What do people look for in a Sportive?

[vickster]

I've only done Ride London on closed roads, which was enjoyable if a bit stressful to prepare for.

Tbh paying to ride on roads with traffic holds no appeal. I did consider the cycletta Bedford at one point but the cost and hassle were high.

I kind of just like to cycle when and where I want without pressure of time or expectation but each to their own. Cake and coffee stop when and where I want. Can get quite a lot for £50 or whatever a sportive can cost. And gels are foul!

Clubs don't appeal either for the same reason

 

[the_mikey]

They need to be small, green, not too dark, and not too bitter in flavour, preferably boiled and not too many of them.

 

[mjr]

I've looked into it and wonder what others look for or how you choose which ones to enter?

I look for ones that don't discriminate against disabled people and don't force helmets (because I no longer have one and because it seems to signify an organiser who doesn't take safety seriously), but as British Cycling hoover up sportives, there are fewer and fewer of them - and then, I see if it's an interesting route, whether anyone I know is interested in riding it (as I can go ride a big loop on my own any time) and whether it's either raising money for a good cause or a reasonable price.

 

[MikeW-71]

I've not done many, but I did enjoy the ones I did.

I won't pay a lot for them though, so the £50 ones are generally out. The only one of those I've done was the Tour de Yorkshire one in 2015, but it was a unique experience with all the spectators lining the route and 6000 riders to deal with!

I can recommend the Evans Cycles ones, they are cheap and cheerful and stick to reasonable numbers. The first one I did in Leeds included 2 feed stops in the (very hilly) 50 mile route and a bowl of chilli and a bread roll at the end (much needed as it was freezing!).

If I was looking for one now, I'd go for either one I'd done before, or check the routes for one that would be a challenge, but not insanely above my ability, and less than 30 quid.

 

[John the Monkey]

I've done three Tour Rides, and one organised by Polocini (the "Let Them Eat Cake" ride).

I did the first tour ride as a sub for a friend's charity team - it was well organised, a cracking route, and superb feed stops. I liked it enough to go back a second time, and then to recommend it to someone else, who I rode with the third time. That latter one had feedstops that had run out when we got in (after me raving about how good they'd be) and a route with too many dull, busy roads for our taste. The kick in the teeth for that edition was a finish that family and friends had to pay to get to, which spoiled the brilliant atmosphere of the finishes of previous editions.

The Cake ride was organised by someone I knew on Twitter, using Polocini as the event organiser, cost £20 (at a time when most Sportives edged £35-40) and was brilliant - really friendly, a great route with a cake stop at the Eureka, and post ride food from a brilliant caterer. Mrs M & the monklets (who'd come to spectate) were made very welcome by the organiser at the finish, and got their own pieces of cake too.

If I were to do an organised event again, I'd look for the likes of Polocini, I think. Friendly, not massive numbers of riders, and an interesting route.

 

[EltonFrog]

Perhaps the OP could try this FNRttC not a sportive but a fairly faff free ride with a group of like minded cyclists who ride at a conversational pace, a great feed stop midway and breakfast by the sea side. All for the princely sum of two of your English pounds.

 

[Elybazza61]

Did Ride London Surrey and felt it was quite chilled actually(probably being in a steady 4-man team helped);even the ride back to the hotel wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.
It all depends on what you want from it;the challenge of doing a 100,getting used to riding in a group or bashing it as quick as you can it's up to you.

Looking to go further afield next year,like jonnyjeez above thinking about Flanders or one of the other 'classics' sportives.

Will deffo be more choosy and look for closed road ones;already booked for the tour of Cambridgeshire next year but still undecided about Ride London again although I would like to do it solo.

 

[smutchin]

I don't normally go in for big commercial events but earlier this year I did the Etape Caledonia - a closed-road sportive with several thousand participants. And I found it a very enjoyable experience. It was a seriously lovely route round the Scottish Highlands (though not too tough), and not having to share it with motor traffic made it all the more enjoyable. The field was about the right size for the event, so it was spread out and there were no problems with congestion.

Some people at the front end of the field might well have been treating it as a race. I set off at the front and rode with a quick bunch for the first 20 miles but then eased off and rode at my own speed, just enjoying the glorious scenery and chatting with my fellow riders. There's room for both on an event like that.

The major downside of the event for me was the amount of litter left on the road. There were designated areas for dropping gel wrappers but they were spread out much wider than that. Made me pretty angry, in fact, and took some of the shine off the day.

Audaxes are more my kind of thing, because I like long days out on the bike and most sportives aren't long enough. I don't think audaxes are better than sportives, or vice versa, they're different types of ride and there are different reasons for doing them.

I suspect the Gravesend sportive that @BikeGirlKent is considering is more towards the small club event end of the scale so probably has more in common with a typical audax than events like the Etape Caledonia or RideLondon. Another ride in the same area worth looking at would be the Invicta Grimpeur audax, run by West Kent CTC - I've done it five or six times and it's a great ride, though I'm also very interested in the Gravesend sportive, which looks like a different kind of challenge with its own attractions.

 

[Eribiste]

I've done a few sportives and enjoyed them all for their good organisation, good signposting and all the timekeeping data that's included. You do have to pay for all this of course, and I'm going to be going back to doing audaxes again by preference. They're much cheaper and in my experience a bit jollier somehow, but that might just be my perception. You do need to be fairly self reliant regarding the route, either using the supplied route cards, or putting the route into the cycle sat-nav of your choice, should you have one, as there is usually no signposting. The audaxes that I've done have provided good tucker at the end too, generally better for you than a rather naff medal and a certificate.
If you look on the audax website you'll find a range of rides in terms of distance, threatening hills, location, time of year, so the choice is fairly wide. There are the 'permanents', where you do the route any time you like, just gathering the evidence of your endeavours. These are just like your own home made ride, except someone has pre-prepared the route for you.

 

[rugby bloke]

Putting RideLondon aside, the best Sportive I rode this year was the Rutland Border - great atmosphere, lovely scenery, a challenging (for me) 70 mile course with plenty of hills, 2 food stops with decent home prepared food, and a pasta meal & pint of beer at the finish. Pretty much ticked all the boxes. I'm not that familiar with the area so it was nice to ride a course that had been prepared by someone who knew the area. The organisers seemed generally keen for the whole experience to be as enjoyable as possible for the riders. Much as it pains me to say, even the bits in Leicestershire were good !

 

[Polocini]

Very nice to get a mention in here!!! Thanks.

If anyone is interested, as a sportive organiser I just run the events I would like to ride. The main thing is that you can socialise at the start and finish. I don't understand going to an event smashing it around without saying hello to anyone and then getting straight in a car home. I can smash myself to bits on any ride, why pay a load of money to do it? I like the camaderie of a Audax but I want the arrows to follow!

I find that if I do an event these days it's a long range planned get together. It's much easier to meet up as a group when you've got it 'booked in'. I find that myself and others are less likely to bail out in the run up to a ride that's been paid for.

One thing I personally hate is going to an event and being bombarded with 'free' crap and leaflets. I also think that the cycling press in the UK have done a massive amount of damage to sportives. If you are new to cycling the amount of absolutely inane crap written about sportive bikes, food, training and all of the other total nonsense they write is unreal. You turn up, turn the pedals and follow some arrows. The magazines have riders thinking they are in some sort of race/tour de france event. Then you've got the forum morons slating anything sportive related. Did I say you just turn up and have a nice bike ride...........?

The best event I've ridden in the U.K is the High Peak Hog. It's everything an event should be. Run by a local club in their area with a great atmosphere. It was £30 but as an organiser I know where the cash goes.

Bit of perspective from an organiser! And I'm still charging around 20 quid!!!!!

Cheers
AL

 

[mjr]

The magazines have riders thinking they are in some sort of race/tour de france event. Then you've got the forum morons slating anything sportive related. Did I say you just turn up and have a nice bike ride...........?

The main reasons us "forum morons" criticise sportives are because of the riders who think they are in some sort of race, aren't they? So basically the reason why organising morons criticise the magazines that have made their events increasingly popular

 

[BikeGirlKent]

Thanks @Polocini for your input. Your right that its a good way to socialise and just enjoy the ride. Thats my aim, except on the ups and ill be trying to breathe and keep going!!

 

[Racing roadkill]

I look for one that's free to enter.

 

[User482]

Either a big closed road event (Ride London was great) or a small, club-organised event. Sadly, the latter seems to be in decline: I can think of three highly enjoyable small-scale sportives which have all stopped operating in the last year.