Ride London 2015
Comments
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...this from the official email re parking at O2....
If you plan to book a space in the O2 car park, please note that there will be a free service (on presentation of your rider number) running from 04:30 on the Emirates Air Line to take you across the river to ExCeL, which is a short bike ride from Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Alternatively, from 04:00 until 07:30 only you will be able to cycle north through the southbound tunnel of the Blackwall Tunnel following a signposted route to the Start. The Blackwall Tunnel will be closed to all cyclists from 07:30.0 -
OK, so as I was planning on using the Blackwall tunnel around 7am I was very worried reading the reply on here that it closes at 6am.
I have emailed the helpdesk and they replied saying it closes at 6am.
I then rang the helpdesk and the girl said there has been a lot of confusion about this and even the office wasn't sure. So she went off to check internally and came back and confirmed that it closes at 7.30am.
So..I am going to go with the official information found on emails, magazines and now on the phone call and assume it closes at 7.30am.
If I get there at 7am and it is shut then..well.. not sure. I guess it's ride over before its even started!0 -
..don't worry, it'll be fine.
...the instructions are very clear and are not overridden by a mistake someone made on the help line. Any major change of plan (and this would be!) would be advised officially by the organisers and an alternative given - they're pretty good, really!
...so let's put this little item to bed, eh?0 -
Why the absurd trek to Excel to register - absolutely the back of beyond even for Londoners. It's a pain enough having to do this each April for the marathon. I'd rather pay an extra £5 to have number and chip mailed out recorded than slog to SE250 on a 3 hour round trip. Can live without the expo gel jamboree. And I'm sure many more can too. Ride London. Getting to the start always seem harder than getting to the finish....0
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Continuing my theme of asking questions, I've read on a different thread on this site that the blackwall tunnel shuts at 6am for cyclists to get through? The official information pack states 7.30am - does anyone have an insight into this? I am going to ask tonight at the Excel when I pick the riders pack up, hopefully it is 7.30am because I won't be going through at 6am.
Secondly, this is my first sportive ride and as I am quite slow, I have a late start time. After a bit advice, should I start out quite hard in order to hit the initial checkpoints within the allotted time and hope the crowd and fellow riders can help me over the finish line if I start to flag or, should I just pace myself at my normal pace throughout the ride? I did 101 miles two weekends ago and my av speed was 14mph so I am quietly confident of completing it on Sunday - just not sure how to pace it so I don't get diverted off? Any advice from more seasoned riders would be welcome. (oh, I am fully aware that to many people 14 mph is very slow - I'm just not a very good cyclist is all!)
All the best to everyone riding on Sunday!
Average speeds depend on the terrain as much as anything. At 14mph average on that course you'll be fine, depending on how hilly your route was. As the start is reasonably flat you should do that at a reasonable clip so when you hit Newlands Corner, Leith and Box Hills and your speed drops into the single figures you should still be ok to make the cut. My start time is also quite late, at 0833 - no idea why other than so many people reckoning they could do it in 5.5-6 hours so they had to spread us out.
Try not to waste too much time at every drink stop. There are 10 and three main feedstops which for a 100 mile sportive is overkill. Two are enough, one at 30 and another at 65.0 -
Why the absurd trek to Excel to register - absolutely the back of beyond even for Londoners. It's a pain enough having to do this each April for the marathon. I'd rather pay an extra £5 to have number and chip mailed out recorded than slog to SE250 on a 3 hour round trip. Can live without the expo gel jamboree. And I'm sure many more can too. Ride London. Getting to the start always seem harder than getting to the finish....
Agree. Utterly pointless. Dragon Ride stuff is mailed out and around 7000 of us did it this year.0 -
Just been to collect my number at Excel and the car parking fee is £15.00 outrageous.0
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Just been to collect my number at Excel and the car parking fee is £15.00 outrageous.
A bit late for you but might be useful for others...
You can park of the residential streets on the other side of Prince Regent station. Its about a 5 minute walk across the bridge into the Excel. I parked in Alnwick Road for the Grand Designs show with no problems.0 -
Just been to collect my number at Excel and the car parking fee is £15.00 outrageous.
A bit late for you but might be useful for others...
You can park of the residential streets on the other side of Prince Regent station. Its about a 5 minute walk across the bridge into the Excel. I parked in Alnwick Road for the Grand Designs show with no problems.
Thanks for that, I will give it a go tomorrow. It's so annoying that they feel the need to rip you off on the excel parking as well.0 -
Yeah seriously just park in any street I lived there for several years its fineRule #5 // Harden The Feck Up.
Rule #9 // If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.
Rule #12 // The correct number of bikes to own is n+1.
Rule #42 // A bike race shall never be preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run.0 -
That's what I did this evening. There's a bit of a pedestrian detour because of construction works but it's 5 mins tops.Just been to collect my number at Excel and the car parking fee is £15.00 outrageous.
A bit late for you but might be useful for others...
You can park of the residential streets on the other side of Prince Regent station. Its about a 5 minute walk across the bridge into the Excel. I parked in Alnwick Road for the Grand Designs show with no problems.0 -
Why the absurd trek to Excel to register - absolutely the back of beyond even for Londoners. It's a pain enough having to do this each April for the marathon. I'd rather pay an extra £5 to have number and chip mailed out recorded than slog to SE250 on a 3 hour round trip. Can live without the expo gel jamboree. And I'm sure many more can too. Ride London. Getting to the start always seem harder than getting to the finish....
+1million
I work in London (London Bridge) but getting to and from Excel added 2 hours to my day. And for what? To be told stuff I already know. As others have said, totally unnecessary. If I can book airline tickets securely without leaving my desk, then some ride numbers and a plastic bag can be sent out by post.
As for the 'show', frankly it was pathetic. Really quite angry about this, not so much for me - it made a useful training ride - but what if you'd come down from, say, Hull or something and on top of all the other prep had to faff about dragging your ar53 across London?
Really, really poor.
It's just a hill. Get over it.0 -
On a practical note, my start time is 0830 so planning to get to the start for the suggested 0730. Given problems people had last year getting into the London Bridge car park, and allowing a half hour ride to the start I'm figuring on getting to the NCP in Kipling Street for 0600.0
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Why the absurd trek to Excel to register - absolutely the back of beyond even for Londoners. It's a pain enough having to do this each April for the marathon. I'd rather pay an extra £5 to have number and chip mailed out recorded than slog to SE250 on a 3 hour round trip. Can live without the expo gel jamboree. And I'm sure many more can too. Ride London. Getting to the start always seem harder than getting to the finish....
+1million
I work in London (London Bridge) but getting to and from Excel added 2 hours to my day. And for what? To be told stuff I already know. As others have said, totally unnecessary. If I can book airline tickets securely without leaving my desk, then some ride numbers and a plastic bag can be sent out by post.
As for the 'show', frankly it was pathetic. Really quite angry about this, not so much for me - it made a useful training ride - but what if you'd come down from, say, Hull or something and on top of all the other prep had to faff about dragging your ar53 across London?
Really, really poor.
Yes agreed.
I ended up cycling through some godawful tunnel at rush hour trying to get there last time on the Friday evening.
More of the same ce soir!0 -
went there last night and the show seemed even worse than last year. Only bonus is it's saved me a trip to the LBS to stock up on some gels.
No idea why this couldn't be sent by mail, i'd happily pay more money to have this sent to me and skip the show.0 -
went there last night and the show seemed even worse than last year. Only bonus is it's saved me a trip to the LBS to stock up on some gels.
No idea why this couldn't be sent by mail, i'd happily pay more money to have this sent to me and skip the show.
I asked that and was told it was for "security". Surprised they didn't ask me to remove my shoes.0 -
As most of the bridges seem to be closed for the day does anyone know whether they will still allow you to cross Westminster Bridge going South after the event?0
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The only reason you have to go in to pick your number up is so you have a chance to spend money with their sponsors0
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can you wheel your bike all the way in to the register points?0
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There is a bike storage bit inside which is totally secure. You might be able to go up to the registration booths if it isn't busy (it wasn't yesterday) but I bet some hi-vis enabled 'security guard' will stop you.Giant Defy Advanced 0 - Best
Planet X London Road - Wet
Montague Fit - Foldy thing that rarely gets used these days0 -
went there last night and the show seemed even worse than last year. Only bonus is it's saved me a trip to the LBS to stock up on some gels.
No idea why this couldn't be sent by mail, i'd happily pay more money to have this sent to me and skip the show.
+1. Went last night and its a complete waste of time. They've even done away with all the shiny bikes by the registration desks. I'd gladly pay a fiver to have it mailed.
What are people wearing? I start at 6.09, and went out at 6am this morning at it was COLD! Had a baselayer under the jersey and some arm-warmers which worked fine, but I'm hoping to get around without stopping so I don't want to be stripping off halfway round (I only did an hour this morning - it'll be pretty warm by 10am on Sunday).0 -
I'm intending to just man up. On the BBC weather site it's looking at 14C at 6am which is easily enough for just a standard short sleeved jersey. Let's face it, it's only going to get warmer so wearing a base layer will probably just be over kill.
In terms of getting around without stopping, how are you dealing with liquid, are you taking more than two bottles?Giant Defy Advanced 0 - Best
Planet X London Road - Wet
Montague Fit - Foldy thing that rarely gets used these days0 -
What are people wearing? I start at 6.09, and went out at 6am this morning at it was COLD! Had a baselayer under the jersey and some arm-warmers which worked fine, but I'm hoping to get around without stopping so I don't want to be stripping off halfway round (I only did an hour this morning - it'll be pretty warm by 10am on Sunday).
Only solution is if you have a v light rain jacket / wind-jacket / gilet that won't take up too much room in a back pocket.
As for bottles, two is enough surely?0 -
Drink one before the start and two on the bike. That should be enough.0
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As most of the bridges seem to be closed for the day does anyone know whether they will still allow you to cross Westminster Bridge going South after the event?
If you check the official booklet it tells you which bridges are open to cross from cyclists. I think Westminster was one of them. Don't have it with me to check and cant see it on the website either.
For the ride I will start with a base layer and arm warmers. Don't mind stopping so will take them off when it warms up. Standing about for an hour in the cold isn't fun, which it was a few degrees warmer in the morning but not a lot I can do about that.0 -
I'm intending to just man up. On the BBC weather site it's looking at 14C at 6am which is easily enough for just a standard short sleeved jersey. Let's face it, it's only going to get warmer so wearing a base layer will probably just be over kill.
In terms of getting around without stopping, how are you dealing with liquid, are you taking more than two bottles?
Fair dos - I'll read up on Rule #5! Looking at this morning it was 10 degrees apparently, 14 sounds a bit more comfortable. On the liquid front, I'll have 950ml + 750ml + 3 isotonic gels (plus the usual gels and bars). Hoping this does the trick, and I had some to spare on a solo 70 miler a couple of weeks back.0 -
I'm intending to just man up. On the BBC weather site it's looking at 14C at 6am which is easily enough for just a standard short sleeved jersey. Let's face it, it's only going to get warmer so wearing a base layer will probably just be over kill.
In terms of getting around without stopping, how are you dealing with liquid, are you taking more than two bottles?
Fair dos - I'll read up on Rule #5! Looking at this morning it was 10 degrees apparently, 14 sounds a bit more comfortable. On the liquid front, I'll have 950ml + 750ml + 3 isotonic gels (plus the usual gels and bars). Hoping this does the trick, and I had some to spare on a solo 70 miler a couple of weeks back.
Central London is 2-4 degrees warmer than the sticks but should be fine. Why not take an old fleece and dump it at the start0 -
Continuing my theme of asking questions, I've read on a different thread on this site that the blackwall tunnel shuts at 6am for cyclists to get through? The official information pack states 7.30am - does anyone have an insight into this? I am going to ask tonight at the Excel when I pick the riders pack up, hopefully it is 7.30am because I won't be going through at 6am.
Secondly, this is my first sportive ride and as I am quite slow, I have a late start time. After a bit advice, should I start out quite hard in order to hit the initial checkpoints within the allotted time and hope the crowd and fellow riders can help me over the finish line if I start to flag or, should I just pace myself at my normal pace throughout the ride? I did 101 miles two weekends ago and my av speed was 14mph so I am quietly confident of completing it on Sunday - just not sure how to pace it so I don't get diverted off? Any advice from more seasoned riders would be welcome. (oh, I am fully aware that to many people 14 mph is very slow - I'm just not a very good cyclist is all!)
All the best to everyone riding on Sunday!
Average speeds depend on the terrain as much as anything. At 14mph average on that course you'll be fine, depending on how hilly your route was. As the start is reasonably flat you should do that at a reasonable clip so when you hit Newlands Corner, Leith and Box Hills and your speed drops into the single figures you should still be ok to make the cut. My start time is also quite late, at 0833 - no idea why other than so many people reckoning they could do it in 5.5-6 hours so they had to spread us out.
Try not to waste too much time at every drink stop. There are 10 and three main feedstops which for a 100 mile sportive is overkill. Two are enough, one at 30 and another at 65.
assuming that your 101 was not on closed roads without thousands of people to draft you will be at least 10% faster so the broom wagon will not come into it0 -
[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19669701#p19669701]Surrey Commuter[/url] wrote:Continuing my theme of asking questions, I've read on a different thread on this site that the blackwall tunnel shuts at 6am for cyclists to get through? The official information pack states 7.30am - does anyone have an insight into this? I am going to ask tonight at the Excel when I pick the riders pack up, hopefully it is 7.30am because I won't be going through at 6am.
Secondly, this is my first sportive ride and as I am quite slow, I have a late start time. After a bit advice, should I start out quite hard in order to hit the initial checkpoints within the allotted time and hope the crowd and fellow riders can help me over the finish line if I start to flag or, should I just pace myself at my normal pace throughout the ride? I did 101 miles two weekends ago and my av speed was 14mph so I am quietly confident of completing it on Sunday - just not sure how to pace it so I don't get diverted off? Any advice from more seasoned riders would be welcome. (oh, I am fully aware that to many people 14 mph is very slow - I'm just not a very good cyclist is all!)
All the best to everyone riding on Sunday!
Average speeds depend on the terrain as much as anything. At 14mph average on that course you'll be fine, depending on how hilly your route was. As the start is reasonably flat you should do that at a reasonable clip so when you hit Newlands Corner, Leith and Box Hills and your speed drops into the single figures you should still be ok to make the cut. My start time is also quite late, at 0833 - no idea why other than so many people reckoning they could do it in 5.5-6 hours so they had to spread us out.
Try not to waste too much time at every drink stop. There are 10 and three main feedstops which for a 100 mile sportive is overkill. Two are enough, one at 30 and another at 65.
assuming that your 101 was not on closed roads without thousands of people to draft you will be at least 10% faster so the broom wagon will not come into it
It wasn't on closed roads and certainly no fellow cyclists to draft behind. It was however in the Netherlands..oh, I mean Essex, so it wasn't very hilly. I'll go at my usual snail pace and and keep my head down and hopefully complete the ride in time.
Have a cracking day to all riders and thanks to everyone for various replies to my seemingly endless questions, on various threads!0 -
One before the start and 2 on the bike for me too - if its hot i will be thirsty towards the end but hopefully not too bad0
