Ride London Surrey 100 logistics - borderline abandonment.

Whining miserable bastards! The show is free to get in and you aren't forced to buy anything! I did the Dartmoor Classic last month, and that also obliged you to pick up your papers and register the day before.
And if you think it isn't worth it for a bike ride, you obviously haven't done Ridelondon. It is a unique and special event, and unlike any other bike ride I have done, organised or not.
I would love to be doing it this year, along with the 75,000 or so oversubscribers. If you can't be arsed to register, don't enter the ballot and let those that really want to do it have a better chance

Anybody else staying at the Ibis hotel in Docklands the night before? Hoping there might be some others with whom to ride to the start.

You sign up for a hugely popular mass participation event in the capital city then complain about the logistics?

It's like going to Glastonbury and complaining about the mud, the food and that you can't get within half a mile of the main stage.

I understand why organised events like this are so popular but I agree with Crikey.

Well said, the whole event is great but having to go to Excel is still a pita.

Good grief there are some miserable devils on here, lighten up! You are riding on closed roads through one of the world's greatest capital cities, through some glorious countryside, and all with no cars. You're amongst all kinds of people out for a good time and many of them raising thousands of pounds for deserving charities. And just for good measure nobody is trying to force you to buy anything anywhere, (certainly at the registration unless you think some discounted repair kits, inflators and clothing is some devious conspiracy...) Instead, on the day volunteers are falling over themselves to help out, feed and water you, help with breakdowns and speed you on your way. At least that was how it was last year, even in torrential conditions!

The logistics are immense - seeing how they get the various waves organised and under way is impressive - and none can pretend they've got everything right but nobody is forcing you to take part and if you really think you can replicate the experience tomorrow on roads round your house then go ahead, kid yourself, enjoy your beer and miss out on a real treat.

If anybody is really stuck with the registration then I'm prepared to discuss collecting their numbers etc. and somehow meeting them Sunday morning if that is acceptable as somebody above suggests though apparently I can only do it for one as the previous poster has said. Still it might help somebody... And, for anybody getting dropped off by car you can get pretty close from the East side - Romford Road - of the Olympic park certainly within ten minutes cycling. I hope you all have a good time!

I appreciate the draw of closed roads and a big event, but for me that's not what I want from a bike ride. The additional hassle and promotional/advertorial/letmesellyousomething stuff would be enough for me to say no thanks.

I rode the Manchester to Blackpool ride one year because I was at a loose end and it was on. The first 10 miles were people weeping after crashing, the next 10 were people dealing with punctures, there was a quick bit in the middle, then a pseudo sprint for the finish line. Then I rode home, and the ride home was far better.

All this agony over a bike ride?
I can go out and ride 100 miles tomorrow for nothing, on nicer roads, with better scenery, better food, and bloody miles better beer and an appreciably lower number of clowns on bikes.

You're missing the point of cycling by miles....

Abandon? Really! Do you know how many people have applied and been turned down!

There are no safety briefings, you just get your documents and get out of there.

I would imagine that there are many reasons for the way this event is managed;

Registration in person 2-4 days pre event at Excel:
The event is over subscribed, postal registrations up to 4 weeks in advance would open up black market sales of places.
A typical Wiggle sportive has safety briefings before the event, this is not possible with the number of participants in RL100. Safety briefings are therefore presented at the registration event, insurances demand this takes place.
As noted, there are many sponsors of the event, most will have a stall at the registration expo in order for you to buy last minute bits (rain jackets did a roaring trade last year!).
Local economy, lets not forget that many parties need to buy in to the event. A guarantee of a potential 25000 people needing hotel beds, lunch/ evening meals and generally heading to London spending money helps sell the event to local authorities.

This sort of registration process is pretty much the norm for a mass participation event of any type.

I made a weekend of the ride, which meant I booked my train super early amd got silly cheap first class prices. The money I saved on trains I spent a little more and stayed at the Waldorf on the strand. Cycled the 5-6 miles in the morning to the start and had less than a mile to go back when I completed the ride. Night out and cheap first class train home. Gentle few miles from train station. Something to remember, than the usual sportive.

I'm staying at Premiere Inn Waltham Abbey. This is 15 minutes, by car, away from the organised car parking at Lee Valley Ice Centre, which in turn has a guided route to the start which is about 3 miles away (I think).

I could not find a more simplistic way of registering on Saturday and being less than 40-50 minutes (max) away from the start on the Sunday.

Waltham Abbey still have rooms available.

Isn't the most obvious solution to the problem of getting from Acton (15.7 miles) or Richmond (17.6 miles) to Excel before trains start running for a cycling event .....TO RIDE YOUR BIKE TO THE START? Leave yourself an hour and 15 minutes and spin there in the little ring. Trust me, pre-6.00am is probably the most (or on one view, the only) pleasant time to ride through London.

ah so a ruse to get people to pay for a show but seriously in huge events like this electronic means surely ?

You would think there would be a better way. We were told this though.

"If you travel to Registration
at ExCeL by bicycle, there will
be bicycle storage facilities
at the Prudential RideLondon
Cycling Show."

going to be thick here but why not just have a nice modern electronic way of signing in using a phone app. Then pick up the number on the day easy ?

There's obviously an ulterior motive in forcing people to go to Excel. For anyone that works in central London, it's not exactly convenient, you wouldn't be able to get there and back during a lunch break.

It's not a particularly nice area either, or good for cycling. I wouldn't leave anything but an old beater locked up on the streets around there.

I'm staying at my mate's place in Acton (west London), we'd heard there were special trains travelling from there so figured we were sorted. What we didn't anticipate was that the first train from Acton (or indeed Richmond) wouldn't arrive at Stratford until well after both our load and start times. We've decided to just get the train anyway and turn up late and hope that they still let us start.

Bit silly for the trains to not be adequately early for the earlier start times but then I do appreciate that the whole thing is a big logistical undertaking for them and that putting on a special train at 5am might not be the easiest thing to staff. That said I guess that's why I've parted with almost 60 quid.

If you give your (signed) letter they sent you with your latest pack, a photocopy of your passport and a letter of permission for a friend then they can pick up your numbers etc for you. Only one per person though.

Sure the ride will be great but I'm doing this one once only due to the hoops you have to jump through to do it and the high cost. Someone else's turn next year anyway.