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It’s a great feeling. The computer ticks relentlessly on, and with every mile you’re setting yourself a new benchmark: the furthest you’ve ever ridden. It doesn’t matter if it’s 12 miles or 112, the sense of achievement is just as real. You’ve challanged yourself, and you’ve risen to the challenge.
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Now’s the time to plan for that big ride. You could just go out and ride... and ride and ride until you’ve bagged a new best, but if your legs start to turn to mush and you’re a long way from home you’ll be glad of a few encouraging words and a kindly wheel to sit on to shelter from the wind until you get your breath back. Riding in a group can save you between 15% and 40% of your effort over going it alone, and the bigger the group the less time you have to spend at the front! So if you’re looking to do a longer ride than ever before then an organised event is a great place to do it.
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Not so long ago all mass-start distance cycling events had a single name: Audax. From the Latin for ‘courageous’, Audax rides are all about self sufficiency: riders are expected to navigate the route by themselves and take everything they need with them. If you want to do a really long ride then the Paris-Brest-Paris, a 1,200km round trip with a 90-hour limit, is the oldest regularly run cycling event, it’s been going since 1891 and it’s legendary toughness and large field means that it only takes place every two years.
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In the last few years the focus for big organised rides in the UK has shifted towards sportives. Unlike Audax rides sportives usually have waymarked routes and often a choice of routes and distance too. Many use electronic timing systems to give you an exact finishing time and they’re usually much bigger than Audax rides too, with the larger events attracting thousands of riders. There’s usually no need to constantly refer to a map and frequent feed stations mean you don’t have to carry as much food and gear. Sportives have made distance riding much more accessible to a lot more people – so why not give it a go? Here at Evans we reckon that once you’ve tried a sportive you’ll be hooked, and to make it even easier for you to try we've set up our own series of events: Ride It!
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From London to the Lake District, you’re sure to find a Ride It! event near you. The sportives have been specifically designed to both encourage novice riders and challenge the more experienced. Never done a big road ride before? Don’t worry! The fun route at each event is only around 12 miles, and it costs just a fiver to enter. The fun rides take place on quiet roads with very little climbing, so they’re perfect for families too. We’ll have qualified Evans mechanics on hand to give your bike the once over, and it doesn’t matter what you’re riding: we’ve seen all sorts of bikes make it round.
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If you’re looking for a bit more of a challenge then there’s a short route of about 30 miles to try. All of our routes are fully waymarked and you’ll be provided with a backup map courtesy of our friends at Memory Map – just in case. There’s feed stops stocked with SIS energy products, and on top of that you can try out a huge range of Gore Bike Wear clothing on your ride for free! More experienced riders will be looking to the longer distances, normally 60 and 90 miles. If you’re thinking of upgrading your bike then these rides are a great excuse to try out a new machine from our demo fleet. There’s a £35 charge for using a bike but you’ll get that back as a voucher that you can redeem against any new bike from Evans. All three longer distances cost just £11 to enter in advance, less than half the price of most sportives.
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For some even a 90-miler isn’t enough of a test, and that’s why we created our own super-sportive, the King of the Downs (May 23rd). At 113 miles and featuring 10 killer climbs with over 2,700m of height gain it’s our hardest ride and not for the faint hearted. There’s a 56-mile option too with half the climbs, if you think the full route will be a bit much. The King of the Downs is a bit more expensive than our usual Ride It! events at £25 per person, but that includes a goody bag worth £11 and free entry on the day to a Ride It! event of your choice – worth another £12.50. You get vehicle support and a broom wagon – hopefully you won’t need it – and free tea and pasta at the finish too. You’ll need that!
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How you train for your big ride will depend on what challenge you set yourself. You may just need to commit to a few more rides in to work or you may want to plan your path to fitness with a more structured training programme.
However you choose to push yourself this year, we’re here to support you all the way!
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This story was last updated on 27/04/2010
