RideLondon-Essex 100 (2024) Anyone?

[dickyknees]

Not for me this year.

I’ve done a total of five RideLondon events and the rising costs not only the entry fee, but hotel, transport to and from
London costs etc etc mean for me this event is poor value for money.

Also I have never been impressed with the Essex route and the standard of cycling last year, well I won’t mention that.

If you’ve entered good luck, as an event it’s great. Enjoy the ride.

 

[EltonFrog]

Nope. Did the proper one four times. Paying the best part of a hundred quid to ride round Essex ain’t for me. I wouldn’t ride round Essex if they paid me a hundred quid.

 

[steverob]

I have purchased my place for next year, although it is mainly so I can say that I have done both the Surrey and the Essex versions - chances are the new route will be a one and done for me.

Did the 100 in 2015 and 2018 (although the first time it was only 91 miles due to detours) and the 46 in 2019. Also got a place via the ballot for 2020 but we all know why that didn’t go ahead.

Have booked a Premier Inn near Farringdon for the Saturday night as they’ll let me keep my bike in the room.

 

[Rooster1]

I did the inaugural one, and the third one, i'm over it.

 

[The Central Scrutinizer]

I did the Surrey one in 2016 and had a place for 2020 also did the two Essex ones.
I enjoyed all of them but that's my lot now.

 

[EltonFrog]

I think cyclists will give up on it eventually. It’s not that much of a challenge, unlike the London Marathon, which requires a lot of training and commitment to complete it.

Any reasonably fit cyclist can cycle 100 miles on closed roads, once done a couple of times the novelty of it goes.

Riding the (mostly) 2012 Olympic race route was fun in ‘13, and even the Biblical rain of ‘14 was fun in its own way, there seemed to a sense of community effort about getting through the storm together. 2015 & ‘16 were rubbish, the organisers got greedy and allowed to many cyclists on the ride, it took an age to get through the start. There were too many stops and starts because of accidents and sheer numbers at bottlenecks.

There are better events if you can afford it, Berlin Velothon, Five Boro’s challenge in New York, The Cape Argus in Cape Town, to name just three.

 

[Dogtrousers]

I'm doing it.

I never got to do the Surrey version, despite entering the ballot every year.

I did the Essex one this year and enjoyed it tremendously. A real change from my solo grinds around the Kent lanes.

Any reasonably fit cyclist can cycle 100 miles on closed roads, once done a couple of times the novelty of it goes.

I've done 99 of the buggers and I still enjoy riding centuries Admittedly only 2 on closed roads.

 

[steverob]

There are better events if you can afford it, Berlin Velothon, Five Boro’s challenge in New York, The Cape Argus in Cape Town, to name just three.

I would take the New York ride out of that list and replace it with Etape Loch Ness personally.

Five Boro is fun, but it's only 40 miles long, very crowded in the initial few miles and it can be a bit stop/start because not all of the route is closed at once but rather it's opened and closed in sections, so you can find yourself waiting a while at a few key points for the next bit to be rideable (and that doesn't just affect those at the front of a wave).

 

[EltonFrog]

I would take the New York ride out of that list and replace it with Etape Loch Ness personally.

Five Boro is fun, but it's only 40 miles long, very crowded in the initial few miles and it can be a bit stop/start because not all of the route is closed at once but rather it's opened and closed in sections, so you can find yourself waiting a while at a few key points for the next bit to be rideable (and that doesn't just affect those at the front of a wave).

That wasn’t my experience when I did it, but it was a quite few years ago.

 

[lazybloke]

Living in Surrey, it was the 2012 Road Race and the legacy events that inspired me to get back on a road bike after a very long gap.

I did the Surrey event in 2016 and Essex in 2022. Both absolutely awesome experiences.
I'd do either again, but really want to do something new. Thinking of the Vätternrundan, maybe.

 

[steverob]

That wasn’t my experience when I did it, but it was a quite few years ago.

I unfortunately haven't yet got to do it - had a place booked in 2017, but then had a crash two weeks before (while still in the UK) and broke my collarbone!

Still went to New York anyway (not turning down a holiday, plus don't think I'd have got a refund on my flights) and watched from the sidelines with my arm in a sling, plus got to chat to a number of people who took part and it was them who said it was a stop/start sort of ride. They still all enjoyed it, but it was more of a relaxed pootle sort of event; it was only towards the back half that it opened up enough for them to stretch their legs and feel like they were really riding.

However I have nothing but praise for Etape Loch Ness - that was an amazing ride and was it not such a faff getting my bike to Inverness, I would do that again in a heartbeat. Highly recommend it to anyone who might be interested.

 

[steverob]

Surely we can't have this thread not even manage to get on to a second page before the actual ride takes place!

The route was finalised about six weeks ago, but I only saw the post about it today. There's only a small change to previous years - because of a bridge closure they've re-routed the 83-88 mile stretch to pass through Chigwell and Buckhurst Hill instead of going via Grange Hill and Woodford. Adds on about a mile to the route (officially listed at 103.5 miles now) but other than that I can't see anything new.

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/44785402

 

[Dogtrousers]

Surely we can't have this thread not even manage to get on to a second page before the actual ride takes place!

It seems to get lower and lower key as time goes by. Both on here and elsewhere. I suspect it may not last much longer as an event. Long gone are the days when there were pages of people posting that they couldn't get a ballot place.

I thought I'd better ride a few centuries as prep so I tried one yesterday. My legs were absolutely furious with me and mutinied after 95 miles so I got the train for the last bit.

I think this may be my last participation. I've lost the bloody mindedness to ride longer distances these days. I've not entered any audaxes this year either.

 

[steverob]

I did 91 miles in the 2015 version - Leith Hill was closed due to a medical emergency but as I was in one of the last waves I was diverted rather than got stuck in the queue like loads of other riders. Then I did get to do the full thing in the monsoon of 2018 which was utterly miserable and I thought about quitting at 20 miles, but kind of glad I stuck it out in the end more out of sheer bloody mindedness to say that I'd done it. Did the 46 in 2019 and got a ballot place for the 100 in 2020 but of course that got cancelled.

This will be my first attempt at the Essex version and the fact is I'll give any closed road event a go at least once - I just like riding without traffic frankly, don't care whether the scenery is supposedly dull or the roads are flat. After all, I did the Tour of Cambridgeshire 4 times and THAT is truly flat and featureless for large chunks of the ride!

Also I've only just done my first 100km ride of the year, so maybe a little behind where I should be regarding distance - think I still have the mindset of this being a July/August ride, not a May one!

 

[mjr]

After all, I did the Tour of Cambridgeshire 4 times and THAT is truly flat and featureless for large chunks of the ride!

That's so flat that it becomes a feature in itself, with the lack of shelter.

I may return to ride the free cycle again this year, after missing last year. No idea if I'll ride a hundred at some point this year, but it won't be this event. I wish it was made easier for free cyclers to cheer on the sportive riders.