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thejanullrichdietplan
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thejanullrichdietplan Switching to the Big Ring

thejanullrichdietplan

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At the weekend I was down south for the RideLondon 100 - This was a closed road sportive starting at the Olympic stadium heading through central London out to the Surrey Hills then back to London and finishing on the Mall a few hours before the pro racers did a slightly longer version of the same course. Anyway just thought i'd post some thoughts on the event as the ballot for next year is opening next Monday and some of you might be interested in what i found to be quite a unique cycling experience.

 

I was in a starting wave at 6.10, which meant I had to be at the Olympic Park an hour before to get in the starting pen so an even earlier start to get there from central London. The 5 mile trip was a bit more stressful than it should have been as i had neglected to put some lights in my kit bag but fortunately most of the traffic heading east was other cyclists. As for the ride itself there were many highlights - the start, which was neutralised, had us riding along the motorway then turning west and heading past Canary Wharf and through the Limehouse tunnel.

Was in a group of about 300 at this point, barely needing to pedal and coasting along about 25mph and this continued for the next few miles past the Tower of London and the City, along Embankment, up past the Ritz - it was all quite eerie as the streets at this point were deserted apart from the cyclists - if you've ever seen the movie '28 Days Later then it reminded me of the opening scene. Although minus the zombies. The first 40 odd miles were fast - only a couple of mild hills, one going over an overpass and one in Richmond Park which along with a few tight corners did thin the group out a fair bit although at about 50 was still pretty big.

 

Eventually we got into Surrey and the start of the hills proper. I had never been up of them before so didnt know what to expect which always makes the climbs that bit harder. First up was Newlands Corner which wasn't too bad, really nice descent off that with a wide road and smooth tarmac, then it was Leith Hill which was the hardest of the day, quite steep in places but also hot with it being enclosed with trees. Eventually made it to the top feeling quite pleased that while I had been dropped I hadnt quite lost sight of the group so felt i could catch them on the descent. I didnt manage this however and lost even more ground here than I did on the climb - the surface wasn't great, and it was like riding through a tunnel of trees so was struggling to make out any potholes and i also found it difficult to judge how tight the corners were so i minced down and by the bottom i was in what felt like the gruppetto with 3 others. We made a reasonable pace for the next bit through Dorking where the streets streets were lined with well wishers and onto the next climb at Box Hill. I keep reading about how this is a legendary, iconic climb so i approached it with some trepidation and went up at a steady pace holding a bit in reserve expecting the hard bit to come, but it didnt. It is a pleasant climb with a smooth surface but the overwhelming feeling by the top was "is that it?".

 

On the descent i realised i had dropped the others (presumably they stopped to fill their bottles rather it being due to my awesome climbing ability) and so followed a lonely 5 miles on my own which felt a bit strange considering there were 20'000 others on the road at this point. I eventually got caught by a bigger group so could slot in and get a welcome break and it was then relatively flat for the return to London, couple of tricky little hills that wouldnt normally have meant much but with the miles in the legs were tough. After the last one at Wimbledon came a descent to Putney and it was flat to the River Thames , crossing that we turned along the Embankment, through Westminster past Downing Street a final corner heading onto the Mall with the crowds banging away on the boards and cheering. Unfortunately by that stage i couldnt do the sprint justice as i was getting cramp if i tried to stand on the pedals so had to sit and spin instead!

 

 

With the flat course, closed roads and big groups I managed to get a time of 4.34, which i was really pretty pleased with. It was an unusual event as the course is not challenging nor is the scenery in the countyside particularly remarkable (its not bad it is just not much compared to a Marmotte or Maratona or alot of events in Scotland and elsewhere in the UK) nor does it have the cycling heritage appeal to follow in the tyre marks of legends over the Koppenberg or Arenberg Trench but what it does have is closed roads through a major city passing iconic landmarks and a general experience that is quite different to anything i've done before. If you ever want to pretend to be a pro then this is the event for you - and frankly it is a hell of a lot of fun pretending to be a pro for a day :D

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  • 2 weeks later...
Richie Cross Switching to the Big Ring

Richie Cross

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Ditto Al's comments.

 

Hmmm. Perhaps one for the blue and yellow train's bucket list of goals for next year. Make a long weekend of it?

 

M

 

Folks,

 

After speaking to Jody tonight, for those of you that are interested, the ballot for places opened on Monday and will close when they reach 80,000 and I believe 25,000 will be randomly chosen from that.

Reports say they got to 50,000 in the first 24hrs

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  • 5 months later...
Jodyc Really Starting To Push

Jodyc

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Billy,

 

Just checked the website and it's definitely by post. Although it does state cyclists would be looking out for the post as from today so may be over the next couple of days.

 

The other interesting bit on the website states " British Cycling members still have the chance to get a place in the 100-mile sportive through the British Cycling Club Challenge. This is open to all British Cycling members bar Elite or Category 1 riders. Entries open on Tuesday 4 March and close on Friday 21 March. Full details will be emailed to all cycling clubs affiliated to British Cycling"

 

Not sure I'm deciphering this ok but I believe we may be able to apply for spaces through the club as I believe the club is affiliated to British Cycling.

 

Jody

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