RideLondon-Surrey 100 (2018) Anyone?

[PaulSB]

After an amazing weekend in the big city and very good ride we've all decided to enter again.

We also hatched a plan for how we might get together a club entry or a local charity entry.

I've no idea how the charity entry works but we hope the local charity our club supports can get a place. The club would then ballot the membership for the places and hold fund raising events on the back of this.

As I said no idea how it works but as club sec in the bar last night I got delegated the task of contacting PRL about this.

 

[bikingdad90]

Probably going to enter the 46 as my wife likes the idea of the sights without the hills (apart from Wimbledon).

I will enter the 2018 York 100 instead as it is only an hour instead of five south of Middlesbrough.

 

[Racing roadkill]

After an amazing weekend in the big city and very good ride we've all decided to enter again.

We also hatched a plan for how we might get together a club entry or a local charity entry.

I've no idea how the charity entry works but we hope the local charity our club supports can get a place. The club would then ballot the membership for the places and hold fund raising events on the back of this.

As I said no idea how it works but as club sec in the bar last night I got delegated the task of contacting PRL about this.

If your charity is registered correctly, they simply apply for a number of places from RideLondon. They get charged upwards of 300 quid per place, but, if anyone turns their ballot place over to them, they get that place's money back.

 

[Racing roadkill]

I got round in 5 hours 30 this year, given two punctures, and a stop at Box Hill was included, that was about as quick as I'd like to do it, any quicker, and it would be too much of an effort. It's still enjoyable at the pace I did it at this year.

 

[Tin Pot]

No interest in doing it again, it was fun, but it wasnt all that. I thought the support would be like the London Marathon or an Ironman event.

Surprised they make you go all the way to the QEOP but start from a dreary industrial area, with no fanfare. The first 40 miles are boring, nicer once you're in the sticks.

Definitely worth doing once though

 

[HorTs]

I thought the support would be like the London Marathon or an Ironman event

How do they differ?

 

[Tin Pot]

How do they differ?

Ride 100 is just less intense and less popular I guess. You have the various charity supporters dotted around, and in the first few hours there's one or two families here and there out by the roadside. Bear in mind that it's a long old route, not a lot is residential.

The London Marathon and IronmanUK are just overwhelming, not to criticise Ride London, but it's just a different league.

Particularly funny was when I saw the huge crowds in Westminster...then realised they were just tourists inconvenienced by the whole thing! Lol.

 

[rliu]

I think we should keep up the enthusiasm as cyclists or else the event will die a slow death.

I've never got a slot in the 100 but just from watching the pro race and going to the Saturday free cycle the crowds were noticeably down on previous years.

 

[PaulSB]

Ride 100 is just less intense and less popular I guess. You have the various charity supporters dotted around, and in the first few hours there's one or two families here and there out by the roadside. Bear in mind that it's a long old route, not a lot is residential.

The London Marathon and IronmanUK are just overwhelming, not to criticise Ride London, but it's just a different league.

Particularly funny was when I saw the huge crowds in Westminster...then realised they were just tourists inconvenienced by the whole thing! Lol.

We thought the charity group support an excellent idea. Overall I was disappointed with the crowds as I had the impression they would be greater. I was struck by how deserted long stretches were and also wondered how much longer residents in Surrey will tolerate having their roads, villages and towns effectively shut down for a day. There doesn't seem to be much payback for them?

One of our riders has run the London Marathon three times and the Great North five. She commented it was nice not to have the constant noise, intensity and attention which comes with those events.

The lack of crowds didn't spoil our day.

 

[Nomadski]

Crowd wise was definitely down from the two past previous years I've done it. Wonder if the weather had anything to do with it, past times it's been sunny and warm guaranteed all day (obviously didn't do Bertha) whereas this year there was potential rain for the day.

Dunno but it was deffo quieter.

 

[oldgreyandslow]

The ballot opens on Aug 7th I'll be out of the country for work with limited to no internet, anyone any idea how quickly they fill up the 80,000 available ballot entries before it closes? I'll be back on the 11th, surely it can't be that quick.

 

[Racing roadkill]

Crowd wise was definitely down from the two past previous years I've done it. Wonder if the weather had anything to do with it, past times it's been sunny and warm guaranteed all day (obviously didn't do Bertha) whereas this year there was potential rain for the day.

Dunno but it was deffo quieter.

There were a few hundred more this year, the wave organisation was better though. Later waves suffered badly with idiots on Leith Hill walking all over the road and not staying left.

 

[Racing roadkill]

I think we should keep up the enthusiasm as cyclists or else the event will die a slow death.

I've never got a slot in the 100 but just from watching the pro race and going to the Saturday free cycle the crowds were noticeably down on previous years.

The glow from the 2012 Olympics has gone, no one really cares anymore. It's the same effect with road cycling in general really. It's regressing back to where it used to be, pre-2012. .

 

[lazybloke]

Overall I was disappointed with the crowds as I had the impression they would be greater. I was struck by how deserted long stretches were and also wondered how much longer residents in Surrey will tolerate having their roads, villages and towns effectively shut down for a day. There doesn't seem to be much payback for them?

I think it's a minority that complain, although my step-mother-in-law is astonishingly vocal about it (despite having moved away from the route this year). I wish these people would shut up! It's only 12 hours of disruption.

There were a few hundred more this year, the wave organisation was better though. Later waves suffered badly with idiots on Leith Hill walking all over the road and not staying left.

Yes I found that annoying with every hill last year. Leith Hill was particularly annoying because they closed the road to let the congestion ease. Hundreds of us were stuck near the bottom for half an hour.


I've seen plenty of comments about over-crowding, poor cycle skills, lack of support from the locals, and also the daylight robbery of paying to cycle on public roads. But as a spectator on Sunday, I was incredibly jealous of all the riders and wished I was riding again. There is something wonderful about participating in such a big event, a sense of occasion, the encouragement from (however many) bystanders, the car-free roads. I'm definitely applying again for 2018. Hopefully I'll get a place by the ballot this time.

 

[steverob]

The ballot opens on Aug 7th I'll be out of the country for work with limited to no internet, anyone any idea how quickly they fill up the 80,000 available ballot entries before it closes? I'll be back on the 11th, surely it can't be that quick.

Last two years they were advertising on Twitter that the ballot was still open for entries in January, so I can't see it filling up in a week this time round.