We have some very talented cyclists on here, but for those who don't mind a bit of Daf Trucks division as well as Premier League action...

If anyone is going to be watching this on Sunday 4 August, keep an eye out for a middle aged bloke in an all-red helmet a bit like this:



in a top like this


and on a bike like this


I'll be towards the back as I'm one of the later starters. All hecklers welcome.

The charity I'm riding for is the same one I've supported for a few years now and which many on here have kindly contributed towards. Those not suffering from compassion fatigue can sponsor me on http://www.action.org.uk/sponsor/jones_0

The organisation of the event is, er interesting. In their wisdom they are not allowing bikes to be taken by public transport. So if anyone happens to live somewhere near the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and can offer a floor to kip on 3 August, let me know!

Good luck with that Mark, I've missed the few "bockers rides" that we had last year, but I'm sure you've been practicing going up Leith Hill 3 times? I found the Spectator's Guide amusing, with the table of expected times at the end quoting a "slow" speed of 25 mph average (with faster being 28 mph) so I hope for your sake that the broom wagon goes a bit slower than that. With the pro's starting at 12:45, what start time do you have? And if it's before the pro's what happens if they catch you up?

Thanks Mr G.

I'm setting off at 7.50am, so I am one of the later ones. Apparently they are letting the quicker bods leave first to limit overtaking and avoid a bunched finish.

Apparently you have 9 hours before you are swept up - which I assume must be 9 hours from the last leavers. With the pros (which now includes Mr Sagan of the green beard) doing 140 miles they are confident the pros will not catch up - but they will depart before the last amateur finishes.

I will not be averaging 25 mph!

I have been hitting the hills, including Leith Hill or Box Hill most evenings for the last couple of weeks and will try to keep that up to the weekend. If anyone fancies a go at the Bockers route this weekend, I would be up for it as my last serious sortie before the event.

Good luck Mark with the ride. It's a shame most the roads round my way are closed, but not close enough to walk to, otherwise I would have come and shouted abuse as you went past

By coincidence, I've just done London-Paris with Action Medical Research. Very hot but great fun. Good luck!

Beggers - you don't have to walk, have you never heard of a bicycle! Come on, I'm sure there's a tomato in your kitchen with my name on it (preferably not one in a tin!)

Beggars Has a bike already and is starting to churn out the miles on Strava.

Not sure of my start time seem to have missed it!

I'm sure I can cycle down to Albury to throw something at you if you want Any ideas on what time you'll be over that way?


I've been slack over the past few days, still determined to get KOM on one of the routes since I'm 5th at the moment and 12 seconds off the pace

Actually, having said that and looking at the map, you wont be coming into Albury, but coming down Newlands Corner towards Dorking, so hopefully I can get on the other side of the road and cheer you on from the bottom of Newlands Corner.

Beggers, that looks to be about 48 miles in, so if I am a steady 16 mph should be there in 3 hours so 10.50 - just after you'll have had your Coco Pops! (But give or take 30m, depending on how gentle I take the beginning)

I'll be heading down that way on the bike this week (doing a circuit from Abinger Hammer) If you want to join me one evening?

Coco pops? Please! Weekends are raisan and cinnamon bagels, with phili cheese spread and bacon

Yeah, I'll join you, but don't expect much from me, I'm on a MTB bike and the furthest I've ridden in 13 miles Unlike Mr Vocking who thinks nothing of a 60 - 70 mile ride

Best of luck with the ride Emjay.

We had a debacle on Sunday with bikes on public transport. The guard let 11 bikes on the 3 carriage train before refusing access to the final 2.

Many of the Northern train operators are now requiring you to pre-book your bike.

I guess your best option is to get a lift in and ride the last bit?

How did you both get on?

Fuller report at lunch. Did okay. Weather really couldn't have been better and it was superb having the closed roads. Averaged 16.7 so, excluding 'pit stops', squeezed in at just under 6 hours, which I was very pleased with. With pit stops it would have been a few minutes over 6h.

Well done Mark, shame I couldn't get over to Newlands corner to see you, ended up staying over in Sandhurst for the night, but did managed to get into Dorking to see the pro's cycle past. A friend of mine on Facebook did the ride in 4hrs 12mins!

Well done Mark... great effort mate

Great effort Mark. I was envious watching this as it wa s great route and must have been a real pleasure on closed roads. I bet it was a bit congested for the first 10 miles or so?

Well done Mark - just donated, sorry I got to this a bit late!

Congratulations Mark.

Report on the day.

The day before, I couldn't really face another bowl of pasta so the evening comprised a bacon and egg sandwich followed by a curry. Probably not what the finest athletes finish their prep with, but there is something to be said for enjoying your grub.

Alarm goes off at 05.32 (those extra two minutes seemed important at the time), drive as far as I think I sensibly can and cycle the last 8 miles to the start. The journey in took quite a bit longer than expected, so I missed my official start time and instead slotted in with the final wave of cyclists to go. They were releasing people in waves to avoid bunching so it was fairly civilised (except for the lack of properly equipped toilets). Just after 2 miles, pass a sign that says "zero", which presumably was the official start, so I've now done over 10 bonus miles just for fun.

The weather is just right. There are a few people on mountain bikes - it's going to be hard work for them. There are also a few people who look like they have not really done much exercise for a long while, and they look to be struggling on the first gentle incline.

First official 35 miles are pretty level and perfect for warming up. The next 35 miles are the main hilly section, in particular Leith Hill and Box Hill, but I've spent much of my preparation doing repeated ascents of both and know this part of the course well, which gives a real advantage. Lots of people walking up Leith Hill, but my legs feel fresh and able to keep up a good pace.

From the 70 mile mark, it is pretty much level to the end and time to put the foot down. Still feeling plenty of life in the legs - don't think I've ever finished one of these feeling this comfortable, certainly not this dry!

The crowd are excellent, if a bit sparse in some places. Lovely seeing families making a day of it and being able to interact as you go past. The best bit is the closed roads - it's like a movie with the streets being abandoned. Being able to go past places like Westminster Abbey traffic-free was pretty special.

Turn the last corner into the Mall and put the hammer down. The competitive nature means you always want to get ahead of the people in front of you just before the finish line - and I do. In fact it worked out pretty well being at the back, I wasn't with the stupid-quick psychos, and had the encouragement of steady regular overtaking of people.

It's a few miles back to the car, this time with traffic on the roads. Having to get back into the habit of stopping at lights and being on the right side of the road.

So all in all, it ended up being 100 official miles, a further 16 unofficial ones.

A great event to be part of. Administratively a pain, but being out on the roads on the day, with crowds, the warmth of the Sun and no cars - pretty awesome.

Not sure what the official time will show, but unofficially the bike computer says an average of 16.7 mph which means 100 miles in just under 6 hours. Probably spent about 5-10 minutes in pit stops. Top speed 44 mph.

The organisers dished out 'goody bags' at the end - er a sachet of salad cream, thanks Heinz!

Not sure I would do it again, because it feels like a once-in-a-lifetime event. You need a slice of luck to get on the event, but if you have the chance to do it, and are prepared to put up with the administrative hassles (of which there were many) do it.

So thsoe who are used to reading a report of abject misery - sorry, this was actually very enjoyable!

If anyone wants to enter the 2014 ballot, the link is here

2014 link

Cheers Mark, I'm seriously considering this but to do it on the MTB instead

I have entered. It would be hell on an MTB and you would not be very welcome by other riders either if this years feedback is anything to go by.

What's been said then? I did see a few MTB's on their bikes. Surely it shouldn't matter what you're on as the money raised is all for Charity?

It is different from ride like the London to Brighton where it is predominantly a charity ride for fun. The prudential is a sportive and the speeds are a lot quicker. An MTB will be quite a lot slower so the differential of speed is greater and creates more risk. This gets exaggerated on fast downhill sections where it can get quite dangerous.

The key thing is that riding the event on an MTB will not be anywhere near the fun of a road bike where you get in a chain gang and ride along for miles at speeds you would not think possible. Nearly all the comments from those riding mountain or hybrids said they wished they were on road bikes as they felt they missed out. I did a Marsden sportive last year with a group of friends and one was on his mountain bike with slicks, he suffered big time after about 50 miles and his wrists were killing him by the end.

Hire a road bike for the week before and the day Beggers, you'll get a lot more out of the day

I've been contemplating a road bike since I seem to be riding 75% of the time on the roads. I only use the MTB as I got this through my old work on the cycle 2 work scheme and the quickest route to work was through a park and a bit of muddy canal paths.

Trouble is, anything that is of a reasonable spec is £500+ which I don't want to overly spend and with Autumn coming in a few weeks, I doubt I'll be out when it's cold, yes, I'm a wuss

I can feel a "Triban 3" thread coming on...

£300 quid, mine was. Very pleased with it, though other stuff happening means I've only done about five hundred miles on it so far.

Doesn't look bad at all, but I know nothing about road bikes