RideLondon-Essex 100 (2022) Anyone?

[PaulSB]

After 24 hours to reflect, have a few beers and a chat with club mates the conclusion is this is a much better route than the Surrey one. The absence of the three climbs, especially Leith Hill, which were awful bottle necks hugely improved the ride and overall enjoyment of the day. If it hadn't been for the medical emergency we wouldn't have experienced any delays.

Very impressed with the overall organisation, the huge number of marshals at every point they could conceivably have been needed, very helpful and friendly attitude of everyone we encountered and the good people of Essex who cheered us on though I expected bigger crowds, toilets well spaced along the route and plenty of feed stops. I didn't use them but club mates said they were good.

Terrible road surface in Epping Forest.

We set off at 6.15 and would have been finished around 11.30 except for the emergency so I rolled in around 12.10. Very impressed by the high standard of riding with many, many experienced club (I presume) riders holding the line at speed clearly indicating their intentions. All very important at speeds of 22/24 sometimes hitting 29/30.

Given the size of the roads I was surprised to see a number of apparently individual crashes. I was also surprised by the slowing on inclines on a basically flat route. Mind you those bridges and underpasses on the last ten miles or so hurt me.

Disappointments? None. Small criticism? A lack of signage or information for those of us who don't know London about the best way back across the river. I walked back over Tower Bridge as I had the impression other bridges were closed.

Puzzles? What are these "ks" lots of folk chat about? 🤔 When did Feed Stops become Rider Welfare Areas? 🤣

A good day out and everyone talking about returning in 2023.

👍

 

[Dogtrousers]

Nice to hear a report from the sharp end of the ride, @PaulSB

Interestingly we were still trundling around the concrete jungle of Docklands, about to join the A12 when we got our first sight of the early starters returning. That would have been, I dunno, about 10am-ish. A bit dispiriting to see people about to finish when you still have 90 miles to go! I guess they were ahead of the emergency closure.

If I do it again I'll be giving the rider welfare hubs, or whatever they are called, a miss, and relying on the portaloos, and small shops/stands selling drinks etc. I didn't realise there would be so many portaloos available. The organisers certainly made sure there was no excuse for hopping off and wazzing up the wall and annoying the locals (although I saw a few doing just that).

Mind you, if it goes back to ballot-only, instead of first come first served, I doubt that I will get a chance to do it again.

 

[ErikLondon]

Hey all

Newbie on this forum but thought I’d add some feedback on my experience.

As some background - 45yrs old and did not sit on a bike for 20+ yrs until this year. Decided to get fit and lose a couple of middle-age kilos so have been commuting to work for 4 months.

Longest ride of my life was 60miles which I did a couple of weeks ago to test whether RideLondon would kill me…!

Ended up with a 6.40 start time so was thrown in with some really fast riders. My game plan was to go slow and steady and thats what I did for the first 40 miles - sometimes felt like I was standing still with the groups blasting past! Tried to be very safe and always stuck to the left

Next 40miles speeded up slightly and then really went for it for the last 20miles. Ended up with a final moving time of 6:07 which I was super happy with but a bit annoyed as I went out too slowly and left too much in the tank - could definitely gone sub 6 minutes. Legs felt ok at the end and cycled home another 10 miles after but this am my neck was definitely feeling it!

For a first event I had an absolute blast - like my own personal Tour de France and I tried to take in the whole event. The start in London, people cheering along the route, the closed roads, cheering crowds at Tower Bridge - will never forget it. Lots of moaning about the medal but I think its pretty cool and its sitting proudly next to my kids’ sporting trophies

Organisation seemed pretty perfect - apart from one comedy moment when a car managed to get on the route. Didnt see any crashes and everyone on the road and “welfare” stations (stupid name) was super friendly - lots of complete strangers shaking hands at the end. All the charity staff and people cheering was great

Was very surprised at the number of punctures - seemed people continuously on the roadside - and my heart went out to guy who got a puncture literally one mile from the end - thanks to Gatorskin for my puncture free ride!

The guy dressed as a chicken that blasted past me at about 40mph and the guy blasting cheesy techno music and a huge smile were the comedy highlights. On the way back ended up cycling through the freeride course with a couple of hundred kids through London streets which was also a really cool

Have a place for the BHF London to Brighton and will definitely try and get another place for next year

Ps - hope everyone that did crash and esp the guy that had the heart attack are all fine

See you next year!

 

[The Central Scrutinizer]

@PaulSB @ErikLondon
Great comments
Reflecting on the day like others i thought it was brilliant.I just wish i had taken it all in at the time.
Even if it is just a ballot next year and i don't get in i will then try for a charity place.
It was such a buzz riding on closed roads with thousands of liked minded people.
@ErikLondon your still young as i will be seventy next year but i will keep on going while i'm fit and healthy.

 

[T4tomo]

Have a place for the BHF London to Brighton

Unless you start very early, expect massive queues getting out London and at any subsequent hill, and appalling riding standards, but a friendly atmosphere.

 

[ianrauk]

Unless you start very early, expect massive queues getting out London and at any subsequent hill, and appalling riding standards, but a friendly atmosphere.

This /\
Don't go on the ride expecting to get any personal bests or fast times.

 

[T4tomo]

The trick is to ride slowly normally. Lower the bar

Actually I guess I was lucky as I was never slowed down at all, and never had to queue apart from before the start obviously, and two brief pauses where marshals held riders where open roads crossed the route. That added maybe a minute or two.

Apart from that it was fast (by my standards). The fastest ton I've ever done by 40 min (my previous best was powered by a humungous tailwind), and about two hours faster than my usual time for 100 miles.

But I was fortunate not to get caught behind the emergency closure.

are you talking about London/Essex or London to Brighton, as the last 3 posts were the latter?


The London Essex was a good designed route for a mass ride, as it was mainly big closed roads without steep hills.

L2B has traffic, narrow lanes and some sharp narrow hills, where people pushing their bikes 2 or 3 abreast reduce the whole thing to walking pace even for those that can ride up an 8% gradient.

 

[Dogtrousers]

are you talking about London/Essex or London to Brighton, as the last 3 posts were the latter?


The London Essex was a good designed route for a mass ride, as it was mainly big closed roads without steep hills.

L2B has traffic, narrow lanes and some sharp narrow hills, where people pushing their bikes 2 or 3 abreast reduce the whole thing to walking pace even for those that can ride up an 8% gradient.

Ah L2B. Crossed wires. Apols to @ianrauk I got the wrong end of the stick. I was thinking of RL.

I've never done an organised L2B (apart from with the Fridays). Althougn I have ridden it on my own (and back) many times. And yes, when riding on my own my riding is appalling and I get terribly slow times!

 

[ErikLondon]

This /\
Don't go on the ride expecting to get any personal bests or fast times.

Thanks guys - have heard the same

RideLondon was a personal challenge for me

For BHF I am riding for a charity with a couple of mates so this will be a genuine fun day out

Slow ride down, stop along the way and our families are meeting us at the finish for an evening out in Brighton

 

[super_davo]

Interesting reading the views of fairly new cyclists here.

My take, as an experienced cyclist, was that the most buzz in respect of the event was from riding through the towns and village high streets with people on the side of the road cheering, and the most enjoyable riding was on the lanes between Felsted and Writtle. Way too many of the miles were on major roads like the A12 and the A414 that had neither. As you could use the whole road I didn't have any problem getting past people at any point, even on the narrowest lanes. So IMO they played it way too safe in terms of the "pitching to a mixed ability field" and I very much doubt it would encourage people to think "I'd really like to ride there again".

I'm in two minds as to whether I'd do it again... it's a huge event with lots of interest in my own patch but its expensive, a lot of faff, and they could do so much better with the route even working under the constraints they must have.

 

[The Central Scrutinizer]

I usually do the London to Southend every year(2020,2021cancelled).Nice flattish route with the option to add on thirteen miles at the end to make it up to sixty five.
Never seen any hold ups.

 

[mustang1]

What the hell? The 100 mile ride was a first-come-first-serve??? I just went straight fkr the 60 coz i thought the 100 was a ballot and no way i would get in this late! Blast blast blast! I dont believe it! Wth!

Oh well.

 

[The Central Scrutinizer]

What the hell? The 100 mile ride was a first-come-first-serve??? I just went straight fkr the 60 coz i thought the 100 was a ballot and no way i would get in this late! Blast blast blast! I dont believe it! Wth!

Oh well.

Yes first come first served opened on november 10th for 10,000 places.
It sold out in 24 hours.

 

[T4tomo]

What the hell? The 100 mile ride was a first-come-first-serve??? I just went straight fkr the 60 coz i thought the 100 was a ballot and no way i would get in this late! Blast blast blast! I dont believe it! Wth!

Oh well.

Then, with just a few miles till the end, i just had to stop coz i had gone too hard on the hills (remember from a few paragraphs up?)

I. just. Had. To. Stop.

Then i strugggled the last xouple of miles in agony (and on the way home).

Probably just as well.....

 

[Dogtrousers]

What the hell? The 100 mile ride was a first-come-first-serve??? I just went straight fkr the 60 coz i thought the 100 was a ballot and no way i would get in this late! Blast blast blast! I dont believe it! Wth!

Oh well.

It was first come first served for a short period, then when that was full, it went to the ballot. So it depends when you looked.

I grabbed the "first come" opportunity because I'd entered the ballot for RL every year since it first started in 2013(?) and failed every time, so I couldn't believe my luck.

One thing I did notice was that, at least from where I was looking from the back of the ride, Ride London was a noticeably more diverse than, say, the Hell of the Ashdown which I did back in February, and which I do regularly. That was predominantly (but not exclusively) miserable looking white men (myself included - it was miserably cold). A similar point about diversity was mentioned in the Gruaniad piece posted by @mjr above.

If the ballot is weighted towards groups who are normally under-represented (and I don't know if it is), then I'd see that as generally a good thing, and if it means I don't get a place, I'm OK with that. I've had a go, enjoyed it, and I ride enough 100 milers for it not to actually be a novelty or really all that much of a challenge for me.