RideLondon-Surrey 100 (2015) Anyone?

[vickster]

I want to do it of course, I've trained hard for it since having knee surgery in February but I'm not prepared to take unnecessary risk if heavy rain is forecast

I didn't pull out last year due to the weather. In June I was strongly advised not to attempt it by the consultant surgeon who cleaned the infection out of my leg caused my being knocked off. From May, up until that point, I had been trying to train to do it, but ended up with overuse injuries as a result of that training and my other leg trying to make up for post injury muscle wasting. I hadn't been able to ride for several months following the accident and subsequent surgery and I lost a load of calf muscle, which I still haven't regained. I was gutted at having to pull out

I have no idea how many people pulled out last year or their reasons for doing so. Or indeed how many took up those places this year

Anyhow, I'm leaving it there. Good luck for your ride and fundraising

 

[Steppylud]

It is going to be a beautiful day

 

[sleaver]

I'm looking forward to going down Whitehall, turning onto and then The Mall. Not because it is the finish, but because if it is anything like last year, the crowd was like nothing else.

 

[EltonFrog]

@sleaver eckshooooally, this is my third time. 1st time I got in on the ballot, 2nd & 3rd charity places.

 

[Simontm]

I'm looking forward to going down Whitehall, turning onto and then The Mall. Not because it is the finish, but because if it is anything like last year, the crowd was like nothing else.

wet?

 

[sleaver]

wet?

Nope. Believe it or not, it was actually sunny when I finished

If you've never done it before, I won't give it away. Hopefully they will be as good as last year though.

 

[PK99]

wet?

I arrived at the finish perfectly dry. the last hour or so had been with no rain and technical fabrics are great. I did not bother putting on a waterproof layer at all - much more comfortable just getting wet!

 

[jefmcg]

Damn this dissertation that I am writing which is already making me wonder if I am ill or just tired.

This probably explains a lot. I agreed with you a few pages back, and you attacked me. I then made another point, also agreeing with you and you turned and attacked me again. Now you are attacking Vickster both for thinking of withdrawing AND for not withdrawing last October.

I think you are more stressed than you realise.

 

[sleaver]

@jefmcg eh

If the 'few pages back' thing is how the start times work, I'm still waiting for you to post a link to the information If you remember, I said I would quite happily be proved wrong if you could. Yep, you read that right, if you can link to your information, I will quite happy say I was wrong

As for Vickster, she did withdraw last year and I haven't said anything about that because I know she did it based on medical advice as she said so in both this thread and last years. So I don't know why you are saying she didn't.

As for her 'thinking about withdrawing this year', if you go back over the posts, I think you will find that I was actually trying to encourage her to take part by putting aside my thoughts on people withdrawing because of rain (I even said that in a post ). When she became dismissive of that encouragement, I gave in.

Vickster also made a comment about people who have entered more than once. I think you'll find that probably everyone in here who has offered her encouragement will have done it at least twice by the end of Sunday and one every year. Is that anyway to treat people who are trying to help her?

So yeah, if saying I am happy to be proved wrong and putting my real thoughts aside to offer encouragement to someone only to be made as though I wished I hadn't and to see comments made against others who have also offered encouragement is being stressed then fine, that is your opinion

 

[vickster]

I never actually said what my views are on people doing it more than once. I have no issue with it per se, but priority should be given to those who haven't done it before (and maybe it is, I don't administer the ballot). If there are then spaces left either initially or spaces become available, then there could be a second ballot. Maybe someone else got my place last year, I don't know.
I also don't know how many people are unsuccessful in getting charity places, however there are always charities who post on here after the draw is made offering spaces, so I'm assuming there is no major over subscription

I have clear reasons for not wishing to put myself at unnecessary risk if the weather is bad. There were reports of nasty crashes in the bad weather which would probably have been more in number if the course had not been shortened to take out the areas that were deemed higher risk by the organisers after a full risk assessment. I volunteered last year, went to a training session given by the operations director, they would not have taken that decision lightly

Yes I can ride as safely as I can ride but I can't influence what others do, either because they take risks or simply lose control. I realise it is not a risk free event but wet weather is detrimental to safety on a bike, we've all skidded on wet drain covers at some point or other

 

[EltonFrog]

Enough with the silly arguments please.

 

[jefmcg]

Enough with the silly arguments please.

Yes, exactly. That's why I didn't offer the proof demanded above. It was getting needlessly aggressive, and it's not my "thread". I missed the ballot, but I've been riding with vickster while she's been training and have done the western loop a few times myself, so I can hopefully offer some useful help, like my update on the road surfaces last weekend. I was also curious about the selection process and start times - I'm interested in data and also assumed my demographic would make me a shoo-in, so it's not as simple as I thought. Anyway, my hypotheticals seemed to anger sleaver, so I shut up. Happy to have a pointless internet fight as the next person, but not at the cost of derailing a thread which will otherwise help the riders who need info and advice for next weekend.

To that end, I'll repeat: LOOK OUT FOR THE POTHOLE AT THE LIGHTS AT THE BOTTOM OF PUTNEY HILL

 

[Simontm]

To that end, I'll repeat: LOOK OUT FOR THE POTHOLE AT THE LIGHTS AT THE BOTTOM OF PUTNEY HILL

Left or right hand side?

BTW, stil no sign of workmen on the Portsmouth Road...at least when I go and return from work anyways.

 

[jefmcg]

Left or right hand side?

Left hand side, quite near the gutter as I recall. I think it was around some road furniture.

In fact, I think it's here - photo taken in may, and it's worse now.

@vickster does that look right to you?

(I'd still expect it to be fixed next weekend)

 

[sleaver]

Rather than having a sly dig after CarlP's post, I'll just reply to this bit:

I was also curious about the selection process and start times - I'm interested in data and also assumed my demographic would make me a shoo-in

On the Runners World forum, someone who worked for the company who ran the ballot for the London Marathon and he basically explained how it worked. Considering RideLondon is run by the same company, it could be assumed it would be the same process. I unfortunately can't find it now though so I won't say exactly what was in it.

If you look at any running forum around the time of the London Marathon ballot, you will see loads of post about people 'gaming' the system just to get a place.

Found it - http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/forum/general-running/london-marathonballot-or-hand-picked/176538.html