Sportives and bents

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Icemanhgv

Road Warrior
Location
Hull
I've being riding bicycles since I can remember, in recent couple or so years due to my disability I haven't been able to fulfil my passion although I've ridden The Humber Bridge sportive and The Big G where I fell of my bike due to not being able to twist my feet quick enough which is part of my problem, the one thing I've checked is the entry into sportives on a bent trike, I've emailed the Bridge, the Selby three swans and the bishop Burton flat, the replys have all been positive and although I don't as yet own a trike I am very much looking forward to being able to take part in cycling that I haven't been able for the past 18 months or so")
 
I've being riding bicycles since I can remember, in recent couple or so years due to my disability I haven't been able to fulfil my passion although I've ridden The Humber Bridge sportive and The Big G where I fell of my bike due to not being able to twist my feet quick enough which is part of my problem, the one thing I've checked is the entry into sportives on a bent trike, I've emailed the Bridge, the Selby three swans and the bishop Burton flat, the replys have all been positive and although I don't as yet own a trike I am very much looking forward to being able to take part in cycling that I haven't been able for the past 18 months or so")
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This is a guy with whom I rode in preparation for , and in the Prudential Ride London Surrey 100 Sportive, earlier this year. He has Cerebral Atrophy ( a condition similar to M.S.) He got round the course on this ice trike, so although not yet a common sight, he proved that ‘bents can do events like this well. Good luck with your efforts too:okay:.
 
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mjr

Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
RideLondon Surrey is one of only a few UK sportives that is still open to recumbents, I think, which frankly is bizarre and IMO belongs in the "I can't believe it's not ableism discrimination" category. I know not all 'bent riders are doing it for ability reasons but I think some are, so it seems a bit dodgy to ban them from non-races.

Edit: some organisers are positive and will say OK but if they are insured by British Cycling, they need to get BC's permission else it is against the terms of their insurance. A sportive local to me had trouble with this, eventually restricting "non-standard" bikes to the short (10 mile? 20km? I forget exactly what, but very short) route. It still smacks of special casing to me and seems unkind to make people beg like that.
 
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Always Cross

Veteran
I ride a trike and am a member of CYCLINGUK insurance comes with that. Would that insurance not cover me for a sportive it does for an Audax.
 

mjr

Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
Those organisers have been nobbled by the UCI.
I don't believe BC are required by UCI to fark sportives, as they allow bents on some of the other non-competitive BC rides, as well as the few remaining CUK backed ones. Also, I've seen bents on sportives abroad, which I'd expect a UCI rule to also fark.
 

mjr

Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
Yep. Here's the offending document https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/z...160825_-_Non_Competitive_Event_Guidelines.pdf - while it's called "guidelines", https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/eventorganiser dashboard requires compliance to register the event and qualify for the organiser insurance.
 

Ming the Merciless

There is no mercy
Location
Inside my skull
I think it'd cover you but not the organisers. It's BC's organiser insurance that requires them to ban bents.

Has anyone seen an insurance contract writing that excludes bents? Seems to just be an excuse by organisers to exclude you whilst at the same time saying it is out of tgeir control,(when it is not).
 

mjr

Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
Has anyone seen an insurance contract writing that excludes bents?
I am not a BC event organiser, so I don't have access to the current one, but an old one didn't directly exclude them but required the event to be run in compliance with BC regulations and guidelines - and it's those which ban bents. Of course, I don't know whether the insurance would be more expensive or not if they removed the ban from the guidelines.
 
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