Bike races suitable for beginners

veganrun

I was wondering are there bike races suitable for beginners, similar to how they have running events such as Frank Duffy 5 mile and Great Ireland run etc? The type that are open to all levels of fitness. For some reason I imagine cycle races being similar to the tour de France or something where you have to be extraordinarily fit and/or cycle long distances.

Just wondering are there some that are more suitable for the unfit novice? I've heard about sportives but don't really know what they are.

I've thought about joining my local cycling club but their slowest group is something like 14-16mph average speed!

ED E

A cyclosportive is characterised by being a mass participation cycling event. In several countries, including the UK and Australia and parts of the USA, they're billed as non-competitive events.

A sportive is EXACTLY what you want. Or even better, find a club that does an induction for new members. Total novices in sportives can be problematic as group riding is a skill they're missing.

magicbastarder

veganrun wrote: »

I've thought about joining my local cycling club but their slowest group is something like 14-16mph average speed!

that's not nearly as fast as you think; you will move faster in a group than you would out on your own.

P_1

A sportive is what you're looking for. There are plenty of them all over the country over the summer. If you're only starting out I'd suggest identifying one of the flatter ones and using that as a goal to train towards.

veganrun

Thanks.

Any good resources online for training plans? Something simple to help increase mileage and fitness would be ideal.

mmrs

Check out GCN on YouTube. Just cycle as much as you can and enjoy it.

strmin

You need a club with "no one left behind" group. They go as fast as the slowest rider. The best bike races for beginner would be club league. But slowest group still average minimum 36km/h. If you join club now, you will be ready to race next season.

veganrun

I think my local club has a "no drop" policy which I think means they don't leave anyone behind. Although they've said you should be comfortable doing 20-30 miles before starting. That's my weekly mileage now, not a one off ride!

I think I will contact them and see what they say.

ED E

Miles, miles everywhere. Give us that in real money!

If you're not up to 48km in a morning then you need to get your fitness up first before entry to a club would be practical.

veganrun

I cycle about 3.5 miles a day, 5 days a week which is my commute to and from work.

I'd like to increase my mileage but not sure what's a good target that's achievable but not too tough that I get fed up and stop. For example I can't see myself just starting to do 20 miles a day on top of my commute.

ED E

Don't need to do anything daily, but if you work M-F then try doing 30km on a Saturday and maybe 35 the week after and so on.

loyatemu

take a longer route home.

veganrun

Might look into a longer route but not sure how feasible that is. Sorry, can't quote posts well on the phone.