Ride London 2014

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Comments

  • Velonutter
    Velonutter Posts: 2,437
    Sorry Stedman, absolute tosh about riding with only 2 x 750ml, whether you did a good ride or not, you are leaving yourself open to so many problems with dehydration.

    I used 6 x 750 ml and that was no where near enough and I was still cramping at the end, advocating others to ride on just 2 x 750ml bottles is dangerous, ask any qualified coach/trainer and they will all tell you the same.
  • sherer
    sherer Posts: 2,460
    I think the hydration is a bit like most things to do with riding. Yes some people can get away with this and be fine others can't. Same as you see comments about gearing and people say just ride a compact you will be fine. Yes for some that works for others they still need a smaller bail out gear.

    The only way to be sure is to ride 100m yourself and see how the body reacts. Work out what is the right fuelling for you. I know I need more than 2 750ml bottles and I will refill during the ride. I've done this distance before so know about fuelling better.

    Experiment and don't just listen to the body during the ride but afterwards too. I have times where I've got through a ride but as I didn't take in enough I was really bad afterwards and into the evening that it affected me
  • buzzlightyear1
    buzzlightyear1 Posts: 16
    I believe it is entirely down to the individual and for an event like this you should have previous knowledge about quantaties of fluid that you require. I also did it without stopping and with 2 x 750ml bottles. Perhaps I was a little dehydrated afterwards, but it didn't impact on my performance with a finishing time of 4hrs 20min. As Omar said previously, make sure you are fully hydrated immediately prior to the Start. This should give you a good hour before you need to start drinking. If you need to keep stopping for a 'comfort break' you are probably drinking too much.
  • rodgers73
    rodgers73 Posts: 2,626
    I did the 84 mile Etape De Pennines this year non-stop with only 2 x 750ml bottles. Didn't feel any ill effects for it at all. This has got to be a case of horses for course, surely?
  • charlie_potatoes
    charlie_potatoes Posts: 1,921
    rodgers73 wrote:
    This has got to be a case of horses for course, surely?

    That and the weather conditions on the day. Last year I drank a bottle in the holding pen and needed to pit stop (2x750ml) after Leith.
    "You really think you can burn off sugar with exercise?" downhill paul
  • Stedman
    Stedman Posts: 377
    Velonutter wrote:
    Sorry Stedman, absolute tosh about riding with only 2 x 750ml, whether you did a good ride or not, you are leaving yourself open to so many problems with dehydration.

    I used 6 x 750 ml and that was no where near enough and I was still cramping at the end, advocating others to ride on just 2 x 750ml bottles is dangerous, ask any qualified coach/trainer and they will all tell you the same.

    Sorry Velonutter but when you challenged me on this point last year, rather than quickly dismissing your point I question the source of your argument and looked for independent research into sport hydration and performance.

    If you look at http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle ... eory-water, there is a paper published by the BMJ titled 'The truth about sports drinks' which states: "An investigation by the BMJ has found that companies have sponsored scientists, who have gone on to develop a whole area of science dedicated to hydration. These same scientists advise influential sports medicine organisations, which have developed guidelines that have filtered down to everyday health advice. These guidelines have influenced the European Food Safety Authority, the EU agency that provides independent advice on the evidence underpinning health claims relating to food and drink. And they have spread fear about the dangers of dehydration".

    If you also read my last thread again, I was not advocating others to ride on just 2 x 750mls as I was merely pointing out the current conflict in current research on this matter.
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    drlodge wrote:
    Hi Carbonator

    ..............................

    Good luck!


    Cheers ;-)

    I had 2x 620ml (750 bottles but insulated) and a large Capri Sun lol.

    Think I may go back to the not stopping plan but with more fluid.
    Ditching the insulated bottles for 3x 750ml normal ones.

    The Capri Sun (large one with cap not straw) in jersey pocket worked well, although the photo they took of me drinking it looked a little odd :lol:

    Did not really get into any good groups much last year so definitely need to fix that this time!

    Sorry to hear you missed out this year.

    Good to see Omar Little got a place again. You were right about me getting to 5 hours based on my training time for 65 miles last year.
    I will add in your holding pen bottle idea at the start too :wink:

    Found some tiny individual serving bags of Reece's Piece's, so will cram a few of those in.

    Good luck everyone.
  • DHA987S
    DHA987S Posts: 284
    Have a place now with one of the teams my cycling club is entering.

    What are the logisitcs of getting back from the finish like to parking?
  • davep1
    davep1 Posts: 837
    DHA987S wrote:
    Have a place now with one of the teams my cycling club is entering.

    What are the logisitcs of getting back from the finish like to parking?

    Depends where you park; they organise something like 10 car parks around London, or designated areas in existing car parks. They stress you are on your own in terms of finding your way back to the car park after the event, so bear that in mind when choosing which one to go for, and also that some roads may still be closed. I went for Surrey Quays as I was driving in from Brighton; finding it was hard as I got very close to it as there weren't any signs I could see, but I was only two blocks away. Finding the event once parked was easy as there were so many bikes all going the same way.

    After the event, I avoided Tower Bridge initially, and ended up back at the Lime House link (I think) which we had cycled through as part of the event but is normally closed to cyclists. I got so frustrated at not being able to find out where I was I rode through it and as soon as I got to the other side I knew it was wrong so had to ride back again ! :oops: Not sure how I got back on track but when I did it was pretty easy. Might be worth checking this out before the event if you get the chance.
  • DHA987S
    DHA987S Posts: 284
    Cheers, will look into it. Have a friend who lives in east London so might try and see if I can park at his!
  • Der Kaiser
    Der Kaiser Posts: 172
    Sorry to open up the whole charity debate again but I am getting quite a few emails and tweets from Charities offering places.

    Anyone else having the same?
  • sherer
    sherer Posts: 2,460
    have the official car parks still got places left ? When I signed up I didn't need a car park place but now it looks like I will need one
  • terry2708
    terry2708 Posts: 92
    Two points.
    1) Last year I used 4 x 750ml bottles, 6 jels and jelly babies and got through with only a quick bottle fill up.

    2) There is loads of parking south of West Ham united football ground. There is an official car park in East ham that I paid to use last year but was blocked so I parked on the street. (They refunded us) Honestly there are loads of places and its about 3 miles from the start so ideal. Roads off High Street South E6 or Central Park Road E13 are ideal.

    Hope it helps.
  • terry2708
    terry2708 Posts: 92
    Nick1972 wrote:
    Would anyone who rode last years Prudential 100 mind posting a link to their Strava file. I'd like to see the profile and feet/metres of climbing involved. Cheers

    You will see a lot of difference in the feet climbed on everyone's profiles, not sure as a lot used Garmins? Official 100 mile finish was 5.12.54 and I loved it!

    http://www.strava.com/activities/72140679
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    Der Kaiser wrote:
    Sorry to open up the whole charity debate again but I am getting quite a few emails and tweets from Charities offering places.

    Anyone else having the same?

    Of course people are getting them. Why wouldn't they?
    Whats your point?

    Did you select any charities that you might support when you entered the ballot?
    They are obviously going to tout for business. Its a charity event.
  • Mikey23
    Mikey23 Posts: 5,306
    Doing this in august and have arranged accomodation in Stratford. Driving up from cornwall is clearly an option but I would rather use train and bike if possible. So first leg is obviously booking a bike space from FGW to paddington. May be at a premium that weekend but will give it a go. Can't do this till next month anyway

    Then the issue is how to do the ten miles or so out to Stratford. I could ride it but the prospect of doing that through london is worrying. Has anyone done this and is there a logical and easily followed route? Is it fair to say that there will be lots doing the same thing so just a case of following the crowd?

    Other than that, have people used the underground either to get all the way there, or to somewhere out of the middle of london where cycling is easier and safer? It seems that you can use the underground but has anyone any practical experience of this and what might be a good route? Would there be so many people doing this that it becomes impractical on the day? Presumably I'm going to be in Central london afterwards so pretty easy to get back to paddington. Any thoughts would be appreciated. I'm open to any sensible suggestions
  • izza
    izza Posts: 1,561
    When are you arriving?

    If it is the Saturday then half of the Paddington-Stratford ride will be closed roads with 80,000 other cyclists.

    No problem with traffic but you will need to go at a sedate pace.
  • monkimark
    monkimark Posts: 1,928
    You can't take a bike on must underground services (unless you pack it up) I'm sure there's a map on the TfL website that tells you which can be used.

    TfL has a cycle journey planner that can be set to avoid main roads the second half I guess will just follow the cycle superhighway so at least that bit will be easy to follow. Chances are you won't be able to cross the centre of town with mixing with reasonably busy traffic but it's not as bad as all that.
    http://cyclejourneyplanner.tfl.gov.uk/c ... anguage=en
  • cornerblock
    cornerblock Posts: 3,228
    If you don't fancy cycling across London Mike one option is to take the short ride of about 15-20 minutes from Paddington to Willesden Junction or Kensal Rise where you can take the bike on the Overground straight to Stratford.
  • Velonutter
    Velonutter Posts: 2,437
    Stedman wrote:
    Velonutter wrote:
    Sorry Stedman, absolute tosh about riding with only 2 x 750ml, whether you did a good ride or not, you are leaving yourself open to so many problems with dehydration.

    I used 6 x 750 ml and that was no where near enough and I was still cramping at the end, advocating others to ride on just 2 x 750ml bottles is dangerous, ask any qualified coach/trainer and they will all tell you the same.

    Sorry Velonutter but when you challenged me on this point last year, rather than quickly dismissing your point I question the source of your argument and looked for independent research into sport hydration and performance.

    If you look at http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle ... eory-water, there is a paper published by the BMJ titled 'The truth about sports drinks' which states: "An investigation by the BMJ has found that companies have sponsored scientists, who have gone on to develop a whole area of science dedicated to hydration. These same scientists advise influential sports medicine organisations, which have developed guidelines that have filtered down to everyday health advice. These guidelines have influenced the European Food Safety Authority, the EU agency that provides independent advice on the evidence underpinning health claims relating to food and drink. And they have spread fear about the dangers of dehydration".

    If you also read my last thread again, I was not advocating others to ride on just 2 x 750mls as I was merely pointing out the current conflict in current research on this matter.

    Thanks for the reply Stedman, I wasn't advocating the use of Electrolyte drinks, I simple was saying that you need to drink more than 2 x 750ml of fluids during a 100mile ride and not using enough can be dangerous especially on warmer days.
  • Mikey23
    Mikey23 Posts: 5,306
    thanks for the input guys, lots of good advice there and the cycle journey planner i wouldnt have found on my own. i think its just a question of getting the railway journey sorted and letting the rest take care of itself. i take it from what is being said that saturday is pretty much a dress rehearsal for sunday then! ive got to get over to edexcel for registration anyway so will need to be in london pretty early...
  • davep1
    davep1 Posts: 837
    Mikey23 wrote:
    thanks for the input guys, lots of good advice there and the cycle journey planner i wouldnt have found on my own. i think its just a question of getting the railway journey sorted and letting the rest take care of itself. i take it from what is being said that saturday is pretty much a dress rehearsal for sunday then! ive got to get over to edexcel for registration anyway so will need to be in london pretty early...

    If you are referring to what is going on on Saturday, I think that is just Freecycle which is a bimble around London on closed roads on something like an 8 mile loop, family-friendly. Not much of a rehearsal for Sunday I would think! I could be wrong though...
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    I would avoid the freecycle if its anything like last year.

    It sounds good in principle but too busy with toddlers on balance bikes.
    Its more free (for all) than cycle unfortunately.
  • littledove44
    littledove44 Posts: 871
    With a confirmed entry is it possible to register on the day of do you have to do so the day before?
  • chrisaonabike
    chrisaonabike Posts: 1,914
    littledove44 wrote:
    With a confirmed entry is it possible to register on the day of do you have to do so the day before?
    You'll still have to turn up the day before to pick up the race pack. On the day itself, everyone has to have their numbers attached in the various places to person and bike, and they also have to have their allocated start time. Everyone is away by 8am, so there's no picking that stuff up on the day.

    So even with a confirmed place I expect you'd still have to fill in the online entry form well ahead of time just to get the wave allocation.
    Is the gorilla tired yet?
  • littledove44
    littledove44 Posts: 871
    ChrisAOnABike wrote:
    littledove44 wrote:
    With a confirmed entry is it possible to register on the day of do you have to do so the day before?
    You'll still have to turn up the day before to pick up the race pack. On the day itself, everyone has to have their numbers attached in the various places to person and bike, and they also have to have their allocated start time. Everyone is away by 8am, so there's no picking that stuff up on the day.

    So even with a confirmed place I expect you'd still have to fill in the online entry form well ahead of time just to get the wave allocation.

    I will be doing the online stuff in advance.

    I just want to know if I HAVE to go into London the day before as well.
  • chrisaonabike
    chrisaonabike Posts: 1,914
    littledove44 wrote:
    I will be doing the online stuff in advance.

    I just want to know if I HAVE to go into London the day before as well.
    Unless they change the system this year, and mail the numbers out to people ahead of time, yes.

    I cannot imagine for a moment they will have a system that permits collection of the numbers on the day.

    It will all be made very clear in the instructions.
    Is the gorilla tired yet?
  • mrfpb
    mrfpb Posts: 4,569
    littledove44 wrote:
    I will be doing the online stuff in advance.

    I just want to know if I HAVE to go into London the day before as well.

    Thursday to Saturday are registration days at the Excel arena. It's all in the Congratulations pack - including times the venue is open. I'm going in on Thursday and making a day of it with the kids. That probably means the Greenwich observatory and Naval College as my girls won't take a day of me drooling over bike kit that I can't afford.

    I want to do a ride on Friday and rest on Saturday. I intend to drive in early Sunday morning.
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    littledove44 wrote:
    With a confirmed entry is it possible to register on the day or do you have to do so the day before?

    Whats a 'confirmed entry'?

    Does anyone have an unconfirmed entry?

    Whats the 'online stuff'?
  • antonyrich
    antonyrich Posts: 1
    Hi, so I've signed up to do this, never done a sportive ever, only started riding last year.
    My questions are;
    Do most people stay t he night before? Or what's the best way to get there as you can't take bike on the tube. Don't want to spend 3hrs travelling as its gonna be a long day :wink:
    Is there anybody near me doing it? As I'm a bit of a Billy no mates when it comes to cycling, could do with a training/travel partner!
    I'm based in Thatcham, Berkshire.
    Cheers

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