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A wet sportive…

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  • August 4, 2014 at 11:01 pm #22071
    Leviathan

    [Yes, this is another Ride London 100 thread] So the weather for this weekend is looking 50/50, which raises the prospect of doing a sportive event in the rain. Recently there has been a couple of threads of interest, one about a gent who hadn’t done enough training for the RL100, and another about fear of descending. I’ve clocked up many miles this year and even some hills and at least years event topped out at 73kph coming down off Leith Hill, a speed I have never got anywhere close on an open road (anything over 50 is a bit worrying).

    Believe me it rains in Manchester, like anywhere else, but commuting to work it totally flat. If I am out on a training run I don’t tend to set off in the wet and if it starts coming down I don’t need to push it downhill.

    The answer is obviously not to take any risks (it’s not a race right? I don’t want to be in hospital with a broken leg, I have a train the catch.) The problem is if I am going up hill slowly and then downhill slowly too I have no chance of bettering last years time. I need the fast downhills to average my pace out. But if it is sketchy I am going to be on the brakes all the way down. I don’t want to be hit from behind by someone with a bike that makes swooshy noises as it goes by. How to maintain a reasonable pace in the wet or just recalibrate my expectations?

    yours Sincerely, Thor Hushovd.

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  • August 11, 2014 at 11:04 am #807719
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    Leviathan

    Re: gel wrappers; There were
    Re: gel wrappers; There were a lot on the road true but quite a few of them may have just been dropped from slippery fingers. I have never seen so many smashed sunglasses and rear lights, gloves etc on the road. There were actual bananaskins on the road.

    Newlands descent. I can understand the worry, It wasn’t just the speed that I could obtain that was the worry, it was the over-speed on other more cautious people if they moved over on you. Last year it was easier to hear free wheel noise which helps (the loader the more expensive seems to be.)

    Other micro acnedotes:
    I saw one gentleman in Leatherhead or Dorking with a gaily hand written sign saying ‘Go Away.’ I don’t think he noticed the tens of thousands of people on the road and roadside. I hope he will passively object to cyclists on other occasions.

    First puncture I saw was in the load queue at the start, one guys back wheel was bubbling.

    Also saw Lee Dixon at the start 3:47:03 Little B*stard
    Other results Ned Boulting 4:20:54, Chris Boardman 4:15:40 (must have dropped Ned at Putney.
    I LOVE Putney high street, burning down a dual carriageway on the right hand side and still pushing at 50kph, passing all comers whilst being cheered. Its slightly convex at the top so you just crest it and drop and drop.

    August 11, 2014 at 11:03 am #807717
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    Anonymous

    Al__S wrote:
    “slow down”

    Al__S wrote:

    “slow down” called the marshals. “I would if I had diskbrakes” was my thought as I plowed through magically missing any submerged obstacles.

    My favourite was the guy on the inside of a right-hand bend who called out “Puddle!” referring to a 30-foot wide pool of water. 😀

    That bridge was funny – people walking along the footpath and those of us who were brave (/stupid) just fording through.

    August 11, 2014 at 11:02 am #807715
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    andycoventry

    mudshark wrote:
    First

    mudshark wrote:

    First puncture I saw was about 1 mile after the start!

    Thats as far as I got before I got mine.

    I didn’t mind the wet, or the wind, for me the final straw was the open sewer pumping overflowing human waste into a massive puddle of sh*t which I rode through…. yuck……

    August 11, 2014 at 10:49 am #807713
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    Al__S

    Enjoyed it. I too saw lots of
    Enjoyed it. I too saw lots of people chucking away wrappers- littering arseholes. Even if it wasn’t wet, surely you’re washing your jersey afterwards anyway? If it hadn’t been wet it would have been sweaty, so why worry about a little gel dreg?

    The other reason for lots of punctures (I escaped) is that the rain washes stuff off the side of the roads.

    4:34:50. 0637 start. Pretty happy with that, went a bit quick (for me) early on and struggled in the last ten miles

    For those that weren’t there, this bridge was “interesting”, and there were other full-width, well over the rim,

    “slow down” called the marshals. “I would if I had diskbrakes” was my thought as I plowed through magically missing any submerged obstacles.

    August 11, 2014 at 10:42 am #807711
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    Leviathan

    Re: gel wrappers; There were
    Re: gel wrappers; There were a lot on the road true but quite a few of them may have just been dropped from slippery fingers. I have never seen so many smashed sunglasses and rear lights, gloves etc on the road. There were actual bananaskins on the road.

    Newlands descent. I can understand the worry, It wasn’t just the speed that I could obtain that was the worry, it was the over-speed on other more cautious people if they moved over on you. Last year it was easier to hear free wheel noise which helps (the loader the more expensive seems to be.)

    Other micro acnedotes:
    I saw one gentleman in Leatherhead or Dorking with a gaily hand written sign saying ‘Go Away.’ I don’t think he noticed the tens of thousands of people on the road and roadside. I hope he will passively object to cyclists on other occasions.

    First puncture I saw was in the load queue at the start, one guys back wheel was bubbling.

    August 11, 2014 at 10:21 am #807709
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    bashthebox

    Ha, I escaped punctures for
    Ha, I escaped punctures for the whole sportive, but on rolling out of Green Park after waiting out the post-ride torrential rain I heard a loud PSHSHSHSHSHSHSH. Massive hole in the tyre, and on changing the tubes I managed to pinch the first two I put in. Whoops.

    On the subject of littering – yeah, I saw a few people slinging wrappers to the side. Thought about having a word but decided it was more important to keep the peace and have people to work with instead. Which I slightly regret; I bloody hate littering.

    Coming down off Newlands was an experience – thought I was taking it carefully and then noticed my speedo was saying 41 mph and I was about to aquaplane around a corner. I’m pretty grateful to have stayed upright, really.

    No stopping, not enough feeding or drinking, but satisfied with the pace of it all, and The Experience.

    August 11, 2014 at 10:00 am #807707
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    Matt eaton

    Gizmo_ wrote:Have to ask

    Gizmo_ wrote:
    Have to ask though – is it normal for wet sportives to be completely littered with punctures? I didn’t get one, thankfully, but saw soooo many.

    Punctures are more common in the wet. I subscribe to the therory that its because a wet tyre picks up grit/flint/glass etc. which you then roll over mulitple times, rather than just once in dry conditions. The water also acts as a lubricant. it’s easier for a sharp wet thing to get through your tyre than a sharp dry thing.

    August 11, 2014 at 9:50 am #807705
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    Anonymous

    spin sugar wrote:One more

    spin sugar wrote:
    One more from me (probably…): know it happens all the time but was quite disappointed with the amount of discarded gel packets etc on the roads. Come ON, people. It’s still littering, you know.

    I was disgusted by that – a few here and there for most of the route, you could say that of 10,000 people (I was about halfway through the times) occasionally someone will drop one. But after the point towards the end – leaving Kingston I think – where volunteers were holding them out, the road was completely littered. Shameful.

    I did notice that the same part of the road was clear when the pros came through though, so at least the event organised sweepers.

    edit: don’t know what everyone else does, but I just slipped my empties inside my jersey. I figured that as I was soaking wet anyway, getting a bit sticky wouldn’t make any odds.

    August 11, 2014 at 9:25 am #807703
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    peterben

    And another thing; I too was
    And another thing; I too was appalled at the number of gel packets after some of the interim feed stations. What’s so hard about taking it back to dispose of. It just gives people another excuse to have a kick at these big events.
    Oh, and I found the London roads far worse in terms of sunken drain covers and potholes than those in Surrey where I was happily surprised at how good they were.

    August 11, 2014 at 9:20 am #807701
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    peterben

    I put full guards on my Giant
    I put full guards on my Giant Defy, given the sheer volume of water I’m sure it made no difference to me but those behind me seemed grateful. I did wonder what the hell I was doing at one point but on the whole a feeling of satisfaction on finishing. I had my highest average speed on any ride I have ever done and it was not achieved by hanging onto other wheels, I just rolled along overtaking and being overtaken.
    I am sorry the hills were cut but still “enjoyed” it though I think I may have trench foot!
    On the subject of punctures I have never seen so many people changing tubes, including some poor unfortunates before they had started.
    57 years old with arthritis in one hip and both shoulders. Keep riding people.

    August 11, 2014 at 9:17 am #807699
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    mudshark

    4:17 for me. Started at 7:05
    4:17 for me. Started at 7:05 which meant I was constantly riding past others and rarely had a suitable wheel to follow – a few guys flew past me so worse for them. I started with Laura Trott and her Dad, he put his hand on my back sometime later as he made a gap for them to get through us as we were so bunched up. I rode with a gilet and arm warmers as thought would have been too hot in a jacket, I got on OK but suspect a jacket would have been the best choice really. I was fine in light mitts rather than the full finger gloves recommended – it wasn’t cold and they’d just get soggy.

    First puncture I saw was about 1 mile after the start! I used winter tyres which did me well – also used a rear mud guard, most didn’t.

    Saw some bad crashes inc one on the 2nd right angle bend coming south towards Ripley before the hump back bridge. Apparently there were some nasty ones coming down from Newlands Corner inc one chap who took out some other more cautious riders. I was definitely erring on the side of caution.

    August 11, 2014 at 8:27 am #807697
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    Simon E

    spin sugar wrote:One more

    spin sugar wrote:
    One more from me (probably…): know it happens all the time but was quite disappointed with the amount of discarded gel packets etc on the roads. Come ON, people. It’s still littering, you know.

    But it’s an essential part of “looking pro” 🙁

    Glad you got round OK bikeboy76, I guess you have ‘unfinished business’ with this ride. As for it being “brutal” I guess it’s all relative, but it was quite warm. Would have been a different story if the temperatures had been 10º lower and a bitter wind blowing rain in your face on the return leg.

    August 11, 2014 at 6:02 am #807695
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    spin sugar

    One more from me
    One more from me (probably…): know it happens all the time but was quite disappointed with the amount of discarded gel packets etc on the roads. Come ON, people. It’s still littering, you know.

    August 11, 2014 at 12:10 am #807693
    0
    Leviathan

    4:58:22 including stops and
    4:58:22 including stops and some sort of dawdling at the start (as well as not announcing the shortening of the course, they didn’t say the start was the start, I was expecting an official start a couple of miles down the road like last year. I guess the timing strips should have given it away. He seemed too busy being comically amused by not knowing what wave letter he was on.) 3.42 is just crazy fast, no stopping, no stiff back no nothing. Just keep right you boys.

    We were lucky the start was dry given the hanging around, it started to rain coming out of London about 7:30. I was plenty hot by then and just carried on. I got to the water station at 38m but the second I stopped I started to freeze. I brought out a brand new Provision jacket bought from the expo on Saturday. They were doing a brisk trade!
    Early starters must have had the best of the weather as by the time I got to the Surrey lanes there were streams coming across the road [excuses readied] and flooded underpasses.

    The stopping power on my brakes was negligible coming down of Newlands Corner. It was more like speed mitigation than being able to stop. Everyone was spreading themselves out and there was a lot of riding to own tempo as getting on someones wheel was just asking for a face full of spray. I totally understand them skipping the more narrow windy descents of Leith and Box, that would be asking for trouble.

    The rain went on for over three hours, one guy said it was ‘just brutal.’ In fact it could have been a lot windier, I didn’t fancy crashing into falling branches. After a while it just seemed silly and you were able to enjoy it. I haven’t been that wet since I went rafting in a hail storm in the Alps. No hail but I did wonder if a carbon bike would be a good lightening conductor.

    I also saw the young fella lying behind a traffic island on the Embankment. He looked very distressed. I can only suggest he hit the curb on the island as it is fast but flat there. He was being taken care of through. One pair of catseyes in particular nearly did me in *speed wobble*

    Sods law of course, as soon as we get to the Mall the sun comes out and the Classic gets the good weather.

    Without the extra climbs it really took the heart out of the course, but it was challenging in a different way. And I now have to come back again to beat 2013.

    PS. I also walked past actor Ben Foster on St James Place. I going to count this as ‘meeting Lance Armstrong,’ he should have done the Ride dressed as Lance in USPS kit. Imagine peoples reaction.

    August 10, 2014 at 9:59 pm #807691
    0
    Anonymous

    I was far slower – but still
    I was far slower – but still had a great time. Hilariously bad rain in places. Riding through BB-deep water is fun.

    My waterproof gloves were soaked after 20 miles – to the extent I could clench my fist and squeeze water out – but still wind proof.

    Have to ask though – is it normal for wet sportives to be completely littered with punctures? I didn’t get one, thankfully, but saw soooo many.

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