London olympic velopark outdoor track for RideLondon46

[KMKM]

Hi there,

Hope everyone is well.

I am doing ridelondon46 for first time.

All the cycling training I've done is on the London velopark outdoor track which on each laps has a few decent hills and is quite up and down.

In terms of difficulty, is it fair to say that say 30miles on this track should mean 46 miles on the RideLondon should be fine?

Manu thanks for your help.

 

[Sharky]

Not seen/ridden the velopark track, but one guideline is - If you can ride 46 miles during the course of a week, in any combination, you will be fine for the RideLondon.
So 2x23 mile rides or 4x12 mile rides on a regular basis, you will be good for the day.
Remember to ease off in the week before to fully recover and hit the day fresh.

Good luck on the day

 

[steverob]

You should be fine. I actually used the Velopark course twice during my training for the 100 mile RideLondon last year - I was without my bike for a couple of weeks due to a mechanical issue and that was the best place to hire a similar spec one and do some training - and found it very useful.

The one thing to note is that there are two hills on the 46 course that, while not that big in the scheme of things, are much longer than anything on the Velopark course, so you may need to bear that in mind. These are Sawyers Hill in Richmond Park and Wimbledon Hill towards the end of the ride. It may be worth taking a quick ride in Richmond Park just to test yourself on Sawyers, in order to make sure you know what to expect on the day. There is a place to hire bikes there as well, although I don't know how good they are.

If the reason you've been sticking to the Velopark is because you're worried about riding with traffic, then while Richmond Park does allow cars, there is a 20mph speed limit and because there are LOADS of cyclists using the park at all times, I found that cars tended to give me a decent amount of room (can't guarantee that's the case for everyone, but was my experience anyway), so I think it's not too bad an option.