should I feel dirty? will people laugh at me if I turn up in baggies?

Its the Burgess Hill springtime classic on the 21st march. Anyone else doing it?

(edit – any tips appreciated!)

I did a Sportive type event last year – it was a 100 mile ride starting in Brighton and taking in Beachy Head, Eastbourne and Devils Dyke.
I wore baggies but only because the world's not ready to see me in lycra!
Only advice I have is to get the miles in and make sure you eat regularly and get plenty of fluids down you. My skinny mate failed to do this and almost passed out at the 80 mile point !

do people ride mtb's and other random bikes on sportives or is it all roadie types?

If you an ride fast enough, you can ride anything you want. It just depends how "serious" you want to take it. 4,500 riders have signed up for the Etape Caledonia this year – there'll be all sorts on that.

Oh – you'll find a few listed here: http://www.cyclosport.org/default.aspx

don't wear baggies, and not just for the reason that people will laugh at you 🙂

ride the bike that you're going to ride on the day enough so you're comfortable on it for the duration, and to also know what food and drink you're likely to need so you survive

and if you'd have asked i could have taken you round the sportive route for free on a day when the roads aren't full of weaving and wobbly Treks, in fact for the price of a cup of tea and some cake i still could :0

People won't laugh but you may find it easier to wear lycra – its just more efficient on a raod bike.

You will need to get a lot of miles under your belt including hills, and assuming the ride is around 100 miles you should try and do at least one training ride of 80-90 miles.

Take appropriate clothing so you can adapt to any weather condition.

Also try out different energy gels, drinks and bars and only take what tastes nice and what doesn't upset your stomach – some people seem to have problems with some brands.

Don't start off too fast – as some people seem to do and then struggle on the first serious hill. Above all enjoy it!

@not enough time – at last year's Dragon ride there were a few non-road bikes including two guys on uni-cycles.