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Ride Report: Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100

Sarah Barth takes on the Olympic legacy event - and comes out smiling

It's not every morning you set the alarm for a quarter to five to go and stand in an industrial wasteland with 20,000 people dressed in highly flammable materials, and it's even rarer that you do and it's actually fun.

It's oddly beautiful as the sun rises, and the chirpy stewards and baggage handlers make it all the more palatable, as well as the compere happily dissing the more colourful outfits as they pass over the start line at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford.

It's a mixed bag of riders queuing, with a prevalence of cheerful charity groups rather than your chiselled team kit types. Good start.

Lining up in start waves is remarkably efficient, given the sheer numbers in attendance, and there's plenty of nervous chatter - inevitable given this is the inaugural RideLondon-Surrey event, and no-one knows quite what to expect.

There's some sort of starting ceremony headed up by a suitably oddly-attired Boris Johnson and the first wave is off on a two-mile lead in, meeting the equivalent wave from the other side of the park on the A12. Charging down a deserted dual carriageway surrounded by the bleaker parts of east London at the crack of dawn has a surprising charm in itself, and anyone who felt the need for armwarmers or the like is pulling them off straight away.

It's a sharp left at the bottom onto the A13, just to be sure of catching the sunrise hitting the glass towers of the Wharf, and then a dip into the Limehouse Tunnel, usually forbidden to cyclists. It's airless and rather sweaty, and there's an audible sigh of relief as the group hits fresh daylight again.

Down the Embankment, along Pall Mall, Cromwell Road... the route just rolls and rolls past London's landmarks, and barely a lump in the road makes it a relaxing sightseeing tour. Suddenly it's round a corner and into Richmond Park, taking in a pleasing amount of scrubby greenery as far as the eye can see. A couple of longish shallow hills around the 15 mile mark get the legs ticking over for the first time, and widens the field out (though it's never for a moment even approaching crowded).

Out the other side at Hampton Court there's the first of 3 'hubs' serving water, various energy concoctions, bananas, crisps - again manned by faultlessly friendly and encouraging staff who're only too pleased to chat as they fill your bottles. The hubs are supplemented by more regular water stops, which would have been invaluable had the heatwave continued; luckily a more temperate breezy, sunny 24 degrees prevailed.

The route now diverts into full-on suburbia, taking in Molesey, Walton on Thames and Weybridge - but the friendly locals are out in force to shout encouragement - which is an improvement on the friendly drunks in central London.

Aesthetically, things perk up in the southern reaches of the loop, where pretty villages are making the most of the car-free weekend with fetes and family days. Less idyllic (unless that's your thing) - this is where the hills start in earnest. 

Daunting Leith Hill is first up - and there are a number of riders pushing before long. Other zip up with ease - there's a clear mix of ability here, and that's a good thing. There's a definite cameraderie with the odd push or shout of encouragement from one rider to another - giving just enough of a bosst to make it over the top to the world-famous Box Hill. Once that's out the way it's back to the fun part with a thrilling descent into Leatherhead - and the third hub, where everyone seems keen for a bit of a break.

It's worth noting that the big hills are entirely optional, with diversions that knock off one or both, taking the route to a more manageable 80 or 90-ish miles, depending on which are taken.

Most people cope fine with their own roadside punctures, but mechanics are available on course, and although there's a backlog of mechanicals causing some delays nearer the end, they're powering through all manner of breakdowns and most people seem happily back on the road in a few minutes.

There's more downhill than uphill in the final thirty miles, thankfully, and a pleasing tailwind sees decent speeds on the stretch back into the capital. Wimbledon's a short sharp climb and then a coast along the Common, then everything seems to move all too fast as the riders are back on Putney Bridge and onto the Embankment.

Parliament and Whitehall make for seriously inpiring sights if one looks up for long enough to notice, because it's time to sprint now to Trafalgar Square, where a bum-clenchingly tight left turn switches onto the red asphalt of the Mall, with thousands of spectators chanting and bashing the boards in time to the pumping of the music.

It's worth putting one's head up to enjoy the moment - and catch sight of Buckingham Palace dead ahead - but there's plenty of time for victorious photographs afterwards, wearing the unusually attractive medal with a little embossed route map on the back.

You're then efficiently funnelled through goodie bags areas, baggage reclaim, and eventually spat out into the 'festival' area, with a big screen to watch the pro race on (although they weren't working while we were there) and a welcome selection of healthy and unhealthy fast food (no prizes for guessing where the biggest queues were).

The option to stay to see how the pros do it (a lot faster, it turns out) a couple of hours later is an attractive one, and it's fun to find a TV and spot the countryside one has just huffed and puffed one's way though on a regime of minimal training and plenty of carbs.

Wandering around the course afterwards, both people who were here for the event, whether riders, friends or family, and locals and tourists who had just stumbled across it, seemed united in the view that it was a wonderful thing.

Perhaps not all, however - sharing a post-ride drink with a friend on Whitehall, we found ourselves next to a guy who as he watched riders on the closed roads go through the traffic signals on the last bend at the top of Whitehall observed sarcastically that it wasn't the first time he'd seen cyclists run a red light in London.

Maybe he was a taxi driver who had decided to take Sunday off rather than battle against the road closures?

Back to the event itself; it's the perfect ride for the laissez-faire, but there seems plenty to attract the more ambitious as well - it'll be interesting to see how the route changes based on feedback next year. But the £45 entry fee seems a price well paid for a sportive on this calibre of closed roads, with the kind of starry finish and sporting attitude it seems London has recently become incredibly good at.

Ballot registration for the 2014 RideLondon 100 opens on Monday 12th August - click here for more details.

Postscript:

While Sarah and most of the other riders were out on the course tackling the Surrey Hills, some of the keener riders were hitting The Mall and the finish; 20 or so riders contested a group sprint, 42-year-old Wladimiro D’Ascenzo from Italy taking the honour of being the first rider across the line by just half a wheel.

His time? A shade under four and a quarter hours, for an average speed approaching 25 miles an hour in old money, or 40 kilometres an hour.

But it was a rider who came across the line perhaps 20 minutes later who best typified the spirit of the event, inspired by the London Marathon whose owners helped stage it alongside Tour of Britain organisers, SweetSpot.

A little over half a kilometre from the finish, there was a tight left hand corner going from Whitehall into The Mall and under Admiralty Arch.

A rider had evidently come down there, and pushed his bike towards the finish, while clutching his shoulder in a tell-tale sign of a probable collarbone injury.

The race announcer noticed him when he was still 500 metres from the finish, and urged the crowd to give him applause and encouragement.

Approaching the line, and with a microphone picking up his words, the cyclist revealed his name was Joe.

"Is this on TV," he asked?

On being told it was, he said: "Mum? I'm fine."

 

 

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44 comments

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BrokenBootneck | 10 years ago
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No place for me, Again, at least I didn't stump up the 45 quid this time!

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Beaufort | 10 years ago
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Fantastic event, well organised and run. The hard training paid off and I found I quite easy. Would love to do it again.

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droshky | 10 years ago
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Loved every minute. All those years of riding fish and chippers/audaxes on busy roads where lots of drivers hate you... this is bike riding! Very impressed, unlike some people, with the general standard of riding, next year may be tougher with a bigger field and beginners encouraged. Disgraceful about the black A start, so that's why Boris wasn't right at the beginning, shame. We can generalise about a well run event, but yikes, if I'd been there, say we all. As a black cab driver, and you can save it, you lot, I get much worse every lunchtime in Pont St shelter, I did find every major junction completely confusing, but that's no excuse for the lead car or whoever. Loos... how about "French" open urinals? Was grateful for the last minute gel at Vauxhall Bridge but yes it was messy. Otherwise little mess away from the hubs. The Course...it would be tough to have difficulties on the way out into the prevailing wind, tho having said that, the 60% downwind Box Hill, the easiest of the three, knocked me back cos of the distance by then, a bit undertrained I guess. I was cheered up there by the mad beardy old guy directing us to the water fountains, and I hope he'd say the same about me! On the course, I'd say leave it as it is for one more year then think about toughening it up for us. It's a different matter for the pros, but they were a disappointment in a number of ways, see comments on commitment of teams in http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2013/aug/05/david-millar-british-cycling, despite a fantastic finish. All in all, a massive argument, like the Olympics of course, for adequate funding, communal activity, public sport, schmaltzy positive attitudes, etc.

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matthewn5 | 10 years ago
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Interesting to read this happy account. I didn't go for it, because I remembered the Olympic riders commenting that the course was too narrow, and I thought that with 20,000 amateurs that would be carnage. Very pleased to be proved wrong! May have a crack next year.

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BearstedCC | 10 years ago
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I am an aspiring amature: For me the day went extremely well. Happy with the event as a whole: load up, the set off, the etiquette of the other riders, the well wishers, Hub 3, the course workers: all the way thro' to the finish, Medalled, Bagged and returned luggage before being discharged back to reality and the London traffic.

Just loved kicking off the final bend to the finish at 24mph

Sure there are always somethings that do not turn out to well but overall with close on 16,000 amatures and being human to boot, expect an error or three...

THINKING OFF OTHERS:
Although located in Coulsdon, skipping a couple of hours work to pick up my Excel package was easy... Feel for you guys further afield...

Maybe Excel is the place to go to buy last minute entries for to spaces gained by those who had to sadly pull out... whiles computers or local agencies can deal with the issuing of packs/numbers. I know, I know the sponsors would not like that.

Final thought: Well done Boris for riding and Team Boris for putting it all together.

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BBCMatt | 10 years ago
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Great picture of the Boxford Bike Club B - Team crossing the line together - does anyone know where the club could get permission to use or higher quality image?  7

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Goldfever4 replied to BBCMatt | 10 years ago
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BBCMatt wrote:

Great picture of the Boxford Bike Club B - Team crossing the line together - does anyone know where the club could get permission to use or higher quality image?  7

I imagine www.marathon-photos.com will have pics of you based on your rider numbers, that might be a shout?

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Lofthope | 10 years ago
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Not wishing to labour the 'keep to the left point', but we have to accept that the vast majority of participants may have been doing their first 'Closed Roads'. With that in mind I was very impressed with how many people complied with the protocol.
Nevertheless I think the organisers could emphasise the point a bit more though, as next year there will, presumably, be another load of first timers.
A lot of the route was wide enough so as not to make a big difference, but a few narrower points (like the lower section of Leith Hill where some people seemed to have been caught out by the gradient) might have a few signs up (eg 'keep left unless overtaking')....a similar principle to long hills where lorries/ caravans etc are told to stay left.

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SimpleSimon | 10 years ago
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An excellent day out and (apart from what was written) well organised.
Slower riders really do need to stay left though, as there are some very fast parts of the route and many people know the roads well.
Maybe better booking for people wanting to ride together for next year?
I hope I get a place.

Well done to all involved - organisers, riders, supporters - all made it what it was.

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Paul Madden | 10 years ago
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A reserve list sounds like a really good idea. It's terrible to think there were so many unfilled places after all the trouble it took to get one.

I also think they made it too easy, in terms of ascent. My Garmin only said about 1350m over 160km. They could easily add in some more climbs, and just have alternate routes for those that don't want to do them.

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Al__S | 10 years ago
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I found myself more than once approaching a traffic island on a four lane section, opting to go to the right as there were people on my left, having someone faster trying to squeeze round my front to go to the left of the island- with nobody to their right.

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nickwadd | 10 years ago
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I echo some of the comments above - thought it was a great event, brilliantly organised.

The crowds were brilliant but I agree that Dorking won the prize for the best bunch.

Also the transport bags were huge so I just carried all my stuff in my usual rucksack on my back, then transferred the lot to the bag. I admit though it would have been handy for that to have been clearer.

Also found out that Boris goes an OK lick (well, faster than I thought he'd be) on the flat and provides a very effective wind break.

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sporran | 10 years ago
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Really enjoyed the event, it was worth the hassle of getting down to London. Good route, well organised and great fun riding on the closed roads.

If there was one change I could make, the registration the evening before was a real pain for people travelling - with a 5pm deadline. I got stuck in a traffic jam on the way down and only made it with 15 minutes to spare. It would be better if they could post the registration packs, or failing that to have registration open until say 9pm.

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miuzikboy | 10 years ago
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Amazing event, really well organised... except the chaos of Car Park C. Cars were able to enter about one per minute causing huge queues blocking Great Eastern Street in both directions. After 30 minutes queuing I was about to miss my time so I parked up in a side street rather than sitting there in frustration.

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Al__S | 10 years ago
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At least one of the slicks of Hi-5 gel wrappers I saw I reckon had been caused by a bin at a drinks station blowing over

That was huge fun. Even with the agonising pain of Leith Hill (the article fails to mention the not inconsiderable climb up to Newlands Corner). Rounding the corner into Admiralty Arch was massively inspiring, the noise at that point was a huge boost.

Applications open in a few days...

(sorry to hear about the chaos you had TheClaw, sounds like a terrible cock up that only affected your wave)

Things that could improve?
A reserve list would be good- there were supposed to be 20-25000 I thought, in the end it was under 17000 with under 16000 finishing
the bags for transfer from start to finish could be better designed- not easy to carry for a few miles by bike.
Not trying to hand gels to people going past at 17-20mph. That's the main cause of the wrapper slicks, people were trying to grab them and couldn't. Just hand them out at the hubs and drink stations to stopped riders. We're not pros, and even they wouldn't take single gels from stationary soigneurs whilst moving.

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Goldfever4 replied to Al__S | 10 years ago
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Al__S wrote:

At least one of the slicks of Hi-5 gel wrappers I saw I reckon had been caused by a bin at a drinks station blowing over

That was huge fun. Even with the agonising pain of Leith Hill (the article fails to mention the not inconsiderable climb up to Newlands Corner). Rounding the corner into Admiralty Arch was massively inspiring, the noise at that point was a huge boost.

Applications open in a few days...

(sorry to hear about the chaos you had TheClaw, sounds like a terrible cock up that only affected your wave)

Things that could improve?
A reserve list would be good- there were supposed to be 20-25000 I thought, in the end it was under 17000 with under 16000 finishing
the bags for transfer from start to finish could be better designed- not easy to carry for a few miles by bike.
Not trying to hand gels to people going past at 17-20mph. That's the main cause of the wrapper slicks, people were trying to grab them and couldn't. Just hand them out at the hubs and drink stations to stopped riders. We're not pros, and even they wouldn't take single gels from stationary soigneurs whilst moving.

Wise comments. Apparently those affected in the first wave will have guaranteed entry to next year's event.

Agree that it's a shame about places not being taken up - I suspect it has something to do with all the charity places which demand hundreds of pounds of fundraising committment - quite offputting.
The bags were useless, they were big enough to take a small backpack and I wish I'd known, it was difficult to get there with a stupid bag swinging about the back of my jersey the whole time.
Also I would have liked a few more portaloos at the start and the hubs, it was far too busy at those places. Other than that, extremely well organised and a good fast route.

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TeamCC | 10 years ago
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The worst part of this article is the realisation that I sometimes dress like Boris Johnson.

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richteebis | 10 years ago
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salad cream?

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Russkev | 10 years ago
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Yes a thoroughly enjoyable event and itching to do it again to beat my 6h 59 min time. Only thing that spoilt it for me were the amount of energy gel wrappers left all over the road. This may cause the locals to block another event !

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Dog72 replied to Russkev | 10 years ago
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Russkev wrote:

Yes a thoroughly enjoyable event and itching to do it again to beat my 6h 59 min time. Only thing that spoilt it for me were the amount of energy gel wrappers left all over the road. This may cause the locals to block another event !

Fair comment. Its not hard to stow empty wrappers is it?

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charlie_elise replied to Dog72 | 10 years ago
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I went through one bit which looked like a High5 factory had exploded. Then I realised people were holding them out for people to take, and frequently they were being missed. They were being cleared up, albeit slowly.

However this wasn't the only litter: although most people pop their wrappers back in their pockets, and I know that sometimes, they blow away and it's hard to chase them down, but I'm still amazed at the amount of people who chuck them. I was astounded last weekend at the London Tri at the way a girl was throwing out wrappers as she made her way around the course (despite it being an offence risking disqualification). I overtook her but I never know what's right to do in that situation...

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velobetty | 10 years ago
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Was a load of fun and I came in well under my target time with an overall of 5 hours, 21 minutes and 5 seconds. Can't wait until next year!  1

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Dog72 | 10 years ago
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Big Thank you to the people of Kingston who gave me a massive boost when I went through the high st, for the 2nd time. I was starting to cramp and their encouragement gave me the Kick I needed, it was moving.
The event was amazing, the closed road experience was something to behold and the Chopper count was minimal, apart from one bellend who keep weaving & cutting people up, then did a Houdini on anything more than a speed bump. I say him later with road scuffs to testify to his tooldom.

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Jonathan Knight | 10 years ago
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I had an awesome day. I lost 25kg last year and this was my keep the weight off challenge, having never ridden that far before. After realizing at 80 miles I was on for sub 5:30 I was a man on a mission. According to the times online I did the last 9 miles in 19 minutes - I suspect the tail wind helped - and ended up with a time of 5:16 so well chuffed.

The crowds were amazing, especially the people who obviously came out quite early to cheer us through central London and give us plenty of encouragement up Leith Hill.

After training hard all year for this, I'm not too macho to admit there might have been a tear in the eye as I crossed the finish.

Of course, now I'm hooked so need to find some similar challenges to do.

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othello | 10 years ago
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Yesterday was my first century, having only done 70-80 mile rides before. What a great way to do it! The course was good, and the crowds were fantastic.

Apart from one small muck-up by the organisers on my start (I was in the team challenge and they put 3 of us in the black start and me in the blue start), everything else went pretty smoothly.

The first 25 miles were very fast as groups formed and it showed my lack of bunch riding. Luckily the guys in my 'team' helped me out with some tips.

Descending on closed roads was fantastic -- being able to apex the corner without worrying about traffic. Amazing experience.

We decided to be very relaxed about it, not worrying about a time, and made use of the hubs each time to grab some food, use the toilet and keep it social. We all had a great time and the finish in the Mall, with my kids on the hairpin corner watching, gave me goosebumps  1

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zekizeki | 10 years ago
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What a fantastic event, the roadside spectators and supporters certainly made it special.

Riding through London on multi-lane carriageways with no traffic was a liberating experience.

I found it amusing that on the majority of the route despite the closed road 90% of riders stuck to the left handside of the left lane, habits are hard to break.

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theclaw replied to zekizeki | 10 years ago
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zekizeki wrote:

Riding through London on multi-lane carriageways with no traffic was a liberating experience.

Lucky you weren't in my group  13

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step-hent replied to theclaw | 10 years ago
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theclaw wrote:
zekizeki wrote:

Riding through London on multi-lane carriageways with no traffic was a liberating experience.

Lucky you weren't in my group  13

Heard about this from some of my clubmates (some of whom were in the same group). It sounded terrifying, and a pretty astonishing cock-up in the first few km.

Apart from that, though, the organisation was very good and the course was excellent - not too easy, but flat enough to be fast. And the crowds were awesome! I even found enough energy to lead my group round through admiralty arch and give it a showboating sprint along the barriers whilst being cheered by the crowd. We can all enjoy the fantasy, can't we?!

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Lofthope replied to zekizeki | 10 years ago
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The reason 90% of the riders stuck to the left was to allow faster riders to overtake on the right. Most people who've done 'Closed Roads' sportives are aware of this protocol. It's similar to 'Motorway Rules', ie the outside lane is for overtaking.

In fact, in the 'Final Instructions' booklet on page 18 under the heading obey the rules of the road it asks that riders stay on the correct side of the road as 'a general sportive rule'.

I was delighted that so many people were considerate, but I still got miffed a few times when slow riders sat blocking the outside, particularly near the bottom of Leith Hill.

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andycoventry | 10 years ago
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Does anyone know if a finishing order is published? Can only see the individual times on the ridelondon website....

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