Since being successful in the ballot, I had been looking forward to doing the inaugural Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100. Being closed road and not that hilly (about 4,500ft of climbing) I hoped I could post a good time. My target was top third of riders and under 6 hours elapsed time.
I set off from home on the Saturday and crawled through London until I reached the Radisson Blu near Canary Wharf. The cars are valet parked and as the concierge came out I wondered how to get my bike to the room. I shouldn't have worried as half the hotel guests were cyclists and bikes were everywhere!
I jumped on the DLR to the Excel centre and registered. I had thought it would be jammed but I walked in and was done in 2 minutes. Brilliant.
The exhibition held my attention for about half an hour and then I trogged back to the hotel to sort directions to the start (Olympic Park) and get my stuff ready. After a couple of texts, I jumped back on the DLR and met BenB off Cyclechat for a bite to eat, couple of beers and a chat. Although tempted to stay, I then headed back.
I had to be at the start at 05:58 which meant an alarm call at 04:20. This meant ideally I needed to sleep by 8.30pm! Amazingly I managed this and slept well until 03:30. That 7 hours was a bonus.
I had a taxi booked and we set off at half five. It wasn't needed really and next time I would ride it. The closer to QEOP we got, the more cyclists there were on the street. It was a bit surreal.
The first task was to drop your numbered bag off (to be collected at the finish) and then join the long queue for the loos. There followed a hanging around period before our wave (Black K) was due to be "loaded". Then a bit more hanging around until we were funnelled to the start area. All the time the Tannoy Announcer was rattling on. Not an easy task but he was a bit tiresome. Some called him the t(annoy) announcer.
My phone camera was not working, so I don't have many pics - and I borrowed this one from Nomadski on CycleChat.
Finally we set off. The actual timed start was a couple of miles down the road so I started reasonably steady and settled in. Then there was the start line and the pace picked up. The wind was not strong but was against us as we headed south. Soon groups were forming and I joined a fairly quick group of 5-6. I soon went to the front, looked at the lead guy so he knew I was joining, and did a quick stint. We then stuck together for the next 40ish miles. It was awesome, I had never done "chaingang" like this and we were flying, passing riders all the time. After 40 miles we had averaged 22.3mph.
I should now be describing the sights of London and the Surrey approaches but I can't recall much of that as I had been focused on riding hard and watching the rear wheel 6 inches ahead of me.
Around this point our gang had dropped a couple of riders and then I slipped off the back. We then had the section with the 3 main hills. Newlands didn't really register much. Leith was harder but not a monster by any means. I really liked Box Hill. It is a bit iconic for cyclists (and motorbikers) and the tarmac was perfect. The switchbacks were like an Alpine scene in miniature. After this section came a pretty flat run back to London.
I had originally planned to adopt a two stop strategy but was going well at the 40 mile mark and changed to a one stop plan. As the miles wore on and I realised I was on line for a really good time, - and possibly one I may not get another chance at - I started thinking I may be able to go straight through. I had enough food on me, but had only started with 2 bidons of liquid (most of which had been drunk by this time).
The run in was great and the crowds in the towns really lifted us. I joined and left a few groups and then settled with a guy for a while, taking it in turns at the front. The wind was mainly at our backs now so the speeds were high.
I was suffering a bit now and had to dig deep. The miles carried on ticking away. With about 8 miles to go I joined up with a guy who was leading his lady partner home, and telling me he was hoping to beat the 5 hour mark. I tagged on and took my turns at the front, staying with them until just about the end.
The noise was awesome with spectators cheering and banging on the hoardings – I felt a lump in my throat.
I then picked my numbered bag up at the designated lorry – brilliant logistics - and after a rest, had some food and as many drinks as I could find. I set off to Blackfriar’s Wharf to get on one of the Clippers that were laid on for us cyclists. That was fun as well, speeding along the Thames and being dropped off at Canary Wharf. A short ride from there and I was back at the hotel.
On checking the results later, I had come 1,330th out of 15,051 finishers. That was inside the top 9% so I was really chuffed.
Brilliant event – and I definitely plan to do it again next year. Only problem is, I will want to beat my time and position. Ouch :)