2010-04-25 Sun 6am - London Marathon Ride

damn guys, this was so fun!
same time next year?
i was the 15year old on the red argos by the way :)

That was absolutely brill, is what that was.

I don't often cycle with company, being chummed along the journey was really rather fun.

Some were stopped from crossing the finishing line?

A++, would buy from again.

dibs the polka dot jersey

more pics please!

Nah, 100 tops

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4052/4549973547_3818aee90a_b.jpg

Dude at the front, where's yours legs?!

Photoshop fail!

I sense some sort of Photoshop witchcraft... ha

i think hes joined 3 photographs together and cut off his legs by mistake

That was fun, 32 miles done by five minutes past eight, it was good to cross the line at speed after zipping down the Mall.

was a quick and dirty photoshop panorama - sorry legless man.

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Fuck off.

Glad everyone had a good ride! Great photo Mikey!

was definitely good fun, nice pace and good people

where was harrymajor? ;-)

The pace was one of the best parts of it. We averaged 19mph over the whole thing, and if we had just stayed on course we would've turned in an even more respectful time.

Docklands was hilarious. I think the group had been split into 3 packs by then and since people missed the first turn some were going clockwise when they should've gone anti-clockwise around the Isle of Dogs. The result seemed to be cyclists going every direction at every major junction. Fucking briliant.

was a quick and dirty photoshop panorama - sorry legless man.

Thanks for the directions as well Mikey.

The legless man is BlueQuinn and he wont looky likey!

Great fun lovely ride with a decent pace too...Glad I managed to get in on the sprint finish at the mall. Nice to meet some old and new faces

Nice pic

after the split up tried to catch up with the main group, got hopelessly lost, and popped out at a 21mile marker, was still late.

guys!!! JOE SMITH and the other guys that pick me up in crystal palace thank you i hope i didnt slow you down! u guys are all awesome to much level for me! ahhaha need to catch up with my fitness!!!thanks no words!! was bloody brilliant! im horrible for names sorry but im the guy with the spanish flag in the backpack! we managed to get lost several times and one of hour group crash just 5 minutes from the end just after waterloo bridge!! hope u oke fella!!! ur knee and hand will get well soon!! brilliant breaky GERALD!!! had the nicest ride ever in london today full nice fun people with no satnavs! ahahhahaha why wait for next year we should do it more often!!! luv u all geezasss

that was brilliant. pics pics pics!

got so lost, i ended up by London City Airport & University of East London Docklands campus. i also was told i shouldn't be on the course near the end, but was only actually stopped by a cop once. otherwise great fun.

we the few and the merrier!!!! hahahaha

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was a quick and dirty photoshop panorama - sorry legless man.

That isn't the first time I've seen BlueQuinn legless... IGMC...
I've just had a nana-nap, lunch and footy in the pub for me now... :]

Well what a way to start the day.

I was unable to sleep at 3am so so idly grabbed my phone and checked LFGSS, the first time that I had opened this thread. 3 hours later and I was out on the road, heading to Blackheath and picking up forumengers as I went. Lovely to see Joe rolling statefully through Peckham.

The East contingent arrived fashionably just on time to prompt a massive turnout to head off, accompanied by waves and cheery "Good Morning's" from all that we passed. Our illustrious leader took the front and fucked up the first piece of navigation. To be fair none of us on the front had a scooby doo of where to go; the plan of 'follow the barriers' only worked in part.

Down into Lewisham and we had our first experience of riding on the wrong side of a dual carriageway - MiddleOfNowhere happily leading a group of about four into the middle of the wrong way. Smiles got them through and we kept the pace up in the leading bunch. Any thoughts of the peleton stringing out were forgotten as the mile markers gave us our very own green jersey competition.

We were forced to bypass the Cutty Sark by a police presence but not to worry, we definitely made up the distance later on... A quick turn around Surrey Quays gave ample opportunity for some of the back markers to high tail to the Rotherhithe tunnel roundabout and rejoin the group. I am assuming that they had had some kind of mechanical that caused their pace to slow? A relatively traffic heavy section took us onto Tower Bridge and the half way mark. Buses on the bridge didn't stop the sprinters from putting dow the hammer for the points on offer, with adoubletap and Velocio looking good for the jersey; chalenged only by team MASH SF (dunno your names guys, but you ride strong and hard).

A quick pull to the top of the Isle of Dogs and our first major navigational headfuck. Some limbo under a ribbon and then the hive mind decided that we knew where to go. Turns out that we weren't far off the mark, with David shouting the final decision and the committing to it. A fast loop round the Isle of Dogs probably took a longer route than necessary, allowing us to make up for the lack of the tea clipper in Greenwich. Once again, when we got back to the top of the Isle, there was a back marker group heading down - a quick about turn for them allowed the group to rebunch, albeit briefly.

With only 5 more miles to go, the front group decided that the end was in site and that glory was worth a stint in the pain cave, or at least the grumbling grotto. The lingering traffic, mainly consisting of psychotic coaches, was no obstacle and son a red light left a front group of 15 to 25 riders with an unassailable gap ahead of me. A quick catch up with Gerald, who had been acting as back marker, confirmed that the rear of the massive pack had had a different ride from me, although from the grin on the face it was no less enjoyable back there - although, does he ever not smile?

Gav86 and I decided not to chase down the group but just to enjoy the last few miles at the front of the second bunch. Swiftly onto the embankment and the down hill entry confirmed to my legs that I would probably not be content to sit in the peleton, even though my lack of sleep was telling me it was a good idea. A brief panic as we thought that a police man was trying to send us over Southwark bridge. In fact he was telling us to ride on the wrong side of the road through the tunnel, which was a instruction met by whoops of exuberance and a quick burst of acceleration. Tunnels rock, but a lingering sense of safety kept me near the edge rather than taking the blind racing line. Thankfully the road was well and truly closed and a clear run to Parliament square saw me working on the front and starting to feel the burn.

No problem at all mind, since as soon as we turned onto Birdcage Walk the imminence of the finish gave me a rush of blood to the head and I managed to lead the sprint round the corner onto the mall and on to the timing gate finish. Coming through the gate was very nearly an emotional finish to a truly wonderful ride, with a outstanding group of friends, riders, hipsters, and unknowns. Chapeau to you all.

As it turned out, not everyone was able to sprint the mall but pretty much everyone found each other for a mass photo opportunity before the freezing rain began and settled in for my ride home.

35 miles in the bag, showered and back in bed for 9am with, most importantly: a big smile on my face, some great memories and a warm glow coming from the legs.

Bring on next year.

Yeah, that's the last time I follow a group of teenagers and trust them with directions back to the route. Old Kent Road is not the way.

I was in the group who went the wrong way round the Isle of Dogs. Embarrassing. Started off at the back of the first group, ended at the top of the last group.
Still did the route, albeit a different route than most.

Yeah, that's the last time I follow a group of teenagers and trust them with directions back to the route. Old Kent Road is not the way.

Lolz, never mind.