Tips for Sportives please, Overtaking riders

I second (third? fourth?) the TT suggestions. Always a friendly atmosphere and you won't get looked down on for not having a specialist TT bike/aero helmet/skin suit/rollers to warm up on - even though many do have all of this.

Or give a Hill Climb a go. Did my first one last night which Horwich CC had organised. Actually finished further from the bottom of the timesheet than I did on the TTs I have entered!

As far as overtaking riders on Sportives/Mass rides is concerned I think you just need to be considerate and polite and treat others as you would wish to be treated. If people haven't seen you then communicate with them. And be prepared for the fact that there will be less experience riders there and many who may do a fair few miles on their own or with a couple of mates but are unused to riding in a larger group.

Call out early in a friendly manor to let people know you are passing. Simple.

What I think it is fair to say is that events like this attract inexperienced people who are not totally confident or competent (in the nicest sense). Therefore it is always likely that you will have to slow and brake for people and that you should give people a sensible amount of room.

It is fine to try and do your best, but in the event of getting held up, that is when you should remember it is not a race... call out in a friendly manor and wait for people to move over.

I do think people are missing a trick by not trying a few club timetrials. A lot of guys here seem to want to test their abilities and tts are a lot better than these sort of events. Not that I have a problem with audaxes or sportives, but they are more of a nice day out with food stops.

I have been using this forum now for (i think) almost a year. There are some really cool people on here with infinite knowledge of all things cycling and at times it is a right good laugh. The flip side to that is there are also some really sanctimonious, judgemental bell ends who like to leap on to a thread, completely misinterpret the sentiment in it and start an argument.

This rather friendly chap, is asking for some advice from more experienced riders on the correct etiquette for overtaking slower riders on a sportive. A fair question you would have thought. But we now have him "tear arsing" through greater manchester like some lunatic running down 3 year olds.

I despair sometimes

I'm doing the Great Manchester Cycle also (my first event ever), and while I hope to set a time that I am proud of (and lay down a target for next year perhaps), I also fully expect that it's not going to be a balls to the wall sportive event. If I get held up, then I get held up and ... well, so what?

I expect that cycling the Mancunian Way with a bunch of other cyclists will be the biggest buzz for me.

On the plus side, the later start time means I can do the 26 miler with some mates and go on the piss after.

The 12 miler, the one for kids and families etc, starts at 2, I was under the impression it was much earlier (actually given the incorrect start times by someone involved in organising it, which doesn't fill me with confidence), which I thought meant there was an overlap with the various groupings.

If you come up behind the 26 or 13 milers you probably wont have been going that fast at all and wont be troubling them a bit.

I got it wrong, I hope you have a good ride and a good day out.

I did this last year and make no mistake, the 52 mile route is a 'fast' event. The front few groups were at race pace for much of it. I was about 15-18 minutes further back, finishing in 2:30 (38min laps IIRC). The roads are closed and they are plenty wide enough for everyone. The cut-off requires an average speed of 14-ish mph anyway, so everyone is making an effort to the best of their own ability, no-ones pootling along with 3-year-olds in tow.

Bikeboy, look out for Chorlton Velo, and give us a wave!

#714, and looking to go quicker than 2:30:52.

There is one fundamental rule when cycling - you are responsible for your own front wheel.

Nothing else, nobody else and none of the shit they do or don't do trumps this rule.

Think about that in the context of getting your front wheel past thousands of other people in an effort to get a 'good' time.

The bike paramedics (green uniforms, 60kg panniers, bikes like tanks) are somewhere around the Salford area. Met one the other day, very nice chaps indeed. Give 'em a wave.

I did the 52 last year (in 2h 31m) and I never had to shout, or excuse myself once. I did find my way on to a group of about 20 riders for a while and found the roads wide enough to accommodate everyone comfortably, with the exception of the Salford Quays bottleneck. Looking forward to it again this year. #362

It's a mass participation ride for all ages and abilities - everyone is out for a fun traffic-free bike ride in the city so don't spoil it for them. Patience and politeness win in all circumstances. A courteous "Excuse me" should be fine.

The participant info states there are different start times for each distance. However, if you're riding for a fast time perhaps this event isn't ideal for you.

No need to rush when you'll have to get off and walk at the Salford Quays pinch point

I always try and overtake on the right hand side, cautiously and give an 'on your right' call first if I can't leave an arm's length gap... And a 'morning' or 'afternoon' on the way past strikes me as a polite and less aggressive way to overtake

Shouting, "Passing on your right" normally works.

As for race numbers. Either a belt

http://www.triuk.com/products/tri-uk/tri-uk-race-belt-number-belt#.UcMbr...

OR

Sellotape where you are going to put the pins through, you know like the balloon trick??

Isn't the traditional passing shout "on your right!"?

As for the numbers, I favour those little clips which are sometimes used to clip conference badges to shirt pockets and use four to clip my numbers onto my jersey pockets, but I expect tiny bulldog clips or some 3m sticky product would work as well and be faster to obtain enough of them.

Is it a sportive?

I honestly think that the onus should be on you to be aware and more vigilant of what slower and less experienced riders are doing for this one rather than tear arsing it through. Many people are doing this event because they want to ride in an environment where they feel safe due to traffic. What's the point if that "danger" is replaced by someone hooning it through them and shouting at them?

An innocent call of "On your left" is going to confuse someone who hasn't ridden in any way seriously.

Probably a boring answer and one you didn't really want.