Ride London 100

'king hell only 36. really sad.
(@hippy - "to be expected" statistically doesn't really make it any less so.)

I also managed to get a cheer on the way into Richmond Park by yelling 'Fenton' a couple of times, with an obliging chap nearby following up with a 'Jesus Christ!' OH HOW WE LAUGHED.

Genuinely gutted I didn't think of this

Maybe it was closer to 3:58.. but it took me at least five minutes turn strava off at the finish with numb fingers

http://www.strava.com/activities/178220177
next year im hoping for an 'official' place.

interesting reading a few reports on this.
i had a great time yesterday. i didn't see the rain, i only see what needs to be done.
ha in all seriousness i thought the organisers made the right call cutting it short. there was enough crashes without the need to include the prospect of a really sketchy decent off leith hill in those conditions.
didn't get off to a good start puncturing 2m from my front door step and as i stood there looking despairingly down at my ultremo tire i couldn't help but think i should have used my other bike that had gatorskins on it. was really sketchy too as it was one of those instant flats where the front end just gets really wobbly and you have to slow down FAST. dredded the prospect of getting one of these whilst in a group....
anyway set off at 6.25 and saw a group of Full On Tri boys taking the lead and setting a good pace. was happily tucked in with them until richmond park when the guy on the front decided to pull over and adjust his saddle bag by the looks of things. never saw them again.
had some good groups up until 40m then everyone fell back. so spent the second half on my own and didn't find any good wheels. was really surprised passing so many people on the home stretch from richmond in. i thought these guys in front of me had put in fast expected times on the ballot? anyway got round in 3.44. would have been fast with a group for the second half.
highlights for me:
not puncturing during the ride
seeing loads of people out under umbrellas from half 7 in the morning cheering us on
cycling through water that covered my feet made me laugh
pulling to one side and seeing i'd accummulated quite a train behind me
flying down embankment on my own passing loads and loads of cyclists
seeing the cyclingdroid waving at us by Westminster with his whole cyclingdroid outfit on
going back in the afternoon and seeing how happy the less experienced cyclists were with having finished
seeing a boris bike at the end with rider numbers attached

London Marathon usually has one or two peeps keel over. To be expected with the large numbers and physical exertion.

"The overall mortality rate from the 20 years is one in 67,414, or roughly one death for every two million miles run." Source: http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/london-marathon-what-we-know-about-the-incidence-of-injury-illness-and-death-in-the-london-marathon-881

I read somewhere (trans: I can't find the reference) that the majority of post-mortems of London Marathon fatalities show congenital heart defects that simply had never been diagnosed (mainly because there was no reason to go looking for them).

If you're young (14-35) and want to get checked out then try: http://www.c-r-y.org.uk/ for a screening (I had one about 4 or 5 years ago - and got the all clear - as Mrs GB was worried about the amount of long distance riding I was doing).

i should have used my other bike that had gatorskins on it

Oh, you.

Isn't Gatorskins terrible in the wet?

Did he enjoy cycling? I presume so. Unfortunately I know of many worse ways to go.

If I had a heart defect I'm pretty sure I would've died already.

Isn't Gatorskins terrible?

Yes

i will accept the loss in traction over the increased resistance of puncturing

also anyone know when the timings were done 'from'? last year i remember everyone rolled out for the first few miles then after 2-3 there was a timing matt to record your start time. i didn't reset my garmin from leaving the flat so was waiting for this timing matt and it never came! (not that i saw anyway). does that mean people were booting it off from the start? that doesn't sound sensible to me...

Based on 23 years’ experience, the approximate overall risks of running the Marathon are:

contact with St John: 1 in 6;
contact with a hospital accident and emergency department: 1 in 800;
hospital admission: 1 in 10,000;
death: 1 in 67,414 – a risk which is comparable to many daily activities.

^I have the same question!

Also, trying to go easy on the whinge front (as it's right on target of becoming the ideal 'cyclists Marathon' and I'm first name down for next year again...) but was anyone else none-the-wiser about the detour until reaching the signs directing you away from Leith Hill?

Of all the (albeit necessary) faff at the start and the Dave Clifton (Partridge) type doing the 'hands in the air Red B group' at the start line, none of them told us about the change in the route. Which was nice.

well to be honest i heard from a few other riders waiting at the start but i also heard it being announced over the tannoy. i expected them to be taken out anyway what with the weather forecast that was predicted

They told us at the start about the detours and the timing mats were right at the start too...

Start last year the first few Km were 'neutralised' not sure where the exact start was placed, think it was as was the A12 passed under the A118

hippy in reply to @edscoble
Isn't Gatorskins terrible?
Yes

not if you like two wheeled skids, and sliding sideways over grates.

My GP4000 S-II's were stepping out over road-ironmongery.

Gators would have been lethal.

I rode on 23mm gatorskins after discovering that one of my 25mm four seasons had a nasty skid patch, which I wasn't expecting on my geared bike. Didn't have any problems with traction. Got two punctures in the last 10 miles though.

Gators would have been lethal.

Very lethal, even on puddle.

Clearly I'm a ghost

i wouldn't say lethal. i ride a lot on mine and don't seem to have too many issues. as long as you don't do the obvious and expect to stay upright whilst cornering and going over wet man hole covers...i've hit the deck a couple of times on bends i must admit tho

Gators would have been lethal.

Very lethal, even on puddle.

With due respect your honour, this is horseshit.
I did this very ride on Gators and found them to be great. I rode at 19.7mph av and took the corners nicely.
I also did a day in almost identical weather between Brugge and Brussels on Gators and had no issues.

#EndGatorHate