2013-04-01 - London Phoenix Easter Classic

My club is running it's annual sportive on Easter Monday starting from Fairlop Waters near Hog Hill.

Good value at £12, including a fully signed route, timing chips and a refreshment stop on the long route ; more details on our website here:

http://www.londonphoenix.co.uk/easterclassic/

Guaranteed better weather than last year?

If I'm not away I'll be up for this.

Couldn't be any worse! I'm up for this. Be nice not to have to do the last 35 miles into a sould sapping rainy gale.

Is this a particularly lumpy/hilly route? Anyone got a profile from last year? Tentatively interested!

It's not really no. There's a longish drag (not spikey) towards the end, which was a bit annoying into the wind last year, but I'm a hill hater and I don't mind any of that territory really.

Entered. Looks good!

Ha, last year was pretty brutal. Poots, it's quite 'rolling' but not really hilly. It actually avoids the steepest/longest climbs around there.

I'm looking at doing the short route fixed this year with a few friends, see you all there (if the weather's not biblical).

Signed up for the 54 km, will be riding fixed as the baby jesus intended.

I too am a rain and hill hater but I'm going cycling in Italy later in the year so I need to face my hill fears!

In! (for the shorter route!)

In for the long route with gears... and mudguards probably!

Entered my 1st ever sportive! Resisted the urge to put LLFGSS as my team ; )

As an aside: The British Cycling entry/payment hoopla. Wow. Could they have made it any more annoying/challenging to use??

It's flat, you blouses. It was good fun a few years ago, smashing it around with slippery tyres alongside someone who's name I can't recall but he was keen to go quick.

I thought it went up Toot Hill etc ? So not flat at the start, but once you are up onto the Essex plateau I 'd describe the terrain as pleasantly rolling.

Its certainly not the N Downs or the Chiterns...

IN, thanks for the tip, .......Tour of Flanders Sportive on the saturday, pro race on the sunday and this ride on the Monday, which makes for a Top Weekend!!!!

I did the short route two years ago and didn't suffer too much, so up for the long route this year! (I was signed up to do it last year, but bailed after nearly getting hypothermia after riding the surrey rumble put me off heavy rain events).

Hopefully it'll be a little warmer and drier than last year. Looking forward to it!

Now registered. Poots I agree with your comments about BC.

The attempted sneaking in/on of membership was grinding my gears a bit too!

blimey, that was a bit of a palava! Booked onto the longer route. They obviously don't want you to join in if you're not a paid up member of BC, I nearly gave up - being too stingy to fork out £28 yearly subs!

Have they changed the registration system? Don't remember it being much of a palaver in the past.

if you're a fully paid up bc member its a lot easier!

... just realised, this is the first ride I've ever paid money to join! (apart from charity rides)

I've signed up for the long ride -think I need a bit of a goal to get me out of my post -Ashdown slump. Fellow southies - are you riding out?

I actually hadn't thought that far ahead! Gulp. Could do, I suppose.

It looks like there are fairly regular trains from Liverpool St to Seven Kings, which looks to be fairly near to Fairlop. Might help save our legs a tiny bit ...

http://www.greateranglia.co.uk/travel-information/journey-planning/timetables/station/?station=SVK