What do you like/dislike about sportives?

[e-rider]

Imagine a RyanAir style Sportive; but with free toilets!

Value for money event with entry fee of about £8.

What would you want included and what would you be happy to 'pay-on-the-day' for?

For example: For your £8 fee you get to ride a fully signed route of 75 or 100 miles with 500+ other cyclists.

BUT, you would pay extra on the day for chip timing, food/drinks, certificates, medals, T-shirts etc etc. if you wanted these things, giving the option of keeping the ride cheap if you opted out.

 

[dellzeqq]

that would be value for money. Taking the registration, entry fee and signage costs. Toilets cost. Getting insurance costs. It might work if the sportive was a CTC event or an Audax, but I'd have thought that £8 would be stretching it otherwise.

And having people order from a menu of medals and t-shirts would drive up the unit cost of each - it's probably cheaper to give everybody the t-shirt and medal and get the economies of scale. And having people pay extra on the day for the add-ons means you have to take a guess at the numbers required.

The Cheam and Morden Hilly 50 costs £2.50, but all you get is a routesheet and the organisers' insurance cover that comes with being a CTC Event. It starts and ends near public toilets. They make a substantial profit on that £2.50 (the admin and the minimal marshalling is volunteer), but the second you start taking money in advance the costs start to rise. If you want to pay yourself for running it then the cost really does zoom up. If you pay somebody else to help you then they zoom up again.

 

[e-rider]

that would be value for money. Taking the registration, entry fee and signage costs. Toilets cost. Getting insurance costs. It might work if the sportive was a CTC event or an Audax, but I'd have thought that £8 would be stretching it otherwise.

And having people order from a menu of medals and t-shirts would drive up the unit cost of each - it's probably cheaper to give everybody the t-shirt and medal and get the economies of scale. And having people pay extra on the day for the add-ons means you have to take a guess at the numbers required.

The Cheam and Morden Hilly 50 costs £2.50, but all you get is a routesheet and the organisers' insurance cover that comes with being a CTC Event. It starts and ends near public toilets. They make a substantial profit on that £2.50 (the admin and the minimal marshalling is volunteer), but the second you start taking money in advance the costs start to rise. If you want to pay yourself for running it then the cost really does zoom up. If you pay somebody else to help you then they zoom up again.

OK how about a no thrills venue (Village Hall) with plenty of parking, no add-ons but a fully signed route as that seems to be a popular component of sportives.

 

[dellzeqq]

OK how about a no thrills venue (Village Hall) with plenty of parking, no add-ons but a fully signed route as that seems to be a popular component of sportives.

it all sounds good, but it would need to have insurance. Why not run it under the auspices of CTC, AUK or BC? They've got the wisdom of the ages behind them, and they offer a (remarkably inexpensive) service to event organisers. And, if memory serves, the CTC is allowed to signpost.

I'd get in touch with the excellent James Lyon at BC, the equally excellent Rob Fuller at CTC or the especially equally excellent Ian H of these very boards who may be able to advise on AUK procedures.

I'm not qualified to offer advice on insurance, but you might consider your responsibilities, the responsibilities and protection of the marshals, the responsibilities of people providing services to the riders and the responsibilities and protection of the entrants

To change the subject slightly. Rides of any description should have beginnings, middles and ends. They should tell a story. The beginning of the ride should be momentous, the middle of the ride should be intriguing, with revelations both small and large, and the end of the ride should be a symphonic resolution only millimetres away from orgasmic.

 

[frank9755]

A signed route is much less important now that many people have GPS.

Any member of AUK is allowed to organise an event and AUK members are insured for it automatically. Non-members pay (I think) a £2.50 premium for insurance coverage for the event.

However, that would be an audax, ie an amateur event which might attract a field of 50 people.

In order to get a field of 500, you need the professional marketing and hype that the companies who organise sportives are good at (or else you need a cracking route and to build it up with good amateur marketing over many years like the C&M 50).

 

[edindave]

Unless it's a charity event I think there would be a lack of essential volunteers who make these things happen.

A lot people give up their own valuable time for free for these events.

To try to make a PAYG event without volunteers... I think it would be a challenge to get the numbers to stack up.

 

[Banjo]

I think £8 is probably unrealistic but 15 to 20 wouldnt be too bad for most people. Is there a reason sportives have become so much more expensive or is it just charging as much as people will pay?

 

[Zoiders]

It's all a bit too much like Pro-cycling re-enactment for my liking.

The Sealed Knot Society for Mamils.

 

[Sittingduck]

The Evans 'Ride It' series are £12.50, aren't they? Seems like good value, and although I have never taken part in one, I may do in the future! I believe they have chip timing and so on.

 

[Albert]

I have enjoyed the Sportives I have taken part in - Preseli Angel, Dave Lloyd, Cyclops, Iron Mountain. They have been well organised, friendly affairs. Obviously more pricey than Audax with more cycle bling in evidence. I think I prefer Audax because I slightly prefer the type of rider who takes part, but both are fine and I plan to do more Sportives as well as Audax in the future. Audax is, obviously, cheaper, but Sportives aren't that expensive.

 

[Banjo]

I have enjoyed the Sportives I have taken part in - Preseli Angel, Dave Lloyd, Cyclops, Iron Mountain. They have been well organised, friendly affairs. Obviously more pricey than Audax with more cycle bling in evidence. I think I prefer Audax because I slightly prefer the type of rider who takes part, but both are fine and I plan to do more Sportives as well as Audax in the future. Audax is, obviously, cheaper, but Sportives aren't that expensive.

Pretty much reflects my attitude. With the cost of fuel these days the biggest expense can be getting there.

 

[chillyuk]

I did one Sportive, and although I enjoyed the day I wont be doing any more. It seems a lot of money to do something you can do for nothing. Medals and certificates are pretty meaningless unless you win something and earn it. However, I am a great believer in people doing what they enjoy and if sportives are your thing then go for it and enjoy.

 

[DTD]

Signed event is essential for me – no GPS and a crap sense of direction. Mind you I'm happy to pay £15 to £20 for a few frills – only the price of a cheapish meal out.

 

[YahudaMoon]

I see sportives pointless on the grounds you don't get any points or qualified club results for your efforts so would choose a audax or club TT over a sportive all day long.

Ive only done one sportive and felt I had just wasted my day when I could have been earning club points

They do look like fun though and I like the idea some contribute to certain organisations and I like the idea that some have very large attendances of what looks like good fun.

I did notice on the sportive I did that their was some very good cyclist and thought to myself it odd they don't compete ?

 

[MacB]

I did notice on the sportive I did that their was some very good cyclist and thought to myself it odd they don't compete ?

May be a bit of 'bigger fish in smaller pond' around that, along with various other reasons of course