Rob Finch’s thoughts on what turned out to be a memorable day of cycling…….
Well, I entered this event back in March of this year during what was a really bad period of back pain, (due to a severely slipped disc – at the L5/S1 Level for those who like all the detail). I’ve cycled for 40+ years, but I really needed something to work towards and cycling (thankfully) had been recommended by the spinal specialist at Oswestry Orthopaedic Hospital as a suitable exercise to keep me mobile and aid what could (in his words) “…..be a 12-18 month recovery process.”
I didn’t get in on the first entry ballot, but on finding out that there were still charity places available, pitched in for a ride to support Breakthrough Breast Cancer. This is something that is close to my heart due to the devastating effects experienced by my Sister, – who is a breast cancer survivor – and more recently my wife’s niece who has now finished treatment and looking forward to life with her new baby daughter.
And so to last weekend and I had a few reservations prior to the event…..
- the sheer number of entrants (20,000), that’s some club run! (and potentially a lot of inexperience).
- the logistics of registration on Saturday, ride on Sunday, so an overnight was required,
- the fact that the start and finish were 8 miles apart, so where to stay and securely leave the car,
- and finally would my back hold out……? it has been OK recently, but I hadn’t done that long in the saddle for 12 months at least!!
Saturday 3rd Aug……… my bike and kit was all packed up and I was off to London, first stop the ExCel Arena for registration. After 3.5hrs in the car, I was surprised at how easily that process went – plenty of safe parking, brilliant directions to my registration point and everything at hand to sign me in – 15 minutes after arriving I was registered!!
There was a cycling show put on as well, which although not as big as the main shows I’ve been to, gave me opportunity to meet with the Breakthrough Charity Team and if I had had any last minute cycling emergencies, I could have sourced them from exhibitors/traders such as Wiggle and Madison. There was also massage available, numerous competitions, rider interviews on stage and a pretty impressive stunt bike and free-running demonstration.
So off to my hotel……….. I was fortunate enough to still have some Holiday Inn (IHG) loyalty points left from my numerous hotel stays prior to my retirement from work, so I managed to bag myself a self-catering studio (Staybridge Suites), literally overlooking the Olympic Park in Stratford and in full view of the Olympic Velodrome!!
Sunday 4th Aug – Event Day!!!……..an early start, 5:00am to be precise, I’m not sure about having breakfast so early, especially after a large bowl of pasta just hours before, but I needed to be at the Olympic Park for 6:18am as my wave – Blue Wave M – was ‘loading’ at 6:42am ready for a 7:18am start.
Again I was amazed at the speed and how smoothly everything seemed to run, my post-ride kit bag was loaded onto a numbered lorry and I duly lined up with around 1000 other ‘Blue M’ riders to wait to be called forward to the start. Now I don’t really do nerves, but my muesli and yogurt seemed to be doing cartwheels and I can only put that down to nervous anticipation of what was to come.
- 6:42am on the dot we were checked in (no rider card, no ride!!) and were corralled in readiness to being lead down the start straight.
- 7:10am and we are slowly lead into position with the start gantry ahead.
- 7:18am – 10, 9…………..3, 2, 1 and we were off!!
Now I’d managed to get fairly near the front (safest option I thought) and I was soon on open road, nowhere near the congestion I was expecting. The official start (timing mat) was 2 miles up the road, so that gave everyone time to sort themselves out, I pushed on with a few others and about 10 of us crossed the ‘Depart Fictif’ line with 100 miles ahead.
Now, when I entered I put down what I thought was a realistic target time of 7hrs. This was based on my continued back problems and what I thought would be a very slow start with so many cyclists close together. What I hadn’t bargained for was that this put me in with a lot of slower riders – faster riders had gone off in the earlier waves from 6:00am onwards.
What did this all mean? Well it meant that I pretty much rode on my own in what I have described to others as a 100 mile overtaking manoeuvre. Each time I caught a group I realised I could ride faster, so aimed for the next group and so that trend continued. By 50 miles and the Surrey Hills I had passed literally 1000’s of riders, it was all a bit surreal really. I’d spent most of the time on the right hand side of the road.
Now one of the biggest problems of being set off later was that on the climbs there were quite a few ‘log-jams’ as you came up behind slower riders or people who had just climbed off and were pushing their bikes and some of these roads were narrow in places. All the talk had been about Box Hill, but Newlands Corner and Leith Hill were far more demanding and there were quite a few times that my Garmin paused as I was forced to slow below the 5mph lower limit at which it is set.
So Box Hill came and went, it was easier than expected, the names Cav, Wiggo, Froome et al, still visible in paint, – leftovers from last years Olympic efforts – and it was just over 30 miles to The Mall. We were now on fairly fast roads, so for much of it I was travelling at 25mph. The closer I got to the finish, the more the crowds built and in my head I’d have to admit, – I was a Pro for the day!!!
My only ‘bad patch’ came at about 90 miles in Wimbledon where we hit a testing climb up past Wimbledon Common, I seemed to temporarily develop the legs of a Womble, but over the top and a well timed gel and normal service was soon resumed.
With 10km to go I caught a Worcester St Johns CC rider (my old club from the 70’s to the 90’s), so I rode in steady with him to the finish. As we hit Trafalgar Square the crowds were enormous, weirdly tiredness ebbed away and as we went through Admiralty Arch we even managed to sprint for the line.
No sooner finished and a photographer took my photo and I was given my souvenir medal and a goodie bad – food/drink biased thankfully!!
Within 5mins I was reunited with my kit bag and sat on a grass bank refuelling and rehydrating with 100’s of others and took time to reflect on the days events.
After putting my bike in the secure Bike Park and meeting with some friends from London over in Green Park (The Festival Area) for a couple of hours, then came the only negative of the day – the ride back to Startford to my car. 40mins of bus and taxi dodging, however thankfully helped by a couple of local riders and I was soon reunited with my car and heading home.
5hrs 8mins 42secs was my official time, but I know however that I could have been faster.
- I should have been more ambitious with my target time, that would have put me in with riders of a similar ability from the off,
- I should have fuelled more en route – I did it on 2 x 500ml bottles, 2 x gels and 2 x malt loaf slices,
- and finally I should have ridden with friends or family to share the experience.
Will I be tempted to do it again – ABSOLUTELY!!!!
Registrations for the public ballot entry system open on August 12th 2013, so go on, get your entry in, you seriously won’t regret it!!!!!!