Cycling in England...

During group rides, if anyone gets a puncture the group will stop and wait for them. We do this because the route changes every week and the route is invented by the ride leader as they go. Also, the rides are usually quite long and riding by yourself for 60+ miles is no fun especially if you set off to ride with a group. As we stand on the side of the road and wait, I take the opportunity to look at everyone else's bikes. I find it interesting coming from groups rides full of Orbea, Trek, Litespeed, Cannondale, Specialized, Scott, Colnago, and Lemond bikes to here where you see primarily Trek, Dawes, Ridley, Ribble, GT, Scott, Bianchi, Pinnacle, Saracen, and Ridgeback with a few Cannondales and Specialized bikes thrown in. I had never heard of half of these bike brands until we moved here.



A more recent popular item on road bikes here are compact crank sets. These are cranksets that have smaller front chain rings (34/50) that enable you to pedal in an easier gear as opposed to the standard sized chain rings (39/52) that come with road bikes. What is interesting is that this type of gearing is good for hill climbing or better yet mountain climbing and in Cambridgeshire it is difficult to find a decent hill. This made me wonder why compact crank sets are becoming so popular here. The reason given to me is because most people here like to do audax and sportives.



Audax are long-distance cycling events, using a system of timed checkpoints used to record a successful ride. "Classic" audax events are 200km, 300km, 400km and 600km (200km is approximately 125 miles). However, the events can have unlimited mileage depending on the organizers. I have heard a lot of talk within the group rides about events lasting several days. These events almost always are found "up north" where there are lots of long climbs making compact crank sets a wonderful invention.



Audax events are not races. On the same theme, 'support' - for example a following car - is very much frowned upon. If you have a mechanical or are too tired to continue, you better have your cell phone with you. The organizers don't provide any broom wagons at the event. There are maximum and minimum time limits, which basically decide when checkpoints are open so that you can get your card stamped. Each rider carries a 'brevet card' which is stamped at intermediate checkpoints and at the finish, and which is later returned to the rider as a certificate of their achievement. From what I have heard about the venues for these events, finishing one is quite an accomplishment.



I found a good explanation of sportives at the following website: http://www.kilotogo.com/faqs.htm . The sites states,

A sportive or cyclosportive is a mass-participation bicycle
event that combines elements of road bicycle racing and long distance bicycle
touring. Many cyclosportive events attract a wide range of riders, from
dedicated racing cyclists to leisure cyclists wanting a challenging ride, and
allows them to test themselves over a race-proven route. For example, l'Etape du
Tour is held annually in France and allows amateur cyclists to race over the
same mountain roads used by professional riders in the Tour de France; the Gran
Fondo Felice Gimondi uses roads near Bergamo that test riders in the Giro
d'Italia. Some cyclosportives offer a choice of routes of different lengths or
difficulty.

A cyclosportive falls between a traditional road race and
a non-competitive randonnée or Audax event. Riders sometimes carry a number and
the time they take to complete the course is recorded, and there is sometimes an
upper time limit within which the course must be completed (unlike many
randonnée events, there is no lower limit constraining riders from completing
the course quickly). The routes will usually be well sign-posted and/or
marshalled (some cyclosportives in Europe take place on roads which have been
closed to motor traffic for the duration of the event), riders will be able to
use feeding stations positioned at intervals along the route to replenish their
food and drink supplies, and mechanical and medical support may also be
provided.

Some attract thousands of participants - since 2000
l'Etape du Tour has offered places to 8,500 riders each year.

You have to be very fit to do sportives and audax events require you to do a lot of mileage. All of the people with whom I do weekend rides do these types of events. They are not interested in racing, but they certainly have the fitness for it. With so many non racing events available to anyone with a bike, it is no wonder that the average fitness level of cyclists in this country is high. The only thing keeping this country back from producing an unending supply of great cyclists is the weather.