Ride London 100

Picked up Dr. C's entry gumpf from the Excel Center - alcohol free beer was actually rather good. Recovery drink ahoy!

Why would you want a recovery drink to be alcohol free?

Edited because I am a fool and paying attention to load time not start time. Bodes well.

@Jazzy, I may well be walking up leith hill with you.. Have not tackled it before. Scared.

6:00 - Dammit - That Cannondale - Brixton Cycles jersey
6:04 - Tommy - Trek Domane - <-- the Cannondale jersey!
6:38 - mjs110 - Dove Bike jersey + forum cap
6:42 - ChrisMGS - This bike - Salsa jersey with skull & cross bones on the arms and back (or possibly a plain black Assos) - Say hi!
6:42 - TTM - black Storck - no idea, probably Wapha
6:42- LHL (Stephen)- red and black merckx, red and black lycra.
6:46 - Dan W - All black crabon di2 chinese bike with matching black/white nicey-but-pricey (inspired) attire. With Sidney Deane colnago hat
6:54 - simonm - red Focus - blue and red bone cancer jersey
7:02 - Bacci - blue too heavy edinburgh bikes tourer, white/red jersey, pockets stuffed with jelly babies
7:04 - dbr - burgendy Look - Rapha pro jersey (grey & pink)
7:06 - jazzythumper - 80's blue Pinarello - red Shelter jersey
7:10 - Doctor Cake - ti omega - Ladies LFGSS jersey
7:14 - Styleovercontent - Black Hoy Sa Calobra - Blue JDRF jersey - multiple sweat patches - panting heavily while trying to eat energy gels for 6 hours straight.
7.26 - h-j - red/white/black cinelli - black and green Anthony Nolan Trust jersey
7:48 - HoKe - Silver BMC streetracer - Hopefully a LMNH kit/ if not full rapha
7:56 - hoefla - pink Flanders - Ladies LFGSS jersey
7:56 - HMS - white cinelli - Great Ormond Street Jersey (Forum Cap)
XX:XX - AirTime - on-one blue pompino fixed - no idea for clothing (don't have start time yet as i'm riding in a mates place (don't tell anyone!))

Anyone got any plans for 'after' the race.

I was gonna hang around and try to catch the peter sagan show coming down the mall.

Is there any kind of secure bike parking available to competitors ?

Ive read the booklet and it seems pretty much once you've finished you get your bagback and your left to your own devices.

There is secure bike storage, it said so in one bit of bumpf I read, just so you can do exactly that.

Why would you want a recovery drink to be alcohol free?

No twinge of guilt when drinking it alone?

Obviously, stopping at the pub - drink of choice would be quite different :)

Right, going to collect this stuff now at excel, hopefully it will be worth it as I'm missing Friday drinks for this shit!

Have fun and make the most of the closed roads you all, I had a place with a team but am now moving house this weekend, someone else is "shhhh" riding in my place and I'm am pretty gutted to be missing out.

That's a shame Martin, sure you couldn't fit in both? It's barely further than your usual commute isn't it? Good luck with the move.

6:00 - Dammit - That Cannondale - Brixton Cycles jersey
6:04 - Tommy - Trek Domane - <-- the Cannondale jersey!
6:38 - mjs110 - Dove Bike jersey + forum cap
6:42 - ChrisMGS - This bike - Salsa jersey with skull & cross bones on the arms and back (or possibly a plain black Assos) - Say hi!
6:42 - TTM - black Storck - no idea, probably Wapha
6:42- LHL (Stephen)- red and black merckx, red and black lycra.
6:46 - Dan W - All black crabon di2 chinese bike with matching black/white nicey-but-pricey (inspired) attire. With Sidney Deane colnago hat
6:54 - simonm - red Focus - blue and red bone cancer jersey
7:02 - Bacci - blue too heavy edinburgh bikes tourer, white/red jersey, pockets stuffed with jelly babies
7:04 - dbr - burgendy Look - Rapha pro jersey (grey & pink)
7:06 - jazzythumper - 80's blue Pinarello - red Shelter jersey
7:10 - Doctor Cake - ti omega - Ladies LFGSS jersey
7:14 - Styleovercontent - Black Hoy Sa Calobra - Blue JDRF jersey - multiple sweat patches - panting heavily while trying to eat energy gels for 6 hours straight.
7.26 - h-j - red/white/black cinelli - black and green Anthony Nolan Trust jersey
7:48 - HoKe - Silver BMC streetracer - Hopefully a LMNH kit/ if not full rapha
7:50 - Commie - Matt Black BMC Team - Bone Cancer Research Trust Jersey
7:56 - hoefla - pink Flanders - Ladies LFGSS jersey
7:56 - HMS - white cinelli - Great Ormond Street Jersey (Forum Cap)
XX:XX - AirTime - on-one blue pompino fixed - no idea for clothing (don't have start time yet as i'm riding in a mates place (don't tell anyone!))

Talking to someone who was in at a meeting for the Classic & the sweeper is starting earlier, as the Pro's said they would not ride with the Mamils on the road!

Why would you want a recovery drink to be alcohol free?
Don't forget that not everybody goes to Norths.

Is anyone not doing the ride 100 going to do any laps of the 8 mile open circuit tomorrow? 10 perhaps..

6:00 - Dammit - That Cannondale - Brixton Cycles jersey
6:04 - Tommy - Trek Domane - <-- the Cannondale jersey!
6:38 - mjs110 - Dove Bike jersey + forum cap
6:42 - ChrisMGS - This bike - Salsa jersey with skull & cross bones on the arms and back (or possibly a plain black Assos) - Say hi!
6:42 - TTM - black Storck - no idea, probably Wapha
6:42- LHL (Stephen)- red and black merckx, red and black lycra.
6:46 - Dan W - All black crabon di2 chinese bike with matching black/white nicey-but-pricey (inspired) attire. With Sidney Deane colnago hat
6:54 - simonm - red Focus - blue and red bone cancer jersey
7:02 - Bacci - blue too heavy edinburgh bikes tourer, white/red jersey, pockets stuffed with jelly babies
7:04 - dbr - burgendy Look - Rapha pro jersey (grey & pink)
7:06 - jazzythumper - 80's blue Pinarello - red Shelter jersey
7:10 - Doctor Cake - ti omega - Ladies LFGSS jersey
7:14 - Styleovercontent - Black Hoy Sa Calobra - Blue JDRF jersey - multiple sweat patches - panting heavily while trying to eat energy gels for 6 hours straight.
7.26 - h-j - red/white/black cinelli - black and green Anthony Nolan Trust jersey
7:48 - HoKe - Silver BMC streetracer - Hopefully a LMNH kit/ if not full rapha
7:50 - Commie - Matt Black BMC Team - Bone Cancer Research Trust Jersey
7:56 - hoefla - pink Flanders - Ladies LFGSS jersey
7:56 - HMS - white cinelli - Great Ormond Street Jersey (Forum Cap)
XX:XX - AirTime - on-one blue pompino fixed - no idea for clothing (don't have start time yet as i'm riding in a mates place (don't tell anyone!))

I've been thinking about this and I have finalised my pacing strategy as "smash it", I'll be operating this from the start to try to get some MAMIL free road.

If I don't blow catastrophically at the 60 mile mark it should all be ok.

If.

What kind of food / provisions / bike bags is everyone packing?

I'm thinking 2 bottles, one with water and one with High5 Zero magic juice, couple of Clif bars, cereal bars, nuts, jacket and a tool kit.

Why would anyone need a lock on a 100 mile ride?

I've been thinking about this and I have finalised my pacing strategy as "smash it", I'll be operating this from the start to try to get some MAMIL free road.

If I don't blow catastrophically at the 60 mile mark it should all be ok.

If.

You won't need to "smash" anything, unless you're carrying 6 bottles of red stripe in your massive courier bag?
Just go steady but fairly hard and with that early start time you should leave the puffing mamils and fixie pricks weaving around in your wake.

There was a degree if flippancy to my strategy, however I do think an initial effort woul be useful to get some clear road and warm up, then settle into a fast endurance pace.

Now, how can I take on more water without stopping? Some sort of aero funnel?

Cammelpak? Under the jersey for better aero with a TT helmet??

I remember reading a description by Cav of the beginning of a stage race and how, while still neutralised, it is absolute chaos. Everyone battles to be near the front, pushing and elbowing for space. Bunny hopping up curbs when road ran out. I imagine tomorrow morning the first 2 miles before the go will be similar as everyone tries to get out in front for some clear road. Sounds like a lot of stress to me.

My strategy is to ride well within my pace for the first 40 miles and then kick when the ascents begin. Much easier to make up time on the climbs.

On a side note, Dammit, you ride with a PM don't you? Is your display unit an out in front PC7 type thing? If so, how are you attaching your transponder? I'm struggling with mine.

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/aug/02/cycling-boom-ridelondon

TTM- good question, I've just opened the envelope to have a look at it, and that is going to be interesting.

Actually, wasn't too hard. Transponder is in the right position, but the number is partially obscured. Will have to do.

How did you do it? I was thinking of cutting the paper where the "Prudential" bit is, to allow for the PC7 mount to go through it, seems the simplest solution.

In other news:

Time to take the mountain climbing cassette off and put the faster one on.

No elegant, but hey ho.

^^ 11-23?

11-25.

Slightly annoyingly, having taken my cassette off I can see how far into the freehub spline I've now driven one of the sprockets, if it continues to make it's way through the spline then I've got ~3,000 more miles before I start freewheeling.