Ride London Countdown
Today marks 2 weeks till the Ride London 2019. If I’m honest, I don’t feel as prepared as I did last year but, in truth, I am probably in better shape. A combination of the weather and other ‘real life’ things have meant that I haven’t had a lot of time on the bike. Bit of a worry, but we’ll give it a go!
Last week I received an email for the final ride registration which, upon completing the said registration, gave me my final information for the ride. Those who have read my previous posts on last year’s event will know that I wasn’t particularly happy with the 9am start time so I was delighted to find my rider number correlates with a 6:28am start time this year!
The route itself looks exactly the same to last year, which is fine with me as I have ridden those roads numerous times so I know how I’m going to have to manage my efforts and nutrition.
This is quite different to the pro race which has been changed beyond recognition. Starting in Bushey Park this year, the route has been turned into a circuit race with fairly iconic Surrey roads like Ranmore Common replaced with the climb of Box Hill FIVE times. It does then wind its way back into town to finish on The Mall. Hopefully Mike Teunissen will follow up his yellow jersey escapades with a visit to the capital and I’ll be able to catch him at the finish for a quick catch up, cyclist to cyclist! Haha.
This time round I’ve booked myself an Airbnb rather than a hotel room for the night before. I love Airbnb, I find the flexibility it tends to offer over the traditional hotel method much more agreeable. Last year my wife came and stayed overnight the night before and we went out for a decent meal but this year I’ll be going it alone. I’ll be travelling as light as possible so a quiet room with a book for the night before is perfect!
I have a ballot place this year so I’m not harassing people for sponsorship but, if you do want to feel the warm glow of sponsoring me, please click the donate button at the top of the page
A final thought, 2 years ago today Adam and I had just finished day three of our run to Paris. We had cycled some 65 miles from Abbeville to Beauvais, leaving us dangerously close to the outskirts of Paris
It was a fantastic trip and I stilllong to do another multi day bike ride. How far I’ve come since then….
IAIN
That change to the pro race will be good for spectators. I remember watching the Olympic Road Race on Box Hill and seeing the peloton fly past several times as they repeated the loop. The atmosphere on the hill was epic too! Sure beats waiting in one spot for hours just to see them fly past for a couple of seconds.
Have a blast on Ride London! 🙂
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Yeah, I think that was probably their thinking. A larger concentration of supporters in one place will make for a great atmosphere and that will be starting to build as we peasants go through in the morning! Bushey Park start should be good too, far more accessible for fans
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Nice start time! I’m not out until nearly 8am this year. Fingers crossed for good weather and a clear ride.
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Yeah I’m delighted with it to be honest! I just didn’t want to be one of the last ones out
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Agreed. My earliest strat time previously has been about 7.30 and the latest about 9. I was hoping for a pre 7am start to get clear of the bigger crowds but so be it!
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I’m going to double check I got it right but I’m sure that’s what it meant! I’m hoping I can get a good way into the course before some of the quicker cyclists behind me start to catch up!
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