Ride London 2019 anyone?

Matthewfalle

Daniel B wrote:

What a phenomenal weekend - think we were spoiled by the weather though to be honest.

Drove in for 11 on Saturday, my gf dropped me near the excel to collect my pack, no queue at all, and I managed to dodge the security guard so I went straight back out again - literally in and out in 5 minutes.

Onto our car parking space near St Katherines Dock for midday, lug the bikes out, and cycle into the free cycle route.
My nearly 6 year old daughter LOVED it, she was flying along, I had to sprint to keep up with her at times, 18-20mph along the mild descent along Chancery lane way.
Lovely atmosphere all the way round.

Slight disappointment was the 'festival' element, as it was rammed, and food was very pricey - in future would take a picnic, but we were a bit short for time in this instance.

Ended up riding 1.5 times around the free ride route and my daughter must have ridden about 10 miles, so the furthest she has ridden in one hit.
Cycled back to the car park, stashed the bikes in the van, off to a lovely Italian restaurant for a pasta-fueled dinner, and zero alcohol.

Drove to our B&B about 3.5 miles west of Stratford, early night for all - luckily my daughter was suitably knackered due to all of the cycling.
There was at least three other ride Londoners within the B&B, all with bikes in rooms!

Sorted the numbers out for my bike, omitted the optional helmet number, but seat post and handlebar one went on with a bit of modification.

Had already decided to shelve the top tube bag, as it made the Foil look horrendous, and would have needed oodles of helicopter tape to stop it knackering the finish.
Had a large saddlebag, so stashed tubes, pump, mini tool and some high 5 tablets in there.

Did not sleep brilliantly as it happens, but probably bagged 5-6 hours, so not too shabby.
Up at just gone four, couple of coffees & a shower, before getting changed and heading out.

Was pleased to have my tiny stuff jacket, as there was still a nip in the air at 05:30, and kept it on whilst queueing to go.
Not long after leaving, saw a group of four in front, one of their bottles came out, or was dropped, and was then exploded by a following car, not the best start for them.

Had underestimated the quantity of cycle traffic there would be, it was very slow moving, and took a good while to pick your way along to your start point - also saw a small percentage of participants riding on the wrong side of the road\going through red lights etc, and incurring the wrath and horn tooting of upset motorists.

Made it into my wave with a tiny amount of time to spare, although looking around me, I could see that there were people there even later than me, so clearly they are not too strict on it, and saw no one checking number fitment etc.
As luck would have it, a chap I have ridden with before was right behind me in the pen, so that passed the time as I chatted to him, and ate my oat breakfast bars.
We then saw another chap we know coming in, who is very fast, and he joined us after about 7 miles.
The start (07:12) was all fine, no dramas, and things thinned out pretty quickly imho, also quite wide roads, so became clear that the slower ones would generally stick to the left, leaving the right hand side of the road open.

I ended up working with the chap behind me in the pen for about 7 miles, and then the other chap we knew flew past, so we hopped on his wheel, however at about mile 10 I was gapped, and at the speed they were going, I realised there was no way I was going to make it back to them, and safely finish the day, so started surfing wheels a bit, jumping into impromptu trains.

I am pleased to say I vastly overloaded on fueling, so that was a positive.
I am definitely a big fan of the clif blok tropical flavour, and they were so easy to eat.
I stuck six in my rear pocket, and cut the tops off all of them; I could easily reach into the pocket, and squeeze them up and out of the tube one at a time, as and when I needed them.
There are six in a pack, and I ended up consuming 20 blocks over the day, so just over three packs.
I only stopped once for water, at around 65 miles, post hills, and took the opportunity to chug down an energy bar at the same time (from my own supplies) before heading off again.

Bumped into the chap I work with along the way several times, we yo yo'd back and forth a good few times, and I think he finished just a bit after me, as I lost him at the top of the little hill into Wimbledon.
Speaking of hills, all were open and accessible when I reached them.

I was tentative, so took Newlands easyish, Leith was longer, but manageable with my gearing, and I opened up the taps for box hill, just sat in a gear, not bottom iirc, and spun up, only overtaken by one person, but that was only because I didn't realise I was within 10m of the top.
Checked times on Strava, and of the times for the last month, was in the top 10%, so pretty darned chuffed with that.
The superb road surface makes a HUGE difference I would say.

I was pretty constantly calling out 'coming past on your right' followed by 'thankyou!' but that was all fine and uneventful, just had to back off once on box hill, as could see the gap was going to be closed, but not for long.

I descended fast, but did not really take any big risks really, though I did see a couple of accidents that had already happened and some dangerous riding if we are being honest.
One chap missed the hub stop where I was just pulling out of, and came to a dead stop in front of me – he did apologise though.
Didn’t see too many weavers, or chopping going on, though when the shorter routes merged, a lot more caution was required to make progress.

We were stopped by the organisers 4 or 5 times I think, the longest one being about 15 miles out, which I think was to shepherd pedestrians across a road

In the last 5 miles, I was starting to run on vapours, it has to be said, but I still had enough energy left to want to sprint on the mall, but by then there were simply too many people to make it safe to do so.

In hindsight, had I stayed with those 2 guys for a further 20 miles I would likely have gone sub 5 hour (They recorder 4:40 and 4:28 respectively) and also I found I wasn't sitting in groups or trains for anything like long enough really, I would get in the line, or on the wheel, and then get bored, and go past.
I think I did my fair amount of towing during the day, which is fine of course, but I think I would have had a quicker time had I ridden it more intelligently, and sat in the wheels a bit more, I think my problem\lack of inexperience\excitement reared its head with being able to find a group that was the right speed for me to sit in\assist with for a period.
But that's for next year (hopefully!)

My moving time was 4:57 (19.9 average), total time 5:09 - I reckon 3-4 minutes for my water and energy bar stop, and the rest was down to the enforced stops.
I was aiming for sub 6, so very happy with that.

Was my best day out on a bike so far, though I have yet to visit any mountains in Europe

excellent write up - thank you very much

#gooddayout

Ben6899

Great write-up, Daniel, thanks for sharing.

And that is a lot of Clif Bloks!

elbowloh

Yes indeed, i had 1 pack of them (tropical also) and 2 clif bars. In hindsight, maybe not enough!

alanparsons

Did it for the first (and last) time yesterday.
Bought into Club 200 (£500 per pair, start/finish line Hospitality and no queueing in pens).
Now £250 each sounds like a lot for a sportive, but getting in early (last November) saved us over £100 each on hotel prices. Then add on breakfast at the Velodrome, dedicated kit transfer, short cut to start point and choice of start time (6:32). At the finish kit is laid out to collect you can put your bike in a secure bike park and then into Hospitality Marquee 300m from the finish line. Washing facilities are available, so got changed and then got to relax with free flowing beer,wine and soft drinks. 4 course food served all afternoon. So good that Sir Dave Brailsford joined us for his post ride re-fuel.
As for the ride it was fairly easy, after a good fast start once outside of M25 is was standard crappy UK roads until Newlands climb. Re-grouped with ride partner at the top and filled bidons, Leith hill was unexpectedly difficult due to slow moving traffic, so I just settled down and went with the flow (8mph), my mate battled on ahead never to be seen again.
Descent off Leith was shocking, 20 yards ahead someone decided to brake hard and it all turned to sh*t very quickly, I was lucky/skilful (open to debate) locked up back wheel, pulled left foot out and speedway style managed to avoid coming off.
This was all at 30mph+, looked over shoulder to see the aftermath of what looked like at least 5 people on the deck.
Unfortunate result of this was a destroyed cleat in left shoe which didn't clip back in properly and needed to trim the shredded plastic at the top of Box Hill.
Overall a very enjoyable experience, but I have no desire to do it again. Route is unlikely to change much and the weather could only be worse.

Edit.
In addition to the above, Club 200 gets you a RL100 rucksack. This is advertised as RRP £90, I guess Ebay will reveal the true value of it.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Prudential-R ... SwrlpdPyFd

Longshot

I did my 5th RideLondon yesterday and I think it'll be the last, at least for the next few years.

We had a 7.52 start time so were in the thick of it numbers wise. The ride through London flew by as always and we were in Richmond Park before we knew it. We kept up the speed down to Ripley, where stopped to say hello to family and friends. We'd already had to stop in Pyrford because of a crash on a very benign stretch of road - no idea what happened there. We also saw another crash at the foot of the hill by St Nicholas's Church but the marshals were only just getting there so hadn't stopped anyone passing by then. There was yet another crash - nasty one this time - on a small bridge/pinchpoint on Ripley Lane on the run up to East Clandon. Someone had been pushed (accidentally I believe) over the side into the stream so there was a 20 minute delay there.

Newlands was fine but stopped at the top for more water. It was getting hot at this stage and from then on it was a fight to get down enough water to replace the amount I was losing through my skin. We got held up at the foot of Leith Hill where they were sending us up in waves - no sign of a crash though. I picked a nice wide gap on the descent and stayed there rather than bombing down. It's a tricky descent if you don't know it and there's too many people who don't on the PRL.

Dorking was clear for once and Box Hill was fine. We even made it up it Headley Lane for once without a standing queue half way up - I was warning other riders to be wary about that just before we got there. The rest of the ride to be honest was uneventful. I liked the revised finish route from Parliament Square. 5.54 riding time averaging 16.8 mph and I'm pleased with that. I expected to be over 6 hours so no complaints.

The highlight of the event for me was being allowed in the Amstel Zone and getting two free beers!

As I said, this was my 5th time in PRL100. I usually enter because it's on my doorstep and it's nice to ride closed roads. However, I'm bored with it to be honest. Also, I really don't like the number of riders they allow into it. I'm all for letting inexperienced cyclists take part in such events - that was me seven years ago - but it's overcrowded and, at times, dangerous. The speed differential between the faster and slower riders is just too great. I saw a few fancy dress kits out there yesterday and that's the nail in the coffin for me. It'll be London to Brighton soon with 45 minutes queues at the foot of every hill. I'm a poor climber because I'm fat but there were people pushing bikes up the most innocuous slopes yesterday. In fact, I was amazed by the number of people I passed throughout the day. As a very mediocre mamil, I was towards the right hand side of the road (for the right reason!) for most of the day. I got passed by plenty of proper riders but less than the number I overtook which I found surprising.

Having said that, it is an amazing event. The crowds are brilliant and you get cheered on all over the place. There's generally a great sense of camaraderie and there's little better than riding on closed roads. Finishing an event on The Mall is a great moment and I recommend it anyone at least once but I would strongly advise trying to bribe your way into an early start time!

PS: I'm a big fan of Bloks but prefer the Margarita flavour. I alternated those with Clif Bars for the ride and they worked well.

daniel_b

Thanks MF and Ben :-)

elbowloh wrote:

Yes indeed, i had 1 pack of them (tropical also) and 2 clif bars. In hindsight, maybe not enough!

Only ONE pack!

I WAY over loaded, my pockets were stuffed - from memory:
6 packs of clif bloks (Just over 3 consumed)
4 energy bars - 1 consumed
6 gels - none consumed

I would have taken less IF I was planning to stop and take advantage of the feed stops, but I wanted to be as self sufficient as I could be and not let the stops dictate when I stopped.

Thinking about it, having only used two bottles for the first 65ish mies was probably not quite right, as I refilled, and then finished those two bottles within a mile of the finish.

Sorry to hear of your event Alan P, that does sound very much like an AG2R shorts moment :?


@Longshot - this is my first venture into Clif Bloks, but I am sold.

I went for Tropical as it contained caffeine - does the Margherita also have caffeine?

Ben6899

Longshot wrote:

I did my 5th RideLondon yesterday...

Genuine question, what are your "diversity" answers when completing the ballot?

I've applied every year since the first and only ridden it once to raise money for UNICEF; never succeeded in the ballot and I'm pretty sure it's because of my "diversity" answers.

daniel_b

Ben6899 wrote:

Longshot wrote:

I did my 5th RideLondon yesterday...

Genuine question, what are your "diversity" answers when completing the ballot?

I've applied every year since the first and only ridden it once to raise money for UNICEF; never succeeded in the ballot and I'm pretty sure it's because of my "diversity" answers.

I appreciate this was not asked or me, but those questions always p1ss me right off, and I am technically 'diverse' but it makes my bloody boil (personal opinion)

I have applied 3 times before, this time got in through my local club.

elbowloh

Daniel B wrote:

Thanks MF and Ben :-)

elbowloh wrote:

Yes indeed, i had 1 pack of them (tropical also) and 2 clif bars. In hindsight, maybe not enough!

Only ONE pack!

I WAY over loaded, my pockets were stuffed - from memory:
6 packs of clif bloks (Just over 3 consumed)
4 energy bars - 1 consumed
6 gels - none consumed

I would have taken less IF I was planning to stop and take advantage of the feed stops, but I wanted to be as self sufficient as I could be and not let the stops dictate when I stopped.

Thinking about it, having only used two bottles for the first 65ish mies was probably not quite right, as I refilled, and then finished those two bottles within a mile of the finish.

Sorry to hear of your event Alan P, that does sound very much like an AG2R shorts moment :?


@Longshot - this is my first venture into Clif Bloks, but I am sold.

I went for Tropical as it contained caffeine - does the Margherita also have caffeine?

Yeah, i had 1 packet of Bloks (consumed)
1 feebie pack of High5 jellies from the sjow (but didn't consume)
1 clif bar (consimed)
1 Rawvelo bar, tried them at the show and liked them (consumed)
I also only drank 2 bottles until the water stop at the top of box and then drank both bottles the last 35miles.

Definitely think i should have eaten more and certainly drank more, but didn't want to stop until after Leith as a minimum.

Edit:
I've not tried the margherita, but the strawberry, cherry and cola are good!

I've tried the ballot every year since it began and only go in once previously (2014, when it was cut short to 84 miles), this time i had a charity place.

I am mixed ethnicity, and it's not helped me!

-Dash

Longshot wrote:

The highlight of the event for me was being allowed in the Amstel Zone and getting two free beers!

That part was a bit of a mess. Went to first Amstel area "go round the corner for Amstel Ride Together area". Went round corner as directed. "Oh, this entrance is just for guests to get accredited. Riders have to go about 500m all the way round." . So my guest could literally walk straight in from where we were but I, the rider that had ridden the event, had to walk a fair distance round. I then asked is the bar even open "Nope, doesn't open until 12PM". So it was basically just massages available. I couldn't be bothered to walk round.

Perhaps expecting beer at 10:30am was a bit much

Longshot

Ben6899 wrote:

Longshot wrote:

I did my 5th RideLondon yesterday...

Genuine question, what are your "diversity" answers when completing the ballot?

I've applied every year since the first and only ridden it once to raise money for UNICEF; never succeeded in the ballot and I'm pretty sure it's because of my "diversity" answers.

No, I'm not remotely diverse, sorry.

Year 1 - Got through Ballot
Year 2 - Didn't get in
Year 3 - Rode as an imposter (friend got place and didn't want to do it)
Year 4 - Got in through the Business 'Peloton relay' team route
Year 5 - Got in through Ballot
Year 6 - Didn't get in
Year 7 - Didn't get a main ballot place but got a team entry through the Amstel Ride Together Ballot

Longshot

Daniel B wrote:

@Longshot - this is my first venture into Clif Bloks, but I am sold.

I went for Tropical as it contained caffeine - does the Margherita also have caffeine?

No, don't think so but it is salty :?

elbowloh

-Dash wrote:

Longshot wrote:

The highlight of the event for me was being allowed in the Amstel Zone and getting two free beers!

That part was a bit of a mess. Went to first Amstel area "go round the corner for Amstel Ride Together area". Went round corner as directed. "Oh, this entrance is just for guests to get accredited. Riders have to go about 500m all the way round." . So my guest could literally walk straight in from where we were but I, the rider that had ridden the event, had to walk a fair distance round. I then asked is the bar even open "Nope, doesn't open until 12PM". So it was basically just massages available. I couldn't be bothered to walk round.

Perhaps expecting beer at 10:30am was a bit much

Was there anywhere else to get beer and pizza?

I really wanted pizza, but the only place for pizza was on the Amstel area. Got a burger in the end, after a 30 minute queue (the queue was longer at the other burger place).

daniel_b

Longshot wrote:

Daniel B wrote:

@Longshot - this is my first venture into Clif Bloks, but I am sold.

I went for Tropical as it contained caffeine - does the Margherita also have caffeine?

No, don't think so but it is salty :?

You're not selling it to me

homers_double

I've entered 2020 on the off chance I get in.

Ben6899

Longshot wrote:

Ben6899 wrote:

Longshot wrote:

I did my 5th RideLondon yesterday...

Genuine question, what are your "diversity" answers when completing the ballot?

I've applied every year since the first and only ridden it once to raise money for UNICEF; never succeeded in the ballot and I'm pretty sure it's because of my "diversity" answers.

No, I'm not remotely diverse, sorry.

Year 1 - Got through Ballot
Year 2 - Didn't get in
Year 3 - Rode as an imposter (friend got place and didn't want to do it)
Year 4 - Got in through the Business 'Peloton relay' team route
Year 5 - Got in through Ballot
Year 6 - Didn't get in
Year 7 - Didn't get a main ballot place but got a team entry through the Amstel Ride Together Ballot

To be fair, it sounds like you wanted it more than I did!

fenix

Daniel B wrote:

I WAY over loaded, my pockets were stuffed - from memory:
6 packs of clif bloks (Just over 3 consumed)
4 energy bars - 1 consumed
6 gels - none consumed

Would you normally take that food for a century ride or so ? That's a lot of calories ?

Longshot

Ben6899 wrote:

Longshot wrote:

Ben6899 wrote:

Longshot wrote:

I did my 5th RideLondon yesterday...

Genuine question, what are your "diversity" answers when completing the ballot?

I've applied every year since the first and only ridden it once to raise money for UNICEF; never succeeded in the ballot and I'm pretty sure it's because of my "diversity" answers.

No, I'm not remotely diverse, sorry.

Year 1 - Got through Ballot
Year 2 - Didn't get in
Year 3 - Rode as an imposter (friend got place and didn't want to do it)
Year 4 - Got in through the Business 'Peloton relay' team route
Year 5 - Got in through Ballot
Year 6 - Didn't get in
Year 7 - Didn't get a main ballot place but got a team entry through the Amstel Ride Together Ballot

To be fair, it sounds like you wanted it more than I did!

I'm nothing if not persistent.

It's worth noting though that the two times I didn't get in it rained like a b*stard on the day. Anyone entering next year may want to check with me first as to whether I'm doing before they pack for the event.

Tashman

I've never ridden as far before so took 4 gels (1 consumed), 3 Aldi Hike protein bars (all eaten) and a bag of Jelly babies (2/3 eaten). Completely forgot to eat any of it until Hampton court when I refilled 1 of my 2 bottles. Was starting to feel a little heady at that point but the jelly baby and High5 bar I picked up at the hub soon sorted that. Also stopped at Box to refill bottles.

Amstell bar was odd, having to queue to be allowed to join the queue once you'd been given a wrist band. Probably took 1/2 hour to get a pint!

homers_double

When I rode it last year we got to the tent and couldn't be bothered with it so just jumped on the bikes and went back to the hotel.

It's probably the easiest 100 miler I've ever done so I'll gladly do it again as I expect the bad riding and such will mainly be in the very fast groups where people are competing. We took it as a sportive and rode for fun, but opened up the taps on the last few miles which being pan flat and on closed roads in the middle of London needed to be appreciated.

-Dash

elbowloh wrote:

-Dash wrote:

Longshot wrote:

The highlight of the event for me was being allowed in the Amstel Zone and getting two free beers!

That part was a bit of a mess. Went to first Amstel area "go round the corner for Amstel Ride Together area". Went round corner as directed. "Oh, this entrance is just for guests to get accredited. Riders have to go about 500m all the way round." . So my guest could literally walk straight in from where we were but I, the rider that had ridden the event, had to walk a fair distance round. I then asked is the bar even open "Nope, doesn't open until 12PM". So it was basically just massages available. I couldn't be bothered to walk round.

Perhaps expecting beer at 10:30am was a bit much

Was there anywhere else to get beer and pizza?

I really wanted pizza, but the only place for pizza was on the Amstel area. Got a burger in the end, after a 30 minute queue (the queue was longer at the other burger place).

Didn't realise there was pizza in Amstel area. There was a couple of stalls in the middle of Green Park but didn't look great. Went to M&S and it was closed so went round the corner to a Tesco express.

daniel_b

Fenix wrote:

Daniel B wrote:

I WAY over loaded, my pockets were stuffed - from memory:
6 packs of clif bloks (Just over 3 consumed)
4 energy bars - 1 consumed
6 gels - none consumed

Would you normally take that food for a century ride or so ? That's a lot of calories ?

No I would not, but I would normally have at least a lunch stop on a century ride if it's not an organised event, and probably a cafe stop too - if it's a sportive, I have hammered the various food offerings at feed stops as well.
In the early days I would literally start with two bottles of water, and maybe a cereal bar.

I have experienced the dreaded 'bonk' before, and it was a dangerous, and thoroughly traumatic experience, so never one I want to revisit!

handful

I'm not going to try and match Daniel's review but FWIW I thoroughly enjoyed my first London 100, in fact my first century ride at the ripe old age of 57. I got in after 5 years of trying through the ballot with no variation on the diversity questions. I had a 15 mile ride to the start which wasn't ideal and I arrived late for my wave due to it taking longer than expected and having trouble finding my start location ( I wasn't the only one) and tat probably cost me a decent run at the hills. There were a couple of what looked like serious accidents which meant some waiting and a bit of a walk before Leith Hill. Overall the quality of the riding was better than expected from a safety point of view but I was surprised by the number of walkers on anything remotely steep.

An awful night's sleep and a poor day's preparation on Saturday (pounding the streets and on my feet all day) coupled with the 15 mile ride in affected my confidence a bit but I got round without too much trouble and achieved my pre-ride target which was to complete a sub 6 hour ride. Not on the official chip time but that was due to the waiting, actual moving time on Garmin including the walking was 5hr 48m with an average of 17mph. Having now done the hills they definitely are exaggerated as "challenges" and shouldn't hold any fears for anyone who does any climbing on their normal rides because I am a long way short of being a good climber.

I only stopped twice for a pee and water refills and took my nutrition "on the hoof", a few gels, 3 energy bars from Decathlon and a piece of flapjack and suffered no cramp and energy levels felt pretty good. Plenty of water and electrolyte as well. Not getting cramp is very unusual for me but I did put a decent amount of training in and I'm convinced that's what I need to prevent cramp. Anyway, I hope this helps others contemplating the ride. I would do it again, maybe not next year but maybe in a couple but as others have said, the weather will never be better than yesterday. Perfect conditions.

CptKernow

Personally I loved it but the mix of inexperienced and super-competitive riders is asking for trouble. Didn't see any crashes myself but when you have groups of 10+ riders heading into unfamiliar bends at full speed with random riders strung out across the road... something of a miracle. Plenty of road furniture and other everyday hazards too.

Climbs were pretty tame. Barely noticed Newlands, Leith was proper and Box Hill was only hard because I was chasing some guy who then pulled off at the stop.

Anyway, I got a far better time than was hoping for, including apparently 7th fastest for the 12 miles through Central London. Already applied for next year's ballot...

daniel_b

Daniel B wrote:

Fenix wrote:

Daniel B wrote:

I WAY over loaded, my pockets were stuffed - from memory:
6 packs of clif bloks (Just over 3 consumed)
4 energy bars - 1 consumed
6 gels - none consumed

Would you normally take that food for a century ride or so ? That's a lot of calories ?

No I would not, but I would normally have at least a lunch stop on a century ride if it's not an organised event, and probably a cafe stop too - if it's a sportive, I have hammered the various food offerings at feed stops as well.
In the early days I would literally start with two bottles of water, and maybe a cereal bar.

I have experienced the dreaded 'bonk' before, and it was a dangerous, and thoroughly traumatic experience, so never one I want to revisit!

Decided to read the clif blok guidelines, bit late I realise
They recommend between 3-6 bloks per hour of exercise, so that would be between 15-30 for me, but if I base it on 4 hours, as I ate nothing for the 1st hour, having had a 600ish calorie breakfast, that would put it at 12-24, so still within normal levels.

Had assumed they would be calorific, but 20 are 'only' 640 calories, and my energy bar only puts that up to 770, plus breakfast totals up at about 1400 calories consumed, think Strava reckoned about 2500 calories burned for the ride, no real idea how accurate that calculation is.
My power meter was under reading, not sure if it would combine that with hr readings or not.

itboffin

I think you're all over calculating the energy used for a flat 100 mile ride, a normal breakfast of say eggs beans and a couple of slices of toast should be more than enough unless you're pushing a 25 mph avg. drink plenty of water and maybe a couple of electrolyte tabs at the beginning, sorry but ride London shouldn't require anyone to be taking gels, real food is the key not just for RL if you can face it

awavey

and where do you get eggs beans and toast at 4am on Sunday in a travelodge from ? Id struggle to eat that even if it were available that time of the morning.

when I did a 100 mile sportive,not Ride London though I doubt its much different, I had a cup-a-porridge with boiled water, which is even more horrible than it is with milk, and kept topped up via bananas and whatever biscuits/crisps were offered at food stops,& water, I had 3 gels, I think I used 2 of them back half of the ride, they were easy to consume carbs, easy to carry around, and you arent going to find yourself stuck between food stops running out of gas.

ultimately you do what works for you,if gels work for you, use them, if they dont knock yourself out with real food instead, there is no should or shouldnt to my mind on how you fuel for a long distance ride

rick_chasey

itboffin wrote:

I think you're all over calculating the energy used for a flat 100 mile ride, a normal breakfast of say eggs beans and a couple of slices of toast should be more than enough unless you're pushing a 25 mph avg. drink plenty of water and maybe a couple of electrolyte tabs at the beginning, sorry but ride London shouldn't require anyone to be taking gels, real food is the key not just for RL if you can face it

If ya have fat reserves

RossoCorso34

awavey wrote:

and where do you get eggs beans and toast at 4am on Sunday in a travelodge from ? Id struggle to eat that even if it were available that time of the morning.

when I did a 100 mile sportive,not Ride London though I doubt its much different, I had a cup-a-porridge with boiled water, which is even more horrible than it is with milk, and kept topped up via bananas and whatever biscuits/crisps were offered at food stops,& water, I had 3 gels, I think I used 2 of them back half of the ride, they were easy to consume carbs, easy to carry around, and you arent going to find yourself stuck between food stops running out of gas.

ultimately you do what works for you,if gels work for you, use them, if they dont knock yourself out with real food instead, there is no should or shouldnt to my mind on how you fuel for a long distance ride

Agreed on this. Also the porridge in a pot is hard to swallow down, even the flavoured ones. Fuelling on a bike is totally personal, some of us are efficient, some of us aren't.

daniel_b

Rick Chasey wrote:

itboffin wrote:

I think you're all over calculating the energy used for a flat 100 mile ride, a normal breakfast of say eggs beans and a couple of slices of toast should be more than enough unless you're pushing a 25 mph avg. drink plenty of water and maybe a couple of electrolyte tabs at the beginning, sorry but ride London shouldn't require anyone to be taking gels, real food is the key not just for RL if you can face it

If ya have fat reserves

Lol, at sub 63kg currently, my reserves are low.
Tried to top that up today with a doughnut and muffins.

I know from experience I could not have finished in the time I did without assistance beyond real food. And to complete a century for the first time without a dip in energy mid ride, made for a really pleasant change. In fact I wonder if that made the biggest difference to my enjoyment, often I used to struggle from 50-70miles in, and then my legs would come back to me for the last section.
A portion of that could of course be put down to improved fitness / w/kg.

Real food also takes up many times the space of clif bloks, and will generally not seperate easily and mess free into bite size pieces.

In addition, there's no way I could stomach a cooked breakfast at 04:30, though the 3 lidl porridge oat bars I had for 'breakfast' were real food, and contained *no special cycling ingredients!

*To the best of my knowledge