Wiggle Night Rider Sportive Preview

Posted Thursday 7th April 2011 –

In September the team behind the Wiggle Super Series are introducing a new event for 2011, the UK’s first night time sportive. We had the chance to join them for a preview of the event and ride a section of the course earlier in the week.

The full event will include the choice of 40, 70 or 100 mile routes but for our preview we rode a 30 mile loop starting from the Racehorse pub in Catworth. The section takes in some nice quiet country lanes which seemed generally well surfaced and whilst it’s not pan flat there’s little in the way of real hills to slow you down. Being a fairly windy evening and with the flat terrain offering little shelter the wind certainly made its presence felt. Great when it’s behind you but a real slog riding into the wind for the last few miles back to the pub and not the best time to loose the wheel of the rider in front when the quicker guys upped the pace.

Riding at night certainly gives an interesting twist on the regular daytime sportive, I always find riding at night alters your sense of perception in terms of speed and distance so it’s going to be interesting to see how riders get on riding the full event later in the year. With the event taking place in September it’s going to be a great way to get used to night riding and help you make a commitment to keep going out on the bike through the dark autumn and winter months when the sportive season winds down.

Route marking is always going to be a challenge for a night time event but the use of reflective arrows worked better than expected, they actually seem to get more visible as it gets darker and your lights pick up the arrows from a long way ahead.

As well as getting to preview part of the rider we also had the chance to check out the event goody bag which includes a copy of Cycling Active as well as water bottle and energy bars/gels.

And all riders will also get a finishers medal after the ride.

Entry is now open and if you enter at least 6 weeks before the event you’ll also get the extra bonus of a High 5 Race Pack full of sports nutrition goodies to help fuel you round the sportive.

For more details and entry –

www.ukcyclingevents.co.uk