Anyone done or doing Ride 100 ?
I have a very early start and trying to work out logistics to get there on time. Any tips?
I was thinking of driving part way and parking up somewhere south of the river and cyckling to the start, is that possible or willthe closed roads stop me driving/parking close?
Any ideas or suggestions?
Iām in. I was supposed to do it last year but broke my collarbone and 3 fingers a few days before, so Iāve got some unfinished business.
Iām not as excited about the Essex route as I was about the old route (which I did 3 times), but Iām doing it for completeness. I really liked the bits through the West End and Westminster on the old route.
I live 3 or 4km from the start and 5km from the finish, so itās nice and easy for me.
The signs are saying that all of the bridges from Westminster eastward are closed, but apart from the area around Tower Bridge I donāt think thereāll be any road closures south of the river. Most of the on-street parking restrictions donāt apply at the weekend, so you should be able to park up and ride in. Watch out for the congestion charge if you park closer in (and ULEZ if relevant) as I think itāll probably be in force when you finish.
Iām going this year. Planning to park near Regents Park and cycling to the start.
Also have a very early start but Iām going a bit later to ride with work colleagues.
Thanks a lot, yes I was planning to try & find a meter/parking bay as its a Sunday.
Getting there so early is a bit of a pain!
Have a good ride.
Iām in too.
I was given wave A, but going to ride with my brother in wave C, seems transferring to later waves is permitted.
Try parking anywhere south of Elephamt and Castle in the parking bays around Kennington Tube station, but in the square of roads that are bordered by Kennington Park Road and Walworth Road.
Only a mile or so from the start / finish, obscure enough that nobody really thinks of it and last time I looked, free parking on Sundays.
I got an entry as someone in the club had to go away with work. Not trained for it at all. He also had an A Wave slot. I did it last year and they paid no attention to waves anyway. There was nothing like marathons with formal pens and marshals checking you in
Good call re the parking.
Weāre just slightly west of that, in the triangle between Camberwell New Road and Brixton Road and thereās usually plenty of on-street parking around us. Parking restrictions are only for Monday to Friday.
Weāre Lambeth and the area around Kennington Park and Elephant and Castle is Southwark, but restrictions are probably similar.
Just be aware that some of the roads in that area are no through ways - you can drive through them, but thereās signs saying youāre not allowed to go through and there are cameras to catch and fine you.
Youāre also in the ULEZ zone, so remember to pay that if your car isnāt compliant
It was much more rigid on the wave starts when I did it previously on the old course. You could start later than your wave, but you couldnāt start earlier.
Itās organised by London Marathon, so the organisation should be up to scratch. Demand for it seems to be well down in the Surrey route, so maybe theyāre not spending as much money on start marshals as they did before 
That was my experience both times I did it, lots of marshals who were āon itā when it came to getting into the start pens - both times I managed to blag a club entry rolling out with the first group.
How did people find that?
Saw a few accidents, a nasty one involving a hand cycle 
. Course is veeeery flat, would make a fast tri course if you could close the roads. Was cool tanking along A12 at 50kph into London, was a pain to get out of London again after the finish 
ETA: zones and timing were very flexible compared to the last time I did it in 2016. Was passing EFG waves all the way and I loaded in C
Well, I survived 
Iām glad Iāve ticked it off, but I donāt think Iāll be doing it again on that route. It wasnāt a patch on the old Surrey route.
The first 20-30km out through east London is on some pretty crappy, sketchy roads. The Essex countryside is nice enough rolling countryside, but thereās no particular features of note and the road surface was generally pretty rough. I was over it by the time it came to the last 20km into London and I just wanted it to be over - it was just a slog.
I think I was in the 5th wave off. It was one of the 6 āAā waves. There was plenty of people in the start pen who were supposed to be in later waves. I didnāt see anyone stopping people starting in earlier waves.
I would question how they seeded the starting groups. There were plenty of people starting in the early groups who looked like they should have been starting much later and I saw plenty of āBā wave riders riding through the field in very strong packs.
With the big mix of riders, the first 10km was a bit sketchy with lots of riders of different speeds on the same bit of road. It then stretched out and the roads were pretty quiet. I think I saw the aftermath of 3 serious-looking accidents with ambulances present, but given where they happened, I would guess that they were group riding accidents rather than crashes on corners or descents.
Going through Woodford on the way back, the outbound route was on the other side of the same stretch of road and the road was absolutely rammed with riders going in that direction.
Glad you are in one piece mate 
The pen situation was just as unstructured as last year, but at the same time way worse. It was basically carnage. I was admittedly late for when A waves were meant to arrive, but even then, there was way too much aimless waiting around moving from holding area to holding area. Must have taken me an hour and a quarter to get going.
Got caught up at mile 43ish with an entire road blockage. Air ambulance was in a field to the side of the road when we finally got through so must have been serious.
I also passed what was a very fresh accident in the Limehouse tunnel on the way back. Gutting to crash at that point so near to home. I have no evidence for this, but given the other people stopped hanging around were all people on city bikes who were clearly doing the casual 30 mile ride, you do have to question the timing of feeding them back in when fairly fast century riders are still on the roads.
Personally, I could definitely tell Iād only done an 80k and 100k ride since Wales. At about 2/3 distance the legs just stopped working! If you take off the stationery time for the air ambulance incident, I just broke 5hrs.
I think if I road that on my TT bike solo in a tri type environment, Iād be way faster. For the all the benefits that you get from drafting (and it is rapid at points), the surging to stay in the wheels just destroys me. Iām so one dimensional with all my years of tri training!
Did it, ticked it off. Not overly fussed to do it again.
Some crammed training, by which I mean 2x 100km so not really enough endurance. Set off with a guy I work with whoās a decent rower and translates that very well to the bike. I was done by half way but was determined to finish it
5.12 moving ride time. The rower was 4.44 and under 5 total time as only stopped once.
I know itās not a race, so times donāt matter, but I thought it was odd that they neutralised the time through the aid stations and didnāt include it in the official times. One of my mates spent over an hour in the aid stations
Similar experience for me too. Glad I did it and enjoyed it and parts of the course were great. I doubt I will do it again though.
I thought some of the groups were pretty dangerous. I bet there were a lot of crashes.
Saw a couple of nasty crashes and passed the guy who was being airlifted. Hope heās ok.
RideLondon entries open at Ā£99 for standard entry or Ā£275 for VIP entry?
Yeah, nah. Iām glad I did the Essex route for closure having missed it with a broken collarbone last year, but Iāve got no urge to do it again, especially at those prices 
.
Iām struggling to see how you can get Ā£176 of hospitality value before, during and after the ride to justify paying the VIP premium
I was sitting on the payment page and decided against it.
Iād like to get my London Classics medal but I just canāt get enthused about this one. Compared to the marathon and swim it just seems an unworthwhile spend of Ā£100 plus flights and accommodation.
Iām also convinced my bike will get nicked the night before if my hotel wouldnāt let me bring it into my room 
Maybe 2025, feels like something that could be easily fitted into a busy work/personal life year, rather than having it as a focal point.
Whatās the classics medal?
Ride100, marathon and swim serpentine? - was it the 2 mile for the swim? I did the 1 mile a couple of times but felt it was just too overpriced for the longer distance