[Leviathan]

Did I just miss someting or was this well know? I just went to the Etape website to give them some of my hard earned July wages and found out the event is off. I knew they had downgraded from a closed event to an open one with three routes, but now they say there was not enough interest in the event to provide a quality event. The organisers Human Race have totally shot themselves in the foot over this. The closed route was one of the main attractions, especially with the nature of the small windy roads. What, did all those thousands of people grinding up and over the Horseshoe Pass last year just vanish?

Now having lost out on the Ride London ballot this year I no longer have anything planned, and am likely to slack off, especially on climbing without anything to look forward too. I thought there was supposed to a glut of good sportives (closed preferred.) It doesn’t seem like it around here (NW England.) The New Forest might be heaving every weekend in the summer, but not so much here. Any recommendations welcome…

Topic

[Beefy]

The Mark Cavendish Rise Above
The Mark Cavendish Rise Above sportive 9 Aug looks a though one, closed roads in and out of Chester and 115 mile with 2800m climbing for the epic with two shorter available all going in to North Wales including horse shoe pass, still places last I looked. Well worth some thought.

[Leviathan]

A belated thanks for the
A belated thanks for the replied. I have bookmarked the Borders tour for next year maybe but it is too out of the way and too soon for this year. A few of you are rather stretching the meaning of North West. But I guess it just proves that the glut of Sportives is a SE phenomenon.
Um, thanks for the offer of route but I think I can find my own training route. Open roads no matter how quiet are not the same as a closed route, you can’t go on the right or just stick to the middle for miles and miles, there will be cars over taking you no matter how quiet a lane you take, you turn a corner and cross an A road and have to stop. I am willing to pay for closed roads at least three times a year, it is different enough to be worth it.

Did no-one want to give Human Race a bashing? Just me annoyed then.

[exilegareth]

Have a bash at the Wooler
Have a bash at the Wooler Wheel in October – brilliant roads, may of them so quiet it’s as if they’ve never been opened. http://www.woolerwheel.co.uk/

Professional organizers promising closed roads events are always going to struggle to manage costs while providing a good event and a profit for themselves.

[Sniffer]

Man of Lard wrote:gmac101

Man of Lard wrote:

gmac101 wrote:

You could try this North of the Border.

http://tourotheborders.com/

Gavin

Except that I think that it’s fully subscribed (or at least it was announced as being so)

No you can still enter.

I prefer Tour of the Tweeddale. Similar route, open roads (really quiet anyway) and the local cycling club run it.

[Woldsman]

Not exactly mountainous, and
Not exactly mountainous, and the roads aren’t closed (although for much of the time you wouldn’t know it), but yours for two quid:

http://eastyorkshirectc.org.uk/september-6th-2015-challenge-rides

[giff77]

+1 with superpython – and the
+1 with superpython – and the cake etc is rather fab as well. Much better than the synthetic nutrition provided at the sportives. You could always do your own. Once you get out in the wilds you could quite easily be on closed roads.

[crikey]

I could plan it to finish at
I could plan it to finish at the pub…

[StantheVoice]

£2.10 a pint. I’ll be right
£2.10 a pint. I’ll be right up there.

[crikey]

I’ll create a route for you
I’ll create a route for you to ride, just tell me how far you’d like to go, it’ll be East of Manchester…

It’ll cost you £4:20 : that’s two pints in my local.

I might even come and keep you company.

[Man of Lard]

gmac101 wrote:You could try

gmac101 wrote:

You could try this North of the Border.

http://tourotheborders.com/

Gavin

Except that I think that it’s fully subscribed (or at least it was announced as being so)

[gmac101]

You could try this North of
You could try this North of the Border.

http://tourotheborders.com/

Gavin

[Author]

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