Ride London 2014

iPete

ugo.santalucia wrote:

iPete wrote:

Although popping a spoke on the last corner was both a pain in the ars* but equally lucky!

The curse of black spokes?

Not your handy work, it was a Shimano RS80, nice low spoke count so had to ride home with it rubbing the frame and no front brake in torrential rain. It fell to shit as soon as the spoke went.

Suspect it is related to a prang I had a year ago.

Any of it worth saving; rim or hub, can it be rebuilt, bin it all or turn it into a coffee table?

ugo.santalucia

iPete wrote:

Not your handy work, it was a Shimano RS80, nice low spoke count so had to ride home with it rubbing the frame and no front brake in torrential rain. It fell to shoot as soon as the spoke went.

Suspect it is related to a prang I had a year ago.

Any of it worth saving; rim or hub, can it be rebuilt, bin it all or turn it into a coffee table?

How about just replacing the spoke? :roll:

iPete

ugo.santalucia wrote:

iPete wrote:

Not your handy work, it was a Shimano RS80, nice low spoke count so had to ride home with it rubbing the frame and no front brake in torrential rain. It fell to shoot as soon as the spoke went.

Suspect it is related to a prang I had a year ago.

Any of it worth saving; rim or hub, can it be rebuilt, bin it all or turn it into a coffee table?

How about just replacing the spoke? :roll:

I missed the obvious option anyway we digress from the RL86 swimathon, I'll email you in the near future about the wheel, it certainly needs truing :!:

paul2718

Rich_E wrote:

If it wasn't for the charity aspect, I would imagine its unlikely the event would have been able to get off the ground and have the backing it does.

It doesn't have to be either/or. The UCI has a world championship with a rainbow jersey for 'cyclosportive' riders. Why not a round in the UK? And this event is the obvious place where the legal inhibition on times and placings disappears. You could have a 4000 strong competitive field departing in the first 30 minutes, followed by the bananas and teddy bears. The competitive field could do loops up and down Leith....

I feel like you are missing the point with the Olympic legacy though, which was to 'Inspire a Generation'. The purpose of it was to get people involved in sport, it doesn't mean you have to be competing or taking things seriously, its just getting people off their arses and doing something. The Ride London event has already more than successfully achieved that, unless you missed all the coverage of the 2013 event?

How many who 'trained' for last year have continued? It would actually be quite interesting to know. Last year was open to riders who could show up-front that they could complete 100 miles in a reasonable time, this year it wasn't, even with a notional doubling of the size of the field. It deliberately excludes the people who were inspired, took part, and continued to ride.

It will be interesting to see how they develop the event.

Paul

ajh18

Despite the shortening and the decidedly sub-optimal conditions, that was seriously good fun. I'd happily do it again to repeat the joys of closed roads in the south of England, great support on the roads and good organisation. Would like slightly better weather, mind. Even won a sprint up The Mall and the other guy wasn't dressed as a bear.

If there's one thing I would change I'd cut the numbers a bit, or space them out more - got a bit cramped in places.

ugo.santalucia

ajh18 wrote:

If there's one thing I would change I'd cut the numbers a bit, or space them out more - got a bit cramped in places.

You'll be glad to know next year they plan to open to 36,000...

wavefront

Was very dissapointed to hear they shortened the route, but as I witnessed 4 pretty bad crashes on relatively wide and straight stretches of road I think they made the right call in the end especially as I was in one of the first waves and wow, the wind rain definitely came down when we hit Newlands . There was also some fairly aggressive riding from some, but they were technically very good so felt safer with them, than being with those who had very 'dubious' bike handling skills.

Apart from feeling fleeced by the Excel, the absolutely idiotic way they organised the pickup of Kit bags, and the weather, it was great fun. Very quick too.

gattocattivo

Sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much rain.That was insane. I was off at 7.15 and the first hour or so was fast and not too wet, but then after that there was at least two hours of torrential rain, riding through muddy rivers and lakes at bottom bracket height. I got a rear puncture just when I was pushing for home. Had to stop twice and pump it up in the last three miles (the second time on Whitehall within sight of the final turn) as it had gone right down to the rim. Obviously I could have stopped and changed the tube, but I was ridiculously close to finishing.

My favourite sight, somewhere near Esher I think, was a boy dressed like Didi the German in full devil kit jumping up and down with his trident.

birdie23

Credit where credit is due. It was the right decision to shorten the route. There were some lakes out there on the course and watching the pro race there's flint all over the lumps. There were a lot of punctures around as well. I really didn't realise that so many roads in Surrey were such flood risks.

However, what a blast that was. I love a good bit of rain (it wasn't really that bad in my opinion and neither was the wind) and it was a seriously fast course. Saw some real machines gunning for the quicker times. Came in a shade over 4 hours at 4 hours 3 minutes. Disappointed as I was on for sub 4 hours until I had a bout of cramp about 5 miles from the finish and had to spend a few minutes at around 10mph while I let it take over my legs.

On the numbers. Definitely agree something needs to be done. Newlands Corner was hell. I got boxed in by a couple of people who didn't know how to hold a line and then there was a really narrow road not long after, which really bunched up too.

Favourite sight? Passing the nutter on a Boris bike. Granted not quite that chap who did Ventoux on one but you still wouldn't catch me doing that ride on one!

Applespider

The shortening was sensible. I saw the first ambulance on the way out of Stratford where someone misjudged a corner on an overpass and slid along the road on her face. Admittedly she didn't look like she rode often but most of the other ambulances I saw were attending people who looked like they rode often but had just misjudged a line or got caught out by the surfaces.

I think there's room for 3 groups of riders in the Ride 100 - with different coloured numbers to signpost key changes
- club riders who get guaranteed early starts and get to do the hills (or an extra loop) regardless of weather.

- regular cyclists (the commuters/enthusiasts who put in 50-100 miles a week between commute and weekend fun rides) who have the option of doing the full route if it's dubious. I'll admit this is where I'd be.

- the real novelty charity riders who may never do the full route and should have late-ish starts to keep their pace around the same. For a few of them, I'd suggest just making it the London 50 - and let them turn before we get to the M25 which would ensure the roads were clear for the classic. This was the group I felt most sorry for today - some of them had never been out for more than 20 miles on a sunny day.

The second two groups will probably have a bit of self-declaration in there. But there were a few riders out today who really didn't have a clue and were a menace to themselves and others. Then again, there was a cycle club too who tried to get a chain going just before a food Hub on a really congested wet bit of road and nearly took a few rookies out.

Was a lot of fun though - great efforts by the various towns and villages to keep cheering people along despite the weather. I think quite a few of them deserved a medal too!

birdie23

Applespider wrote:

Then again, there was a cycle club too who tried to get a chain going just before a food Hub on a really congested wet bit of road and nearly took a few rookies out.

I saw a few guys forming pacelines who definitely weren't being responsible with some of their moves.

ajh18

ugo.santalucia wrote:

You'll be glad to know next year they plan to open to 36,000...

Um, maybe if they had morning and afternoon waves that would be fine.....

Applespider wrote:

I think there's room for 3 groups of riders in the Ride 100 - with different coloured numbers to signpost key changes
- club riders who get guaranteed early starts and get to do the hills (or an extra loop) regardless of weather.

- regular cyclists (the commuters/enthusiasts who put in 50-100 miles a week between commute and weekend fun rides) who have the option of doing the full route if it's dubious. I'll admit this is where I'd be.

- the real novelty charity riders who may never do the full route and should have late-ish starts to keep their pace around the same. For a few of them, I'd suggest just making it the London 50 - and let them turn before we get to the M25 which would ensure the roads were clear for the classic. This was the group I felt most sorry for today - some of them had never been out for more than 20 miles on a sunny day.

This would be excellent, and I'd quite happily slot into my natural place in group 2. I'd be amazed if this kind of arrangement ever happened though.

The Boris bike guy was clearly nuts. And there was someone on a tricycle at some point.

ugo.santalucia

ajh18 wrote:

The Boris bike guy was clearly nuts. And there was someone on a tricycle at some point.

That's nothing... I am surprised there are no pushbikes, monocycles, ordinary high wheels and stuff... The RL 100 on a Boris bike is perfectly doable

birdie23

ugo.santalucia wrote:

ajh18 wrote:

The Boris bike guy was clearly nuts. And there was someone on a tricycle at some point.

That's nothing... I am surprised there are no pushbikes, monocycles, ordinary high wheels and stuff... The RL 100 on a Boris bike is perfectly doable

There's doable and fun though. He looked well in the hurt locker when I passed him.

HertsG

Now home and showered. I do believe that I now have trenchfoot.

At least we now know why the Met Office were forecasting 'large waves'!

5 hours and 7 minutes. As an 18 stone Fat Lad At The Back who turns 60 next year, I'm happy with that.

See you all next year.

cat_with_no_tail

Managed 3:45.
I have some mixed feelings about the event to be honest. I feel a little short changed that they chose to remove the only climbs, but I do understand the decision, and given the appalling standard of riding on some of the riders I encountered I think it was the right decision to make.
As for my ride, well it was a bit of a disaster tbh. My aero bottle holder snapped early on and I lost one of my bottles. Then I got a puncture at about 40k, not sure what caused it. That used one spare tube. Then there was a little crash at about 60kwhich I just managed to avoid but locked the rear up and almost went over. Another puncture at 90k caused by a line of staples used my final tube and last gas cannister........
So when my rear went flat again with 5k to go I just had to mtfu and finish on a flat. The Sprint down the mall was interesting.
The heavy rain and no traffic to clear the roads just meant there was loads of crap in the road. It is what it is though.

All said and done, it was an ok ride. Glad I've done it, even if it was cut short. Fred whitton next year though I reckon.

ugo.santalucia

birdie23 wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

ajh18 wrote:

The Boris bike guy was clearly nuts. And there was someone on a tricycle at some point.

That's nothing... I am surprised there are no pushbikes, monocycles, ordinary high wheels and stuff... The RL 100 on a Boris bike is perfectly doable

There's doable and fun though. He looked well in the hurt locker when I passed him.

Probably lack of fitness... Boris Bikes are heavy but on a flat course it's not a massive issue... other than that, they're pretty good bikes

SoSimple

The decision to remove the climbs was definitely vindicated and it was probably as much about the descents and while it was a shame, based on the number of accidents I saw it could have been carnage.

Only downer for me was the thieving b@astard who lifted my garmin in the meet and greet area. Not sure how he did it but if he wants to email me I'll give him the box and cadence!

nickponty

Bit too much snobbishness about 'poor' riding here, it's a mass participation, charity focused event, if you don't like sharing the road with people who don't want to chaingang all day then join BC and do a proper race!

birdie23

nickponty wrote:

Bit too much snobbishness about 'poor' riding here, it's a mass participation, charity focused event, if you don't like sharing the road with people who don't want to chaingang all day then join BC and do a proper race!

A few of the complaints have been about people chainganging...

benmac75

Don't think I have ever been so wet on a bike, certainly not for such an extended period.

A shame the hills were cut out but I can understand why they did it, for Leith Hill in particular. Coming back in the water was just crazy, like riding up a river at times. Still managed to do it under 4 hours though so not all bad.

When I was coming back through KIngston at the section where those going outbound are on the other side of the road only having covered about 30 miles I thought "you poor bastards".

Mostly around me people behaved but it was just some of the clueless riding that annoyed a few times, people riding with loads of others around and then sweeping around corners in the lashing rain expecting to take whatever line they wanted. Hey ho; just needed your wits about you.

One thing that definitely irked was the number of people with tri bars. Always see it at sportives; all sportives always say they're verboten but I've never seen anyone stopped. There was one pillock on a full on Look TT bike and any opportunity he got he was straight down on the aero bars, amongst large groups, following other people's wheels etc etc. I gave him a wide berth.

Not as plainly enjoyable as last year because of the conditions and obviously less novelty factor but great fun nonetheless.

terry2708

I echo some of the posts that say it was too dangerous to ride down Leith and Box hills. It would have been carnage!

Highlight of my day was a big bloke apologising for coming up too fast onto some cobbled high street after I was signalling for everyone to slow down. It was Martin Johnson!!! I tried to hang onto him but he got away.

Never ridden in such hard rain but loved it none the less. 4 hours 13 for a grandad was very pleasing. Will be trying to get under 5 hours for the real thing next year but father time is starting to catch up on me.

Hope everyone involved in the crashes (i saw a big pile up at a very quick roundabout, so glad I went left and not right there) is ok, and a big thank you for every volunteer / supporter who helped me get round.

feisty

The weather was awful but the worst thing was behaviour of some club cyclists riding like it was a race and riding dangerously. chainganging, swooping by other riders with cm to spare despite the riders they were near having to avoid potholes and man hole covers. It's not a race. It's a sportive. Riding like that is dangerous on a dry sportive; irresponsible today.

I won't do it next year and not because of the weather. Because of the idiots who want to endanger others.

terry2708

feisty wrote:

The weather was awful but the worst thing was behaviour of some club cyclists riding like it was a race and riding dangerously. chainganging, swooping by other riders with cm to spare despite the riders they were near having to avoid potholes and man hole covers. It's not a race. It's a sportive. Riding like that is dangerous on a dry sportive; irresponsible today.

I won't do it next year and not because of the weather. Because of the idiots who want to endanger others.

+1 from me. The accident I saw was a chain gang.

davep1

feisty wrote:

The weather was awful but the worst thing was behaviour of some club cyclists riding like it was a race and riding dangerously. chainganging, swooping by other riders with cm to spare despite the riders they were near having to avoid potholes and man hole covers. It's not a race. It's a sportive. Riding like that is dangerous on a dry sportive; irresponsible today.

I won't do it next year and not because of the weather. Because of the idiots who want to endanger others.

Why do people have to close pass other cyclists? I had some spells where I had nothing left so was bumbling along in the yellow lines at under 15 mph, and dickheads were whizzing past me so close I could have flicked them with elbow. They had almost two full lanes at least to pass!!! Think about what you're doing!
And there were no bunny suits or inexperienced cyclists in the people I saw but I started at 6.08 and it may be the organisers had them later

feisty

I set off at 7am. Saw no inexperienced riders either. Most people averaging 30 km/hr+ for duration. Might be slow by standards of some on here. But that isn't the pace of an inexperienced cyclist over 86 miles. Maybe an enthusiast rather than club rider. But certainly not inexperienced.

ajh18

The close passing thing is pretty weird. The best available line is unlikely to be precisely 3cms to one side of the person in front who's riding through a flood.

birdie23

I had one paceline pass ridiculously close. By the time they got to the second to last person I had to bunny hop the white line because they were going to force me into the cat's eyes. I was doing 22/23mph ish at the time as well so I was hardly hanging around.

marcusjb

What a grand day out!

It looked like we were DNS due to my stupidity of threading the seatpost collar in the hotel on Saturday night, but some cabs, a bolt from a Mavic mechanic and a nut pinched from the toe clips on the back got us on our way.

It was our first long ride on the new tandem, so were pleased to get round with no major issues and the bike felt amazing, really great.

I ride 15000km a year and that was honestly some of the heaviest, most persistent rain I have ever ridden in. But, it was warm. Had it been only a few degrees cooler, it would have been a very different story for the number of finishers; as it was, we were soaked but warm until we had to stop for a puncture and faff about due to a dodgy spare tube (we were only a few km from the last hub where we picked up a working new tube and got the use of a track pump (with the mechanic noting that the rear wheel I had carried over to use the track pump cost more than most of the bikes he had worked on)).

There was some real proper flooding and the speed some of the water was running across roads was amazing.

Everyone kept smiling and seemed to be having fun though.

Sure, some very poor riding was on display, we saw quite a few crashes (best one being the chap who thought that he could undertake on the left by trying to cyclocross on the verge at 40kph - guess what, soggy verges are soft! I would have been very angry at him had he taken out the two riders he was trying to undertake (his back did hit the rear wheel of one of them as he rolled over) as it was just stupid when there was actually no one on their right! Other crashes were caused by people not paying attention to white paint (especially on roundabouts), general clashing of wheels etc.).

In an act of utter disrespect to the event and all those amazing riders, we ended up having to walk the second half of Newlands Corner. Two riders in front clashed wheels, one of them cut across the front of us causing me to have to stop the tandem. Due to the traffic density, there was just no way we'd get the tandem moving on the hill again, there just was never a gap that gave us the few seconds we need to get going and into position.

The public were great, even in the rainy bits, they were out cheering people on (and we were really reminded that everyone loves a tandem as we got so many cheers of "go tandem" (and half a dozen of "go tandem ladies" - I will take it as a complement on my petite stature and good looks!).

Everything was so well organised - super slick.

Despite truly awful conditions, and some interesting bike handling (is no-one taught to look over their shoulder before moving these days?), we enjoyed it. Very tandem friendly course as well - lots of flat stuff!

It is easy to become snobby about these things, I ride hundred milers several times a month etc., but I think it was great and anyone that rode it as their first long ride deserves some applause for riding on in the conditions.

We will put in for the ballot again and see what happens. It is only a couple of weeks before Paris-Brest-Paris, so we'd avoid the sharp end again as the risk of injury is too high, we will put 8 hours or whatever as our expected times to hopefully get a nice late start time if we got through. I really can't ride it for charity without some element of challenge, no-one would sponsor me to ride it on a normal bike!

davep1

^^^ Thanks to the three guys who just posted, I'm glad it wasn't just me! Maybe it's an ego thing, if you're leading a bunch doing 25+mph, perhaps you get a buzz out of buzzing the less-fast?

On the flip side of that coin, there are some people who sit out on the right of the white centre line with no-one in front of them for hundreds of yards, why don't they move to about 2-3 yards from the left hand kerb?

Anyway, it was still a great day, despite the above and the rain which had me laughing out loud at times. Coming back through Kingston I really really felt for those still heading out. And it was a good call about shortening the route; in my head I gave it a little more than I would have for a 100 and another 40-50 mins of that rain would have been hard to get through, never mind the potential for huge crashes.

And at the start line, the official that came to explain the decision to cut Leigh and Box Hills, made some comment about the process with the Met Office and the police and the authorities, about various options and discussions. I got the impression it was a close call as to whether the whole thing got cancelled and the only reason it was allowed to go ahead at all was because of skipping the two hills.