Originally Posted by
Monkey Face
Sportives, sportif's - like your definition says, another name for randoneuring
Not quite. Randonneuring has no marshals, no food/water stations, no choices of distances on the same day (in my experience and reading, anyway), and the shortest standard distance is 126 miles. I think StephenH has it right--it's somewhere between a brevet and an organized century or charity ride.
Originally Posted by Polar Foil
"never done 100" and "confident I can do it" don't belong in the same sentence.
Oh, I don't know. From 50 to 100 isn't exactly as big a leap as, say, from 100 to 200. I think if you can do 50 and finish in good spirits without pain, you can do 100.