Ride London 2019 anyone?
Comments
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I also took part on Sunday and had...a brilliant time. Didn't see too much bad riding (only one incident springs to mind) but I did start early and was pushing reasonably hard. Finished the course in 4:55 which I was pretty happy with.
I was annoyed with a rolling road block in Putney which nearly caused a mass pileup, getting stuck behind a van on Box Hill (!!!??!) and having to stop while a lorry reversed at Kingston Gate in the Park but nothing too bad really.
It did seem busy at the start but soon spaced out and there wasn't too much trouble at Leith although I think the descent is way too dangerous once it starts packing out. I wonder if they would be better off taking people into Dorking through Cold Harbour instead although the roads are quite narrow there (but less steep).
I did think that the stations were a disgrace this year, I only ever stop at the top of Box for a bottle refill but this year there was no food and "only 1 tablet per person" for liquids. Way, way worse than last year.
I always said that I'd stop after I broke the 5 hour barrier but I think I'll apply for the ballot anyway, it gives you the impetus to do more cycling in the summer to get up to 'race pace'!Giant Defy Advanced 0 - Best
Planet X London Road - Wet
Montague Fit - Foldy thing that rarely gets used these days0 -
Looking through this I just need to ask people know it's not a race? There is no competitive element to it. The medal you get at the end is for completion. There is no tour of the TV chat show circuit afterwards.
By all means measure yourself against your your own sense of achievement or personal target. I've stopped doing sportives because of the flat track bullies who just don't have consideration for other riders. Riding along like they are some sort of superstar but at the same time putting others at risk.
If you want to race then go and enter a local circuit series, enter a local road race event or even a time trial. They are struggling in some areas for riders and races are being cancelled.0 -
Early start for me 6:16 Blue D.
Found getting into the Olympic Park a bit of a shambles too many cyclists mixing with traffic. Bit of fun in the holding pen with the sprinkler system, did wonder why the floor was wet when we arrived, one guys bike got absolutely soaked when he was using the portaloo.
Got into some fast groups for he first 30miles through London, overall all good riding, clear indications of hazards etc.
Saw first major accident coming into Pyrford at 8. guy lying on the floor paramedics etc in attendance. Stopped at Pyrford to say hi to the parents and pick up my sunglasses I left in the car when my dad dropped me off in the morning.
Pretty quiet leaving Pyrford due to ambulance blocking road temporarily behind.
Saw my second accident leaving Ripley, guy just fell off his bike, i think he went over a small bump while trying to reach something in his pocket, it was fairly low speed so not too bad.
Pushed on to Newlands with a fast Belgium rider and a few tag alongs behind, dropped him on the climb.
Few people with mechanicals on Newlands one guys entire crank arm fell off another's chain was munched in the spokes.
Difficult to get into good groups through the hills with people riding different speeds. No hold ups though. Legs were struggling a bit after Box, smashed a gel and banana at Leatherhead hub. Managed to get into a good working group through to Wimbledon fast fun riding.
Had to slow just after Putney due the rolling road block traffic which had just been released. Did mean we had a big peloton of riders for the last few miles easily held 25mph on the final run in.
Bit disappointed by the lack of proper sprit finish, due to the finish line appearing so soon after the last bend and not going under admiralty arch.
Great day overall 4hr.41 on the wahoo 4.52 official unfortunately only 99.19miles.
Nice journey home to Pyrford on the train in this time
, chatting to some people getting off at Esher doing the 19miler.
Entered the ballot for next year, noticed I got the email in the starting pen.0 -
All in all I'm glad I did it after trying unsuccessfully for a few years but doubt I'll apply again. 6.24 start, everything went smooth, the first 40 miles were great, absolutely smashed it out with a good group. My knee started giving me a bit of jip on Newlands for some unknown reason so I took it easy for the rest of the route but got round in 5.00 flat so not too bad.
The last 20 miles or so was chaos when the 46 and 100 converged, I saw multiple crashes seemingly out of nowhere, mainly caused by choppers zipping in and out of people on hybrids who clearly weren't used to riding in huge groups.
Lost count of the amount of derailleurs I saw torn off by spokes.
Saw 3 people with bibs over their jerseys, no idea what that was about.0 -
J_MCD wrote:I did think that the stations were a disgrace this year, I only ever stop at the top of Box for a bottle refill but this year there was no food and "only 1 tablet per person" for liquids. Way, way worse than last year.
Is this in the dirt car park to the left after the viewpoint? I could have sworn I saw a sign saying cold drinks £1 and wondered if it was even an official stop. Maybe they do charge for proper soft drinks beyond water?
I didn't stop at any feed stops so have no experience to report. Considering a whole bunch of riders must have not stopped at all that's pretty poor if they were running out of supplies.0 -
Der Kaiser wrote:Looking through this I just need to ask people know it's not a race? There is no competitive element to it. The medal you get at the end is for completion. There is no tour of the TV chat show circuit afterwards.
By all means measure yourself against your your own sense of achievement or personal target. I've stopped doing sportives because of the flat track bullies who just don't have consideration for other riders. Riding along like they are some sort of superstar but at the same time putting others at risk.
If you want to race then go and enter a local circuit series, enter a local road race event or even a time trial. They are struggling in some areas for riders and races are being cancelled.
It is what it is, people have always ridden sportives looking to get round fast, if the organisers wish to discourage that then abandon the timing element.
I'd call sportives semi-competitive - no they aren't road races but they aren't audax either (yes I know the front end of a hilly audax can be pretty quick).[Castle Donington Ladies FC - going up in '22]0 -
SAmSurf wrote:Bit disappointed by the lack of proper sprit finish, due to the finish line appearing so soon after the last bend and not going under admiralty arch.
What would you be sprinting for?
Shame not to go under Admiralty Arch and ride more of the mall but there's no need for a sprint finish. I wouldn't be surprised if the turn into horse guards parade resulted in a few crashes with heroes getting ready for the "sprint".0 -
-Dash wrote:J_MCD wrote:I did think that the stations were a disgrace this year, I only ever stop at the top of Box for a bottle refill but this year there was no food and "only 1 tablet per person" for liquids. Way, way worse than last year.
Is this in the dirt car park to the left after the viewpoint? I could have sworn I saw a sign saying cold drinks £1 and wondered if it was even an official stop. Maybe they do charge for proper soft drinks beyond water?
I didn't stop at any feed stops so have no experience to report. Considering a whole bunch of riders must have not stopped at all that's pretty poor if they were running out of supplies.
It's always charged for food and drink up there. I generally only use the main hubs/water stations.You can fool some of the people all of the time. Concentrate on those people.0 -
Longshot wrote:-Dash wrote:J_MCD wrote:I did think that the stations were a disgrace this year, I only ever stop at the top of Box for a bottle refill but this year there was no food and "only 1 tablet per person" for liquids. Way, way worse than last year.
Is this in the dirt car park to the left after the viewpoint? I could have sworn I saw a sign saying cold drinks £1 and wondered if it was even an official stop. Maybe they do charge for proper soft drinks beyond water?
I didn't stop at any feed stops so have no experience to report. Considering a whole bunch of riders must have not stopped at all that's pretty poor if they were running out of supplies.
It's always charged for food and drink up there. I generally only use the main hubs/water stations.
So it's not an official food station? I didn't realise there were feed stations that aren't included in the entry price.0 -
DeVlaeminck wrote:Der Kaiser wrote:Looking through this I just need to ask people know it's not a race? There is no competitive element to it. The medal you get at the end is for completion. There is no tour of the TV chat show circuit afterwards.
By all means measure yourself against your your own sense of achievement or personal target. I've stopped doing sportives because of the flat track bullies who just don't have consideration for other riders. Riding along like they are some sort of superstar but at the same time putting others at risk.
If you want to race then go and enter a local circuit series, enter a local road race event or even a time trial. They are struggling in some areas for riders and races are being cancelled.
It is what it is, people have always ridden sportives looking to get round fast, if the organisers wish to discourage that then abandon the timing element.
I'd call sportives semi-competitive - no they aren't road races but they aren't audax either (yes I know the front end of a hilly audax can be pretty quick).
A sportive is a non competitive bike ride. It can't be competitive as there are no prizes for finishing further up the field. The challenge is getting round. Equally if it were competitive then it would require race officials and commisaires to disqualify riders.
Another problem is that the organisers have tried to put the London Marathon on bikes. Cram as many people on bikes onto narrow roads. Then cram some more on the short route. I enjoyed doing it a few years ago but I would rather not give my money to events like this. Simply because it's about taking as much money off people as they can.0 -
-Dash wrote:SAmSurf wrote:Bit disappointed by the lack of proper sprit finish, due to the finish line appearing so soon after the last bend and not going under admiralty arch.
What would you be sprinting for?
Shame not to go under Admiralty Arch and ride more of the mall but there's no need for a sprint finish. I wouldn't be surprised if the turn into horse guards parade resulted in a few crashes with heroes getting ready for the "sprint".
For the fun of it!0 -
-Dash wrote:
So it's not an official food station? I didn't realise there were feed stations that aren't included in the entry price.
Well, I checked and it is on the map as a hub with fee drinking water. I've always avoided it because of the charges involved (other than water). I always just go on until Leatherhead if I need something.You can fool some of the people all of the time. Concentrate on those people.0 -
Yes, we all know its not a race. I don't think i've seen anything in this thread apart from people talking about how they did against their own pre-ride estimate?Der Kaiser wrote:Looking through this I just need to ask people know it's not a race? There is no competitive element to it. The medal you get at the end is for completion. There is no tour of the TV chat show circuit afterwards.
By all means measure yourself against your your own sense of achievement or personal target. I've stopped doing sportives because of the flat track bullies who just don't have consideration for other riders. Riding along like they are some sort of superstar but at the same time putting others at risk.
If you want to race then go and enter a local circuit series, enter a local road race event or even a time trial. They are struggling in some areas for riders and races are being cancelled.0 -
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 am "diverse" and the only time I did it was for charity. Entered the ballot 4 times and have never got a place.0 -
I think i saw Fabian Cancellara at the end. He apparently took part in the 46.0
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It's not a raceBrakeless wrote:elbowloh wrote:I think i saw Fabian Cancellara at the end. He apparently took part in the 46.
Did he win it ?
(sorry, thought I'd get that one in first)Fat chopper. Some racing. Some testing. Some crashing.
Specialising in Git Daaahns and Cafs. Norvern Munkey/Transplanted Laaandoner.0 -
Cruff wrote:
When I finished the 100 there was a some chap there who'd done the 46 and finished so far ahead of the field that his belongings carrying truck hadn't even made it to the Mall yet. He looked a bit confused!Giant Defy Advanced 0 - Best
Planet X London Road - Wet
Montague Fit - Foldy thing that rarely gets used these days0 -
Martin Johnson was in my wave, he completed in 4.42. Quick for such a big unit!0
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I had an early start, Blue D at 0616 so prepared breakfast the night before, and scarfed it down on the way up - cold cheese omelette in a slice of bread washed down with Torq energy drink, then a banana and a gel.
Parked at Kipling St NCP and rode to the start along A11 with a load other riders.
The start was the usual super-efficient bang on time effort and the first 20 miles went by in well under an hour. The riding standard was quite good that early and I managed to find a few people to draft with, including a very fast woman in Royal Navy kit and a couple of decently quick club riders. Surprisingly there were a fair few people out at that time to cheer us on, which is always nice.
I thought the foodstops were pretty poor and I only stopped briefly to get water and a fizzy tablet but then I avoided Newlands and Hampton Court so they may have had other things on offer, but had gels, Frusli bars and Clif shots so was fine for food.
I saw very few crashes, although one bloke had an off near Pyrford and somebody stacked it on the second right hander off the top of Leith, having passed me at warp speed, but thankfully seemed to be ok.
Box Hill thinned us out a bit and by this time later waves were catching up and I was very pleased to see Mrs and Miss D6 at Headley, after which it was pretty fast (for me) back to London.
Once the 46 milers joined us you had to pay a bit more attention as a lot of them weren't used to riding close to other cyclists, but like me they were obviously there for a fun day on the bike, and by this time I was getting weird cramps - first in right calf then left inner thigh which was impossible to stretch out and then one that seemed to lock out my left foot in the final 5 miles.
Kingston was great fun as most people took the correct line through the corners and the crowds here were fantastic, as they were on that final shocker of a short hill in Wimbledon.
I was pleased to see very few gel wrappers tossed on the road; I now put mine in the drinks bottle so keeps jersey pockets clean and whatever gel is left over gets washed out into the drink.
Garmin time was 5:30 and elapsed 5:37 which I thought was ok as the 95 mile Medio Dragon usually takes me a good hour longer.
All told, I thoroughly enjoyed the day, the closed roads through London out and back really make it. It was my second full Pru 100, having baled at Hampton court last year due to weather and being improperly dressed - although the silver survival blanket from St Johns ambulance helped.0 -
Dombo6 wrote:I had an early start, Blue D at 0616
You were in the same pool as me, and given I rode with the Royal Navy woman for a while then you were probably quite close.
Odd that everyone mentions an off at Pyrford as I never saw anything although I suppose it might have happened after I'd gone through. I finished a bit ahead of you so I could have been a few minutes in front by then.Giant Defy Advanced 0 - Best
Planet X London Road - Wet
Montague Fit - Foldy thing that rarely gets used these days0 -
J_MCD wrote:Dombo6 wrote:I had an early start, Blue D at 0616
You were in the same pool as me, and given I rode with the Royal Navy woman for a while then you were probably quite close.
Odd that everyone mentions an off at Pyrford as I never saw anything although I suppose it might have happened after I'd gone through. I finished a bit ahead of you so I could have been a few minutes in front by then.
Hi five Blue D crew!0 -
I’m impressed by the number of sub 5 hour times for a 100 mile ride - is the course really that flat or are you all just absolute units on bikes?
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lettingthedaysgoby wrote:I’m impressed by the number of sub 5 hour times for a 100 mile ride - is the course really that flat or are you all just absolute units on bikes?
Not having to slow down for traffic lights / cars etc makes a big difference and many people find a big group and just sit at the back of it. (I would have liked to mix in with the front group but my wave started 30 mins later so I ended up with slim pickings of riders to work with)0 -
lettingthedaysgoby wrote:I’m impressed by the number of sub 5 hour times for a 100 mile ride - is the course really that flat or are you all just absolute units on bikes?
Flat Eric confirms very flat indeed
Rule #5 // Harden The Feck Up.
Rule #9 // If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.
Rule #12 // The correct number of bikes to own is n+1.
Rule #42 // A bike race shall never be preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run.0 -
It's not completely flat - about 1100 metres in total but there are only three hills, with 500 metres of elevation between them - which means only 600 metres over 90 miles of the rest of the ride. That's flat
Fat chopper. Some racing. Some testing. Some crashing.
Specialising in Git Daaahns and Cafs. Norvern Munkey/Transplanted Laaandoner.0 -
Did the event with 3 club mates as part of the Amstel Ride Together, got to say I really enjoyed it, I suppose being in the second wave helped a lot as we had no delays at all. The standard of riding was quite poor though tbh. Riders flying through pot holes etc with out even thinking of pointing them out. Had an argument with one bloke at about the 15 mile mark when he lost control of his bike whilst trying to get down on his top tube for a 100m dip in the road whilst he was sat in about 10th wheel!! Then just before Newlands one of my club mates crashed following a touch of wheels when another rider just pulled in front of him. I understand that the events is meant to be inclusive etc but if you’ve managed to get yourself in on of the earlier waves you should be able to ride a bike to a better standard.0
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