Phil’s 100 Bike Ride
I love cycling. I feel like it's in my DNA. And I am definitely not alone.
The 2016 edition of the Prudential Ride London weekend of cycling, which took place over the 30th-31st of July, brought in excess of 100,000 cyclists onto London’s streets to participate over a variety of events. The capital’s festival of cycling was then brought to a dramatic crescendo with the professionally raced Classique event where Team SKY rider Geraint Thomas valiantly fell and Tom Boonen, who was racing for Etixx–Quick-Step, finished brilliantly to win.
6 months prior I was offered the opportunity to ride the 100 mile RideLondon-Surrey sportive event with a charity entry for The Children’s Trust; I jumped at the chance. Based in Tadworth Surrey this is the UK's leading charity for children with brain injury and is a phenomenal resource that positively changes the lives of many children and their families. For more info: http://www.thechildrenstrust.org.uk/
As part of the London 2012 Olympic Legacy the Ride London-Surrey 100 Sportive had been on my ‘hit list’ of events to complete since its inception in 2013. 2012 was a magical time for sport in the UK and for cycling in particular where we saw great Olympic Velodrome successes and our first Tour de France yellow jersey winner. It is hard to believe that was now over 4 years ago and the Olympic circus has already moved on through Rio, yet again with brilliant results for team GB’s track and road cyclists. As an amateur cyclist it’s only natural to want to feel involved in these successes and try to experience what the professionals do, so what better way than to repeat the same course used in the London Olympic road race with thousands of other cyclists on the closed road circuit.
As the event neared I received what seemed like numerous e-mails and magazines from the event organisers. These detailed the exact procedures in terms of travel to the start at the Olympic Park in Stratford, and then back home again from the finish on The Mall in central London. After reading over my numerous options for transporting my bike to the Olympic Park to arrive one hour before my allotted 6:40am start time I found myself growing more anxious about the travel logistics than actually cycling the 100 miles! In eventuality my experience of the level of organisation over the whole weekend was second to none and the detailed event instruction information was worth every read.
I travelled to the start by car, getting dropped at a designated zone and then cycling 5 miles north through the Rotherhithe tunnel to the other side of the Thames and up into the Olympic park in Stratford. During the car journey through south London we passed hundreds of revellers in Brixton still finishing off their Saturday night out. Inebriated, bleary eyed clubbers looking slightly dishevelled and confused by the scores of cyclists in full regalia passing by heading to the start. It was quite amusing to see so many people clearly unfit to exercise in such close proximity to people absolutely ready to perform, and you can imagine the banter that ensued! As we continued north and neared the river more and more cyclists were appearing, literally thousands of them, in swarms they started to congregate on the road. You couldn’t help but feel like something special was happening. My route from the drop zone was clearly marked and I reached the start in plenty of time, in fact within 20 minutes I’m fed, watered, toileted, kit bag loaded on the truck and in my start wave pen, ready!
Quiet anticipation hangs over the start wave, penned in together there’s a low hum of conversation as the day breaks and we start to slowly move towards the start chute. It turns out that England’s hero world cup winning captain Martin Johnson is in my start wave, and he gets the choice of music that will be blaring on the tannoy as we cycle out of the Olympic park. Martin requests a well-known track by The Jam “That’s Entertainment”. Good choice Martin, but as the M.C points out “at 6ft 7ins - who would argue!”. So with the image of Martin Johnson wringing the neck of the DJ at the start and Paul Weller literally ringing in my ears, we are off!
And it’s FAST! Wide, smooth and empty tarmac roads are waiting, which combined with a surge of adrenaline and thousands of riders pulling in the same direction makes for a high pace. The aerodynamic advantages of riding in a large group never ceases to amaze me, especially as I’m most used to triathlon events where “drafting” is often not allowed and you have to maintain a 3 metre gap between you and the rider in front. Suddenly I’m 20 miles down the road, central London is a distant memory, and my bike odometer tells me I’m averaging 35kmph. This instinctively feels too fast and I begin thinking to myself just how far it is until the finish, I decide to rein myself in, I don’t want to blow up in the latter stages.
After slowing the pace for a mile or so and a quick sense check I decide I’m feeling fine, I don’t really need to slow myself down, it’s just a fast course and I increase my speed again. Richmond Park comes and goes in a flash. Thousands of cyclists tearing through the park is nothing new, this is a cycling mecca for city folk, and in the early morning light you can see why. We exit the park and then suddenly I’m isolated, by cycling off the front of the group I was in but not quite having the legs to catch the group ahead. Cycling alone for what essentially was probably no longer than 5 minutes I feel a sense of vulnerability, despite all my training being solo rides this year I feel exposed out on my own, out from the protection of the pack. Thankfully it’s not long before I’m back in a group and this then continues for the vast majority of the 100 mile ride. Everyone is “wheel surfing”, sharing the aerodynamic advantage. It feels great.
Between Weybridge and Newlands Corner I settle down a bit and enjoyed some brief conversations with other riders. It was during this spell that it dawns on me just how many riders are cycling for a charity. A little research after the event shows that over 12 million pounds was raised for charity in 2015’s event. Amazing stuff. One guy has his bike adorned with Go-Pro cameras – so he can produce a highlights video of the ride – “just like the pros!” “NICE BIKE!” shouts another slightly aggressive South African voice. When I look he is grinning ear to ear - he has the same bike frame as me. “Stiff and light!” he shouts before putting his head down and disappearing off ahead as if to goad me into a higher pace. I don’t see him again. The rest of my ride is littered with brief conversations like this with other riders, but the pace is too high to chat and maximum concentration is required not to touch wheels or cause an accident.
Sadly, this year’s event has been marred with the death of two riders, 48-year-old Robin Chard who was cycling for Cancer Research UK suffered a cardiac arrest whilst out on the road; and 71-year-old Richard Kell who was raising money for the British Red Cross has more recently succumbed to the injuries that he sustained in a tragic accident on the road. Immensely sad and certainly given the circumstances of the second gentleman hard to justify. I wonder to myself now if the news of his accident will put people off wanting to participate in future events. Personally I could understand if so, but I would hope not, as this is a great event which as with many things in life holds some risk, but essentially promotes health and is worth its weight in gold to so many who are in need of charity.
Mile 57 brings the first significant uphill section of the ride, the ascent of Leith Hill. The road narrows, bunching the riders, and trees envelop you as the climb begins. As the pace naturally drops so does the noise from the tyres and the wind, it feels like you could hear a pin drop aside for some heavy breathing, the clatter of gears shifting and the odd profanity! When feeling fit I quite enjoy hills on my bike and both Leith and Box Hill provide a welcome change in terrain with the views providing some extra stimulus from the previous flat sections. Dorking high street is awash with sponsorship hoardings and cheering crowds which make the route through feel special. The volume of crowd support then continues to rise through Kingston Upon Thames and Wimbledon, which is of course extremely motivating, and I’m pleased my earlier worries of bonking (it’s a technical term!) later in the ride were unfounded. I grit my teeth and even manage to up my pace slightly to average over 35 kmph for the last 15 miles. A quick blast over Putney bridge and then through Chelsea and Westminster and I’m almost there. A sharp left hand turn then brings me onto The Mall and the finish is in sight. I’ve timed things well and my legs are pretty finished by this point, I manage a quick wave to my family and summon some strength for the obligatory sprint for the line.
The finish is organised chaos as thousands of exhausted riders are given medals and photographed whilst being gently guided away through the massive crowds and towards the bagging lorries and family repatriation. I hand my pride and joy to some serious looking Army Cadet volunteers at the secure bike park and head off to the repatriation area in Green Park. The next couple of hours are then spent with friends and family at The Children’s Trust base where there is a chance to reminisce on the ride and share experiences with other riders topping off what was already a special day. The Children’s Trust dedicated team even provided snacks and drinks and I spend the next couple of hours drinking prosecco and even get a complimentary post-race massage. I’ve experienced finishing the London marathon in the same location twice before but personally neither of these lived up to the Ride London experience.
I’ve already applied for the 2017 event through the online ballot which is open until the 6th of January 2017. My advice to anyone who is considering participating in next years’ event or indeed any other cycling event of this distance is essentially to go for it! But also to prepare as much as possible. Having all the right kit, nutrition plan, bike fit, experience of group rides and planning your training and the logistics of the day well in advance will undoubtedly make for an unforgettable experience. Even if successful in gaining a regular ballot place I would also recommend riding for a charity. This provides an extra incentive and sense of achievement as well as fantastic support during and after the ride.
Phil provides a bike fitting service at the clinic. Click here for more information click here:http://www.wimbledonphysio.co.uk/services/bike-fit