looking for a local club, or am i???

seabass89 wrote:@Simon..
Yeah

seabass89 wrote:

@Simon..

Yeah I’ve read about the sportive things, and they all seem to be common sense..

I’ve EVEN read some articles about how to sit in a group..

Just wondered if anyone had some first-hand experience on nice little starter tips for sitting with other people without getting everyone into the ground! :P

My advice for a sportive (or any group ride )
1. Keep a straight line (even if it means that you go through the pot hole !!) unless you are following 2 below
2. Be aware of the other cyclists around you (and if they are not too close, signal your intention to move from your “line” before you move)
3. Sit up before braking !!!
4. On hills if you think you are going to stop keep to the side and shout “stopping” BEFORE you stop
5. Obey the laws of the road (otherwise I cannot predict what you are going to do next !)
6. When overtaking leave enough space before pulling back in (but make sure you are going fast enough to do this if not sit behind)
7. Do not follow closely anybody you do not think has the required road skills (on no account “overlap” your wheels !)
To be honest within the first 5 minutes you can work out those that have group riding skills and those that do not
We still have accidents , tyre bursts/ big punctures , Chains snap / come off, cramp etc that cause people to react in an unpredictable way (you only have to look at the professionals to understand that group riding has risks regardless of how much practise you put in)
The risks increase towards the end of a sportive as people get tired and lose concentration and therefore become less predictive etc

@Simon..
Yeah I’ve read about
@Simon..

Yeah I’ve read about the sportive things, and they all seem to be common sense..

I’ve EVEN read some articles about how to sit in a group..

Just wondered if anyone had some first-hand experience on nice little starter tips for sitting with other people without getting everyone into the ground! 😛

adam86 wrote: really

adam86 wrote:

:D 😀 😀 really enjoyed a gorgeous ride today everybody was really friendly an helpful found a few people that live near me to do some training rides in the week with all round success. Thanks for all the advice peeps really helped. :D

Bit the bullet as well at the weekend and met up with St. Christopher’s CC for their last Winter TT for the year – seem like a great bunch and managed not to embarrass myself in the 10 mile TT (none of your business how fast I was!)

Looks like everyone advocating club riding was right – go figure! 😛

@seabass89 – plenty of info
@seabass89 – plenty of info around e.g.
http://road.cc/content/forum/38658-will-i-be-able-manage-my-first-sportive
http://road.cc/content/forum/28966-sportive-virgin
http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/sportives/article/20100105-Get-Into-Cycling—Road—Sportive-0
http://www.roadsportives.co.uk/5rules.php
google is pretty handy:
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=advice+entering+first+sportive
Don’t get too bogged down in the detail – it’s only a long-ish bike ride with a load of other people.

For those wondering about joining a club I can only speak of the clubs I know in Shropshire, mainly my own, http://www.midshropshirewheelers.com/
They are all very open and friendly and I’ve never found anyone with an ‘attitude’. No pressure to buy club kit, no cliques or bike snobbery, everyone just wants you to have fun on your bike and, if you’re into racing in any form, just have a go and do your best. Have found good company and lots of encouragement through it.

nice one – don’t forget us
nice one – don’t forget us when you’re famous!

Yay! Let us know how you get
Yay! Let us know how you get on! 😀

OK I am a member of Sotonia
OK I am a member of Sotonia and would recommend them very highly !
I “found “ them through a Southampton Council Bike event in the local park 3 years ago.
They were friendly and basically said turn up on a Sunday for a couple of weeks and if you like it join ! (£12 per year is the cost )
I was looking to learn group riding skills for a mass sportive in Hamburg. Since then I have gone on to do “Racing” (ie how to work as a team) group training session with a GB coach all through Sotonia.
They cover the full range of cycling in terms of activity’s but are mainly focused on Road (just completed my first 100 mile ride on Sunday’s (which with the ride to and from the start / finish was 125 miles (200Km)) reliability ride
Sunday are club runs and not training rides (Saturday rides are training rides) so in general most of the groups “wait” (they carry on at a slower speed until everyone is back together) at the top of any climbs
My advice ?
Turn up on a Sunday (check starting times on the website as they change around the time the clocks go back) join a group one below were you think you are !!! when the guys say they are going to Average X mph they mean that they will Average that speed over the whole ride, so a 15mph group will run at 17 / 18 on the “flat “ to take into account the hills etc
Identifier yourself to someone in the Sotonia Kit (orange) and they will point you in the direction of Martin / Julian who will sort you out from there
There is normally around 4 groups (but can get to 7 or 8 in summer ) each group is slightly different depending on what the ride leader wants to do. They will shout out at the start what each group will be doing in terms of Average speed / Distance and if the route is specifically hilly (some like Hills and pick routes to get the most in).
The slower groups (15 mph or less) will look after you (or at least make sure you know where you are and how to get home) this normally means that someone stays with you (or once you have the skills pace you back on to the group) etc
If after your first ride you found them “too slow” then the following week step up a group
The only other bit of advice would be for your first couple of rides sit towards the back of the group and watch what happens and why it happens etc you will soon pick up the “ropes”
The big thing I have found is that when you do a Sportive you can spot the experienced (group ) riders very quickly and the less experienced even quicker which can be useful in terms of picking a group to ride with (or in my case to hang onto !!!)