Ride London 2018

Ben6899

Frattonise wrote:

Amazing how many people opted for no rain gear when a cursory look at the forecast made it quite clear how wet and windy it would be. Dress properly or prepare to get soaked and frozen quickly.

Depends what you call rain gear. The snotty woman and her mate in front of me commented sarcastically as I donned my armwarmers "well they'll make a lot of difference" and then sneered: "don't you have a rain jacket?"

They will actually, love, they're Roubaix ones by Craft. And this gilet is waterproof. And I don't plan on being out there for 9hrs like you and your mate, Hyacinth!

essexian

Problem with rain gear for me was that I left home 11am on Saturday to drive south and at the time the weather forecast was windy but rain was not due to start until between 1 and 2pm. By then I would have finished and been well on the way home.

Sadly, the forecast got it wrong and thus, I was left without a rain jacket. My fault I suppose but then again, if you carried everything you might think you may need on a ride...well where would it end?

slowbike

godders9 wrote:

I do think they could do more to get important information to non-club cyclists though, perhaps a video with more advice in it pushed via email more than once prior to the event. I tried to keep left unless I was overtaking but there were people dawdling in the middle (they probably do on motorways as well) which meant the only option was to undertake.

TBH - those that want to know will find out - those who don't - won't - no matter what the organisers do (did you read the magazines- did they include a bit on how to ride in a group?)

I can understand the clubbies & chaingangs getting narked when faced with "dawdlers" in the road - it's easy enough to keep left - but, as you say, it's not a race and there's no need for intended expletives.

Fortunately I didn't do it this year - but I was out on my bike in the wind & rain (just for a much shorter ride!) - I'm quite glad at that - charity or not - it wasn't a nice day to ride!

Ben6899

Slowbike wrote:

godders9 wrote:

I do think they could do more to get important information to non-club cyclists though, perhaps a video with more advice in it pushed via email more than once prior to the event. I tried to keep left unless I was overtaking but there were people dawdling in the middle (they probably do on motorways as well) which meant the only option was to undertake.

TBH - those that want to know will find out - those who don't - won't - no matter what the organisers do (did you read the magazines- did they include a bit on how to ride in a group?)

I can understand the clubbies & chaingangs getting narked when faced with "dawdlers" in the road - it's easy enough to keep left - but, as you say, it's not a race and there's no need for intended expletives.

Fortunately I didn't do it this year - but I was out on my bike in the wind & rain (just for a much shorter ride!) - I'm quite glad at that - charity or not - it wasn't a nice day to ride!

As they were dispatching each wave, the guy on the loud speaker gave clear safe-riding instructions which included "overtake on the right". For me, the rest follows that as obvious: if you're slow, stick left and don't overtake on the left. But don't swear at people for getting it wrong, that's terrible behavior.

The sketchiest moment for me was going up Leith Hill on 39/25 because it was difficult to go slow behind people spinning on 34/32 and there's no room to overtake. The organisers need to consider its inclusion carefully from next year onwards, in my opinion.

fenix

essexian wrote:

Problem with rain gear for me was that I left home 11am on Saturday to drive south and at the time the weather forecast was windy but rain was not due to start until between 1 and 2pm. By then I would have finished and been well on the way home.

Sadly, the forecast got it wrong and thus, I was left without a rain jacket. My fault I suppose but then again, if you carried everything you might think you may need on a ride...well where would it end?

It doesnt take much for the weather forecast to shift by a few hours. Unless it's dry all day I'll bung my jacket in a pocket. It doesnt take up much room so its not like its either/or.

homers_double

I did the 100 along with Mike off here and two others, 7.28am start and finished in a time of 6:45 including a substantial stop at Westcott as another team mate needed to sit in the St Johns tent to warm up,

Yes the weather was bad, but I've ridden in worse so around 130km even managed take off my rain jacket and dry out on the last 30km.

Lots of punctures as noted above, some only a few KM's in which would be a bit of a pain. I had one which was a bit of flint which had worked in to the tyre but I suspect the rest were form pointy bits carried into the road by the rain.

Fantastic turn out by the crowds considering the weather, I suspect that the pessimists and idiots stayed at home but those with a positive attitude would have turned out come rain or shine so hats off you lot, you made it a day to remember.

I was fortunate to miss any accidents and TBH the standard of riding was pretty good, catching a wheel was nigh on impossible though as you'd just get a soaking off the spray so I tended to stay out of the groups.

The finish up the mall was great and the ballot for'19 opens in a week and I'll be putting my name down again.

godders9

I happened to put a jacket in with me as a last minute decision and I was so glad I did. It was far from waterproof but I didn't feel as cold as others looked with only normal jerseys on.

As a first cycling event I thought it was great. I thoroughly enjoyed cycling on some rather quick roads with no cards, I thought the support was excellent in the conditions and the event was very well organised.

RossoCorso34

godders9 wrote:

I don't think you can be too harsh on people because they haven't ridden in a group before.

It's not a race and people are riding for charities so you're going to get a lot of cyclists who've trained on their own (as I did) and then are in and amongst 30000 other riders.

I do think they could do more to get important information to non-club cyclists though, perhaps a video with more advice in it pushed via email more than once prior to the event. I tried to keep left unless I was overtaking but there were people dawdling in the middle (they probably do on motorways as well) which meant the only option was to undertake.

On the other hand I also think there are a lot of club-cyclists who took it too seriously as I heard numerous expletives being thrown in the way of others from the outside lane as it were. Swearing at people who're putting themselves through a lot to raise money for charity? c'mon...

I'd fully agree with this. It is, after all, a public event, so there will be a lot of people who don't ride with clubs and don't know how to ride with others. This doesn't excuse the common sense issues, but so many people out on the ride don't understand what many of the hand signals mean, let alone the more subtle group riding behaviours.

j_mcd

On the jacket front, I didn't take anything on purpose and I knew it was probably going to rain. I run hot and so would have been a sweaty mess in a jacket. Even with the rain and wind it wasn't going to be too chilly and I didn't see myself stopping long enough to get cold. Horses for courses I guess.

Incidentally, my finish was captured on the BBC coverage and is on IPlayer so I'm officially famous. In my own mind!

ThatBikeGuy

First time riding down London. Quite an eye-opener even on the saturday going to the excel! Sunday was a bit of a mess weather wise and I managed to pick up 3 punctures.
Missed Leith hill due to the accident and apparently box hill shut shortly after I got through due to another accident. Crowds were very good and out in surprising numbers given the weather. I'll be applying again for the 2019 ballot in the hopes of catching the course in better weather conditions.

buckmulligan

J_MCD wrote:

On the jacket front, I didn't take anything on purpose and I knew it was probably going to rain. I run hot and so would have been a sweaty mess in a jacket. Even with the rain and wind it wasn't going to be too chilly and I didn't see myself stopping long enough to get cold. Horses for courses I guess.

+1

I've never owned a waterproof jacket that would have kept me dry on Sunday! I just went with a one piece road suit and it worked out fine. Only felt a bit chilly on a couple of the descents but didn't plan on hanging around long enough on the flats to get cold. Admittedly this could have backfired if I'd had a puncture but thankfully I managed to avoid that.

bflk

Very sorry to hear about the guy who was mentioned on the news as not having survived.

Interesting remarks about the risk of the hills, similar situation in the Great Scottish Run where the climb through Pollok Park is a particular trigger.

I survived an SCA at a race a few years ago but I was 'lucky' to collapse at the finish and the Red Cross were quickly available with an AED. I wonder if they have someone in place at Leith?

harry-s

BikerGroveish wrote:

I was chatting to someone who did the event and was on that stretch when the crash happened. He said it looked like the guy sat up and turned round then his bars twitched and he went straight over the top whilst still facing away.

If that’s true, it’s a pretty stupid thing to do for someone sitting near the front of a bunch doing nearly 30mph. He probably rode away without any idea of the carnage he left behind him.

harry-s

Ah, just seen the ‘over the top’ bit.
Still stupid though.

capt_slog

I've ridden it in 2016 and 17, thankfully both in good weather. I felt I could help out with advice so I have been doing so on a facebook page.

I was quite surprised at the lack of preparation by some of the group members. I'm not talking about training here, but the logistics side of it.

I'll admit to being a bit over the top in my planning. I had my hotel booked for RL2018 in October 2017, and had to cancel when I didn't get a place. I also knew from google streetview, what every junction looked like for the ride from my hotel to the start (for 2017's ride).

So I was boggled to read on Sunday morning that a rider had joined a group of riders and only 8 miles further on, realised that they weren't heading for the start as he'd originally thought, they were on the course and he was going in the opposite direction!

Ben6899

Capt Slog wrote:

So I was boggled to read on Sunday morning that a rider had joined a group of riders and only 8 miles further on, realised that they weren't heading for the start as he'd originally thought, they were on the course and he was going in the opposite direction!

I'd be interested to hear where he joined the course...

fenix

Ha ha - genius !

ryan_w-2

Set off at 0544.

Stayed with the bunch to Newlands.
Started to feel strange. Out the back I went.
No power / energy by Leith and crawled up it.
Started to lose my vision and use of hands.
Freewheeled down Leith to medical point and stumbled into ambulance with mild hypothermia and shock.
I was frozen with a body temp of 34.1, in complete agony.

Strange since I’m a big guy and always run hot.

Spent two hours defrosting and then went solo to the finish in my homemade poncho made from my medical blanket.

4h23m moving, 6h29m total.

Note to self: Take a rain jacket if forecast even slightly suggest there may be rain.

Ben6899

Sh1t Ryan, glad you came out of that little ordeal okay! That must have been a lonely 30miles or so, given the circumstances.

capt_slog

Ben6899 wrote:

Capt Slog wrote:

So I was boggled to read on Sunday morning that a rider had joined a group of riders and only 8 miles further on, realised that they weren't heading for the start as he'd originally thought, they were on the course and he was going in the opposite direction!

I'd be interested to hear where he joined the course...

I doubt that he knew!

BTW I've also read of tacks and nails being on the course, near Leatherhead, anyone else had any news of this?

ugo.santalucia

Staggering accounts of poor pre-ride decisions and general "wanna-be-a-PRO neediness"...

One would think I'm reading a thread on Shackleton's polar expedition, but no... 100 mile fully supported ride in Surrey in late July

fenix

Sounds nasty Ryan. Had you had a hard couple of days before Sunday or eaten a bit less than normal ?

A jacket is always a good idea as backup - you might be ok if you are riding and creating warmth - but one mechanical and you can be in bother.

Ben6899

Capt Slog wrote:

I doubt that he knew!

BTW I've also read of tacks and nails being on the course, near Leatherhead, anyone else had any news of this?

No sign of tacks from our perspective. We were five and we only had one flat, caused by a staple at about 30/35miles.

ryan_w-2

Ugo: Not trying to be a pro at all you knob.

I removed my baselayer and left my gilet in my bag at the start since it was warming up and forecast said 7% chance of rain at 10am when I’d be pretty much finished.


Fenix: I had been training hard and eating well. Wasn’t down to conditioning at all. Even during the ride I was eating / drinking to a schedule to avoid any bonking.

I’d felt a little ropey the day before and had an early night. May have had something to do with it, but before the cold set in, something wasn’t right. Maybe could have even over done it leading up to the event, I dunno.

ugo.santalucia

Ryan_W wrote:

Ugo: Not trying to be a pro at all you knob.

.

... then you fall in the "bad pre-ride decision" category...

it just staggers me that folks fxck it up so much, taking ludicrous forecast gambles, that they end up needing to be treated for hypothermia.

fenix

Bit harsh Ugo. I think we've had about two months of fantastic sun and heat in the UK - doesn't take long to lull us into a false sense of security.

bigmitch41

My first attempt at the Ride London this year! Being a paracyclist from the Isle of Man it was fitting to be raising funds for the Spinal Injury Association having lost the use of my left arm from a motorcycle accident resulting in life changing sci back in 2001. Our team of 6 arrived on Friday amongst the heat wave that was furnace Friday, we enjoyed a couple of easy spins into London City, slightly different to the quite country roads that I'm used to but we coped ok considering, had a wobble round the free ride on Saturday and checked out the sights!
Got to my Blue (J) holding area for 7am on Sunday morning, one hour before my 8am start time and watched the heavy rain clouds rolling in! By the time we rolled out at 8am it was raining and that was to be the story for the whole of the ride, wet wet wet!
I cracked on anyway on my own as the rest of the team all had different start times, I was a bit surprised to see so many punctures? Looking at the profile I had planned a water stop 25 miles in at the Hub, as I approached completely soaked I also picked up my own puncture... and a hole in my rear tyre! Thankfully after queuing up at the Sigma sports mechanic assisted awning one of the marshals spotted I was suffering from the drop in temperature and handed me a life saving poncho and a soggy banana, it was just after this moment I spotted fellow team mate Paul Warburton (also punctured) and after I was fixed with a new tyre and inner tube we picked up a decent pace which was to include more water stops, the best piece of cake and cuppa ive ever had at Leatherhead (75 miles in), and smashing the Box Hill and Leith Hill climbs with our Manx climbing accustomed legs, the last 10 miles including down hills and a tail wind should of been a breeze, until I picked up another front wheel puncture 4 miles from the finish! Thanks to team mate Paul for a fast repair we rolled over the finish line together and located the rest of team, who also suffered with the dreaded flat tyre syndrome! All in a great experience and together with contributions from Conister Bank and Edgewater Associates plus sponsorship from the generous people on our Team ManxWheelers Just Giving page, and collection boxes in the Raven Hotel Ballaugh, we have smashed our target of £3.5k! A great experience and hopefully one to be repeated.... next year?

100miles, 2 punctures and a rear tyre..................... 5 hours 50 minutes and a finisher’s medal!

Finally thoughts and condolences to the rider who passed away at the 56 mile mark, the medics had just arrived as we passed Him, however they were unable to save him, RIP Nigel.
#Team ManxWheelers
BigMitch

ugo.santalucia

Fenix wrote:

Bit harsh Ugo. I think we've had about two months of fantastic sun and heat in the UK - doesn't take long to lull us into a false sense of security.

Look, I was helping out at the Mille Cymru last week... riders started with 30 degrees on thursday and finished saturday and sunday with 12 degrees and torrential rain in Snowdonia and then Shropshire... nobody needed treatment for hypothermia and nobody really complained about the conditions... somebody even made his way home on a bike (fixed gear for what that matters) after the event

https://www.strava.com/activities/1736497095

I think some folks who have been cycling for years should really know better than gambling with a forecast

vpnikolov

Ryan_W wrote:

Set off at 0544.

Stayed with the bunch to Newlands.
Started to feel strange. Out the back I went.
No power / energy by Leith and crawled up it.
Started to lose my vision and use of hands.
Freewheeled down Leith to medical point and stumbled into ambulance with mild hypothermia and shock.
I was frozen with a body temp of 34.1, in complete agony.

Jesus, it is like I wrote that. Absolutely the same happened, lost all power just before Leith and had to stop for about 5 minutes to bring back all my senses. It was a grim day out... I was expecting rain and at least had a gilet and a pair of overshoes on which kept my feet kind of warm.

My next purchase is a lightweight rain jacket.

ugo.santalucia