Expensive sportive?

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Justinslow

Lovely jubbly
Location
Suffolk
so I was going to do a local sportive this morning, 25 50 100 miles the usual sort of thing, £25 in advance which I was prepared to pay (it's a charity sportive for the local hospital). However just found out it's £35 on the day and I hadn't booked as I wasn't sure I was going to make it. Call me a tight wad but that to me is a fair old jump from £25 and rather expensive to ride the queens highway with everybody else. I'm not averse to contributing the odd bit to charity, for example the East Anglian childrens Hospice ride we as a family did around Snetterton race track last week.
Anyway that for me is too much so I'm going to ride my own solo route somewhere else, I'm not the sort to go anyway and just join the ride down the road although I guess there would be nothing stopping me from doing that? Thoughts?
 

Tiny01

Darren on Bkool
Location
Essex
Ask Rodney for a tenner & go and enjoy it
 

T.M.H.N.E.T

Rainbows aren't just for world champions
Location
Northern Ireland
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There are a number of sportives here £25 and over and a mixed bag of commercial/charity interest. The Giro Gran Fondo is £65 and the McQuaid family pocket the cash...
 

Fab Foodie

hanging-on in quiet desperation ...
Location
Kirton, Devon.
so I was going to do a local sportive this morning, 25 50 100 miles the usual sort of thing, £25 in advance which I was prepared to pay (it's a charity sportive for the local hospital). However just found out it's £35 on the day and I hadn't booked as I wasn't sure I was going to make it. Call me a tight wad but that to me is a fair old jump from £25 and rather expensive to ride the queens highway with everybody else. I'm not averse to contributing the odd bit to charity, for example the East Anglian childrens Hospice ride we as a family did around Snetterton race track last week.
Anyway that for me is too much so I'm going to ride my own solo route somewhere else, I'm not the sort to go anyway and just join the ride down the road although I guess there would be nothing stopping me from doing that? Thoughts?
Give the £25 to the charity. That way they get the money NOT the Sportive organisers.
Ride the route anyway .... Who's going to stop you?
 

Soltydog

Legendary Member
Location
near Hornsea
You could just ride the route and make a donation direct to the charity.

But you'll miss out on all the 'freebies' ^_^
It seems a lot of sportives are getting more expensive & IMO £30+ to ride on open public roads is OTT There are one or two local ones that I enjoy doing, but being a Yorkshireman I ain't going to fork out loads of £££ to ride roads that I can ride for free, & maybe others are starting to think the same way too , as a recent sportive had to be cancelled due to insufficient entries :blush:
 

outlash

also available in orange
I think because of the high price of Sportive's it's the reason Audax is seeing more club roadies signing up for rides.

Which is great as long as they're not treating it like a sportive/pseudo race. I would hate to see the old hands getting their noses put out of joint by 'competitors' moaning they can't get their brevet card stamped because they're too quick.
 
OP
OP
Justinslow

Justinslow

Lovely jubbly
Location
Suffolk
As what others have said. Do the route yourself. Take the freebie gels from the mag's you buy (,not forgetting to throw the wrapper in the road after use) half a green banana and away you go.
I don't buy the mags....
Currently stopped by the sea 60 miles into my own meandering route :okay:
image.jpeg
 

Gravity Aided

Legendary Member
Location
Land of Lincoln
Our club runs a metric century, and we need people to sign up early so we can tell the catered BBQ guy(posh, I know..) how much food and supplies to bring, and so we know how many drinks and bananas and fruit bowls to have ready. Our metric loops into a central park area, so we just need one food stop, instead of the four we used to have. Going into any event like this without having an idea of how many people will show up is a recipe for dissatisfaction among participants. Some years, windy or hot weather gets our numbers down to a couple of hundred participants, but if there's good weather, no other cycling events that same weekend, and no cycling going on in and around Chicago, that can swell to 400.
 

Tim Hall

Guest
Location
Crawley
I would be surprised if the charity saw any if the entry money, that is normally for the organisers.
A spot of web based research suggests it's organised by WiSH, which is a charity with the sole purpose of supporting West Suffolk Hospital, so your remark about the organisers keeping the loot and the charity not seeing any is a bit wide of the mark.
 
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