RideLondon-Surrey 100 (2017) Anyone?

[road-tramp]

I'm quite looking forward to doing it, closed roads that will be bliss,

 

[srw]

Our tandem place, deferred from this year, now booked. Only 9 months to get properly fit again - since I'm currently laid up in bed with a stonking cold that feels like a very long journey.

 

[mjr]

Our tandem place, deferred from this year, now booked. Only 9 months to get properly fit again - since I'm currently laid up in bed with a stonking cold that feels like a very long journey.

Bless you!

 

[Frew]

I got accepted last year, but had the flu and didn't ride. Just paid up for next year, well looking forward to it, going to use it as a long weekend away with the wife minus kids.

 

[Rupie]

People have been complaining for a number of years about the safety of the event. Normally its the fast people saying the slow ones go too slow and sit in the middle, and the slow ones are fed up of big groups racing through tiny gaps at twice the speed as everyone else. I do think its a bit of both so we do need to learn to cycle together.
But it did get me thinking; if the ballot is random then how do all these large groups or clubs get in year after year ? There must be some cycle clubs that get given places must there ? they cant get everyone to apply and then share the accepted entries can they ?

 

[jefmcg]

People have been complaining for a number of years about the safety of the event. Normally its the fast people saying the slow ones go too slow and sit in the middle, and the slow ones are fed up of big groups racing through tiny gaps at twice the speed as everyone else. I do think its a bit of both so we do need to learn to cycle together.
But it did get me thinking; if the ballot is random then how do all these large groups or clubs get in year after year ? There must be some cycle clubs that get given places must there ? they cant get everyone to apply and then share the accepted entries can they ?

https://www.prudentialridelondon.co.uk/events/100/entries/british-cycling-club-challenge/

 

[vickster]

People have been complaining for a number of years about the safety of the event. Normally its the fast people saying the slow ones go too slow and sit in the middle, and the slow ones are fed up of big groups racing through tiny gaps at twice the speed as everyone else. I do think its a bit of both so we do need to learn to cycle together.
But it did get me thinking; if the ballot is random then how do all these large groups or clubs get in year after year ? There must be some cycle clubs that get given places must there ? they cant get everyone to apply and then share the accepted entries can they ?

Yes, clubs get an allocation, presumably from BC. Also possible that club riders join together and ride for a charity?

Edit link from @jefmcg

 

[steverob]

And also there's the fact that quite a few riders will pull over just a few yards after the start line and wait for their cycle club mates who happened to also get into the ride independently but had a later start wave, then they'll all ride together once everyone's start times have passed. Plus when I rode it, most of the large groups I saw going at speed didn't necessarily seem to be all from the same club either - pretty sure that some of the riders were just ones who'd tagged on the back of a fast moving group as it overtook them which ends up making an even larger chain gang.

 

[mjr]

And also there's the fact that quite a few riders will pull over just a few yards after the start line and wait for their cycle club mates who happened to also get into the ride independently but had a later start wave, then they'll all ride together once everyone's start times have passed.

Waiting is discouraged until after you exit the Limehouse tunnels, but this did indeed look like part of the cause of faster groups barrelling through slower individuals. Surely the club challenge riders should have some way to add any individual entries to their wave or very near waves?

 

[Rupie]

It seems to me; giving clubs team allocation takes up ballot places from people not in one of these "chosen clubs" and, especially if they have been going since the first year, helps create the race/time trial mentality when trying to better previous years times.

 

[steverob]

Waiting is discouraged until after you exit the Limehouse tunnels, but this did indeed look like part of the cause of faster groups barrelling through slower individuals. Surely the club challenge riders should have some way to add any individual entries to their wave or very near waves?

Yeah, but when has anyone ever paid any attention to the rules in RideLondon? In my wave there must have been 5 riders at least pull over to wait within 500 yards of the start line (and I started only about 10 waves from the end, so there can't have been many riders left to wait for) and in the pens I got talking to someone who'd spotted a few bikes with tri-bars and he was wishing he'd brought his - obviously he (and the riders he'd spotted) hadn't read any of the many pre-ride documents that very clearly marked them as prohibited on multiple occasions!

Anyway, I make it about another two weeks before this thread goes crazy with conspiracy theories about why "X" didn't get a ballot place for the 36th time in a row, even though they'd entered under 4 different addresses with varying estimated times and had paid in advance and had pledged their soul to Cthulhu...

 

[Dogtrousers]

Is it only two weeks?
I can't wait!

 

[jnex26]

Yeah, but when has anyone ever paid any attention to the rules in RideLondon? In my wave there must have been 5 riders at least pull over to wait within 500 yards of the start line (and I started only about 10 waves from the end, so there can't have been many riders left to wait for) and in the pens I got talking to someone who'd spotted a few bikes with tri-bars and he was wishing he'd brought his - obviously he (and the riders he'd spotted) hadn't read any of the many pre-ride documents that very clearly marked them as prohibited on multiple occasions!

Anyway, I make it about another two weeks before this thread goes crazy with conspiracy theories about why "X" didn't get a ballot place for the 36th time in a row, even though they'd entered under 4 different addresses with varying estimated times and had paid in advance and had pledged their soul to Cthulhu...

I've seen people stopped en-route or the use of tri-bars last year! and I was Blue B wave and that was really early on.

 

[steverob]

From the RideLondon Twitter account just now:

• BALLOT UPDATE: Ballot results for the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100 will start to be revealed next week!
  
• The earliest date you will hear from us is Tuesday 7 February and all applicants should have heard the outcome by 13 February.
  
• Everyone from the UK who gains a place in the ballot is sent the Congratulations magazine.
  
• Unsuccessful applicants will be sent the Commiserations magazine while overseas applicants will be contacted via email. #RideLondon

That should hopefully answer a few of the questions we're bound to see on here over the next few days. Let the waiting and drumming of fingers commence!

 

[Nomadski]

From the RideLondon Twitter account just now:

• BALLOT UPDATE: Ballot results for the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100 will start to be revealed next week!
  
• The earliest date you will hear from us is Tuesday 7 February and all applicants should have heard the outcome by 13 February.
  
• Everyone from the UK who gains a place in the ballot is sent the Congratulations magazine.
  
• Unsuccessful applicants will be sent the Commiserations magazine while overseas applicants will be contacted via email. #RideLondon

That should hopefully answer a few of the questions we're bound to see on here over the next few days. Let the waiting and drumming of fingers commence!

@themosquitoking you better get a congratulations magazine this year or you will be on the receiving end of a stern wagging finger. You have been warned.