[Closed] Ride London 2019

doing the 46 this year.. have done the 100 a couple of times but didn't think i had it in me this year. on the plus side i've got a 9.20 start time and can get there in less than an hour from home..

I'm in, 7.20 start. Aiming for sub 6 hours.

I haven't worked out the logistics of the day yet, as I'll need to be in the pen before 6am, I'm struggling to see the value in a hotel for the Saturday night, but equally I'm not getting exited about leaving the house at 1am to drive down on the day. I will probably find a lay-by somewhere not to far from London and doss down in the back of the car cuddling to the bike and try to get a little sleep at least.

Any tips from those who've done it before are more than welcome.

sack off the start pen rubbish and just join the route at that roundabout where the A11 crosses the A12

Essentially enjoy it, it's a fast 100 miles. If you want a good time don't stop and if you need to stop them don't use the feed stops directly after a hill. Be aware some people will never have ridden with so many other cyclists so there will be some interesting riding going on. Be careful of the fast club guys who have put a slow time down because they don't want an early start but then come shooting up in a mini peleton expecting everyone to get out of the way. It's really fun overall and almost everyone is friendly.

RSC'ing again; hopefully won't be as wet as last year and i won't have to fix 6 punctures all for other people.

0748 start for me, aiming for about 5.5hrs but will of course depend if I need to stop and help anyone or just bark instructions at them like a frustrated sergeant major

(I don't bark instructions, at worst I might educate someone politely about safer riding practices. Although if London Dynamo act like *****s as they did last year I might be inclined to drop the politeness)

What's the course like in the wet? Worth adding some tougher tyres to the bike?

The roads aren't bad, been some heavy rain recent then sun so they should be fairly clear. Don't pump your tyres up to 120psi at 3am and then sit in glorious sunshine in the holding pen and hear them explode as the temp difference kicks in, wasn't me but not what you want five minutes before heading off.

Last year in the rain sodden event there was a person fixing a puncture every 50m to 100m along the entire route. Not for me though.
Forecast is possible showers.

First time for me, I'm not really a sportive kinda guy and haven't bothered even applying before now but I was given a place for free this year so feel inclined to do it.

I'm in wave Blue H which I think simply means a start time of 06:24.

I live in Epsom but have arranged to stay overnight the night before with a mate who lives in Stepney for a short hop to the start line.

I'm not worried about time. I've ridden dozens of 100+ mile rides before. I'm just looking to get around safely and enjoy the day.

Is there an STW call we can use to identify each other? I dunno, something like 'sanctimonious rider on the right' or 'Big hitter ahoy' or will a simple "Straaaaaaaavvvaaaaaaaa" do?

I'm in but have changed my mind about 55 times about whether to bother. I've not ridden since the Fred Whitton, got no where to stay and my CX bike is in bits....

I've just decided I'm going to do it! 😀

I’m in but wavering. My start is half eight but I’ve got to get from my sisters place in Ealing to the start which is a major pain in the bits. Not sure if I should can it....

Not sure if I should can it….

Why did you enter if you can't be arsed to do it?

5.52 start time for me. Barely worth booking a hotel!

5.52 start time for me.

First time I did it, 6am was the earliest start. The next time I did it, I think it was 5.50am. And now I see @lunge is a 5.30am!

Is that just an effort to clear the course a bit earlier? I'm not doing it this year but good luck to everyone out there.

Any tips from those who’ve done it before are more than welcome.

The start is one long procession of queues. Follow the signage, triple check your drop bag to make sure you've not left anything in there that you need (the cries from one rider in the start pen on discovering that ALL his energy gels and bars were in his drop bag back at the lorry were oh so entertaining to us...) and it's also worth (depending on the weather) taking some sort of disposable top - I got a jumper from a charity shop for £2 that kept me warm and dry at 5.30 one morning as I was standing in the start pen and then just left it hanging over the barriers.

Also, smile / wave / engage with the spectators. Their road has been closed for an entire day so the least you can do is wave and be nice to them. If the communities along the way are shown that we're all lovely friendly people, they're less negative about it than they could be! And it's fun being cheered on, you feel dead pro. 😉

Also off at 05.52 - give us a wave! Riding for Bliss charity so will have their jersey on...

5.52 here also.
Riding for Bloodwise

I got a jumper [...] and then just left it hanging over the barriers.

Nice.

Not off until 6:40 in Green B. Riding for the South Bucks branch of Headway, who supported my brother last year following his head injury. No “branded” shirt, so if you see an old bloke, in a Cookie Monster shirt riding a Mason Definition, please say hi.

I think I'm meant to head off at 6am. It's such a pain having to head down the day before to get race number. Reckon I'd be able to kip in my car in the Westfield carpark?

I've got front brakes working so far! Tried to fix rears but stupid Hope Calliper was being a pain and the syringe wasn't sealing on the bleed. Fitting an old XT one once a new hose comes tomorrow.

Should give me 3 days to train after...

Ride safety captain. Will be on the 5:30 time wearing my Twickenham CC club shorts and Continental jersey of authority. Wave. And bow down and obey! Might take my coaching whistle.

And no training at all.

And johnv our previous RSC who broke away on Box Hill for the solo “win” last year won’t be riding this time.

6:18 for me. I live about a mile away so have it relatively easy. Despite that last year I slept through my alarm and only woke when my colleague rang to ask where I was! Got there ~30s before they closed the wave 🙂 Did 5:17 with puncture and a couple of stops. Not as endurance fit this year but have a faster bike and more top end capacity from racing beastway (1hr). With good luck (i.e. no punctures and favourable weather) sub 5hrs feels just about possible.

Is there an STW call we can use to identify each other? I dunno, something like ‘sanctimonious rider on the right’ or ‘Big hitter ahoy’ or will a simple “Straaaaaaaavvvaaaaaaaa” do?

How about Oi, W*nker? Which can be shouted at you on Kingston hill somewhere around Colombian climb and Norwegian corner.

yeh, my RSC partner did sub 5 hours in the ToC earlier this year and has since been training for the worlds in Sweden. I'm going to be towed around like never before, he's going to be doing recovery pace, and I still suspect at some point I'll be begging to be dropped......

I've got a 6.40 am start, loading complete by 6.00 am. Parking booked at London Bridge, so I guess, I'll be leaving home (NE Hants around 3.00 am!!) Aiming for 6 hours (again) but suspect that the lack of training and too many pies may mean that this is a goal rather than an expectation

First bonus is I've managed to get a train booked, from Birmingham, with a bike, for £14. and it's the fast train. That's the weekend off to a great start.
I do have a few challenge, I'm on an all dayer at the cricket on Friday and am run directing at parkrun on the Saturday. The later gives me 1 hour from the run finishing to me needing to be on a train. And that is pushing it very tight.

waves at twowheels

I live about 1km from the start and have got rather a full house on Saturday night with three people staying before the ride 🙂

@jonjones262 if you are serious about wanting to kip in your car send me a private message and I can give you some street locations which are near by but also far enough away to be available, free to park on, and also quiet so you won't get harassed if you sleep in the car.

oh, I don't think this forum has a PM facility actually?

It does
Should be available in profile

I’m going to be towed around like never before

I've done all bar last year (ill), and have always ridden sub 4:30, but not a sub 4:00 - (4:06 is my best time). This year I've been seriously resting. So will take it easy with a club mate.

Humblebrag... I was the one who origially proposed RSC's ro Ride London, so am happy to help where needed - I've got my fast times, and the older I get, the better I was!

I’ve done all bar last year (ill)

I've done one - last year. You missed a soaking (and I know it wasn't as bad as ??2016??)

Frankly the idea of Sportives and the variability of riding puts me off, but maybe due to the 'policeman effect' (ie no-one speeds when there's a copper visible) the riding in the vicinity of my Jersey of Authoritay (TM) seemed to be pretty reasonable in the main. Hoping for the same again, otherwise the whistle of admonishment (TM) will make another appearance.

Yes you Dynamo.....your card's already marked 😉

Is there anywhere you can park on street near Excel to go register? Seem to remember their parking is extortionate and will literally walk in, collect number and walk out...

Not really, but you can find something on the DLR a stop or two away that'll be cheaper

I've just deferred my place to next year. There's been too much going against me this time to properly commit.

My 3YO Daughter has been puking for the last 11 days for starters, not good!

I'll spend the Winter on my Trainer and go for the win next year, I reckon! 🙂

@kittyr - nice to see another local STW'er 🙂

Re. weather - looks like showers. Hopefully road surface won't be as bad as last year when there was a heavy downpour following a dry period (leaving detritus everywhere). If it looks miserable again I'll bring a proper jacket- last year I was fine when riding but really suffered when I stopped to fix the puncture.

Was really looking forward to it, finally got a ballot place after failing every year up to now.
Unfortunately my mother (86 ) now needs an operation and has to be at hospital by 07.00 Monday morning , and as there was no way I could be sure of getting home in time to take her I have had to defer ☹️

But at least I should have a place next year 🤔

First time for me, starting at the relatively reasonable hour of 7.40.

Jeez the logistics to get up from Devon, get registered, and to the start line are hurting my brain, before I have even turned a crank...

It's not the kind of event  I would normally go for (prefer to ride off road with about 3 other people max) but doing it for  a good cause- Arts Emergency. If any of you felt like sponsoring me, you can do so HERE!

See you all on the start line...

First time for me. Really quite excited.

In the 8am wave, though I think I may have been a bit too conservative in my original estimate. I'm feeling on fairly good form, for a relative beginner to this kind of ride.

Staying in a nearby AirBnB.

I do have some questions for those who've done it before...

- Feed stations - Are they chaos? Are there queues? Do they run out? Is it worth packing pockets before starting on the assumption that it might not be worth the hassle?

- Toilets - I read the plea for people not to pee 'freestyle' (which sounds fair enough), so what are toilet stops like? Open urinals for gents? Or queuing and worries about bike security?

- With the weather forecast changing every few hours, proper jacket, or lightweight Pertex shell?

- How power-hungry is the official iOS app? Wondering whether I can run Strava and the PRL app on my iPhone without having to switch to airplane mode and without having to carry a battery.

- What else do I not realise, as a newcomer?

I did it in 2014 when they shortened it to 86 miles because of that American hurricane. The rain was absolutely biblical and lots punctured. I was riding along with a rather nice young woman who seemed happy with my pace and we were getting along famously until..... pssssst down went my tyre and off she went to find somebody else. Shame.

5.52 start time.

Assuming for 4.5 hours, weather dependant.

Sounds like few of us in 5.52 wave. Will keep an eye out!

My third go around, still holding out hope this will be the my first time in the dry - off at 6.16, cycling to the start from central London

First time this year. My "wave" starts at 0736. Dunno whether it'll be possible to sneak into an earlier one.

Also, anyone used the luggage transfer facility at this? Seems to be a hard thing to get any information about. Can you drop off a rucksack-sized bag at the start and pick it up at the end?

you get given a bag about the size of a kid's PE bag in your rider pack (actually your rider pack comes in it) that has your number on it that you can drop at the start and then collect at the end. Logistically they are brilliant, there's a bit of queuing but they're the same people who do the London Marathon so getting kit from A-B and back to their owners is well within their ability.

I have a very small rucksack that is easier to carry from my car park to the start, which I'll put the rider bag into, and then at the start swap them over so the rucksack's in the rider bag. I don't know if they'll take your rucksack directly.

Got my pack. Seemed more activity at the show this year. I was just outside the top 3 for the Watt bike sprint challenge on the Silverline stand :/ Might go back tomorrow prepared with SPDs 🙂

@penac I made a mistake in my first post and am actually 6.16 too. If you see a guy in a HSBC jersey on a Reacto feel free to say hi!

I have a very small rucksack that is easier to carry from my car park to the start, which I’ll put the rider bag into, and then at the start swap them over so the rucksack’s in the rider bag. I don’t know if they’ll take your rucksack directly.

They won't. I do similar to you. I ride with a rucksack to the start. Usually change my top at the start, put the rucksack inside the RL bag,do the ride then pick up the RL bag, put that inside the rucksack, ride home.

First timer here. Rode 87 miles (very slowly) so should get round but definitely will be close to cut-offs.

Training went well, got diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that leaves me at risk of bleeding/bruising, however got hit by a car and didn't bleed to death so shouldn't moan. Oh and had labyrinthitis.

RSC here too, albeit on the 46 (clubmates all requested the 100, I wasn't too bothered so ended up on the 46). I haven't RSC'd before so it'll be an interesting day.

I'm in a 9am start wave, so I expect I'll spend a lot of the day either fixing punctures or encouraging people to just keep pedalling so they don't get swept off the course.

I'll be on my bright orange Rusby, give me a wave if you're passing. 🙂

@0wen - bloody hell, you've had a hell of a year! I hope tomorrow goes smoothly for you!

They won’t. I do similar to you. I ride with a rucksack to the start. Usually change my top at the start, put the rucksack inside the RL bag,do the ride then pick up the RL bag, put that inside the rucksack, ride home.

The bag is usually translucent - put something extremely bright in there because then it'll stand out in the sea of identical bags at the finish (although the collection process is usually fairly smooth anyway, anything that helps identify the bag at a glance is useful).

Cheers Pierre! Considered deferring but worried what else might happen if I wait....

The bag is transparent and you stick a number on it. Then when you hand it in they store it in numerical order. Simples. Very slick. They used to give white bags, which were over the shoulder as per marathon. Problem - they were almost impossible to cycle with! The duffel bag style was an improvement.

Have my time, a nice late Black F 7:40 off and I have stocked up on inner tubes and caffeine gels for the riders who might need them. Wave if you see me, I’ll be on my Black and green Defy SL taking it easy and teaching riders through and off. Just going to tootle around and accept that I’ll never break 4 hours.

Top tip, long valves for deep section wheels. Check yours. I bet there will be more than one rider who doesn’t remember.

I’ve got my bags packed and bike serviced, MrsMomo is taking the kids to the in-laws at lunch time tomorrow. Just need to work out if I’m going to head down in the afternoon and try to find somewhere to kip in the car or get up at midnight and drive straight down

In all seriousness to the aged, inform, unfit, etc. It is 100 miles so takes your time, don't get swept away by it as the first bit is mainly flat (newlands isn't till 40 miles, Leith is 60 and Box 75ish) but with no junctions, lights, slowing down and speeding up all the time, as long as you don't waste time at stops too much it's 'easy' to make the cutoffs, and it's about as easy a century as you'll get.

Enjoy it, don't be a dick and thank the marshalls and public for their time and their roads. And don't drop litter!

Super long shot, but if anyone has a spare entry I would love to buy it from you!

Mail.adrianwong@gmail.com

Thank you 🙂

-Adrian

Ride time has changed since when I registered and logged on on 15th July- by an hour.
My mate who was in my block is now 2 hours later. Am I going mad? Has this happened to anybody else?

Just collected my kit and how have the cricket on and a pint at the hotel later. My time honoured tradition of 4 pints the night before a big event will once again be in operation. Cheers.

Long process to start isn’t it? If you’re in wave B and bored please come and talk to the tall fella in red and blue towards the front!

4.5 hours, weather dependant.

Rolled in at 4hrs 27 mins.

Felt that.

As someone who has hardly ever done group rides, seeing someone I know finish in just over 4.5 hours sounds mental, the aero savings from riding in a group and/or wind assistance gave him approx 4mph+ over a good average speed for a local solo ~2 hour ride with ~50 feet of climbing per mile.

Similar for me (4:36, but I had a long wait at a crossing).

Yes group riding gives you an aero boost but the atmosphere/cheering/sense of occasion also helps.

Group riding and closed roads. The extra speed you get from not constantly slowing for a junction, changing down, getting going again, back up to speed is phenomenal.

It's road race speeds doing that event. Looked like a pretty fast year as well - dry weather, light winds.

Also you can descend not worrying about cars or traffic coming the other way. Makes it fairly nippy down back of leith hill.

4:48 for me, target was sub5 so happy with that.

4:53, didn't expect to be sub-5 in a million years so am absolutely chuffed. Also got told a "f'ing massive engine" which is always nice to hear!

The mtb trails round Peaslake were beautifully quiet today as no one could get in by car. We parked at Ranmore and rode in. Crossing the roads around Leith was hair raising but the trails were sublime.

Was aiming for 5:30 or below, got 5:40 but that included a long stop on Leith Hill, due to rider numbers, and also some RSC duties trying unsuccessfully to fix a broken cable on a frame routed cables bike. Actual riding 5:22 which will do me.

Got in a train early on and averaged some daft speed for the first 40m, then suffered up the hills, then a fast run back into London. Great fun, and I hope the riders being tended to by SJA and marshalls at the bottom of Newlands and Purford are ok.

Another tech support Evans E-Team year for me. Fun. Rode among the 6-7 hour finish riders which was more relaxing than with the faster riders in the wet last year. A few blockages and crashes, as far as I'm aware nothing serious though. Slow going in places with bottlenecks but got 80ish miles done, pretty good for a work day! Less than half the flats fixed this year compared to last, smooth going for most.

Was hoping to go Sub six, so with 6:09:47 official, 5:47:24 moving, I’m happy. Quite a few “crossing” stops on the run back from Surrey, so if I split the stops between my choice and not my choice I’m under six hours. 😀

Rider behaviour generally seemed better this year compared to previous, 2016 esp.

Great ride and can I say a thanks to the mechanics and safety riders, particularly the one who got the the girl who crashed on the fast downhill towards Leigh hill very quickly.

Can i suggest the rider card has an organiser number to ring to report a bad crash?

A 5:16 moving at a steady 156 watts for solid Zone 2 training. But as a RSC I:

Replaced a crank after about seven miles - “my boyfriend stripped the bike to clean it yesterday!” She was sobbing when I stopped. Caught her again in Richmond Park and all going well. Think the crank was held on by the plastic preload nut which had sheared!

Fitted an inner tube at Chiswick bridge after the rider had destroyed his spares with tyre levers - new tight tyres. And they were tight!

Wrapped a 700c inner tube into a Brompton Kojac rear tyre to get a rider the last 10 miles - He had three punctures and crashed (proud of that one) was waiting for the sag wagon having cashed and suffered road rash, until I got his tyre up, then he couldn’t wait to finish!

And finally... singlespeeded a bike on Wimbledon common after the mechanic had removed the RD and cables and left the rider to be picked up. I looked down and said “errr do you have the chain?” To which he pulls it out of his rear pocket. Cut with the ever trusty Hexus 2 and set on a nice low gear to get him to the Mall. Jameson did the Evans team not carry chaintools?

I didn’t have to give away my free Continental tyre which I happily carried for the worst!

So 156 watts of Zone 2, lots of singing up the hills and a fun time. Not my usual chase the sub 4 hour thrash’s myself to death fest of past years (PB still 4:06). But everything I expected Ride Safety Captains to be when I first came up with the idea. Nice complements at the end of the ride too. And no I don’t have an electric motor in my bike - but I do still have a second cat race license 🙂

AND REMEMBER TO FASTEN THE CRANK BOLTS NEXT TIME!

Edit: Wally every RSC has the direct line to the control centre. I could have called them from my watch with a simple “hey Siri call Ride London”. All the RSCs know the course too, so can give precise location, e.g., second bend into Ripley - where there was a serious off handled by two RSCs. One to warn traffic and one to handle the communication.

how did you do 5:16 at 156 watts in Zone 2?  I don't have a power meter but my strava estimated average was 270 watts (just over 3W/kg) so not unrealistic for 5:22.

And yes, when called on the RSC's do a great job, I had very little to do today (makes up for 6 punctures, none of my own last year) but saw a few earning their whistle today.

Moving time not total time and average not NP. My NP was 187 watts My sub 4:30s are normally 270 watts.

Not my hardest day on a bike.
https://www.strava.com/activities/2590290608

2020 ballot already open linky

Jameson did the Evans team not carry chaintools?

Yes of course, though may have run out of quick links. There's also a limit where a fix becomes a bodge that Evans is liable for, just have to make a call on the fix and the rider. Some will be very cautious there. ie to SS a bike and re-use a pin that fails later, we get threats of being sued. Or chain's bumped, climbs the block and snaps, whips round and damages carbon bike, we get the call for a replacement. Hypothetically etc but similar has happened.

One thing I didn't mention before as I was still in a positive frame of mind yesterday - gel / snack litter. Disgusting amounts of it. 5 or 6 gel packets in as many yards a common sight. There were a few litter pickers in the city but lanes out in Surrey were a trail of gel tossers. I was embarrassed by it, when the 'roadie litter' complaints come up I'd have to agree and that's a shame, puts me off future event support even. Riders in the event need to police it and PRL need to provide more dump bins.

@jameso - Absolutely agree about the litter. I am also embarrassed by it and wish I'd said something to offenders. Even banana skins take a long time to decompose.

Chain had a 11 speed quick link which they’d used to remove it. I was carrying 9/10 speed too. I guess it was just liability concern. But he only had to coast down Putney hill and bimble along the Embankment. If he had any more climbing I’d have agreed, but so near!

As for litter, I didn’t see anyone deliberate drop, but it is always possible to have an old wrapper fall out of a back pocket when reaching for a new gel. I have always put used ones under a leg gripper. Makes for an interesting look on very long rides!

I was in a 6:16 start and went round in a little under 5 hours.

Didn’t see that much litter to be honest. I was actually surprised.

But there were a lot of riders behind us.

Absolutely agree about the litter.

Was watching the classic on the telly Sunday evening and even some of the pros were stashing their used wrappers in a jersey pocket.

They were chucking bidons left and right though, but those are a bit easier to pick up!

As for litter, I didn’t see anyone deliberate drop, but it is always possible to have an old wrapper fall out of a back pocket when reaching for a new gel. I have always put used ones under a leg gripper. Makes for an interesting look on very long rides!

I saw a couple. If you rode 5hrs or so maybe you'd not see as much as I did riding with the middle-rear waves of riders, it looked to be a cumulative thing but one thing I don't think we can accuse the slower or more novice riders of is being the most prominent gel users. Not sure how effective a litter pick on a 100 mile route can be when it has to be re-opened to cars so soon after either.
Suggested via Evans contacts there that Evans, SIS and PRL could team up to supply a mini bag like an Alpkit stem cell for litter holding. Make it from that cheap paper-based fabric and the tape used for wristbands, chuck the whole thing at the end and get a reward for it, some free snack bars etc.

Or maybe like some of the pro races have sections where you drop your litter and it's all gets picked up easily in the same place.