So yesterday started by getting up far too early, drinking coffee far too early, eating breakfast far too early, leaving the hotel and riding in a large crowd of cyclists to the start. Big praise to the dalmatian, who I saw finish too. Raspberries to Exevelo Red Light Jumpers (who didn't profit from it because the cross-traffic at the next junction stopped them until we caught up anyway). The start looked well-organised... but you know this story...
Then my experience probably differs from most of you. I pulled a U-turn and rode back out after waving "my" rider off. I had hoped to ride my folding bike out of the east corner of the olympic park to join National Route 1 but after three attempts all blocked by footpath closures, I gave up on that and returned to CS2. The Greenway northeastbound is also still shut, so I turned off left onto "THE NE" which ran along a mix of gravel track, paving slabs, cobbles and boards (OK on a folding bike with I think 47s - a couple were coming the other way on road bikes with numbers on and I wouldn't really fancy that - actually, by this time, surely they would have been too late to start for the 100? They both had black numbers on which I think signified the 100) alongside water over Bow Locks (definitely a dismount and push!), under the A12 (seeing only cyclists heading south on it) and to Limehouse Basin where I turned right onto Narrow Street, went to its end and popped out by permanent barriers next to the exit of the Limehouse Link tunnels.
Pedestrian bridge, Bow Lock
©
Julian Osley,
cc-by-sa.
Limehouse Tunnel western portal
©
Richard Croft,
cc-by-sa.
I chatted with a few riders who were waiting for others, then moved into the shade as the sun came out (rather than put my legionnaires hat on) and a lovely couple from near Gatwick who were waiting to cheer their daughter told me about the rider tracking website which was to prove very helpful. Maybe I had heard of it and forgotten. I definitely knew about the app but like those people, it didn't work on my phone. About half an hour after the start time, I cheered and applauded the rider - there's fantastic reverb of applause off of those walls and the marshals also started clapping too. I got smiled at
I stayed a few minutes tapping a rhythm with my metal pump on the barriers but all the barriers seem to make the same note so you can't get any sort of tune going.
Back onto Narrow Street and I headed onto CS3 towards central London, taking me over the tunnel exit which was why I picked that as my first cheering point.
Cycle Superhighway 3 leading from behind Limehouse Tunnels portal
©
Richard Croft,
cc-by-sa.
Then along Cable Street and around Leman Street, I saw two riders with numbers on - I wonder what happened to them? They didn't look in the mood for a crazy guy on a bike quizzing them, so I wheeled on. I strapped the luggage to the bike and checked out of the hotel, then set off westwards through central London parallelish to the ride route (the central bit of CS3 aka EW Superhighway was closed) which was very very quiet except for a few buses. I made a bit of a mess of getting onto the NW superhighway (CS6) Blackfriars junction but it was quiet enough that I doubt anyone noticed. I crossed over the ride route here but there were really only a few stragglers by now.
I headed south on the new CS6 until it met my old familiar CS7 on a rebuilt street. It was pretty quiet but I could still always see another cyclist. Then down an unprotected bit of CS7 to the Oval junction and a right turn and a bit of road took me to the protected CS5. Vauxhall was a mess. So many motorists were still trying to turn onto the bridge despite lots of signs and the marshals (actually security guards) between the cones, then motorists queueing in the continuing lanes wouldn't let them in and some try to force their way in and crunch and some shouting and no-one's moving any more and yikes!
London : Battersea - Nine Elms Road, cycling like it's 1999 
©
Lewis Clarke,
cc-by-sa.
I followed some LCN crap cycle lanes route along Nine Elms to pick up paint+pray CS8 near Battersea Park. This whole section was really very busy. I was planning to head to where the A3 crossed under the ride route because there's also a cycling tunnel and a pub and I thought I could walk over Putney Bridge and then stay to the north of the route back into central London. By the time I reached Wandsworth and CS8 had finally few enough motorists that I felt safe to stop and check the rider tracker, it was clear I wasn't going to get there in time because they'd gone much faster than forecast and I'd been slowed by the motorists on the roads, so I rode back to Battersea Bridge by a slightly different route and through a couple of road closures with the security guards' permission.
As I rode over the bridge brow, I could see cyclists all along Cheyne Walk to the left and Chelsea Embankment to the right. It was possibly the most impressive sight of the day - even more so than the start or the mall just because the streets looked so ordinary, as far as you could see from the bridge and you couldn't really see the lack of diversity among the cyclists. It didn't look like a special event. It was how I feel London should look in 10 years if we got things right.
Anyway, enough dreaming of cycle-topia and back to reality! The small team of marshals at the north end of the bridge were operating a two-step crossing, diverting riders one side of an island and then the other. It seemed to work pretty well apart from the occasional idiot walking out into the street despite being told to wait (sometimes being pulled back by security guards, who grew more numerous while I waited) and the occasional unobservant or uneducated rider ignoring the flag direction or even the marshal stood in the closed lane!
The rider passed and I cheered and clapped and shouted again. It was less noticeable because people around this section were cheering and clapping everyone anyway. They didn't seem to be a charity cheering point or anything - just well-wishers, or maybe an especially big group of rider friends.
I heard later that if I had made it to Wimbledon Hill, there were quite a lot of cheering groups all along it anyway, so maybe it was better to be by the river.
My final ride was north-ish away from the race route to Hyde Park basically along LCN 45 and then east to Hyde Park Corner and Green Park. I know it's not the shortest route but it looked simplest and I was making it up as I rode along after the change of plan. Although most of the roads were open, lots of motorists were queued on the east-west routes so I guess few could get to the north-south roads. After the motorists polluting Battersea and neighbouring areas, this was a nice relief. Minor complication in Hyde Park as South Carriage Drive seemed closed by some run, but the cycle track alongside Rotten Row was open, but busy of course, as I guess it was taking the traffic of three or four routes. Lots of riders with numbers on their handlebars.
London: western end of Rotten Row
©
Chris Downer,
cc-by-sa.
Compared to the rest of the event, the entrance to Green Park was a shambles. The most noticeable signs were ones telling you where not to go and what not to do. I'm not sure I would have found the meeting points if I hadn't remembered what I'd seen on the map the day before... but I got a coffee, propped the bike up at a nearby tree and was still drinking it when rejoined by the rider... and then we rejoin the story that most of you know, watching some sportive riders finish, hanging around to see the end of the pro race and then heading home. All in all, an enjoyable day for both spectator and rider.
I'm sorry if anyone feels I've waxed too lyrical, but I felt there wasn't enough info out the for spectators about what to expect, especially about practical things like crossing the race route (central London: try to use bridges over it instead; later in the course, there will be crossing points somewhere, but not all the marshals or guards know where) and the motor-geddon between Wandsworth and Vauxhall which I'd avoid if I did it again, probably by finding a route that stayed north of the river to Putney or maybe staying on CS7 to Clapham Common and then heading west but that would reduce number of shortcuts back to the route. I hope it helps someone in future.
