Ride London 2016

ugo.santalucia

Thigh_burn wrote:

Maybe not the purist's view of cycling, but one of the most enjoyable things yesterday was the theatre of it. Simply having the roads shut, the crowds worked up, the parties along the street. It was quite fun. It may not be the hardest 100 miles, it might be there are bottle necks, it might be there were lots of cockwombles: the ones going too fast, or too slow. But it was lots of fun.

As an aside, what the buggery can I use to get the remnants of the sticky crap from my rider number sticker off my frame? Soap doesn't seem to do the job.

alcohol of some description... methylated spirits, for instance or IPA if you can get it

Anonymous

The really odd thing a lot of the time in life is people saying either/or, rather than both.

It seems odd, especially if you like cycling.

drlodge

Thigh_burn wrote:

As an aside, what the buggery can I use to get the remnants of the sticky crap from my rider number sticker off my frame? Soap doesn't seem to do the job.

Meths or white spirit.

kingstongraham

Mattsaw wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

yet this thread has 33 pages of mostly logistics... I would say it is the most logistically challenging ride in the country

Also, that raises the point, that's only by token of it's size, would anywhere else in the country be able to support an event of this size in terms of infrastructure, accommodation, travel, parking etc?

The rest of the country seems to manage to put on concerts and other sporting events that attract rather more than 25,000 people perfectly well, so I don't see why not.

slowbike

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Closed roads fills the mouth and sounds like a big deal but is not a necessity everywhere... it is in Surrey, but if you head north you just need the main junctions to be marshalled, often you bomb through with the marshal's approval... the other minor junctions are deserted, a quick look and you are on the pedals again... you need to be really unlucky to have to stop.

you should head a bit further north then - closed roads are required for Etap Loch Ness ... not sure I'd like to ride too much of the A82 on open roads ...

But this isn't up north - it's a London centric sportive - try riding through London on open roads and it's stop start and usually very congested - close the roads for the event and it's far more pleasant.

The specatcle of it was mentioned - there was a bit of it for RVV - but nowhere near as much cheering as there was yesterday - a lot of charity cheerers out - but also lots of families out cheering on everyone .. you don't get that on your solo 100 ride. There's nothing to stop you doing a solo 100 ride practically anywhere or anywhen - it's just a different sort of ride.

I get that you don't get it - but then you wouldn't get why some people carried around 4x750ml bottles when there are bottle stops available or did it on a brompton or even one guy I saw doing it on a Boris bike, or one girl riding a bright pink bike with a bunny outfit on or another guy with some foam triangles cabletied to his helmet (?) or just about any other sort of crazy goings on - it's just people being people - enjoying it (or not) for what it is ...

ugo.santalucia

KingstonGraham wrote:

Mattsaw wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

yet this thread has 33 pages of mostly logistics... I would say it is the most logistically challenging ride in the country

Also, that raises the point, that's only by token of it's size, would anywhere else in the country be able to support an event of this size in terms of infrastructure, accommodation, travel, parking etc?

The rest of the country seems to manage to put on concerts and other sporting events that attract rather more than 25,000 people perfectly well, so I don't see why not.

Pretty sure the Great North Run is bigger than the London Marathon...

itboffin

Thigh_burn wrote:

Maybe not the purist's view of cycling, but one of the most enjoyable things yesterday was the theatre of it. Simply having the roads shut, the crowds worked up, the parties along the street. It was quite fun. It may not be the hardest 100 miles, it might be there are bottle necks, it might be there were lots of cockwombles: the ones going too fast, or too slow. But it was lots of fun.

As an aside, what the buggery can I use to get the remnants of the sticky crap from my rider number sticker off my frame? Soap doesn't seem to do the job.

ETA: Interesting to see what the take-up of ICAP's L'etape London is going to be following RL.

Put a large blob of mayonnaise on it leave it for half an hour then wipe off

ugo.santalucia

Slowbike wrote:

I get that you don't get it - but then you wouldn't get why some people carried around 4x750ml bottles when there are bottle stops available or did it on a brompton or even one guy I saw doing it on a Boris bike, or one girl riding a bright pink bike with a bunny outfit on or another guy with some foam triangles cabletied to his helmet (?) or just about any other sort of crazy goings on - it's just people being people - enjoying it (or not) for what it is ...

I totally get those... the only way I could be persuaded to do RL 100 is on a Boris bike or an Ordinary bike if I could ride one... it makes total sense to me... that's a decent challenge
It's the other side of the spectrum I struggle with... those who make it into a race, except it's not a race...
If you ride a triathlon, dull as it is... it is a race... but RL 100 is not... why riding it as a race if it's not a race? Beyond me...

shaunclaridge

I was held up by the crash in Pyrford and it looked bad as we eventually walked by. Really sad news that it appears to be a rider from another club in my own town that has been involved and is now in intensive care. The various cycling clubs in our town will update us when they know more.

I noticed some comments earlier in the thread where people were claiming he was leading out a group of riders from the same club and that they were not riding responsibly.

While I do not really know the man personally and I have no idea how the crash happened – it is not true that he was with a group of riders from the same club. I would class this man as a fairly experienced, regular, mediocre club rider (a bit like me!) who seems to have made a bad error and paid a heavy price. I think it is pretty unlikely he was some crazed individual taking risks to get under 4 hours as is being suggested.

Even in light of that my view of the event is pretty different to lots of the comments above -It is my first proper mass start sportive (previously done touring, club riding and long distance audaxy stuff). I was riding solo and thought the standard of riding was much better than I expected. It was pretty easy to stay safe if you have spacial awareness and knew what was coming from behind. I seemed to be passing lots of people in the first 50 miles and generally people were keeping to the left or responding to a polite “on your right” shout. I certainly wouldnt put anyone off doing the event and personally found it much safer than any open road event I have been in.

Personally – I think a proper briefing as you are going over the start line would be better than a Queen song …. Its pretty standard on any club ride to brief beginners on basic group riding etiquette and safety … a very stark reminder for every one on what is acceptable and the consequences of being a pillock might help?

Anonymous

Ajkerr73 wrote:

He shouldn't be on that bike, that's for sure.

Yep, you got that bit right.
Against the rules of entry (if he entered) and unsafe for other riders (who probably did enter).

Ajkerr73 wrote:

But to be honest, on a dry day, as long as he stays of the tri bars he's not causing too much of a problem in my book.

This is where you start to lose it though.

What happens if it rains?
What has weather got to do with it anyway?
Why does it matter if he is on the tri bars or not
Why would he ride a tri bike and not be on the tri bars
Has he entered?
Why do you feel its ok to enter and not put a number on?
Why would you enter and not put a number on (and avoid being stopped several times)?
Why does he get stopped and still finish?

Its a closed road event that he has not entered/paid for. Smash his fcuking bike up with baseball bats, job done!

slowbike

ugo.santalucia wrote:

I totally get those... the only way I could be persuaded to do RL 100 is on a Boris bike or an Ordinary bike if I could ride one... it makes total sense to me... that's a decent challenge

what for? the "Look at me I'm so good I can do it on a Boris Bike" ? Isn't that similar to the guys'n'girls you mock for saying "Look at me, I'm so good I can ride it in X hours" ... ?
Do it on a Boris Bike in 4 hours - that's a challenge!

ugo.santalucia wrote:

It's the other side of the spectrum I struggle with... those who make it into a race, except it's not a race...
If you ride a triathlon, dull as it is... it is a race... but RL 100 is not... why riding it as a race if it's not a race? Beyond me...

?? Depends who they are racing - themselves, their mates, everyone else?
I, and many others make no secret of the fact that we were aiming for quick times - but it's not a race for everyone - some people bimbled through London taking in the views, others waited for mates - some stopped when they saw family and loads crowded into the feed stations like they hadn't eaten for a week - I assume they still enjoyed the ride - and those of us who (were able to) put a good time in were happy with their personal performance.
Yup - it's hugely different to TTs (why mention Triathlon? there was walking for some - but no swimming that I was aware of?) - but TTs of any length is as much mind control as it is body ability - not sure I'd have the mental capacity to do a 100mile TT

kingstongraham

ugo.santalucia wrote:

If you ride a triathlon, dull as it is... it is a race... but RL 100 is not... why riding it as a race if it's not a race? Beyond me...

viewtopic.php?f=40012&t=12575770

Anonymous

Its a race (its not a fcuking audax), but its not race conditions. Not a difficult concept for those with a braincell and morals.

Its like strava. Run a red light or train crossing if you like, but don't expect to live.

The thing is that you have to accept the conditions on the day.
Strava you can do again the next day, RLS100 you have to wait a year.

Todays society wants things quicker than that, and at any cost :roll:

ugo.santalucia

Slowbike wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

I totally get those... the only way I could be persuaded to do RL 100 is on a Boris bike or an Ordinary bike if I could ride one... it makes total sense to me... that's a decent challenge

what for? the "Look at me I'm so good I can do it on a Boris Bike" ? Isn't that similar to the guys'n'girls you mock for saying "Look at me, I'm so good I can ride it in X hours" ... ?
Do it on a Boris Bike in 4 hours - that's a challenge!

ugo.santalucia wrote:

It's the other side of the spectrum I struggle with... those who make it into a race, except it's not a race...
If you ride a triathlon, dull as it is... it is a race... but RL 100 is not... why riding it as a race if it's not a race? Beyond me...

?? Depends who they are racing - themselves, their mates, everyone else?
I, and many others make no secret of the fact that we were aiming for quick times - but it's not a race for everyone - some people bimbled through London taking in the views, others waited for mates - some stopped when they saw family and loads crowded into the feed stations like they hadn't eaten for a week - I assume they still enjoyed the ride - and those of us who (were able to) put a good time in were happy with their personal performance.
Yup - it's hugely different to TTs (why mention Triathlon? there was walking for some - but no swimming that I was aware of?) - but TTs of any length is as much mind control as it is body ability - not sure I'd have the mental capacity to do a 100mile TT

Mmmh, not convinced by your arguments...
it's not the same thing... the way I see these mass events, they are challenges for charity. So if a fit guy wants to ride it on a Boris bike to rise funds, that's great... same if someone not so fit prefers to ride it on a Pinarello to complete his first century ride... that is also great.
But you know full well that a lot of folks enter RL 100 because on close roads they can get the peloton experience... riding at 25-30 mph all the way in big bunches... that's not so cool... firstly because it is not a race and it is not a peloton and secondly because by doing so they make the event dangerous for everybody else.
When you ride 100 miles in 4 hours... that's racing... you can't say they were just pushing to get a good time... they were going at 30 mph most of the way in large pelotons in an event which is a charity ride and not a race... I don't get it, I don't get them. The continent has a huge number of granfondo that anyone can enter and RACE in a peloton style... because they are indeed RACES... there is a winner and all of that. Maybe they should campaign to have the same events in the UK, but using RL 100 as a surrogate seems a bit pointless

ajkerr73

Carbonator wrote:

Ajkerr73 wrote:

He shouldn't be on that bike, that's for sure.

Yep, you got that bit right.
Against the rules of entry (if he entered) and unsafe for other riders (who probably did enter).

Ajkerr73 wrote:

But to be honest, on a dry day, as long as he stays of the tri bars he's not causing too much of a problem in my book.

This is where you start to lose it though.

What happens if it rains? - I clearly said on a dry day, it doesn't rain on a dry day!
What has weather got to do with it anyway? - braking capability of that type of bike, with those wheels in the wet isn't great.
Why does it matter if he is on the tri bars or not - There are no brake levers on the tri bars genius!
Why would he ride a tri bike and not be on the tri bars - because he only owns a tri bike??
Has he entered? - Who knows...do you??
Why do you feel its ok to enter and not put a number on? - Where do I say that??
Why would you enter and not put a number on (and avoid being stopped several times)? -
Why does he get stopped and still finish? - This is an internet forum, sometimes people make things up and pass them off as the truth. Did you see him get stopped? Can you see that he doesn't have a number on his back in the picture?

Its a closed road event that he has not entered/paid for. Smash his fcuking bike up with baseball bats, job done!

See above. You need to take a deep breath and relax. Waaaay to much anger displayed re: something that has had no effect on you.

umop3pisdn

Carbonator wrote:

Its a race

If your number is on your bars, it's not a race.

Brakeless

There's no way you can ride a bike like that for 100 miles and not use the aero bars at some point and with the amount of people on the road yesterday he would have been close to people without his brakes covered at some point.

drlodge

Its a closed road event that he has not entered/paid for. Smash his fcuking bike up with baseball bats, job done!

I agree...I get so f***king annoyed with people who say they're gonna ride the RLS100 even though they haven't paid for it, even making counterfeit numbers for their bike so they don't get pulled up.

Stick a broom handle through their front wheel as they're descending Leith Hill.

Brakeless

umop3pisdn wrote:

Carbonator wrote:

Its a race

If your number is on your bars, it's not a race.

Lots of Gran Fondos which are races have numbers on handlebars.But RL100 was not one of them!

paul2718

Carbonator wrote:

Why does it matter if he is on the tri bars or not

On the bars he's not in full control, bad news in close company.

Why would he ride a tri bike and not be on the tri bars

Exactly.

I saw another with a set of 'clip ons'. The organisers go on and on about acceptable bikes, and people ignore it. They also request riding to the left except to pass. And people ignore it.

Paul

Anonymous

So there is a speed limit now then?
Fcuk, arrest me, I did 50mph/30mph. buy I did it where it was safe to.

There is nothing wrong with riding fast as long as you do not think you own the road.

Its purely c0cks that think they are better than others that cause the problems.

'On the right" is an advisory, not a command.
If people understood the difference then it would all go off well.

People riding on non standard bikes in this event are c0cks IMO.
Am not convinced the Boris Bikers or single speeders are raising anything for charity, and thought you were against the monkey suits anyway?

Personally I feel this event should be a fundraising Olympic legacy and celebration of sports road cycling.
As such it would mean doing away with the high and low end entrants (so no costumes, silly bikes or club kit chains) and concentrate on people who are into cycling but for whom 100 miles is a challenge/goal, or who would like to do it (safely and considerately) in a fast time.

There are other events and competitions to satisfy people outside of this criteria.

cruff

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Slowbike wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

I totally get those... the only way I could be persuaded to do RL 100 is on a Boris bike or an Ordinary bike if I could ride one... it makes total sense to me... that's a decent challenge

what for? the "Look at me I'm so good I can do it on a Boris Bike" ? Isn't that similar to the guys'n'girls you mock for saying "Look at me, I'm so good I can ride it in X hours" ... ?
Do it on a Boris Bike in 4 hours - that's a challenge!

ugo.santalucia wrote:

It's the other side of the spectrum I struggle with... those who make it into a race, except it's not a race...
If you ride a triathlon, dull as it is... it is a race... but RL 100 is not... why riding it as a race if it's not a race? Beyond me...

?? Depends who they are racing - themselves, their mates, everyone else?
I, and many others make no secret of the fact that we were aiming for quick times - but it's not a race for everyone - some people bimbled through London taking in the views, others waited for mates - some stopped when they saw family and loads crowded into the feed stations like they hadn't eaten for a week - I assume they still enjoyed the ride - and those of us who (were able to) put a good time in were happy with their personal performance.
Yup - it's hugely different to TTs (why mention Triathlon? there was walking for some - but no swimming that I was aware of?) - but TTs of any length is as much mind control as it is body ability - not sure I'd have the mental capacity to do a 100mile TT

Mmmh, not convinced by your arguments...
it's not the same thing... the way I see these mass events, they are challenges for charity. So if a fit guy wants to ride it on a Boris bike to rise funds, that's great... same if someone not so fit prefers to ride it on a Pinarello to complete his first century ride... that is also great.
But you know full well that a lot of folks enter RL 100 because on close roads they can get the peloton experience... riding at 25-30 mph all the way in big bunches... that's not so cool... firstly because it is not a race and it is not a peloton and secondly because by doing so they make the event dangerous for everybody else.
When you ride 100 miles in 4 hours... that's racing... you can't say they were just pushing to get a good time... they were going at 30 mph most of the way in large pelotons in an event which is a charity ride and not a race... I don't get it, I don't get them. The continent has a huge number of granfondo that anyone can enter and RACE in a peloton style... because they are indeed RACES... there is a winner and all of that. Maybe they should campaign to have the same events in the UK, but using RL 100 as a surrogate seems a bit pointless

But it's NOT a charity ride is it? It's specifically designed to attract both charity riders and people who want to do it more seriously - hence the staggered start times with faster riders out first. Also, you have yourself highlighted the reason many people might want to give this a go at a reasonable clip - because whilst there are many Gran Fondos on the continent, there certainly aren't many in the UK. They are a novelty here - and not everyone can or wants to shell out the best part of a grand to ride in (close to) race conditions in Italy, Spain or France

Anonymous

umop3pisdn wrote:

Carbonator wrote:

Its a race

If your number is on your bars, it's not a race.

Is that why the C0ck above did not have a number on his bars

Lots of rides are a race (have you heard of strava?), it just depends on who you are racing and the parameters of the race.

If/when I do it again I will be racing myself, I will do it considerately, and I will win :twisted:

charlie_potatoes

Reading this thread is so distressing.
It's enough to make you eat your young.

ugo.santalucia

zebulebu wrote:

But it's NOT a charity ride is it? It's specifically designed to attract both charity riders and people who want to do it more seriously - hence the staggered start times with faster riders out first. Also, you have yourself highlighted the reason many people might want to give this a go at a reasonable clip - because whilst there are many Gran Fondos on the continent, there certainly aren't many in the UK. They are a novelty here - and not everyone can or wants to shell out the best part of a grand to ride in (close to) race conditions in Italy, Spain or France

I would argue that driving to the north of france for a Granfondo is probably competitive in terms of price with getting into London and staying over.

I think it is a charity ride and I think they do tolearate a bit of racing because casualties thus far have been down to medical conditions rather than pile ups, but that might change in the future. It only takes one crash gone wrong for things to change.
Regardless, I am not criticising the organisers, I just don't get the point of mocking a race, when in fact it's not... I find it a bit narrow minded and overall pointless. It's not that there isn't a circuit of races for those who are keen to compete... maybe there isn't the 100 mile race in a glamorous setting... I give you that, but it's still pointless to pretend it is... it's augmented reality, it's the Pokemon Go of the charity rides

antonyfromoz

ugo.santalucia wrote:

DeVlaeminck wrote:

I guess what some feel is that Ride London is insufficiently challenging to be something to train for, a target if you like. I had an entry via Wiggle in year 1 but in the end I didn't take it up just because it seemed a lot of faff dor a 4 hour chaingang.

this

My view has always been that I fail to understand the mentality of someone who enters rides like this so they can get carried along in a chain gang and then try to impress others (or feel good about themselves) because of the really quick time they took for a particular ride. This was an experience for me, having not ridden in London (or Surrey) before and it was actually a lot of fun to ride down the closed roads with the crowds cheering. The end of the ride was also special with the spectators banging on the hoardings to welcome the riders home. If people think that they are really fast and they want to prove it then ride a time trial - or do a non-drafting triathlon. If you want to ride something like RL100 as fast as you can then that is fine too but you have to accept that this will be tempered by the number of other riders, the possibility of having to walk for a bit etc.

rich_e

shaunclaridge wrote:

Personally – I think a proper briefing as you are going over the start line would be better than a Queen song …. Its pretty standard on any club ride to brief beginners on basic group riding etiquette and safety … a very stark reminder for every one on what is acceptable and the consequences of being a pillock might help?

That's a good shout, but that said, it's only really as you come in to the final start pen that they can give a proper briefing to everyone. They don't really have much of a luxury of time.

They could however do something at the Excel, given it's mandatory that you go there to pick up your race information.

ugo.santalucia

Carbonator wrote:

umop3pisdn wrote:

Carbonator wrote:

Its a race

If your number is on your bars, it's not a race.

Is that why the C0ck above did not have a number on his bars

Lots of rides are a race (have you heard of strava?), it just depends on who you are racing and the parameters of the race.

If/when I do it again I will be racing myself, I will do it considerately, and I will win :twisted:

Keep it together Carbonator... you were doing OK before that episode... :roll:

antonyfromoz

zebulebu wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Slowbike wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

I totally get those... the only way I could be persuaded to do RL 100 is on a Boris bike or an Ordinary bike if I could ride one... it makes total sense to me... that's a decent challenge

what for? the "Look at me I'm so good I can do it on a Boris Bike" ? Isn't that similar to the guys'n'girls you mock for saying "Look at me, I'm so good I can ride it in X hours" ... ?
Do it on a Boris Bike in 4 hours - that's a challenge!

ugo.santalucia wrote:

It's the other side of the spectrum I struggle with... those who make it into a race, except it's not a race...
If you ride a triathlon, dull as it is... it is a race... but RL 100 is not... why riding it as a race if it's not a race? Beyond me...

?? Depends who they are racing - themselves, their mates, everyone else?
I, and many others make no secret of the fact that we were aiming for quick times - but it's not a race for everyone - some people bimbled through London taking in the views, others waited for mates - some stopped when they saw family and loads crowded into the feed stations like they hadn't eaten for a week - I assume they still enjoyed the ride - and those of us who (were able to) put a good time in were happy with their personal performance.
Yup - it's hugely different to TTs (why mention Triathlon? there was walking for some - but no swimming that I was aware of?) - but TTs of any length is as much mind control as it is body ability - not sure I'd have the mental capacity to do a 100mile TT

Mmmh, not convinced by your arguments...
it's not the same thing... the way I see these mass events, they are challenges for charity. So if a fit guy wants to ride it on a Boris bike to rise funds, that's great... same if someone not so fit prefers to ride it on a Pinarello to complete his first century ride... that is also great.
But you know full well that a lot of folks enter RL 100 because on close roads they can get the peloton experience... riding at 25-30 mph all the way in big bunches... that's not so cool... firstly because it is not a race and it is not a peloton and secondly because by doing so they make the event dangerous for everybody else.
When you ride 100 miles in 4 hours... that's racing... you can't say they were just pushing to get a good time... they were going at 30 mph most of the way in large pelotons in an event which is a charity ride and not a race... I don't get it, I don't get them. The continent has a huge number of granfondo that anyone can enter and RACE in a peloton style... because they are indeed RACES... there is a winner and all of that. Maybe they should campaign to have the same events in the UK, but using RL 100 as a surrogate seems a bit pointless

But it's NOT a charity ride is it? It's specifically designed to attract both charity riders and people who want to do it more seriously - hence the staggered start times with faster riders out first. Also, you have yourself highlighted the reason many people might want to give this a go at a reasonable clip - because whilst there are many Gran Fondos on the continent, there certainly aren't many in the UK. They are a novelty here - and not everyone can or wants to shell out the best part of a grand to ride in (close to) race conditions in Italy, Spain or France

Surely the staggered start is so that people can try to ride the event their own pace and because they couldn't possibly have all of the riders starting at the same time so this makes the most sense. Most of the people I was riding with yesterday were not interested in making a race of it, that's for sure.

capt_slog

Got back around 2pm today, I stayed the night in london because I didn't want to drive baack after the day.

I started around 8:50, after waiting for my son to start. And finished at about 5:15. I walked a LONG way I was stuck at Pyrford for what felt like a couple of hours. I think I just missed the detouir there, they were talking about it, but it hadn't happened as I paased that point, so i was stuck in the shuffling masses and getting very disappointed. It looked as if we weren't going to finish the day, and that would have been a lot of time and effort gone to waste.

I made it up Newlands without a hitch, but by this time we were getting too hungry to carry on without some proper food. We stopped at the hub (forgive me if I'm getting the places mixed up) and bought hotdogs, chips and coffee. We just sat down to eat them when a m/bike pulled in, and the rider shouted "LEAVE NOW OR YOU'RE GOING HOME ON THE TRAIN!"

:shock: :shock:

Handful of chips in the mouth a quick swig of scolding coffee and off on tyhe bike holding a bit of hotdog.

We were now too late to do Leith, diversion was in place, but were in time to ride up Box Hill, which felt like a doddle. The rest of the ride went well. In all, I walked about 5 times due to stoppages, I've never walked so far in cleats before.

The day was fantastic though. The crowds were lovely, made us feel like we were taking part in a race even though it was a bit of fun sportive (high fives with the kids, waving etc. great fun)

I said this was going to be a one-off, but Mrs Slog is already talking about next year (she doesn't ride it!)

I wanted to get around in 7 hours, considering the time I was stationary, I think I didn't do bad. The bike didn't either. I ride a £300 Decathlon B'Twin, and it served the purpose.