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Ride London Surrey 100 logistics – borderline abandonment.

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  • July 14, 2015 at 2:36 pm #24435
    Matt eaton

    Hi folks, I’m after a bit of shared knowledge from anyone doing this ride.

    I’m signed up as part of a group. I won the places in a draw from British Cycling. Logistics were always going to be a challenge but we’ve been become aware of a requirement to go to London in the few days leading up to the ride to pick up numberplates etc.This is a problem for us as we live over 100 miles from London and most of us planned to travel on Sunday morning. Not to put too fine a point on it I’m not going back and forth to London the day before to sort this stuff out.

    Anyone in a similar position? Any ideas for solutions other than sacking it off and going for a bike ride (my number one option ATM).

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  • July 15, 2015 at 8:23 pm #853853
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    Matt eaton

    Anthony.C wrote:If you are

    Anthony.C wrote:
    If you are part of a team doing 20 miles each and you can’t go down the day before and stay the night I really wouldn’t bother, driving 200 miles in a day plus sorting out your documents is a lot of hassle to ride 20 miles. It would be worth it if you were doing it solo, this will be my third time.

    We’re all doing the full distance. To be honest I wouldn’t have bothered at all for 20 miles, just too much messing about for a short ride even without considering the trip to the Excel the day before. I had an opportunity to do the Manchester closed road ride but decided against it for the same reason. Multiple laps of the same route isn’t really my idea of a fun day out on the bike either; fine (and often necessary) for racing but not for a leisure ride. Luckily we’ve found out that if one or more of us drop out the others can still ride so I won’t feel guilty if I just sack the whole thing off.

    July 15, 2015 at 8:05 pm #853851
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    Matt eaton

    ianrobo wrote:
    To be fair

    ianrobo wrote:

    To be fair Matt it is easier there as traffic levels much lighter and of course int he summer cyclists give the Alpine region a lot of cash they never used to have.

    You’re right, I’m just feeling pretty cynical about the whole thing now, especially if this business about going to the Excell really is purely an exercise in retailing. When other events operate in this way is there always this sort of retail presence?

    The flip side to the road closures in France is that their road network, by virtue of the traffic levels, is a bit less dense than ours. Drivers who want to use these roads could be in for big diversions or long waits whereas here our dense road network would make diversions easier. I’m convinced that it could be done here if the will existed.

    July 15, 2015 at 6:30 pm #853849
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    ianrobo

    Matt eaton wrote:
    It’s also

    Matt eaton wrote:

    It’s also interesting to read on this site that over in France there’s the opportunity to ride some iconic climbs on closed roads for free; just rock up and charge up. I know its not quite the same thing but it does make us look a bit backward here in the UK.

    To be fair Matt it is easier there as traffic levels much lighter and of course int he summer cyclists give the Alpine region a lot of cash they never used to have.

    July 15, 2015 at 6:16 pm #853847
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    Matt eaton

    bikebot wrote:surly_by_name

    bikebot wrote:
    surly_by_name wrote:
    bikebot wrote:
    There’s obviously an ulterior motive in forcing people to go to Excel.

    Really? What might that be then?

    This strikes me as a new level of mindless paranoia.

    So you’re the one person that doesn’t know that Excel is taken over as huge retail exhibition at the same time.

    I’ve done quite a bit of trade exhibition work in my professional past, those sort of venues are often terrible for even the most basic IT facilities. If they were only interested in registering people, there are plenty of smaller conference centres in central London which would be better suited.

    Everyone is being herded out to Excel becauses the sponsors want us to.

    This is a really valid observation and I dare say that stall holders will have paid a pretty penny based on the promise of guaranteed footfall. A bit like taxi drivers in some parts of the world who offer you a cheaper fare as long as you don’t mind making a stop at their friends shop on the way to where you want to be.

    It’s also interesting to read on this site that over in France there’s the opportunity to ride some iconic climbs on closed roads for free; just rock up and charge up. I know its not quite the same thing but it does make us look a bit backward here in the UK.

    July 15, 2015 at 5:35 pm #853845
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    bikebot

    surly_by_name wrote:bikebot

    surly_by_name wrote:
    bikebot wrote:
    There’s obviously an ulterior motive in forcing people to go to Excel.

    Really? What might that be then?

    This strikes me as a new level of mindless paranoia.

    So you’re the one person that doesn’t know that Excel is taken over as huge retail exhibition at the same time.

    I’ve done quite a bit of trade exhibition work in my professional past, those sort of venues are often terrible for even the most basic IT facilities. If they were only interested in registering people, there are plenty of smaller conference centres in central London which would be better suited.

    Everyone is being herded out to Excel becauses the sponsors want us to.

    July 15, 2015 at 4:30 pm #853843
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    Anthony.C

    Well you do have to walk
    Well you do have to walk through some crappy stalls on the way out but nobody forces you to buy anything.

    July 15, 2015 at 4:23 pm #853841
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    CXR94Di2

    I made a weekend of the ride,
    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.

    July 15, 2015 at 4:17 pm #853839
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    Iamnot Wiggins

    surly_by_name wrote:bikebot

    surly_by_name wrote:
    bikebot wrote:
    There’s obviously an ulterior motive in forcing people to go to Excel.

    Really? What might that be then?

    This strikes me as a new level of mindless paranoia.

    Not at all – it’s the ideal opportunity for retail partners & sponsors to set up shop & flog a load of gear to those who have to go and pick up their packs.

    July 15, 2015 at 2:53 pm #853837
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    AWP

    I’m staying at Premiere Inn
    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.

    July 15, 2015 at 2:14 pm #853835
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    surly_by_name

    Isn’t the most obvious
    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.

    July 15, 2015 at 2:05 pm #853833
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    surly_by_name

    bikebot wrote:There’s

    bikebot wrote:
    There’s obviously an ulterior motive in forcing people to go to Excel.

    Really? What might that be then?

    This strikes me as a new level of mindless paranoia.

    July 15, 2015 at 1:52 pm #853831
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    ianrobo

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

    July 15, 2015 at 1:08 pm #853829
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    Anthony.C

    You would think there would
    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.”

    July 15, 2015 at 12:58 pm #853827
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    ianrobo

    going to be thick here but
    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 ?

    July 15, 2015 at 12:51 pm #853825
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    bikebot

    There’s obviously an ulterior
    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.

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