How long to spend at feed stops on a Sportive?

[Banjo]

On the Dragon there were 3 stops in 200 kms. I am a bit of a plodder and faster groups passed me all the time. I only spent as little time as possible at stops ,refilled bidons crammed in a cake and pocketed a banana then away.

The same groups passed me on every leg of the ride going much quicker than me everytime.

Only explanation is they were hanging around feedstations for ages.

On the last station groups of riders were sat around the place as if on a picnic with nothing else to do.

Would I benefit from resting more at stops or is my policy of get riding again ASAP the best?

seems I was the only one to go over 10 hours Would have been around 9 without a mechanical problem I had .

 

[Ball]

This really comes down to personal preference I think, and what your goals are for the ride.

I, like you, for the first two stops on the Dragon chose to keep it swift, grabbed a cake and a banana and rode on. This was partly due to the fact that I was anticipating a long ride and wanted to keep moving, and partly due to the fact that it was damn cold and sitting around too long just doesn't help the legs.

At the third stop though I sat down and enjoyed a good 15-20 minute break. I just needed to. I think it was after the Rhigos and a few punchier climbs, about 135km in wasn't it. At that point I just needed the break and it really helped when I climbed back on again.

At the end of the day, if you're looking to set a flying time and you're feeling good, then short stops are the order of the day. If you're looking to enjoy the ride at an easy pace, not putting yourself through the mire, then relax, enjoy the stops, take advantage of the feed. It's not a race, so as long as you don't mind coming in a bit later then there's no problem.

 

[Fnaar]

I've only done 3 sportives (actually the same one, three times) and my approach (knowing that I'm not super fast, and that I don't care about racing) is to go with how I feel on the day. The one I do has 4 feed/timing stops (100+ miles) and I spend however long I need to... 5 mins, 10 mins, 15 mins, whatever... the official time might be slow, but my riding time is what's on the bike computer. I like to enjoy it, and not get frustrated by time.

 

[Chrisz]

I like to enjoy it, and not get frustrated by time.

'nuff said!

 

[zizou]

I prefer short stops just fill the bottles up and grab a banana or flapjack - not so much to minimise time wasted while stopped but to get back into the cycling rhythm. If i have a longer stop then it can take a few miles to really feel like i am going good again.

 

[HLaB]

I prefer not to stop but as Ball says above its down to personal preference :-)

 

[fossyant]

Short as possible, mainly to keep legs going.

 

[Glover Fan]

I haven't done a sportive, but at Audax controls, unless it is very early on, I will spend a good time at a control; eating, drinking and admiring the view and the various bikes that come through. I'm usually in no rush and OK, my legs feel a bit lactic like initially, but I feel better for it later on. I have done an audax with some mates and we only stopped for 10 minutes or so and I feel I suffered more in the long run because my legs didn't have time to recover.

Maybe this is one of the differences between an Audax and Sportive?

 

[perplexed]

On the Oxford Classic, there's no official feedsation as such, but cafes and pubs...

After about 50 miles I really needed a pee, but frankly couldn't be arsed to stop to find a hedge, so I certainly couldn't be bothered to go into a cafe.

So that remains the furthest ride I've done (60 miles) without getting off the bike.

My God I didn't half hit the portaloos when I got to the finish...

I did the short Cheshire Cat this year and stopped for about 10 minutes at the feedsation. Glad it wasn't any longer, or I'd have missed the time for the "Silver" standard!

But entirely horses for courses though I guess. On the Oxford ride, I saw people outside some of the pubs, and they looked like they'd settled in for the day!

 

[Garz]

It depends if the timer is ticking.

Last year I stopped at each feed station on a sportive, and on a couple seemed to waste in excess of five minutes. This year I kept the stopping to a minimum and although I did surpass last years time I was really goosed at the end and didn't seem to blow away the previous attempts figures by much.

If your like me and don't put in the preparation training (distance wise), then you tend to run on half gas once you hit the wall. I definitely understand now why the advise from the old school people is use the winter to build the slow n steady miles, maybe one year I will be fully prepared and not see fatigue set in so fast producing a decent pace.

 

[asterix]

My biggest mistake was to stop and help someone with a busted chain. !st time I'd had to use the multitool gadget. It was quite clear that the victim had no idea that you could fix a chain let alone how. In any case it was a lot easier with 2 pairs of hands on a windy rainy hill top. There are no medals in sportives for giving roadside assistance but it was satisfying to learn the repair lasted to the next feed stop, possibly even back to base. No idea how long it took - much longer than in the garage!