Crystal Palace Fun Runners a running club with plenty of cyclists it seems. I think there were 11 of us that undertook RideLondon – Essex on Sunday 29th May: Michael (aka Bikey), Steve Jones, Gareth, Tom Pither, Gaby, Paula, Lara, Joe Simmonds, Dave Cook, Lynne Drummond and me. Apologies if I’ve missed anyone.
The event had 3 routes – 30, 60 and 100 miles. All started on the Embankment, travelling out through East London and into Essex, returning to finish on Tower Bridge. Altogether 22,500 cyclists took part. The organisation was excellent and the route comprised of predominantly main roads that were wide enough to accommodate the large number of participants.
I signed up mainly for the route around Essex as it was an area I would probably not otherwise cycle around, but the highlight by far for me was riding across London on closed roads; passing the Olympic Park both ways and the fantastic views of Canary Wharf and the City as we returned.
The course had some undulations but was otherwise relatively flat so lent itself to some really fast paces. In the main, people seemed to be riding safely. There only seemed to be a small number of idiots.
It’s a sportive that’s worth doing if you like cycling. If you want to go fast, start early. If you ride on your own then you can always jump on the back of other groups and draft a bit where you can. If you’ve been training with others and are comfortable riding at the same pace, then riding together will definitely add something to the experience and having people to chat to really helps pass a few of the miles.
As with anything, there are many ways to train for a 100 mile ride. The strategy for a few of us was simply to cram in the rides over the fortnight before, but with a decent level of overall fitness, this did the job and we all got round relatively unscathed! From my experience, I can say that finishing a 100 mile ride gives you a good sense of achievement, as well as a need to eat anything that isn’t an energy bar, and a strong desire to get to the pub.
