Cycle Sportives
Cycle sportives are the new 'in-thing' in endurance cycling. A couple of years ago you had to hop across the channel to find one of these events, now they are springing up all over the place in the UK. It must be possible to find one (or more) pretty well every weekend throughout the season. But just what is the attraction?
Cycle sportive rides are not for the faint hearted. Typically a sportive ride will be between 60 and, possibly, over 100 miles, often with a fair degree of climbing involved just to add to the pain! No self-respecting cyclist is going to get out of bed these days for a ride under 50 miles and without at least 1000m of ascent. And basically, the more the merrier. Toughies like the Cumberland Challenge are 100 miles in length with some 3000m of climbing, and there is NO easy option! But, I hear you say again, just what is the attraction? Well, sportive rides are personal challenges. A sportive is not a race (although watching some club cyclists tear off into the distance from the start line you might be forgiven for thinking otherwise), it is about testing yourself against the (sporting) course in what (you hope) will be a respectable time. It is intended to be enjoyable (despite the pain) and the camaraderie of riding with several hundred like-minded cyclists adds to this sense of well-being. Make no mistake, they are not easy, but they are tremendously rewarding.