Finally got start time

8:44!

Ah well…

8.5 hours is nearly 12 mph average spped and that’s without stops.

7 hours is over 14 mph without stops.

I don’t think the closed roads effect will be that good.

I did ride London last year, and took 45 minutes off my previous best for a century. It’s a very fast course.

Not checked yet, but think I’ll be first wave. Riding for Winston’s Wish again. Still targeting sub 4 hrs 😆 . Will try not to blow on Leith Hill like I did last year trying to hold onto the first wave.

We have 10 clubmates riding as rolling marshals in orange jerseys. London clubs have been asked to provide 100 riders at different speeds/times throughout the ride. Watch out for them. Personally pleased with this development as it was one I proposed at a feedback session as a means of improving overall rider safety.

6.24 am start for me.

We have 10 clubmates riding as rolling marshals in orange jerseys. London clubs have been asked to provide 100 riders at different speeds/times throughout the ride.

What will these rolling marshals do though? Just go along for the ride and… dunno

What will these rolling marshals do though? Just go along for the ride and… dunno

Tell you to look around, be careful, not throw litter and other massively annoying stuff that no-one in the front groups will take the blindest bit of notice of.
Might be more useful to the first timers, the people who’ve never done that distance before and so on.

I picked up my numbers and everything this morning, fairly quiet up there. Evans Cycles had a huge shop and a couple of stands up there including some demo bikes.

Everyone else feeling ready?

few guys from my club also doing riding marshalling. Basically to spot bad / unsafe riding and try to correct it (nicely!) so there aren’t big pile ups – not everyone is used to big groups. Also for pacesetting, will be riding to a schedule to give people an idea how fast / slow they’re going.

Anyone and any luck starting earlier in previous years?

Fixing bikes again at Newlands Corner, hopefully won’t see anyone, but do come say hi if you’re there, I’m Nick!

Tim, my time is 8.40am – you had better be wearing your Bullheart top!

Wave nick. I’m off at 5:44. Have a 28 mile ride to the start as a little warm up. Can’t sleep!

Just having last cup of tea before heading out for the start.

Ride safely and enjoy the day.

Couldn’t get on the train yesterday so drove last minute, barely made it to excel centre, hotel flooded due to the rain (moved rooms about 0245 hours), hoping today goes slightly better!!

On our way out shortly, bit of brekkie and a 2 mile bimble to the start. At least the rains stopped

5 punctures by the time I was 15 miles in. Bailed at Kingston. Wasn’t meant to be.

Gutted.

5 punctures by the time I was 15 miles in. Bailed at Kingston. Wasn’t meant to be.

Gutted.

You’ve now got the rest of the day to get your mountain bike out and have some proper fun!

Ha. I live in the middle of the route though, so can’t get to the trails…

Also have to go up town to try and get my bag.

5 punctures by the time I was 15 miles in. Bailed at Kingston. Wasn’t meant to be.

Gutted.

🙁
There did seem to be a lot of punctures – must have been the overnight rain. At the last minute I decided against putting on the lightweight race tyres and left the 25mm Conti GP 4 on.

I saw TiRed very briefly at Newlands Corner, that seems to be my once-a-year point of saying hello as it was exactly there last year I bumped into him.

Pacing it is a problem for me, I deliberately took it easier at the start this time (helped by the warnings given in the rider briefings, the whole bunch seemed to be fairly restrained) but I was properly running on empty by Wimbledon and went straight out the back of the group I was in. Had a cold last week so knocked my fast time ambitions down a bit and hoped to get in by 10am (5.45 start time) whcih I managed with a minute to spare. Strava lists it as 4.15 actual and 4.13 riding time but the GPS lost reception and auto paused several times going up Leith.

Good event this time, no dangerous riding that I saw although some riders had definite issues going round corners. From their high straight line speed and lack of any dress sense I just assumed they were triantelopes and gave them a wide berth.

knocked my fast time ambitions down a bit ……….Strava lists it as 4.15 actual and 4.13 riding time

some people inhabit different planets to me 😉

Top time if you weren’t really going for it!!

Thanks for cheering nick. And yes I chatted to crazy legs. Was much safer this year at the pointy end. I think there were more club riders. Felt like a big surrey league 2/3 race.

Paced myself up Leith Hill and managed to chase back onto the front group. Then paced myself off the bunch up Box Hill (280W and 177bpm – no blow up like last year).

Rode the next 15 miles in no man’s land at 50 mile TT pace, before being caught by a club mate and a roaring strong Trek rider. Couldn’t hold their pace after all that work. Paced myself up Wimbledon Hill (178bpm) before being caught by the second bunch who’d been dropped on Leith. Finished strongly in a time of 4:08 I think (Garmin time) Pleased with the effort but still no sub-4. Maybe hang on until Wimbledon next time!

No crashes in our wave 😀

Who won the race?

Who won the race?

That’s not happened yet!
Women’s race yesterday (the Kermesse-style laps of Whitehall & The Strand) was won by Coryn Rivera in a sprint finish.

The Daily Fail has a loaded headline about the event. The bile is overflowing….

Good effort to all those who rode though.

Just one man and his dog watched you, the rest of London is fuming apparently…..

I waved to kids out in Surrey, and thanked people for cheering all the way around. Even the gentleman who lives on Leith Hill was very cheerful too. We were of course the first wave.

Got to love Cav and Rochelle bigging up the dead/heavy road surface.
Poor pro’s better not go ride in some other areas of the UK as the Ride London course is widely regarded as one of the fastest sportive routes in the UK

Well done to TiRed and crazy-legs for some very impressive times.

Got to love Cav and Rochelle bigging up the dead/heavy road surface.

There’s a few “grippy” bits out around Leith Hill in particular. Road surface is largely shite and that really doesn’t help.
But yes, it’s a very fast course.

All this talk of sub 4 hrs confuses me. Isn’t it the same course as the pros..

They’ve just come in in 4.05? Whats going on there?

Yep, managed to give TiRed a little cheer, won’t lie I also called one of your teammates Daren too 😳 was useful knowing you were aiming for a quick time – was tracking you in the app so could keep an eye on progress approaching us!

Got a little video of the first guys over, so must have you in there too Crazy-Legs!

Good day, we had a constant stream of punctures to fix. Much more fun when it’s dry – more unusual mechanicals. A crazy number of Giants to fix and S-Works Turbo tyres not holding up well!

The usual amusing ‘mechanicals’, one chap complaining the shifters were broken on his brand new bike. The look when I gave the brake lever a push to shift up, he’d ended up in small-small and didn’t know what to do from there! One tub changed, one girl with 650b (not 650c) road wheels which caught us all out, managed to squeeze a 26″ tube in.

Lots of crash victims, but everyone polite and friendly, literally no one was rude which is nice, despite the fact you have to tell people that not only is their bike very broken their day is finished too!

Well done to all who rode – sub-4 would be a great ride TiRed, I saw Rob Sharland appears to have managed it, with Ernie of this parish in the group too, not sure how many guys did it though.

All this talk of sub 4 hrs confuses me. Isn’t it the same course as the pros..

They’ve just come in in 4.05? Whats going on there?

We’re all as awesome as the pros. 😉
Actually they do Box Hill 3 times so it’s not quite the same route.

Wowsers, you guys are on it. I got 4.56 Garmin time and 5.0something on the app time. Forgot I stopped for 2 wees and a water top up…!
Felt a bit jaded for the middle stretch until I saw a couple of mates after box hill. Possibly due to little sleep after the hotel shenanigans mentioned above…Point A in Shoreditch…other hotels are available….!

It’s not the same route. But it shares a lot in common. Vittoria Corsa G+ are great in the wet. I’ve raced them in torrential rain and today they held up with no punctures.

I wonder how many were pinch flats compared with flints?

I saw one pinch, think I changed about 30 tubes, pulled some huge chunks of grit out of tyres though!

Everyone I know got around bit quite a few picked up knee injuries so bit of a slog. Watched the pros at ranmore, think they go up about the speed I imagine I go before I check strava.

Yehaaaa! 3hr58min for 100miles. I’m mega happy with that (cheers njee)! This is my first such event; really impressed and will probably end up doing it again (or maybe Pivot 24). Won’t be drinking quite so much the night before though, I actually puked a little in the first 10miles…maybe not double talisker next time?
Well done to everyone who ride. I managed to raise just under 1k for Mind as well which is great.

Day didn’t get off to the best start: 2 hours sleep, frozen porridge, and the shower was scalding hot.

Saw a crash before we’d even got to QEOP in the muck from last nights rain.

My first London 100 and I loved it. Probably the best organised & most fun sportive I’ve done.

Did 4:59, I wanted sub 5 hours so I’m stoked. Also raised 2.4k for Anthony Nolan. A lot of sponsorship from STW. So cheers 😀

yep, when Stuyven attacked on Box Hill to bridge to the leaders they said he was doing 37kph.

That’s the speed I descend Box Hill 😳

2nd Ride London completed, a bit slower than last year, though not trained as much, but pleased with under 6:30. No punctures for me, but did see plenty being fixed.

Overall riding seemed a lot better this year, with fewer crashes, not sure why, weather overnight/road conditions making people a little more aware? Also, there did seem to be a more communication “on your right/left”, and waiting for a reply before coming through.

Despite my better half not being able to train properly for last 2 weeks due to illness we still finished an hour before the broom wagon. 🙂

Saw a couple of crashes and got caught in the congestion at Leith Hill buy few dramas.

Our first ride where there were lots of flat sections, wow it makes such a difference when you can settle in to a pace for more than 5 minutes!

Why do people talk of Leith Hill as if it’s a monster, 😕 It’s over in 10 minutes!

‘Twas a good day. Leith was a car park, but other then that and a broken cleat at Westcott I very much enjoyed myself. Good to see TimP too. £3k raised for Samuel’s Charity too, so all good.

Sub 4 hours? Madmen, the lot of you. What about the scenery… 😀

Despite my better half not being able to train properly for last 2 weeks due to illness we still finished an hour before the broom wagon.

Great work getting round, pleased you both made it! 🙂