cyclists - i'll be the one with the 'I'm paying £25 to get out of bed at 6.30am on a sunday and get pissed on for 5 or 6 hours' look on his face. I imagine it will be similar to the expression of most at HQ prior to starting

did you see they might be cutting the route to 70 miles? Makes sense I guess, but I kinda want to do the whole thing - If I'm going to get soaked, an extra 30 miles makes no difference!

Jim - yeah I saw that! I reckon the last 30 miles makes no difference to me either, but I was there last weekend and it was glorious sunshine!
I'm gonna see if I can find a cheap pac-a-mac to wear or something. Quite happy to boil in the bag if it keeps me warm. Not sure whether to wear longs or shorts, either way, Lose, lose!
Got some new brake blocks I might want to fit too. I am bad as it is at descending!

Jim - yeah I saw that! I reckon the last 30 miles makes no difference to me either, but I was there last weekend and it was glorious sunshine!
I'm gonna see if I can find a cheap pac-a-mac to wear or something. Quite happy to boil in the bag if it keeps me warm. Not sure whether to wear longs or shorts, either way, Lose, lose!
Got some new brake blocks I might want to fit too. I am bad as it is at descending!

yep, the timing of the weather sucks - it's gonna be warm and sunny on monday.

rain jacket is essential for sure, bottom half, as you say, is irrelevant!

hopefuly bump into you at waterloo tomorrow, good luck if not, and pray the Met Office have fucked up once again

yep, the timing of the weather sucks - it's gonna be warm and sunny on monday.

rain jacket is essential for sure, bottom half, as you say, is irrelevant!

hopefuly bump into you at waterloo tomorrow, good luck if not, and pray the Met Office have fucked up once again

So, just woke up and had a butchers at my emails....its been postponed. Dunno what to do with myself now! Spent all last night tinkering with my bike and sitting around eating pasta in anticipation n'all. Wish I had a turbo I could sit on for an hour or so to let off some steam

Anyone doing the Castle 100 ride tomorrow?

Weather looks rubbish - I haven't done an entirely dry weekend ride for 2 months now! And I have a cold - violins please. Still gonna smash it though! I am doing it with BigPaintbrush. I have a white plastic Giant and he has a mostly white Ribble and is very tall and fast. Say Hai if you see us.

Likewise to Benj's post...

Anyone doing the Pearson 150 tomorrow? Should be fun (other thab aformentioned turd weather). There's still places if people fancy a good Sunday ride to Brighton and back tomorrow.

Likewise to Benj's post...

Anyone doing the Pearson 150 tomorrow? Should be fun (other thab aformentioned turd weather). There's still places if people fancy a good Sunday ride to Brighton and back tomorrow.

I'll be doing it. hoping to hit 4.5 hours (dreaming) for the course.

I'll be the guy on a blue mercian (or de rosa if it's raining) with a bmx helmet and no form. Say hai (or dont if you're too embarrased).

I'll be riding out of west(ish) london tomorrow morning to the start. what time are you going to go down?

Alex

I'll be doing it. hoping to hit 4.5 hours (dreaming) for the course.

I'll be the guy on a blue mercian (or de rosa if it's raining) with a bmx helmet and no form. Say hai (or dont if you're too embarrased).

I'll be riding out of west(ish) london tomorrow morning to the start. what time are you going to go down?

Alex

hey alex,

a mate and i are getting a train at 6.50 from victoria. sickeningly early. i'm up in stoke newington so don't fancy riding all the way to sutton first.

i'm riding a battered red specialised, black helmet, grey jersey. i'll keep my eye out for you.

highly doubt i'll be finishing in 4 hrs 30!

jim

pearson 150 was really good, with the exception of two things:

1) headwind for the whole second half, particularly when along the really exposed ridge out of brighton
2) some berks who had organised a road race on that day (think it may have been catford cc, but can't really remember) putting all their signage over pearson's at one of the corners, meaning ,me and about 20 others (at least) going off the route. ended up doing an extra 5 miles or so... at least it made it a proper century! pretty unbelievably c*ntish by whatever club it was that did it.

got back and smashed a few slags (i wish) whilst watching the last hour of a pretty awesome stage of the giro at LMNH.

a few more beers when i got back and a very early start = bed by 9

pearson 150 was really good, with the exception of two things:

1) headwind for the whole second half, particularly when along the really exposed ridge out of brighton

^ this.

I grossly overestimated how fast I could get around this. despite clocking a respectable time to the top of the beacon, I didnt take on as much fluid as I should have. compounded no doubt by the ten or so pints and pub mac and cheese for dinner the day before - I caught a bad case of the whippersnapper that gets chased down by the old boys.

I nearly got blown off my bike/the road coming down devil's dyke, and realising I was in for a massive solo effort into that wind I latched onto two chaps who were going for gold. Eventually the tall one that looked like Lars Back shed me going up an incline, and shortly afterwards I started cramping in both sides of my right quad.

I ended up with a poo time, but finished (at one stage I thought I was destined for a ride in the broom). Importantly, I think I learnt some important lessons about my metabolism - like how much shoving massive food in my mouth at a stop can impact my capacity absorb fluids (and even take them on).

Didnt see you jim - unless you were the guy with the tri-colour grey/green jersey and the black helmet / gunmetal bike. Did meet a nice chap named Mark who beat me round the course by one and a half cups of tea.

Shout out to the busdriver who pulled out on, and nearly flattened, me and the guy riding my back wheel about 800m from home - then grew a halo when I gave him the salt-shaker-salute.

A lot of very expensive bikes/wheels out there. Plus some nice smiles from everyone made it a good day out.