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Anyone else love reliability rides?
When I say 'love', I mean has anyone else learnt the mistake of going off with the fastest group and getting blown out the back in the middle of no where and having to grovel all the way back on nothing but a couple of jelly babies and now sets off with the slow group and enjoys a relative modest jaunt around the country side on an unfamiliar route?
If you have yet to experience one I would say definitely do it - (yes its a road thing) - and it helps keep the idiosyncrasies of British cycle club life going - Tudor Sport jackets, plus fours, worn out overshoes, that sort of thing. But all at a pace that is wildly optimistic.
If you want to see a map with them all on to see if you've got any near you, check here http://bikesy.co.uk/features/rides/uk-reliability-trials-ultimate-list/ and basically just turn up and have a go at one, all it will cost you is a fiver and a bit of your pride when a bloke on a trike passes you as you are going at your fastest speed possible up a steep hill.
I've always fancied a tudor jacket but can't ride in a group.
Not in Central Scotland.
A road race in everything but name. Everything from pro cyclists to Cat 2s in one big group habbling on A-roads. Calendar dictated by the region with no say from the clubs.
Sum up everything that is wrong with Scottish Cycling. Ban them.
Several local clubs run them and we are thinking of doing one I think. The main ones round here offer two or three distances, with staggered start times based on anticipated speed. Effectively cheap sportives/Audax without any of the bollocks.
I liked the idea of them but have already proven myself 'unreliable' as my meagre diet of 'base' miles this winter so far has just left me with a ****ed knee and some depressingly clean looking winter bikes.
Mind you, StirlingCrispin isn't wrong, the first one I was tempted by in the Scottish Central Belt turned out to be mostly flat looking A-roads ignoring many, many interesting looking diversions along the way, and seems to have attracted riders I've ridden with before who managed to ruin a good outing by trying to turn it into a bloody chain gang in the middle of nowhere...
Reading CC do one in Feb, did it for the first time in years last year, always good fun.
Done a couple here in Malvern, there's always a guy on the front of the slow group who should really be in the quicker group and turns it into a chain-gang.
There's one near us that's close to an all out race with rather too much testosterone flowing. Our club organises one that's much lower key and keeps away from main roads where possible.
I was a bit confused by the reference to tweed jackets, which I am pretty sure didn't exist in tudor times. But I now realise Tudor Sports is a brand of cycling clothing, which makes more sense.
Love/hate relationship here, had a great winter last year finishing with the scratch group on a couple of occasions and holding them off on another - well most of them, 2 of the local hitters (elite and a 1st) got away and passed our 4 man resistance in the final few miles.
Hate them when I'm not going so well, had some proper kickings over the years!
I missed a big part of last year this time around due to injury so it will certainly be a struggle, although looking forward to seeing a few faces I haven't seen since early summer.
I'll be treating them as a social rather than a full on bash this year, but definitely recommend them to anyone who hasn't had a go before.
@StirlingCrispin & @13thfloormonk
Interesting comments, had considered Flanders Moss & Milnathort this year but sounds like it's best avoided?
Cosmo, don't let me put you off, I've never done one, am just bitter because I can't ride it myself due to injury!
Flanders Moss wouldn't be my personal choice of route in that area but probably the perfect choice for a bigger group of riders.
2 of the local hitters (elite and a 1st) got away and passed our 4 man resistance in the final few miles.
There’s one near us that’s close to an all out race with rather too much testosterone flowing.
Interesting comments - 'Reliability Ride' says Audax attitude to me but my experience probably wasn't an isolated local case. I did one of the Reliability Rides in the OP's link/map a number of years back and was suprised at the level of racing going on from local club riders, probably riding with the same mindset as you mention. Racing club guys barking instructions to those solo riders or small groups they swept up who didn't reverse out or do a pull asap etc, was odd and tbh I didn't ride another one. Similar to how local sportives could be when I was riding them but with added type-A club rider effect. Maybe that's normal ... I thought it was a weird event. Maybe it was just badly marketed : )
In my experience they've always been a bit of a burn-up, unless you go in the slowest group with people who have Carradice saddle bags on, and even then it can get a bit tasty.
It obviously depends which group you go off in, the faster groups tend to be more race/training bash orientated whereas the slower are much more social.
In larger faster groups there's usually lots of willing workers with a few not taking turns, some just hanging on the back close to their limit. Not an issue for most as we've all been there, in smaller groups they might be encouraged to chip in a bit.
If that's your idea of hell then go with a steadier group and don't jump on the scratch when it passes.
The RR I did, we set off in with a group that was based on a target Av spd the same as the average I was doing on other rides of that distance or longer in the same areas (brisk but not road-race pace at all), Av spd reliability gives the ride it's name I thought but could be wrong, anyway, was just more of a club race than expected.
jump on the scratch
If you mean accelerate into a passing bunch for a lift, nah. I can ride in a bunch but tend to avoid it, if I know the riders or we're grouping over a longer ride based on pace it can be OK though.