Ride London 2018

RossoCorso34

How does it work with Ride London and bags? I'm spending the night before near the start, and I will have my overnight bag. Are they left at the start or transported back to the finish?

slowbike

you can carry a bag to the start with a bag label provided for you in your registration pack - it's transported to the finish for you to pick up. I would suggest you don't put anything in there irreplaceable though - there's a lot of bags, some are likely to be misplaced.

Thigh_burn

Slowbike wrote:

you can carry a bag to the start with a bag label provided for you in your registration pack - it's transported to the finish for you to pick up. I would suggest you don't put anything in there irreplaceable though - there's a lot of bags, some are likely to be misplaced.

I think it has to be the bags they provide you with as well - which are relatively small clear plastic bags. There's enough in there for a few clothes, water bottles and a bit of food, but not much else.

shazzz

Has anyone had their start time yet?
From what I can see they were sent late June last year.... They seem to be leaving it late.

milemuncher1

shazzz wrote:

Has anyone had their start time yet?
From what I can see they were sent late June last year.... They seem to be leaving it late.

They’ll be starting to send the start times out next week.

33davies

Staying in Walthamstow the night before so easy ride into the start. But haven't thought about getting back after the ride. Will we be able to take our bike onto the Tube?

bjornoswede

I’m waiting to send out my info to someone who’s collecting my registration - is there a document that comes in the pack that should be given to the ‘collector’ ?

bjornoswede

33Davies wrote:

Staying in Walthamstow the night before so easy ride into the start. But haven't thought about getting back after the ride. Will we be able to take our bike onto the Tube?

Some tubes do see this link:

http://content.tfl.gov.uk/bicycles-on-p ... nsport.pdf

I’m opting to ride along the embankment back to my accommodation as there isn’t a worthwhile tube for me

shazzz

Just received my start time email.
Wave C, start at 6:00am.
Bu88er.

milemuncher1

06:04 Orange C for me, that should be early enough to avoid ‘wobblergeddon’ in the hills.

Thigh_burn

Does anyone have any of the Evans top tube pace cards from previous years for 5.5hr finish?

Just been to ExCel and Evans said they've been asked not to produce them this year as it encouraged people to race.

Bloody annoying as I found them exceptionally useful to pace myself. I'd like to know if I'm on time (or ideally ahead) to hit my target.

ETA: Not to worry, I've simply worked out the times myself, which I'll print and take with me. Not ideal, but not the end of the world.

capt_slog

I realise that won't affect anyone on here , but I'm involved in a discussion elsewhere about the cut-off times.

I've noticed something odd. If you look at the "Slower riders" page on the PRL100 website, you can see that there are cut-offs and diversions.

The first is at Hampton Court at 26 mile, and this becomes mandatory at 10:50, but further down the page it says it's mandatory at 11:00. Fair enough, if you haven't got there by then, you'll struggle to get around the rest of the course.

However, in the final instructions magazine (online and I presume the same copy arrived in everyone's pack?), this first cut-off is now 11:45. This is a big difference, especially considering that all the other cut-offs still have the original time. So, if a really slow rider makes that first cut, they are going to be a long way out before they discover that they can't make it.

BikerGroveish

Capt Slog wrote:

I realise that won't affect anyone on here , but I'm involved in a discussion elsewhere about the cut-off times.

I've noticed something odd. If you look at the "Slower riders" page on the PRL100 website, you can see that there are cut-offs and diversions.

The first is at Hampton Court at 26 mile, and this becomes mandatory at 10:50, but further down the page it says it's mandatory at 11:00. Fair enough, if you haven't got there by then, you'll struggle to get around the rest of the course.

However, in the final instructions magazine (online and I presume the same copy arrived in everyone's pack?), this first cut-off is now 11:45. This is a big difference, especially considering that all the other cut-offs still have the original time. So, if a really slow rider makes that first cut, they are going to be a long way out before they discover that they can't make it.

If they’re that slow they should think about whether they are up to this ride by my reckoning.

mrfpb

Aren't there different cut off times for 46 and 100 mile routes?

capt_slog

BikerGroveish wrote:

Capt Slog wrote:

I realise that won't affect anyone on here , but I'm involved in a discussion elsewhere about the cut-off times.

I've noticed something odd. If you look at the "Slower riders" page on the PRL100 website, you can see that there are cut-offs and diversions.

The first is at Hampton Court at 26 mile, and this becomes mandatory at 10:50, but further down the page it says it's mandatory at 11:00. Fair enough, if you haven't got there by then, you'll struggle to get around the rest of the course.

However, in the final instructions magazine (online and I presume the same copy arrived in everyone's pack?), this first cut-off is now 11:45. This is a big difference, especially considering that all the other cut-offs still have the original time. So, if a really slow rider makes that first cut, they are going to be a long way out before they discover that they can't make it.

If they’re that slow they should think about whether they are up to this ride by my reckoning.

I agree.

However, I realised that the confusion was mine. The 11:00 is the cut-off for the diversion, so from that time you are taken off the original route and sent on a shorter one.

The 11;45 is the time when you are taken off the course by the sweeper bus if you haven't made that point by that time.

norvernrob

Looks like the conditions were pretty rough! A few guys from a local club did it in 4.22, which is some going considering the weather.

RossoCorso34

The conditions were grim. Lots of crashes.

jgsi

NorvernRob wrote:

Looks like the conditions were pretty rough! A few guys from a local club did it in 4.22, which is some going considering the weather.

Clubbies hey?

I am responding as MF has not picked this one up.

j_mcd

I set off pretty early but the conditions got very bad very quickly. Driving rain for hours and the wind was terrible.

The overall standard of the riding was very good this year, perhaps people were being more careful in the wet or perhaps I just didn't see any douchebaggery but it was a refreshing change.

Only saw one accident, in a relatively benign place, the A4 flyover. Ambulance in attendance.

Lots of punctures everywhere due to carp on the roads. Coming down leith wasnt great, lots of debris.

One of my last favourite rides I think and was tempted to just ditch and head for home when we came down Newlands but still managed it in just over 5 and a half hours so disappointing but not terrible.

BikerGroveish

theboyfold wrote:

The conditions were grim. Lots of crashes.

I hear there were some bad ones on the hills.

RossoCorso34

J_MCD wrote:

I set off pretty early but the conditions got very bad very quickly. Driving rain for hours and the wind was terrible.

The overall standard of the riding was very good this year, perhaps people were being more careful in the wet or perhaps I just didn't see any douchebaggery but it was a refreshing change.

Only saw one accident, in a relatively benign place, the A4 flyover. Ambulance in attendance.

Lots of punctures everywhere due to carp on the roads. Coming down leith wasnt great, lots of debris.

One of my last favourite rides I think and was tempted to just ditch and head for home when we came down Newlands but still managed it in just over 5 and a half hours so disappointing but not terrible.

Leith was closed when I got there. Apparently a rider had a heart attack. Ambulances went screaming by us. Very sobering.

Got stopped for about 4 major crashes just ahead of us during the ride.

Ben6899

My brother saw a poor bloke receiving CPR.

RossoCorso34

Ben6899 wrote:

My brother saw a poor bloke receiving CPR.

I guess, from what I was told, that'll be the one. I hope they are OK, I'd hate to think that something people love can also be that cruel

Ben6899

theboyfold wrote:

Ben6899 wrote:

My brother saw a poor bloke receiving CPR.

I guess, from what I was told, that'll be the one. I hope they are OK, I'd hate to think that something people love can also be that cruel

It was on Leith. We - 30mins behind my brother - were diverted away from the top section of Leith and then had to wait for an ambulance to pass.

Awful.

BikerGroveish

theboyfold wrote:

Ben6899 wrote:

My brother saw a poor bloke receiving CPR.

I guess, from what I was told, that'll be the one. I hope they are OK, I'd hate to think that something people love can also be that cruel

Leith has got itself quite a reputation. That’s 3 cardiac arrests on Leith in the years the event has been going now. That’s dreadful. It always seems to be the second step after Coldharbour lane as well.

jgsi

We all forget that cycling can really hurt the body and has the capacity to actually go over the physiological limiters, more so than running I think. Cycling and running are alone in being mass participation activities in a way that for example rowing or cross country skiing or dare I say it football are not.

mrfpb

theboyfold wrote:

Leith was closed when I got there. Apparently a rider had a heart attack. Ambulances went screaming by us. Very sobering.

Does anyone else get deja vu reading this. I'm not being flippant. It happened the year I rode RLS, and a couple of other
times.
I've only ever paid to ride in four events. Ride London was the only closed rode event of those four, yet felt the least safe. It was the only event to have large chunks cut off for safety reasons after the event started. Surely the London Marathon company are required to do some kind of Root Cause Analysis following a death or near-fatal incident in order to mitigate risks in future years. I don't see any sign of them learning any lessons.

BikerGroveish

mrfpb wrote:

theboyfold wrote:

Leith was closed when I got there. Apparently a rider had a heart attack. Ambulances went screaming by us. Very sobering.

Does anyone else get deja vu reading this. I'm not being flippant. It happened the year I rode RLS, and a couple of other
times.
I've only ever paid to ride in four events. Ride London was the only closed rode event of those four, yet felt the least safe. It was the only event to have large chunks cut off for safety reasons after the event started. Surely the London Marathon company are required to do some kind of Root Cause Analysis following a death or near-fatal incident in order to mitigate risks in future years. I don't see any sign of them learning any lessons.

Unfortunately you’re correct. The issue with that bit of Leith Hill is that it’s about 17% gradient after a previous section of 17% gradient with a short flatter bit in between. The heart rate goes ballistic then settles then goes ballistic again and that seems to be be what does it.

cougie

If you gather 30000 people together then the statistics of someone having a heart attack are pretty good I guess. Not sure what you could do about it.

buckmulligan

Very sad to hear that and a very strange sense of deja vu. I really wonder if PRL100 will consider making changes to the route now that it is seemingly a genuine and recurring risk.

I started early and didn't see too many incidents or accidents, a couple of wobbles in the sketchy conditions and a guy upside down in the haybales at the hairpin on the Box Hill descent(!) but on the whole not too bad riding.

Not sure what weather I would've preferred though, monsoon rains or the blistering heat of last week!