The wife is fuming. A close relative of hers (and mine now by marriage I suppose) has fairly recently got into cycling as a means to fitness. Fair play to him, I say, as although he’s lost little to no weight, he’s still getting out there and doing something, and thats to be encouraged.

But: he completed a high-profile cycling event yesterday, Sunday (clue: it was on a road), and posted a rousing picture of himself on FB, bike aloft, with a frankly very good indeed time considering his fitness and considerable bulk. My skeptical missus checked the official finish times, and his actual time is 2 hours slower.

It seems that he’s minused out all the stopping and break times he took, and may even have had his Garmin on auto-pause (sub 5 mph) for some of the hills.

I’m ambivalent- let him have his moment, he’s out there doing something, what the heck, its just a sportive. Whereas my missus has to sweat for every second and minute to try and get PBs, and feels its just unsporting.

?

Get him signed up on STW, sounds like the demographic?

It’s only FB. I’m told there may be other untruths in that realm.

Would I do it? No.

Would i get pissed off about it, if a guy i was faster than looked like he was faster than me? YES.

I think you need to persuade your wife that the close relative is cheating no-one but himself, and that measuring oneself against folk like that is a waste of energy.

Aiming for PB’s is like time trailing isn’t it? You’re only out to beat yourself, and there’s better things in life to worry about that this.

You do it to give yourself the best average speed, but having the auto pause on for hills is fooling yourself.

I don’t get why your wife is fuming. Not worth getting worked up over really is it 🙂

If the stop times are standing in queues for portaloos and water, I say fair enough.

Bear in mind that much of his time might have been standing on Leith Hill cos of this (I was there for an hour)

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/cyclist-dies-during-prudential-ridelondon-100-sportive-185677

Fwiw, my riding time was 5:40, course time 7:03. With an hour on Leith Hill, that’s 4*5 mins water/pee breaks. I’m happy to say my ‘time’ was 5:40

Unless there’s no good reason as above or he’s trying to claim sponsorship or bragging about beating you/etc I really would just ignore it. Does it really matter? Cliché but he’d only be cheating himself.

Hmm, having consulted the guide on all things road, it seems unclear, perhaps Rule 43 takes care of it?

Clock starts when you cross the start line and only stops when you cross the finish line.

Though as has been said, it’s not a race so who cares.

Or…. invite him out for a ride at his proclaimed average speed 💡

If he’s saying “I did this faster than you” then yes, annoying. But:

codybrennan – Member

Whereas my missus has to sweat for every second and minute to try and get PBs, and feels its just unsporting.

It’s his personal best however he measures it, and if he does any more and measures it the same way he’ll have to sweat just as hard to improve it.

If this bothers you there’s something missing

When comparing times, get her to do the same (take out the standing time). Beat his time and post her time on his FB page. Beaten by a girlie…that’ll learn him 😀

Pretending that it is your wife that is bothered is very poor form.

folk have many different motivations to cycle.
i local guy i know needs to have an event circled on his calendar to focus his training – if he doesn’t have than he doesn’t go out on his bike at all (due to lack of motivation).
i think this approach totally misses the point of cycling – general fitness, adventure and long days out in nature. but then, he’ll think its me thats got it wrong…

If I’m ever asked I’ll tell people a ride time and a total time. Maybe ask as a comment what his total time was including stops?

take him out at the weekend, rip his legs off and post the strava on facebook.

If you’re that bothered.

Thanks all 🙂

It actually IS my missus that’s bothered- I’m thinking, why bother, lets encourage him? (she’s got previous fall-outs with him that are adding to her feelings)

What’s bugging her underneath this is that both he and my 11 year old did a 50 mile sportive last year, and my 11 year old only stopped once for 10 mins and posted a time of about 4:45, whereas he stopped for a 1:15 (3 cake stops) and posted a time of 4:00…..which was actually 5:15, in my missus eyes.

My official time for that event was 5:19, My Garmin time was 5:16, but I have auto pause on and the difference is accounted for by 3 short stops to swap water bottles round and squeeze sweat out of my helmet pads!

Either way I was well chuffed and set out do do the whole thing without any ‘proper’ stops.

I guess both are valid times in a way, but it’s a bit disingenuous to claim the shorter time if you needed to have significant stops possibly.

Guess the best way to sort is to congratulate him on his ‘great effort’ with a screen grab of the official timings 😉

Maybe she should post something on his Facebook pointing out that the “official time” on the website seems to be incorrect and that he may want to contact the organisers to have this “corrected” 🙂

If the stop times are standing in queues for portaloos and water, I say fair enough.

If you just stopped for a, say, ten minute rest by the side of the road would that count? How many rest stops help with the average speed when actually riding the bike sections?

I think the right thing for your missus to do is reply to the post pointing she is confused because the website says he did it in x:xx instead. And maybe post a picture of some Bombers and some soggy slippers. 😛

50 mile sportive last year, and my 11 year old only stopped once for 10 mins and posted a time of about 4:45, whereas he stopped for a 1:15 (3 cake stops)

3 cake stops over 50 miles!?

I’m known to have a bit of a ‘problem’ as far as baked goods are concerned but even I wouldn’t do that!

Was it a cycling sportive or a cake eating sportive?

It would be even better to post an 11 year old girls time that beats his. Stalk his every event and post the competing times. He’ll stop posting up after a couple of humiliations 😀

Sounds like the bigger issue may be her living vicariously through your son 😀

Total time with breaks average speed without

Was it a cycling sportive or a cake eating sportive?

I’m liking the sound of a cake-eating Sportive, tell me more!

FWIW, on the rare occasions I bother posting times from events like that, I’ll post “5hrs riding time, 5.30 total time” or whatever.

maybe he needs educating that his time is the official time minus any major enforced stops such as the one at Leith Hill.
part of the challenge of setting a good time is not stopping, not just completing the ride. if you were doing the marathon you wouldn’t stop for a pie half way round.
I got a puncture yesterday but don’t subtract the time spent fixing it from my time (but do inform people that’s why I was 15 mins slower).
I’d call him out on it.

***ing tragic but no doubt the mentality of many Sportive racers.

In a timed event the clock starts when you cross the start and stops when you cross the finish line, thats it. I’m with your wife OP by now I’d have already posted a facebook comment with his correct time.

2 hours of stops – did he take a picnic and blanket with him? What the hell would you do in 2 hours of stop mincing around in your cleats? Credit to him though – I’d struggle to get going again at a good pace with stops that long.

That would struggle to register on my give-a-shit-o-meter.

Why is she bothered what time he did? Did she post up a ‘legit’ time which he is claiming to have ‘beaten’? Otherwise trawling through the official results to find something to be upset about looks a trifle…issue-driven.

It’s a bloody sportive.

Perhaps she should go nuclear and post a question asking him how he manages to still be such a chubby sod despite clearly being a cycling god.

cake-eating Sportive

We run one of those. Well, we charge a lot less than a sportive and you have to pay a small amount for the cake but it’s certainly as focussed on the eating as the riding…

http://audax.lvis.org.uk

It’s a bloody sportive.

it not just a sportive though – that’s like saying the London Marathon is ‘just a fun-run’.

brakes – Member

It’s a bloody sportive.

it not just a sportive though – that’s like saying the London Marathon is ‘just a fun-run’.[/quote]

2 hours of stopping…are you suggesting it’s a race? “challenge”?

By that same logic, I can run 200m in about 30s. Then I need a long break, for lying down and vomiting. Then I can do another. And another. Maybe over the course of a few days, allowing for rest breaks. But, subtracting the time spent not actually running, I am now the marathon world record holder at 1:45.

Seems reasonable?

By that same logic, I can run 200m in about 30s. Then I need a long break, for lying down and vomiting. Then I can do another. And another. Maybe over the course of a few days, allowing for rest breaks. But, subtracting the time spent not actually running, I am now the marathon world record holder at 1:45.

Seems reasonable?

I can run it in 29s. Loser!

it not just a sportive though – that’s like saying the London Marathon is ‘just a fun-run’.

It is though unless you’re on the pro start line.