Confused.com

[Jojo]

Hi all. As I'm pretty new to cycyling...but learning fast, I wanted to know what the difference is between Cyclosportives, reliability and Audax rides. Thnx Jo

[Andrew G]

Silly answers:
Money, flashiness, and beards.

Sensible (and my normal long and rambling - sorry ) answer:
Reliability Rides are a traditional season opener and a way of getting some tough hilly miles in. They were originally a test of reliability (or both rider and bike). They are generally over about 100kms although there are often a shorter option in the region of 60kms and take in a lot of country lanes and hills, often the steepest/longest/toughest in the area. They used to give you a route sheet and it was up to you to follow the instructions to find your way around the route, there are checkpoints on route where you get a card stamped to prove you've been through - The West Kent one highlighted in a post below is still like this I believe. Others, like the Old Ports one which is the 2nd weekend of February, now signpost the route but you still get a route card and it is up to you to follow the route in case a sign's been nicked etc - still have a checkpoint for card stamping. They tend to cost about £3-£5 depending on whether they are signed or not. HQ is usually a village hall and they are low key events with teas/coffee/cafe etc for you to buy afterwards once you've made it back. You normally get a certificate with your time on it. some have entry in advance but most are turn up on the day and enter on the line. There will be some people really race arpund the course as a lot of road racers use them for tuning up their form before the season starts.
Summary = Long(ish), tough, hilly, relaxed atmosphere, cheap.

Sportives are mass participation events which take place all over the World, the most famous being the Etape which is a stage on that year's Tour de France. in this country there are loads of them and Huw Williiams is our club Sportive Guru (also Sportive reporter for Cycling Weekly) and will be able to give you any info you need about just about any one of these taking place in this country and most/all of the foreign ones. They are more "professional" in their organisation and will normally have electronic timing (you often have to leave a tenner's deposit for the plastic widget which fits to your bike). They should also have a more professional level of organisation. Bigger HQs, food stations on the route, often have some kind of support (i.e. a motorbike or car(s)) covering the route in case of mechanicals etc. don't expect them to fix your punctures but if you wrecked a wheel they will probably be able to get you and your bike back to the start/finish area. Will also have some kind of medical assistance roaming the course in case of accidents. They cost more money to enter, about £25 is average for one of the main ones (e.g. Dragon Ride) in this country I think. With the popularity of sportives some reliability trials have rebranded themselves as sportives. they tend to be a bit of a halfway house. Cost somewhere in between and have some of the features they provide. For example the Hell of Ashdown is the old Catford CC Reliability rebranded. This year it's £15 and has electronic timing and a bigger HQ than previously, but to be honest I'm not expecting the out riders/roaming medical support/food stations(if you need them) to be of the same level of say the Dragon Ride. Loads of people in the club do these so you'll probably find an Addiscombe jersey at just about any of them. Some will have a wash of ACC there. Entry is online in advance from normally an official website. Awards for completing within set times for your age/sex (Bronze/Silver/Gold). Some give crap goody bags, some superb - there's one where you get a bit of granite like your very own Paris-Roubaix winner's pave .
Summary = Long(ish), tough, hilly, more expensive but better organisation.

Audax is [url=http://www.audax.uk.net/]here[/url]. It is the precursor to Sportives and is long distance cyling events. They cost little money but have no signposting of the route. You get a brevet card which you have to get stamped at set places on route, and a route card/map to follow where you go. They are defined as not being a race and have a minimum and maximum speed which you have to complete the event between. The standard distances are 100km, 200km, 300km, 400km, 600km. The 2 biggies are PBP (Paris-Brest-Paris) at 1,200kms which you have to complete qualifying rides for, and LEL (London-Edinburgh-London) at 1,400kms which you don't have to do qualifying rides for. Both only take place every 4 years. Matt Day in the club did PBP last year and Keith Wahman has done it on more than one occasion in his younger days. There are a couple of us doing LEL this year. Dominic used to do Audaxes before he took up time trialling at a very fast pace and said they are a great way to see the countryside. They do suffer from a bit of an image problem with a lot of people thinking it's all about old beardy types riding around slowly. Although the min/max speeds given aren't that quick with Audax the clock never stops so once you've started of you want to stop for a 3 hour kip during your 600km ride then that's 3 hours at 0mph which will bring your average speed down quite rapidly. Saddlebags and rack packs are often used as you'll need to carry all your kit etc with you. Entry is generally by a form from the Audax site, some have a special form but the site will link you to it.
Summary = Varying lengths - some very long, very relaxed atmosphere, cheap, absolutely no-frills.

If you've made it this far, well done .

[Jojo]

Andrew, Thanks for the informative overview. As I said learning more everyday.
Cheers Jo