[Closed] Riding a sportive with no entry

a roads a road is a road.....

sportives nothing more than an overpriced [s]audax[/s] open ability group ride !

Of course you can ride it without paying, and they can't stop you from doing it. I trust that you'll make sure that you fill your pockets with food and drinks from the feedstops and use the facilities at the start/ finish which you haven't contributed towards as well.

Depends how much being a douchebag sits with you.I suspect it sits just fine with quite a few folk on here.Just wear a sign saying "Im not doing this sportive I'm just riding the same road at the same time" and I'm sure everyone else who has paid will be very friendly.

I guess that it'd be bad form to use the feed stations (I'm guessing that there is one). Aside from that it's just a normal road ride!

I'm considering doing this. There is a sportive starting a mile away from my house which is overpriced tbh - you have to buy your own food at the feedstops, and it's one of those "we're associated with a charity but they don't get any of the entry fee" type events. I'm very tempted to donate the money direct to the charity and then ride it without an official entry - there's nothing to stop me going out for a ride on my local roads, is there, and as they provide virtually no support en route other than signage (which, being local, I wouldn't necessarily need) I can't take advantage of it! And I can use my own loo before I set off too 😉

tbh rorschach I would be quite happy if the whole "sportive" scene colapsed on its self.

how ever im going to do the alford sportive in a few weeks time because its run by the club my girlfriend rides for and its very reasonably priced compared to many others.

i much prefer riding audaxes - on the most part at least you can trust the riders to not take you out riding in groups.

Just set the whole sportif route up as a strava segment.
Problem solved.

Why would you want to ?

You either do the race (and make no mistake it's a race - it has numbers and you get given a time, some are faster than others = RACE) or you don't. Riding along the route in your own time can be done any time.

Seems a bit daft.

😆

I know it doesnt sit right with me, but the route incoroporates most of my road routes, so what do i do - not ride my local roads because people from far away have paid to ride on them.
edit : i dont want to do the whole route, start at the start and finish at the finish, use the feed stations etc but do want to ride my local roads.

They can't stop you riding the route, but my view is if everyone did this it would end up in chaos.

Just get a gpx of the route an do it yourself on a different day.

Some people will always freeload. Some just use the 'high' price of sportives as an excuse. We run an audax and there are definitely a few people who don't pay the £8 (including Audax UK levy) entry and who still [i]steal[/i] the cakes/etc...

FWIW, if you do it on the same day then you're clearly doing it because they've put an event on so you can try to justify it but really you know that's not the case - they've put an event on, on that route, on that date and you're doing it because of that work. If you really want to avoid freeloading then ride the route another day.

yeah but hels its a race with no winner .... its just like arguing on the internet .... POINTLESS 😀

[quote=Papa_Lazarou ]
Just get a gpx of the route an do it yourself on a different day.
That

Wait til they've gone home?

Or ride it the wrong way round to confuse people.

Bad form IMO. If it's as straightforward as "it's just a ride on a public road that you're perfectly entitled to use" then why not just do it yourself on a different day? Otherwise you're saying the event is bringing something extra so it seems fair to pay up/play by their rules if you want to participate.

teenrat - Member
I know it doesnt sit right with me, but the route incoroporates most of my road routes, so what do i do - not ride my local roads because people from far away have paid to ride on them.
edit : i dont want to do the whole route, start at the start and finish at the finish, use the feed stations etc but do want to ride my local roads.

unless they pay for a road closure they can't stop you riding on the roads

You either do the race (and make no mistake it's a race - it has numbers and you get given a time, some are faster than others = RACE)

err no they aren't. It's like claiming you are racing on the commute into work and overtaking the postie

aP - Member
Of course you can ride it without paying, and they can't stop you from doing it. I trust that you'll make sure that you fill your pockets with food and drinks from the feedstops and use the facilities at the start/ finish which you haven't contributed towards as well.

I thought most events run out of food once the first 1/3 have swept through

lets face it - most sportives are run on popular local routes ...

i mean one sportive COMPANY was so lazy they approached the local club for a route.....

Bad form IMO. If it's as straightforward as "it's just a ride on a public road that you're perfectly entitled to use" then why not just do it yourself on a different day? Otherwise you're saying the event is bringing something extra so it seems fair to pay up/play by their rules if you want to participate

The problem is presumbaly that it's 'taking up' a hundred miles of nice roads in the area, so there's not really much you can do to avoid it completely, and if you can't avoid it, why not just follow the crowd.

Last/only sportive I've done just seemed like a club run on someone elses roads and without seating, good coffee or cake at the stops.

And the Caterham club were having a day out on the same day (and probably paid road tax), maybe cyclists should have kept off the roads (never heard this said on the day, just playing devils advocate).

By all means ride the route, just don't try to pretend that you're not freeloading while doing it - riding part of the route because it's in your area and where you'd ride anyway isn't an issue. Following the whole route is very different.

FWIW, I'd rarely ride a sportive - I think they're usually well over priced and I'd usually prefer to organise the same sort of thing with a few mates. The ones that I do (really only one a year) is a bit different (for me), relatively cheap and fairly well supported for what you pay and very well organised.

I managed to climb Ditchling Beacon about 2 minutes before the earliest/fastest riders on one Sportive were expected through. There were supporters and people with cameras all stood at the top watching me wheeze up the last bit and obviously thinking 'who's that'

It was the first time I'd climbed it and it felt a bit like this.

I was very English about it and 'fessed up.

It's a race. You get a time. Somebody is fastest and therefore the winner. If it wasn't a race, they wouldn't give out times. AFAIK the whole Sportives thing grew as an insurance dodge anyway as cheaper to insure if not officially race. But definitely a race.

probably paid road tax

What road tax? I've been driving for years and have never paid road tax.
If you are going to be the Devil's Advocate, you need to up your game!

Ye do it, you wouldn't not drive on the roads or take your dog for a walk would you, what's the difference? And as far as doing it on a different day I don't suppose that has the same attraction, it's nice getting out on a road with lots of other people and measuring yourself, riding in a group or building morale riding away from people (likewise tho loosing it by getting dropped).

A sportive is NOT a race, it's a social ride on public roads, and therefore something quite doable for free.

Clearly some race. Many (including some who actually do road races too) don't - they ride with their mates, at a reasonable pace but happily stop for cake/etc at the stops.

Or at least that's how most of the ones I've been on have been but I do have a feeling that in the SE in particular that may have changed..

I suppose it depends on how much it is. How much is it?

I'd just go for a ride that day and ride a route that works for your training and time needs and don't think too much about where they will be. If your route coincides with their then so be it. Better still, if you want a nice quiet day out on the bike take where they will be into account and avoid where possible.

But don't abuse them being there and steal their scran - that would be poor form.

hels - Member
It's a race. You get a time. Somebody is fastest and therefore the winner. If it wasn't a race, they wouldn't give out times. AFAIK the whole Sportives thing grew as an insurance dodge anyway as cheaper to insure if not officially race. But definitely a race.

In your head maybe 😉 they are no more racing than competing for a strava segment KOM

If it's BC registered event they need to comply with these rules

4.8 Publication of 'Result'
The only "result" issued shall be a list of riders who have completed the route within the
specified time. Organisers must not publish a list of riders by finishing times or indicate the
order in which riders finished. The appropriate format is alphabetical name order. Electronic
timing facilities are to enable riders to compare their times rather than provide a finishing
order; they provide a degree of safety as well since it allows the organiser to easily count the
riders in and out.
The awarding of prizes cannot be given on placings. The use of a podium would indicate that
the event was of a competitive nature, so should not be used.

I regularly ride the chiltern 100 medio route when I am trying to get my fitness up, but i'm still happy to pay the entry fee on the actual day rather than freeload - but it is a club run & relatively low cost event.

Just for clarification: it is not a race 🙄

Oh and it's not a race but is a "timed challenge" which is enough to make most a bit competitive. I think I've always thought of them as a time trail where it's ok to take pace from other riders. You'll take stock of how well you have ridden by either comparing your time against others, your own previous attempts or the medal standards if they have them. I've always found one of the best bits about them was the tactics to getting your best time- do you start early or late depending on the weather - do you sit with a group that's a bit hot for you or going too slowly or indeed strike out on your own.

Its £25. I was quite prepared to pay this but for some reason the number of entries has gone nuts this year with 1100 people and I couldn't get in

Seems like bad form to me and I wouldn't do it, I just can't put together any rational argument as to why.

I guess one of the reasons for the numbers cap is the impact of all the traffic? I'm assuming they're not just turning away entrants for a laugh.

[i]1100 people[/i]

I'd ride it the week after...

OP
If it bothers you ,just ride round the other way.

I really don't get all the Sportive hate ,it's only people out on bikes enjoying themselves ,and they have also been a big boost for cycling in general.

Yeah, they issues results in spreadsheet format that any old numpty could sort into fastest time, and immediately do.

And nobody cares if they got in ten minutes before their mate do they ??

I am very familiar with BC rules thanks, and it doesn't matter how they hide it and ban podiums. It's a race. So is the Merida/CRC Marathon thingy.

I would be prepared to buy the unproven "it's not a race" theory if Sportives were also banned from giving out or publishing rider results, and the satisfaction of finishing, getting a handshake from the organiser and a badge at the end was enough. But it's not is it ? Everyone wants a time, and why, to compare themselves with others.

RACE.

[i] if Sportives were also banned from giving out or publishing rider results[/i]

they could just set up the whole sportive route as a Strava segment for those who were itnerested in timing themselves 😉

Just do it, just don't post on here about it. Hope you have a good day

ride it the wrong way round to confuse people

I once rode 20 miles of the Dragon Ride the wrong way, waving at everybody 😀

Wiggle Cheshire Cat 2013 is now closed for entries. 3,600 riders

...get changed in a sports hall, ride on public roads, get free energy products that the organisers probably got for free and get a time at the end of it.

A gpx of the route is free to anyone on the website, yet they still got 3600 riders paying up to £34 to enter!!

Well done Kilotogo - keerrrrrching.

I'm with Dicky Boy on this one and also regularly ride roads from my local sportive but would also pay to enter the event.
If I had missed out on an entry for a sportive as the op claims then I wouldn't ride the route the same day along with the riders who have entered I would plan a separate route which hopefully wouldn't coincide with the sportive. I guess the organizers have a limit to the number of entrants due to traffic, safety and insurance reasons.
I took part in a sportive last year and ended up riding with a guy who was riding the route with out entering but said he was unaware the event was happening so was just tagging along even though a tour de france winner and an olympic gold medalist were endorsing the event and it was all over the media like a rash!

A gpx of the route is free to anyone on the website, yet they still got 3600 riders paying up to £34 to enter!!

So quite clearly people ride sportives for more that just riding x distance. I'd say that it's the 'event' aspect of it which draws people and is also the reason that some people choose to ride that route on that day without paying. By all means do it but just don't try to pretend that that's not what you're doing.

hels - Member
Yeah, they issues results in spreadsheet format that any old numpty could sort into fastest time, and immediately do.

And nobody cares if they got in ten minutes before their mate do they ??

I am very familiar with BC rules thanks, and it doesn't matter how they hide it and ban podiums. It's a race. So is the Merida/CRC Marathon thingy.

I would be prepared to buy the unproven "it's not a race" theory if Sportives were also banned from giving out or publishing rider results, and the satisfaction of finishing, getting a handshake from the organiser and a badge at the end was enough. But it's not is it ? Everyone wants a time, and why, to compare themselves with others.

RACE

You are one of those people who gives Strava a bad name aren't you 😉

I road a sportive once as a fast paced training ride, and was on a bit of mission so overtaking lots of other participants. I got a few hangers on and eventually we got a nice chain-gang organised. Half way through there was a junction, one way for the long route, and the other for the short. I pointed left and shouted to the nearest rider "Is this the long route?" He said yes, and so carried on left with the group. 10 miles later and we were at the finish - but there should have been another 30 miles. Half the riders turned off to finish, and the other half carried straight on. I carried on with them only to realise that there were no more route signs. They were just along for the ride, and were doing the sportive for free. And to add insult to injury, the guy that had agreed we were doing the long route was among them. So they messed up my day - ****s.

If there are ever any sportives on my training routes then I'll try and avoid the route, or at least ride the opposite way.