Author Topic: Anybody ride sportives or similar?  (Read 10662 times)

neil_p

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Anybody ride sportives or similar?
« on: May 23, 2011, 09:15:32 AM »
Last year I got into road sportives... which I have really enjoyed.  The ones I have ridden are not always the most friendly of events... although the fact I'm on a Thorn with 26" wheels does seem to rub people up the wrong way!

Anyone else found this? Any alternatives to Sportives for competitve and friendly people?  :)

Fred A-M

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Re: Anybody ride sportives or similar?
« Reply #1 on: May 23, 2011, 12:01:42 PM »
Neil,

I've never done either, though from what I understand, Audax are (largely) non-competitive endurance rides where the general ambience is a little more relaxed and accepting - people do Audax on all types of bikes.  Try googling the Audax UK website.

Fred
 

neil_p

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Re: Anybody ride sportives or similar?
« Reply #2 on: May 23, 2011, 12:34:29 PM »
Cheers, I'll take a look at that. I really like the sportive concept - mapped out ride, timing, being surrounded by fellow riders.... but I like to have a bit of friendly banter... and it's like trying to get blood out of a stone sometimes!  :)

cake

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Re: Anybody ride sportives or similar?
« Reply #3 on: May 23, 2011, 12:46:52 PM »
I've ridden about ten audax rides, Neil, and they suit me down to the ground.

There is a minimum and maximum average speed limit - this stops it becoming an out and out race.  The distances vary and include 50,100,150,200,300,400,600km up to whatever you care to undertake!

The routes are predetermined with either a routesheet and/or gpx file for you to follow.

If you want to chat, you can chat, if you prefer a bit of peace and quiet (like myself) then that is fine - it is all very relaxed.

People ride in groups that arise out of knowing their fellow riders or by virtue of riding at the same pace - and then sit and stuff themselves at the various available controls!

Similarly, you get others (again like myself) who prefer to ride on their own, and just have a quick chat with a passing rider.  All very relaxed.

You get every type of two wheeled machine available - £20 skip bike to £2000 carbon racing machine.  I haven't come across any snobbery regarding bikes.

As Fred says, have a look at the Audax UK website - all the info is there.  There will be an event there that will challenge you, if that's what you want!  And, even better, they are cheap to enter (£4 -£7 generally).

Frederred may chime in at some point - i should imagine he is quite the veteran Randonneur by now!

Gary.

Oh, apologies if know all about them already...
« Last Edit: May 23, 2011, 01:04:58 PM by cake »

neil_p

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Re: Anybody ride sportives or similar?
« Reply #4 on: May 23, 2011, 02:20:05 PM »
I'm a complete novice re Audax... so will have a good read. 600km!?!?!?! how long do you have to do that? Surely not all in one go!?!?!?  :o :o :o :o :o :o

JimK

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Re: Anybody ride sportives or similar?
« Reply #5 on: May 23, 2011, 03:41:52 PM »
http://www.paris-brest-paris.org/pbp2011/index-en.php

This stuff looks totally incredible to me... but people do it! I gather you can take a nap or two along the way!

Endurance, they call it!

Fred A-M

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Re: Anybody ride sportives or similar?
« Reply #6 on: May 23, 2011, 03:50:52 PM »
Ref PBP - that's pretty much the Zenith of Audax - if I recall rightly, think Fredered was training to do it, this year I think, as it's only ever help once every few (4?) years.   
 

cake

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Re: Anybody ride sportives or similar?
« Reply #7 on: May 23, 2011, 04:23:52 PM »
The minimum average speed on most events is 15 kph (9.4 mph), so you get 6 2/3 hours for every 100kms (62.5 miles).  This sounds quite low, but is an average so it includes stops at controls, rests and on the longer events, sleep!

So you are allowed 40 hours to ride a 600km event. 40 hours to ride an event like the Bryan Chapman Memorial (a ride around Wales, along with its weather and 8500m of climbing) is certainly a challenge!

I started off riding them (last year) because i'm no racer.  I entered a 200 as my first event, crapped myself thinking about the distance, so did a 100 the week before, which helped calm my nerves.

I recently rode to a 200km event and home again which totalled 306km, in 17 hours, so i know i can do that now. 

It's a good, and very addictive, way of challenging yourself at a pace of progression distance wise that you are comfortable with.



neil_p

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Re: Anybody ride sportives or similar?
« Reply #8 on: May 24, 2011, 08:47:19 AM »
The minimum average speed on most events is 15 kph (9.4 mph), so you get 6 2/3 hours for every 100kms (62.5 miles).  This sounds quite low, but is an average so it includes stops at controls, rests and on the longer events, sleep!

So you are allowed 40 hours to ride a 600km event. 40 hours to ride an event like the Bryan Chapman Memorial (a ride around Wales, along with its weather and 8500m of climbing) is certainly a challenge!

I started off riding them (last year) because i'm no racer.  I entered a 200 as my first event, crapped myself thinking about the distance, so did a 100 the week before, which helped calm my nerves.

I recently rode to a 200km event and home again which totalled 306km, in 17 hours, so i know i can do that now. 

It's a good, and very addictive, way of challenging yourself at a pace of progression distance wise that you are comfortable with.


When I do a sportive I guzzle energy gels, as it is quite an intensive 4-5hr ride. What is the approach on very long audax rides? Stopping for meals.... gels on the go? I guess it depends how hardcore you are.

On the 17hr+ events... are people putting up tents to sleep in? B&Bs?  I'm just struggling to get my head round them!?!?  :)  I've seen videos of 24hr MTB rides... and there are normally camper vans/marquees etc for the riders to grab naps in.... but that's a bit different because the ride is on a circuit.

Paulson

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Re: Anybody ride sportives or similar?
« Reply #9 on: May 24, 2011, 09:13:21 AM »
Last year I got into road sportives... which I have really enjoyed.  The ones I have ridden are not always the most friendly of events... although the fact I'm on a Thorn with 26" wheels does seem to rub people up the wrong way!

Anyone else found this? Any alternatives to Sportives for competitve and friendly people?


Neil, I agree with your initial comments re hostility at sportives.  I did a 100 miler last year on my Audax Mk 3 with fellow forum member Crudson on his RST,  we both got sick of the 'roadie' attitude early on.  Which basically seemed to be summed up as 'I am riding a carbon bike and even the washers are made of titanium, and I wouldn't dirty my Rapha togs and white carbon shoes on your muddy, oily old wreck of a bike, so get out of my way and let me impress the rest of the club members with my record time'.

Jeez, it's all coming back now;  the sneering glances, saying 'morning' to them as they pass and being blanked; the sea of offensive red, white and black with the big italic logos all over everything.......hey!  Calm down! It's just a dream!!!

A few times though, after being haughtily overtaken by them with that familiar 'why are you taking up the road, you oiks?' kind of attitude, we would then pass them by the side of the road as they hunched over their skinny, punctured tyres whilst our robust machines rolled on oblivious.

The repeated experience made me end up rather fundamentalist in that lycra is not evident in my cycling wardrobe, indeed cycling is done in a scruffy pair of Tudor Sports shorts or longs, any old t-shirt and my old thermals and a plain windproof jacket if it's cold.  My stealth black Thorn frame is a no-logo zone.  And I ALWAYS wave and say hello, even to the lycra brigade [though responses vary!]

Phew, I'm off to lie down!

PS, not motivated myself to do an Audax ride, but I understand the above definitely does NOT apply and that they are friendly, well organised events for people like us.....

Finally, suggest you read this thread by FreddeRed which somebody mentioned earlier on - yes, all 9 odd pages!!!  http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=1282.0
« Last Edit: May 24, 2011, 09:17:13 AM by Paulson »
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freddered

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Re: Anybody ride sportives or similar?
« Reply #10 on: May 24, 2011, 09:59:14 AM »
As mentioned above I ride Audax and am now qualified for the Paris-Brest-Paris 1200 in August.

I also just completed the Bryan Chapman 600 (mentioned above) as my final qualifier.

Audax is as competetive as you want to make it but, like CycloSportive, you're really only competing with yourself and a PB.

Audax is mainly about getting around a course within a time limit but plenty of people try and do it as quickly as possible (like 12 hours quicker than me on BC600).

Because it's not "balls out racing" you can chat or not chat to people as you ride, it's up to you.  It's a war of attrition once you get to 400km rides and you'll find yourself teaming up with someone to get you through the night-riding.

100km rides are available but Audax really starts at 200km.  These are fun, sociable and can be used for fast training.  Once you get to 300km and above then you need to consider pacing and nutrition very carefully.  400km and above needs you to consider pacing, nutrition, sleep and clothing choices very carefully (you'll be riding through the night in all sorts of remote places, in all sorts of weather and with little in the form of support.  A 24 hour garage will be your best option).

The Bryan Chapman 600 is epic, a real Blue-Riband event, but tiny compared to the big Sportives.  150 people started BC600 this year and most finished in time.

Team "Rapha" (the extremely trendy and expensive cycle clothing company) are doing Paris Brest Paris and as such I've seen them on some qualifiers.  One of their team submitted this ride report of the Bryan Chapman 600 with some awesome photos of their ride. It compares Audax and Sportives nicely.

I won't be riding a 600 again (apart from the 2 600s on PBP) as I find it really tough to get through the night stage with my sanity intact.  I've done 4 of them, BC600 three times (with one DNF after 400km due to a combination of mechanicals, terrible weather on high Welsh passes and fear) and would encourage any cyclist to aim for BC600 as a goal.  It's probably as epic as you can get without leaving the UK.

Photos from Team Rapha of the Bryan Chapman 600 (Saturday 6am - Sunday 10pm time limit.  Chepstow to Menai Bridge and back to Chepstow via Brecon Beacons and Snowdonia) http://www.540network.com/ww/00695/

From Team Rapha...

Quote
620 km with 9,000m of ascent, in Wales. Ladies & Gentlemen, I give you the Brian Chapman Memorial Audax Ride, Scenic Version. Widely considered the Blue Ribband event of the UK Audax calendar, James had picked this one for our BRM 600 P-B-P qualifier a while back. Ultan & I had agreed that it looked an impressive challenge: whether we would actually complete it or not, we had since preferred not to consider.

   Had this event been called a “Cyclosportive”, only the cream of sportive riders would have taken part. Outside the registration centre there would have been a collection of bikes whose price would have probably been kept a secret for as long as possible from the wives. Inside, slim super-fit bodies clad in HTC, Garmin-Cervelo, or Team Sky replica-kits complete with waxed & oiled legs, would have been nervously busying themselves over last minute details before the ‘race’.

    5 am Saturday at the Bulwark Community Centre, on a housing estate in Chepstow, there’s a different vibe. Outside is a collection of bikes that most riders could proudly show their wives as proof of not ruining the  balance of the domestic budget. Inside, calm and confident, modestly-dressed riders, chatted together as if about to go on a morning club-ride. But these guys somehow had a presence about them that betrayed the low-key appearance of both body and machine : these were Road Warriors of a very special kind. Pre-sportive banter would have been full of dread and self-doubt verging on panic, partly designed to enhance one’s hero-status. I overheard just one rider confessing to being ‘a little scared’, but otherwise climbing the equivalent of Mount Everest over the next 30-40 hours seemed to ruffle no feathers on the guys around me.

Initially we felt a little self-conscious in our new Rapha Randonneur jerseys & pink gilets, especially riding as a trio in an event where most ride solo (just to make it even harder still!), but once we all got rolling  we quickly settled into the friendly atmosphere. By the time we rode back into the Community Hall car park, 34 hours later, we had gained a true understanding of how, in Audax riding too, the spirit of road cycling is to be found, even without needing to ‘win’. Suffering is present by the bucket load; heroism is the unsaid essence of Audax riding (half-way round, one rider on our event managed to find a farmer with a welder to weld back together his cracked frame – ring any bells?! another rider got round a broken rear mech, early in the ride, by shortening the chain to fit a 42/16 gearing – and I have to mention the guy on the fixie...  ) Glory is to be found in a cup of tea and a slice of jam toast handed out to you with a smile by one of the organisers in the arrival hall. No congratulations, no questions : they know what you have been through and their eyes express respect better than any words could. So what had we been through?

   James and Ultan had looked after me well as we all ventured into the unknown far beyond our previous limits. None of us had pedalled for so long before. James & Ultan allowed me to catch up when gaps got a bit ‘elastic’ but even so we managed a 25kph overall average (check this) despite many moments which were definitely on the darker side. We were three of the 40, out of the total 180 riders, who had chosen the “Scenic Route”. This entitled us to occasionally leave the “Classic Route” to climb up narrow, vertical lanes until we could see most of Wales and then plunge down again to re-join the Classic riders further down their road. This was by no means flat either, (overall, only 500m less climbing), but usually meant climbing on long-slog A-road gradients. On the second of the eight stages, the Scenic option really delivered, taking us all the way up the Elan Valley, past the dams and reservoirs. Had we not been fighting an evil headwind all the way, we might even have enjoyed it too! A plate of beans on toast and a couple of cuppa’s restored us at the ‘Scenic Control’ café before our route took us towards our Classic colleagues. Meeting up again with some familiar faces became a comforting part of the ride for us after our lonely escapades on Welsh farm lanes. It also meant sub-10% gradients for a while, which was useful!

It was on these lanes that James seemed to have his Dark Passages : he had somehow become our route-sheet reader/navigator (GPS highly recommended for these rides, but I had not found the time to download the route), and understandably got a little tense at times. At a junction half-way up a  particularly cruel 16 percenter, where the tempting lane going downhill coincided with a doubting navigator, James suggested we just headed down to the main road, hoping to link up with the Classic route. That sounded like defeat to Ultan and I. How we gently managed to persuade him that seeing Wales again from the top was a better option than possibly never finding a main road, I do not recall. Thanks James!

Ultan had an encounter with a giant white moose on the A470 shortly before the hostel where we were to grab some sleep; and I had survived an almost complete meltdown on a long climb: having over-protected myself against the cold wind and the persistent rain (well, that’s Wales for ya), my eyes were blinded with salty sweat and I totally overcooked. A couple of minutes at the side of the road to put myself together again and all was good, enough...

Ups and downs, for both body and mind, are a constant feature of this ride. The wild scenery, the epic proportions and the impeccable organisation make this event a true Monument indeed. The (name please, james??) Youth Hostel illustrates perfectly how well Mark Rigby has got the organisation nailed. They book the whole place for us for the weekend, and even take us there twice, just to make sure we NEVER forget it. How could we - it clings to the outside world via yet another 2 kms of vertical lane... The first time round it’s a haven for hungry, tired riders; the second time it’s simply Heaven. Our intial plan had been to ride through the night, but after Ultans’ moose attack, James’ navigation tantrums and my own jelly-neck that was having trouble balancing my head, let alone my equally jelly-legs, we were stopping. Full Stop.

So, after another 3-course £3 miracle-meal, we were allocated a bunk-bed each and asked what time we wanted our wake-up call. We had agreed that 2 ½ hours of horizontal bliss was reasonable. I pulled off rain-jacket, shoes and soaked socks and slid under my puffy duvet. A 7-star hotel would have found it difficult to offer a higher sense of luxury! 2 ½ hours of sleep were ended 2 ½ seconds later by a polite prod and a “It’s 4am” whisper. A pair of dry socks helped soften the blow. (Had we read the small print we would have seen that the organisers offer to carry baggage out to and back from this wonderful Hostel. But we preferred to be wet and cold anyway....)

After some more sweet tea and a jacket potato with coleslaw, (interesting at 4.30am), we set out into the semi-darkness. For the next four kms, back-tracking on the road we had arrived by,  we met a steady column of single white lights. We had dined, slept and ‘breakfasted’ and these guys were just arriving, having ridden all night. In that instant I ‘met the Spirit of Audax’: usually to see riders behind me would have been a moment for a quick self-congratulation. But I can honestly say that my competitive ego had disappeared. I was humbled by the courage and determination of these guys. How much time it took anyone to ride this was irrelevant (apart from those needing to complete in under 40 hours to qualify for P-B-P). In that moment, these Kings of the Road appeared a lot wiser than the Sportive Wannabee breed that I usually consider myself part of!


Here's a link to my own gallery on this forum which shows me on 26" wheels nearing the end of my first 600km, in 2008.
http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=1282.45

The Thorn isn't exactly quick but it's a nice secure feeling when you're riding a Thorn Rohloff, at 2am, through some rainy Welsh valley.
« Last Edit: May 24, 2011, 10:10:53 AM by freddered »
 

JimK

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Re: Anybody ride sportives or similar?
« Reply #11 on: May 24, 2011, 12:42:44 PM »
Congratulations, Fred, and thanks for the reports. Just thinking about these events boggles my mind. Very inspiring!

freddered

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Re: Anybody ride sportives or similar?
« Reply #12 on: May 24, 2011, 12:56:01 PM »
Congratulations, Fred, and thanks for the reports. Just thinking about these events boggles my mind. Very inspiring!

They boggled my mind 4 years ago as well, but then I entered a 200km Audax, finished it just within time-limits, just about dead on my feet, and one thing led to another until I found myself cycling across Snowdonia at 2am last week.

I don't use my Thorn Raven for Audax any more (actually, I did use it on a winter 200 this year, to save my derailleurs from getting messed up) but they are perfectly suitable for Audax.  The key to it is biting the bullet and signing up for your first 100km or 200km at Audax UK

http://www.aukweb.net/events/
 

JimK

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Re: Anybody ride sportives or similar?
« Reply #13 on: May 24, 2011, 02:04:07 PM »
Last autumn I saw a couple nice bicycles in town - 26 inch wheels, red label 8 speed nexus in the back & dynamos in the front, fenders, one Brooks & one Ideale leather saddles. Very unusual! I think I had ordered my Nomad at that point but it was still in the queue.

Then this spring I saw one of those bikes parked outside the video rental when I showed up. I got to talk to the lady. Her husband has ridden PBP twice!

I met a fellow last summer on a short group ride - my first organized ride in many decades - he is into randonneuring - that was the first I'd heard about it. I've seen him out riding a few times since - never on an internal gear hub. Probably he has several bikes, or maybe he is not the husband in question. A mystery!

Anyway, it happens over on this side of the puddle, too!

http://rusa.org/

Then I read about the 1000 mile ride in Italy - this fellow is 6 years older than I am!!!

http://www.goodgroundconsulting.com/pdf/Italy--American-Rando025.pdf

Amazing!



neil_p

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Re: Anybody ride sportives or similar?
« Reply #14 on: May 25, 2011, 08:48:26 AM »
...we both got sick of the 'roadie' attitude early on.  Which basically seemed to be summed up as 'I am riding a carbon bike and even the washers are made of titanium, and I wouldn't dirty my Rapha togs and white carbon shoes on your muddy, oily old wreck of a bike, so get out of my way and let me impress the rest of the club members with my record time'.

Jeez, it's all coming back now;  the sneering glances, saying 'morning' to them as they pass and being blanked; the sea of offensive red, white and black with the big italic logos all over everything.......hey!  Calm down! It's just a dream!!!


After 4 sportives on my 26" wheel Thorn Rohloff , and being shunned by the roadies... I decided to rub it in their face a bit. Several months of training has followed; calorie counting; weight loss (down to 64kg) .... on the sportive I have just done I came in the top 20%, and achieved "silver" ... and was only 8mins outside of "gold". The roadies might diss me at the start but when they struggle to keep up with me they might change their opinion  :)