Update! There is now a 2020 version of this post.
I’ve compiled a list of local club 2019 reliability rides for the West Midlands area. Dates and routes are to the best of my knowledge and research but I accept no liability (and so on and so on) for you turning up and it’s not on!
What’s a Reliability Ride?
The reliability ride is pretty much the older, more traditional brother of the modern-day sportive event. Traditionally they were run to test riders legs after a winter off or reduced training due to the elements. Thereby kicking off the season with a testing route, a rider would find themselves getting back into something like their usual fitness.
Due to the unsupported nature of the rides, riders might also end up taking the chance to do some mechanics by the roadside. For a review of a previous reliability ride I’ve done – here’s one from the Stratford Cycling Club ride.
These days they’re a bit of a fundraiser for clubs and act as a nice warm-up to a season full of races and sportives. People can come from a wide area to a club’s reliability ride in order to ride somewhere new in the Spring. They attract more experienced riders than sportives, mainly due to their still unsupported nature. Riders have to find their own way around the pre-set route and make it back to the finish – cake is usually the reward.
West Midlands Reliability Rides 2019
This table will be updated regularly as I find events. The list of clubs without dates are clubs I expect to be running an event but have not found any details for yet.
If you wish your event to be added, please get in touch at mat.mitchell@procyclinguk.com
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