First Sportive in June

[gcwebbyuk]

I have recently started road riding, and have signed up for the Tri Store Sportive in Eastbourne in June.

I have ridden the route, and am happy with my abilities to get round in a decent time.

My concern is that I have only ridden in with one other, and never in a group.

Has anyone ridden the Tri Store Sportive before and know how quickly the main group tends to thin out?

[eileithyia]

Can't answer your specific questions re the sportive as do not ride them, however have ridden plenty of audax. Don't chase off too hard at the start, settle into a comfortable pace and you will probably find others riding at your pace.
Most important is to learn the language and signs....
Left arm moved so it is pointing to the right from behind the back = moving out / obstruction on left.
Ditto if it is right arm due something on the right..
'On the right' or 'On the left' again indicates there is a pothole or other problem to be wary of on the appropriate side.
'Gravel', 'Glass' etc similar is a warning to others.
Remember if people are calling these problems to you it is expected you will similarly reciprocate to those behind you.
'Car down' is car approaching from the head of the line ie from in front.
'Car back' or 'Car up' is car coming up the line from the rear.
Other obvious messages are the 'turning left', 'turning right', 'stopping', ''clear' =for a clear junctions that you can pull out into....
Always remember to indicate that you are slowing down / stopping if doing so otherwise someone will ride into the back of you and will not be popular...

[Mark1978]

Depends on the sportive. Most I've been on set off about 20 riders every 5 minutes so there is no main group as such and they string out within about 5 minutes.

I've also done some with mass starts and even then the riders get strung out really quickly probably within about 15 minutes.

Get the idea of a race peloton out of your head, it isn't like that.

[gcwebbyuk]

Thanks for the info.

I might send an email to the organisers, and see if they can give me any info on the way the start is handled.

[eileithyia]

The one i rode a few years back, the riders were split into groups and set off in small(ish) groups. I found these groups then developed into their own small club groups / mates they normally ride with..... There was no attempt to stay together with other riders, ie every man for himself.
My own club also have a small charity ride early in the year, and similarly once dropped on a hill, there was no attempt of otherwise similarly paced riders, to wait and keep together..... unlike club runs, they were off keeping with their mates.

Audax it seemed that small groups would form and we would stick together ensure those at similar pace would get around together...

So if you enter alone be prepared that you might riding most of the route generally on your own.

[pwa]

Ride with any group you think you can ride with, even if they look like a bunch of mates. They are unlikely to mind a new face. Find people who are not too fast to live with. On the flat it is difficult to judge how strong someone is, but as soon as you get a nice long climb there will be a sorting out and you will see who you can stick with.

[Mark1978]

Ride with any group you think you can ride with, even if they look like a bunch of mates. They are unlikely to mind a new face. Find people who are not too fast to live with. On the flat it is difficult to judge how strong someone is, but as soon as you get a nice long climb there will be a sorting out and you will see who you can stick with.

That's the advantage of a sportive, groups form spontaneously you can tag onto the back of any group you come across. If you want to go ahead, then drop them and go on, if not then drop off the back again.

Personally I find that for most sportives it's group riding for about the first half, but the second half is usually on my own.

[mjr]

Get the idea of a race peloton out of your head, it isn't like that.

Sadly, there may be some who try to make like that. If anyone refers to the event as "the race", I let them go off ahead. They may be taking excessive risks and it's not unusual to hear of nasty crashes resulting from some group pretending to be a race peloton and clipping wheels and things like that. There should be emergency numbers for the event, but there's no team cars and medics so it can be a long old wait for them to get to you.

Please, either ride with friends whose riding you know and are willing to trust, or keep a safe stopping distance to the bike in front (and this is more than you think, more than just reaction time: if the rider in front crashes into an immovable obstacle, they will stop instantly).

[keyboardmonkey]

An account from a cycletourist on his second sportive (with link to the first one) may be of some interest to the OP:

http://eastyorkshirectc.org.uk/big-g-cy ... 2013-100km

[gcwebbyuk]

Thanks for the info.

I have emailed the event organisers, to see what the start of the event is like, they have informed me that they tend to let cyclists off in batches of 20 - so thats put my mind at ease.

I will be doing the sportive with my brother, and we will probably stick to ourselves, taking turns on the front.