Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100

The Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100 was created by the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games for celebrating the legacy for cycling including Newlands Corner, Leith Hill and Box Hill. More than 20, 000 cyclists took the part of the largest sportive in the history of the UK.

To be a part of this event I had to entered for public ballot entry system for the 2013. The ballot was closed when 55,000 applications had have been reached. At the beginning of February 2013 I received notification that I was successful in my application to participate in  Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100. I was ecstatic! 

Right up to the race day there was very good promotional information on the event and this helped to a great build up. The information also included help, support and advice on the training plans and nutrition.

I had my own training plan as I was preparing myself for Half Ironman in May 2013. After this race I was keeping my bike fitness level with some short and long rides but not more then 3 times per week. 

The registration for the riders was split in 3 days before the big day. We had to register and collect our documents at the Prudential RideLondon Cycling Show at ExCel in East London. There was a full programme of informative presentations offering cycling advice, interviews with professionals and a variety of entertainment.  All very good useful and helpful indeed.

The night before the race I prepared my bike and nutrition. I also made sure that I had sufficient carbohydrate loading. I went to bed at 9 pm as I needed to be up at 2 am. 

On the big day I had my usual breakfast which is cereals with little bit of milk and white coffee. Around 3:15 am I and couple my friends went by car to London. We pre-booked a car park in advance and we choose one which was closer to the finish line. It was 4:45 am when we got there. So we had to cycle to the start line around 30 minutes. It was good warm up. On the way to the start we met a few people who were cheering us. It was still dusk so there was also people just leaving a night clubs drunk and merry after enjoying the London nightlife.

The race was held in the new Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park where it started in wave starts between 06:00 and 08:00 on Sunday 4 August 2013. Our start time was at 7 am at but we had to be there 1 hour earlier. At the park there were two start chutes: Blue Start and Black Start. These were followed different routes for the first six miles. We were in the Black Start. 

Around 30 minutes before our start wave I had 2 bananas and a cereal bar. This helped me for my energy. Both start lines converged on exiting the Limehouse Link Tunnel. I really enjoyed going through the tunnels. The 100-mile route was on closed roads through the capital and into Surrey´s stunning countryside. All spectators as well as well as volunteers were cheering all the way through. The atmosphere was brilliant!

There were three Hubs and seven drinks station approximately each 10 miles as well as distance markers. My first stop was after 36 miles in Pyrford village. I only had to top up my bottles and stretch my body and then I was ready to shoot off. My next stop was at Boxhill Village which was on 68th mile. As I was reaching 80 miles a I was little bit emotional as I have not done such a long distance on the bike. The third and last stop was after 82 miles in Esher where I spent only 2 minutes due to my non working speedometer. The last 99-mile marker was pushing me through the last mile. It was the longest mile ever.

The finish line was on The Mall in central London, right opposite Buckingham Palace. All participants got a very impressive medal but they had to finish within nine hours. My time was 6 hours and 3 minutes. My average pace was 16,7 miles per hour including stops and hills. I felt really good after the event and I can tell that I am much stronger on the hills as I was before.

After our achievement we also received goody bags and we were talking about our experience all the way back home. It was very well organised and I´m pleased with my another challenge of this year!