RideLondon...missed out on the ballot...what are the options

Grill

Carbonator wrote:

Grill wrote:

from a logical standpoint it's a bit of a waste.

What has logic got to do with it?

Its not a waste at all if I have a good time.

Apparently nothing.

I love riding my bike, especially in new and interesting places. I also enjoy a challenge. The RLS100 is none of those things. If you had a choice of spending over 2 weeks riding in Majorca and Spain or weekend with the RLS100, are you seriously telling me you'd choose the 100? Really?

peat

Why does it have to be a choice? Just do it all.

southdownswolf

markhewitt1978 wrote:

I'm thinking of C2C in a day so would be interested to hear your plans.

I'm doing the Open Cycling event - http://www.opencycling.com/ - 28th June.
I think they have more entries available soon if you are interested, as some people have dropped out.

Hotel for that is about 10 miles away, so I have to be really nice to the wife and persuade her to get up early to drop me off
We have then booked a hotel near the finish for the next few nights so that we can at least have a day together before driving back down to the south coast.

Grill

I've got a different ride on the RLS100 dates, but even if I didn't I could never justify paying that for a bike ride that has no interesting aspects. Rather save it for my next trip to Vegas.

southdownswolf

Grill wrote:

Carbonator wrote:

Grill wrote:

from a logical standpoint it's a bit of a waste.

What has logic got to do with it?

Its not a waste at all if I have a good time.

Apparently nothing.

I love riding my bike, especially in new and interesting places. I also enjoy a challenge. The RLS100 is none of those things. If you had a choice of spending over 2 weeks riding in Majorca and Spain or weekend with the RLS100, are you seriously telling me you'd choose the 100? Really?

Where can I book 2 weeks in Majorca and Spain for £88? :shock:

southdownswolf

Carbonator wrote:

The Premiere Inn (or is it Holiday Inn) do breakfast from 4am :-)

Holiday Inn normally do early breakfast for London Marathon, so presume they will for this too.

peat

Grill wrote:

I've got a different ride on the RLS100 dates, but even if I didn't I could never justify paying that for a bike ride that has no interesting aspects. Rather save it for my next trip to Vegas.

Well there you go, it's strokes for folks. There is absolutely nothing that draws me to Vegas. Maybe I'll start a thread to tell you that you're wasting your money on it.

Anonymous

Grill wrote:

Carbonator wrote:

Grill wrote:

from a logical standpoint it's a bit of a waste.

What has logic got to do with it?

Its not a waste at all if I have a good time.

Apparently nothing.

I love riding my bike, especially in new and interesting places. I also enjoy a challenge. The RLS100 is none of those things. If you had a choice of spending over 2 weeks riding in Majorca and Spain or weekend with the RLS100, are you seriously telling me you'd choose the 100? Really?

I do not have that choice because I cannot leave my family for that long or take them with me.

I would love to ride abroad but it is a lot harder to sort out right now than RLS100.

If I could go to Majorca I would probably do both as they are very different things.

Why are you getting annoyed that people want to do RLS100?

Grill

southdownswolf wrote:

Grill wrote:

Carbonator wrote:

Grill wrote:

from a logical standpoint it's a bit of a waste.

What has logic got to do with it?

Its not a waste at all if I have a good time.

Apparently nothing.

I love riding my bike, especially in new and interesting places. I also enjoy a challenge. The RLS100 is none of those things. If you had a choice of spending over 2 weeks riding in Majorca and Spain or weekend with the RLS100, are you seriously telling me you'd choose the 100? Really?

Where can I book 2 weeks in Majorca and Spain for £88? :shock:

I'm referring to the cost of a charity place. My flights and hotel for a week in Spain cost me under 90 quid...

@Carbonator- What irks me is that when events like these gain traction they tend to set a precedence in regards to cost. Look at what's happened with the Dragon Ride and many other sportives. They started off reasonable and now they're just downright ridiculous. At this rate it won't be long until these events cost Ironman money. I don't do sportives so it doesn't affect me at the moment, but it's not out of the realm of possibility that it eventually spills over to the TT and audax scene and that would really chap my ass.

verylonglegs

Peat wrote:

verylonglegs wrote:

Peat wrote:

I wasn't too bothered if i got in or not this year having done it last year (box ticked). But, if you don't think you're missing out on an exceptional cycling experience, then you're kidding yourself quite frankly.

It's a faff, it's expensive, but there nothing quite like it.

You've a very narrow minded view on cyclists and how we all derive pleasure from the same activity in many different ways. My most enjoyable rides have begun at dawn in the summer in rural areas where you might not see a soul for the first couple of hours...utter bliss to me. I wouldn't do RL if I was paid £100, let alone give my own money to do it.

Likewise, i love dawn rides when it's only you and the fauna. Infact, the vast majority of my riding is rural and solo and long may it continue.

I am just poking as i am curious as to the motives of someone like yourself posting in a thread, for people that want to do RL, and making BS statements like yours. It just makes you seem like a bitter bastard. Just sayin.

I had a read of the thread as I was curious and fascinated as too how much fuss such a ride generates. I wasn't suggesting you wouldn't like quiet rides, more picking up on the point that I, and possibly others too, don't know my own personality in that I'm kidding myself if I think I'm not missing out. Trust me, crowds, noise and the faff you yourself admitted it entails would detract enough for me to wish I was somewhere else.

markhewitt1978

southdownswolf wrote:

markhewitt1978 wrote:

I'm thinking of C2C in a day so would be interested to hear your plans.

I'm doing the Open Cycling event - http://www.opencycling.com/ - 28th June.
I think they have more entries available soon if you are interested, as some people have dropped out.

Hotel for that is about 10 miles away, so I have to be really nice to the wife and persuade her to get up early to drop me off
We have then booked a hotel near the finish for the next few nights so that we can at least have a day together before driving back down to the south coast.

Ah thought you meant C2C not Coast to Coast my apologies.

mattythemod

Grill wrote:

southdownswolf wrote:

Grill wrote:

Carbonator wrote:

Grill wrote:

from a logical standpoint it's a bit of a waste.

What has logic got to do with it?

Its not a waste at all if I have a good time.

Apparently nothing.

I love riding my bike, especially in new and interesting places. I also enjoy a challenge. The RLS100 is none of those things. If you had a choice of spending over 2 weeks riding in Majorca and Spain or weekend with the RLS100, are you seriously telling me you'd choose the 100? Really?

Where can I book 2 weeks in Majorca and Spain for £88? :shock:

I'm referring to the cost of a charity place. My flights and hotel for a week in Spain cost me under 90 quid...

@Carbonator- What irks me is that when events lik
e these gain traction they tend to set a precedence in regards to cost. Look at what's happened with the Dragon Ride and many other sportives. They started off reasonable and now they're just downright ridi. At this rate it won't be long until these events cost Ironman money. I don't do sportives so it doesn't affect me at the moment, but it's not out of the realm of possibility that it eventually spills over to the TT and audax scene and that would really chap my ass.

90 quid for a week in spain thats Vfm maybe you can share how ....

Anonymous

Grill wrote:

@Carbonator- What irks me is that when events like these gain traction they tend to set a precedence in regards to cost. Look at what's happened with the Dragon Ride and many other sportives. They started off reasonable and now they're just downright ridiculous. At this rate it won't be long until these events cost Ironman money. I don't do sportives so it doesn't affect me at the moment, but it's not out of the realm of possibility that it eventually spills over to the TT and audax scene and that would really chap my ass.

I do not know that all that will happen but appreciate your point.

I do not know what the answer is really.

I just really enjoyed RL last year and want to do it again. Lots of little things made it a great weekend.
Some of those things cannot be replicated anywhere else in the world and at any price so I am happy to be part of it for now.

Grill

mattythemod wrote:

Grill wrote:

southdownswolf wrote:

Grill wrote:

Carbonator wrote:

Grill wrote:

from a logical standpoint it's a bit of a waste.

What has logic got to do with it?

Its not a waste at all if I have a good time.

Apparently nothing.

I love riding my bike, especially in new and interesting places. I also enjoy a challenge. The RLS100 is none of those things. If you had a choice of spending over 2 weeks riding in Majorca and Spain or weekend with the RLS100, are you seriously telling me you'd choose the 100? Really?

Where can I book 2 weeks in Majorca and Spain for £88? :shock:

I'm referring to the cost of a charity place. My flights and hotel for a week in Spain cost me under 90 quid...

@Carbonator- What irks me is that when events lik
e these gain traction they tend to set a precedence in regards to cost. Look at what's happened with the Dragon Ride and many other sportives. They started off reasonable and now they're just downright ridi. At this rate it won't be long until these events cost Ironman money. I don't do sportives so it doesn't affect me at the moment, but it's not out of the realm of possibility that it eventually spills over to the TT and audax scene and that would really chap my ass.

90 quid for a week in spain thats Vfm maybe you can share how ....

Hotel in Mijas was 20 quid for the week (no joke) and flight was 60.

ju5t1n

ju5t1n wrote:

I mentioned it in the other thread - but we got in last year via a team entry by our cycling club. We entered a team of 5 riders around March time, we could have had 2 or more teams if we wanted, there were no restrictions. The results suggest 148 club teams finished last year. Ours isn’t listed because one of our 5 riders didn’t finish (so more teams may have started). My time as an individual is there though. We plan to enter 3 teams this year.

Details of the team entry are here...

http://www.prudentialridelondon.co.uk/T ... llenge.htm

davep1

The negativity on Bikeradar amazes me! I started this thread to try and get in on a great event, I know this from personal experience of last year. The idea was people could hopefully steer me in the right direction, or if I found a way, I would share it with others that also wanted to get in. Thanks to those that have helped with suggestions.

To the majority of you that haven't helped, perhaps you should open your eyes/minds, and give it a go. We come to Bike radar because we love bikes, and RL is one of the best bike events out there.

There are 2 kinds of crowds on RL, the crowds cheering you on, and the crowds on their bikes. The crowds cheering were amazing last year, not something I have ever experienced before. It got to me so much I was clapping them for clapping us, totally carried away with it.

The crowds on their bikes were mainly brilliant too. I rode in a bunch for 45 miles at close to 22 mph before I made my first stop. I'm not in a club, and only ride a few sportives a year, but again this feeling of being part of a peleton, that shrunk and grew and was flying along, was amazing.

But both sets of crowds were interacting with each other, it was a celebration of bikes and cycling.

The roads were closed. Most people that I have spoken to that did it said they loved the fact they could ignore all the lights, the road markings, the normal aggravation of sharing roads with bigger vehicles driven by half-asleep f-wits. And they still found it odd 95 miles in. OK, so it isn't the Alps or the Lakes, and it could have some more hills, but I enjoyed every mile. The City streets and the major landmarks, Hampton Court, Surrey countryside, Dorking and Putney (to name just two), the Embankment...

The vast majority of my miles each year are solo, and often in the early morning in the country. I love that too, and I love sportives, and I love cycling in Abruzzo in Italy. But RL is a fantastic bike day out, and if you can live with trying to raise money for charity, it isn't expensive (for me anyway as travel is minimal)

So, I now have enquiries in with about 8 or 9 charities, and could maybe wait til June and see if Wiggle release places.

vimfuego

Well said. Surely all cycling is about is getting out and enjoying your ride? Doesn't matter that your view of a good ride differs from mine, so long as you are getting something out of it - have at it. TBH I ride in the Surrey Hills all the time & love every minute of it - couldn't care less that some others don't like the roads, or reckon it's far better up north (can't comment until I've ridden there, but as the SH are on my doorstep guess where most of my riding will be...) Sadly most of these threads seem to descend into "My opinion is more valid than yours" or "I'm more awesome than you" eventually.

Anonymous

Yes, well put Dave ;-)
There is not a lot of reason to Knock RL or people that want to do it.
Jealousy and bravado (think thats the right word) fuels a lot of comments on this site and its odd that bikes, bike parts and events etc. are knocked so much IMO.

ugo.santalucia

No need to get defensive: I think people's concern is that this can create a precedent: if many are prepared to enter an event no matter how much it costs, then other organisers will feel entitled to go the same route and the all thing will be driven by the laws of the market.
Locally run sportives are already getting bought out by profit making organisers, who double the entry fee as a first measure.
Is this a bad thing? In my view it is a bad thing, I used to do a few of these events every year and now I do none or maybe one... but then again, the world is not about me and if the events market has to be run as a business in order to be successful, then so be it...
However, in the continent a different approach seems to work equally well, so big money is not the only way to go about it

peat

verylonglegs wrote:

I had a read of the thread as I was curious and fascinated as too how much fuss such a ride generates. I wasn't suggesting you wouldn't like quiet rides, more picking up on the point that I, and possibly others too, don't know my own personality in that I'm kidding myself if I think I'm not missing out. Trust me, crowds, noise and the faff you yourself admitted it entails would detract enough for me to wish I was somewhere else.

Not alot i can argue with in that. But let me say this:

I didn't sign up for RL100 last year. The thought of A) going to London and riding with 20,000 wannabee Wiggo's sent shivers down my spine. However, on the back of a (self orgainised) charity ride that me and a few friends did last May, LLRUK offered us all places representing them about a month before the event. I thought "pffft, yeah, ok, why not. Shouldn't really turn this down."

Fast forward to August, sitting in Green Park sipping on a beer reflecting on what i'd just done, i was brimming with elation and pride to have been involved - What an EVENT. As an experience, it was second to none. Zipping through central London past all the landmarks at first light and flying along on closed roads lined with cheering crowds was just something else.

I was glad to get home and back to my rural backdrop, but i was very glad that i'd stepped outside my comfort zone and been a part of something pretty special. So glad, that i entered the ballot for this year, and thankfully, got in.

Opening your mind once in a while is good for the soul.

markhewitt1978

DaveP1 wrote:

To the majority of you that haven't helped, perhaps you should open your eyes/minds, and give it a go. We come to Bike radar because we love bikes, and RL is one of the best bike events out there.

But; turning that around. You could suggest it is yourself who needs to open your eyes and mind to the fact there are a great number of other outstanding cycling events other than Ride London many of which deserving your attention rather than attempting to get into this one event.

Personally speaking I'm booked to do quite a few events this year; none of which I'm actually definitely going to until I've seen the weather forecast the day before, so if I miss a couple, no big deal.

ju5t1n

I do a fair amount of cycling, varied stuff too. In 2013 I did 4 reliability rides, 6 Audax events, 4 Sportives (2 of these in France), a week of training in Southern Spain, 20 time trials, 18 crits, 25 road races, 2 weeks cycling in the Alps, and 3 trips across London on a Boris bike.

The RL100 stands out for me as the best day of the year. And I suspect you won’t find many who actually did the ride that thought it was shit

markhewitt1978

I would never claim it was shit, I'm sure it's worth every penny of the standard admission price, it's just a question if it's worth several hundred pounds. But then people pay thousands for concert tickets & football matches, so whatever floats yer boat.

Anonymous

Yep, and this is bikeradar, not operaspotlight.com or fottyfocus.com
Funny how you jumped to thousands from hundreds too and it was still an acceptable comment.

Those hundreds also go to charity even if only a tenner of it does any actual good.

Oh, and its a healthy activity.

Anonymous

Its a few hundred quid. An amount that people spunk in all sorts of ways that make far less sense than a RideLondon charity place.

People are funny when they tell others what to do with their money.
If you analise it, it makes no sense unless you are telling them of a way to do the same thing cheaper.

I have done many things that people have commented on. Given time they either end up doing a similar thing or it is proved that the thing I did was pretty sensible.

Grill

DaveP1 wrote:

To the majority of you that haven't helped, perhaps you should open your eyes/minds, and give it a go. We come to Bike radar because we love bikes, and RL is one of the best bike events out there.

Reading things like this makes me sad.

ugo.santalucia

I think this discussion would have never taken place, if it wasn't for the title of the thread, that smells of desperation...

I did contemplate suggesting counselling as first instinct, but I resisted...

jonny_trousers

I did it last year on a charity place. I wasn't going to bother after I failed in the ballot, but my wife persuaded me to, and I'm so glad that she did. It might not be the most challenging of courses, but it was an incredible experience for many reasons.

I failed to get a place in the ballot this year, and I'm not going to go for a charity spot, but I can't see any harm if others take that option. Just providing you are understanding if your mates tell you to sod off when you ask them to sponsor your entry (even if it is benefitting some very worthwhile causes).

upperoilcan

Its a no goer here !

john1967

Mention some form of road bike tax and you get cyclist foaming at the mouth with anger.Charge £50 for a few miles and an energy gel and you get cyclist queing up. :?