has anyone actually decided / worked it out for themselves yet?!
it's the return journey home that I'm actually worried about; as it doesn't finish in 'London' does it? (Last resort you could just ride home if that was the case)
Finsbury Square NCP for me! About halfway between start & finish and I kinda know a way to that area. Hopefully I'll have the legs to get back to the car and survive a ride through the West End on open roads. Luckily I noticed the height restriction - so the bike will have to be in the boot!
Pete.
Filled the survey in...staying in a Travelodge on Saturday night a few miles away and cycling to the start, plus back at the end to the Travelodge car park.
Btw, it would be really good to meet up with my fellow riders in Team 3...Martin H, Phil K and James D...not sure if we've met on a club run!
I'll be at the club night at the Tuns next week, after the Intro chain gang, if anyone is around?
Just read some more info on the Pru RL100 q&a pages and it seems that you've got to get to the ExCel centre in the days preceding the ride to Register. Is that true for us club entries? This is getting a bit costly - £48 to enter, £15 to park & now £25 train fare to register! Beats me how they make any money!
I haven't received an email regarding travel or a survey (have checked spam) - David has though so I'm guessing I can use that link. The more I read the more his is beginning to sound like a logistical nightmare!
if you want to book parking for RideLondon might be worth doing sooner rather than later, at least one of the car parks is full already (the one nearest the start funnily enough...)
heres the link for the transport/parking registration in case you haven't got the email ride London transport
Just booked into the NCP at Finsbury Square. Looks like its about equal distance from the start/finish. Should be ok going there if its signposted, but have no idea how to get back from the Mall !
the plan to get us all the same start time seems to have worked then, amazing I didn't think we stood a chance with 20,000 cyclists to sort out.
it was always going to be an early start, and better to be nearer the front of a 20,000 strong peleton than near the back. the adrenaline on the day will mean you don't notice the early start.
I'm really happy with the start time - it was always going to be early but I think with the number of non-club riders likely to be signed up, being in the first third of the field will be a distinct advantage.
Adam C - did you change your target time to 6:00 - 6:09?
My start time is 6:50 ie 12 mins behind the club teams (even though I set my expected ride time to be the same as everybody else's)
The helpline (unhelpfully) says that once allocated, start times cannot be changed - not to join friends or club teams. I mentioned that for Dragon Ride, the organisers were more accommodating and advised us that it'd be possible to set off later than your allocated time, but not earlier. His response was that if anyone misses their allocated time at Ride London, it'll be up to the marshalls as to whether he/she can start at all!
I suggested that it might not be the best strategy for getting riders quickly and smoothly away from the start, because some of them will have no option but to hang back/stop so that their late-starting friends catch them up ... but he just stuck to his script
It wasn't a particularly productive phone call, as you can probably tell! I'll try again in a week or so, after they've had time to think about it some more
If you speak to them again, might be worth asking what the gaps between starts are. Given we are 6:38. you are 6:50 and Adam is 7:02 it might be that they have left 12 mins between each group.
If that is the case, then if we start at the back of the 6:38 group and you manage to be near the front of the 6:50 group you may not actually be far behind, as it will take sometime to get the 6:38 group through the start.
Anyway I personally have no problem riding steady or waiting for others to catch up after the start, i'm not doing it for the time just for the pleasure of the ride. appreciate not everyone may feel that way though.
There are 2 start points and 19 'waves' of starters from each, taking 2hours ... which I imagine means that waves are released at 6min intervals. 20 000 riders /38 waves means 526 riders per wave.
So I'd have around 1050 riders to shuffle around/overtake before I get to you, but only if I manage to do that before the Blue and Black streams merge. Otherwise it'll be 2100 riders that I have to get past. Or if I manage to elbow my way to the front of my wave and you start at the back of yours it could be less than 600 riders between us, but more likely to be 1200, assuming the streams merge before I manage to get past them all.
If my experience of the London Marathon is anything to go by it will be no easy task to find anyone. Moving through that many runners is difficult at anytime during the race as you are just in a sea of people all moving at the same pace but especially difficult at the start. As for trying to do the same thing on a bike!!!!!
In case any of the following helps anyone else working out what to do, and Adam asked me at the weekend how i am getting on with my logistics for this event which is now less than 19 days away. i gave him a blank look....
So having put my mind to it my plan is to drive down to near the olympic park and park at or near my mates house in Rushmore Road, London E5 0HD and ride to the park. Its only a mile or so. Parking in these roads doesnt appear to be restricted at the weekends and its apparently quiet on Sundays - result.
At the finish i will ride up to my office in Marylebone and dump my bike there then get the tube/overground back to my car.
I have already raised a lot more than my target of £500 for the Macmillan Cancer Support, but please have a look at my Just Giving page and feel free to make a donation for this good cause anyway, they certainly deserve it.
I cannot find the route anywhere and what with so many (bad ones) on the net I routed this one from the KML file from the official website - why they did not put it in gpx format I do not know!
The event is on closed roads, so it should be quite hard to get lost. (I suspect the organisers would prefer riders to be giving their undivided attention to the signage, barricades, marshals, spectators and other riders, rather than watching their Garmin devices ... which may be why they haven't published a gpx file)
Comments
has anyone actually decided / worked it out for themselves yet?!
it's the return journey home that I'm actually worried about; as it doesn't finish in 'London' does it? (Last resort you could just ride home if that was the case)
Pete.
Btw, it would be really good to meet up with my fellow riders in Team 3...Martin H, Phil K and James D...not sure if we've met on a club run!
I'll be at the club night at the Tuns next week, after the Intro chain gang, if anyone is around?
B
I am hoping to be chain ganging tonight, if not will be down the Tuns next week.
Martin
B - I'm booked in the Stratford Travelodge the night before. Is that the same one?
Adam
I haven't received an email regarding travel or a survey (have checked spam) - David has though so I'm guessing I can use that link. The more I read the more his is beginning to sound like a logistical nightmare!
Emma
Adam- I'm at the Travelodge Snaresbrook, near Epping Forest, 3 miles to the Olympic Park, so I'm on for 106 miles at least!
John
https://m.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=620125821338990
Pete
heres the link for the transport/parking registration in case you haven't got the email
ride London transport
wonder what the other teams got?
Stuart
it was always going to be an early start, and better to be nearer the front of a 20,000 strong peleton than near the back.
the adrenaline on the day will mean you don't notice the early start.
I wonder how many others start at that time though?
"the adrenaline on the day will mean you don't notice the early start. " < not sure it works quite like that
Adam
Adam C - did you change your target time to 6:00 - 6:09?
The helpline (unhelpfully) says that once allocated, start times cannot be changed - not to join friends or club teams. I mentioned that for Dragon Ride, the organisers were more accommodating and advised us that it'd be possible to set off later than your allocated time, but not earlier. His response was that if anyone misses their allocated time at Ride London, it'll be up to the marshalls as to whether he/she can start at all!
I suggested that it might not be the best strategy for getting riders quickly and smoothly away from the start, because some of them will have no option but to hang back/stop so that their late-starting friends catch them up ... but he just stuck to his script
It wasn't a particularly productive phone call, as you can probably tell! I'll try again in a week or so, after they've had time to think about it some more
Given we are 6:38. you are 6:50 and Adam is 7:02 it might be that they have left 12 mins between each group.
If that is the case, then if we start at the back of the 6:38 group and you manage to be near the front of the 6:50 group you may not actually be far behind, as it will take sometime to get the 6:38 group through the start.
Anyway I personally have no problem riding steady or waiting for others to catch up after the start, i'm not doing it for the time just for the pleasure of the ride.
appreciate not everyone may feel that way though.
So I'd have around 1050 riders to shuffle around/overtake before I get to you, but only if I manage to do that before the Blue and Black streams merge. Otherwise it'll be 2100 riders that I have to get past. Or if I manage to elbow my way to the front of my wave and you start at the back of yours it could be less than 600 riders between us, but more likely to be 1200, assuming the streams merge before I manage to get past them all.
Hmmmm. Think this calls for a cunning plan
Sorry not to sound optimistic
Stuart
So having put my mind to it my plan is to drive down to near the olympic park and park at or near my mates house in Rushmore Road, London E5 0HD and ride to the park. Its only a mile or so. Parking in these roads doesnt appear to be restricted at the weekends and its apparently quiet on Sundays - result.
At the finish i will ride up to my office in Marylebone and dump my bike there then get the tube/overground back to my car.
Seymour Place Leisure Centre for a swim and a shower then - http://www.better.org.uk/leisure/seymour-leisure-centre/directions
Anyone staying on for a shandy or two?
I have already raised a lot more than my target of £500 for the Macmillan Cancer Support, but please have a look at my Just Giving page and feel free to make a donation for this good cause anyway, they certainly deserve it.
http://www.justgiving.com/pontus-axelsson
By the way, I'm setting off at 06.04 in the morning..Zzzz..
See you there, and good luck!
Pontus
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/258040333
Obviously may be subject to a few minor changes on the day....
Routes from car parks to the start are available here www.garmin.com/uk/ridelondon
Good luck everybody. Go CCA!