I interrupt this series of blog posts with…another blog post. Last year I coached a rider called Ben Connelly to Ride 100 in London for the MacMillan Cancer Charity. Ben kindly wrote a piece about his training in the lead up to the event…and a final piece about the event itself. With this year’s edition looming, and Ben and a number of Blackcat riders ready to get in the saddle again, it seems fitting to add his words to this series.

Ride 100 places are fiercely coveted and if you weren’t lucky enough to get one this year then I urge you to try for 2015: it’s a great event on home roads and Ben’s emotion (which you will read about below) may well come over you too……

“Well. My very first 100 miler was at this year’s RideLondon – what an amazing day!

Tim at http://www.blackcatcyclecoaching.com helped me out with a training programme 4 months before the event and I can honestly say that, without the structured plan that Tim put together, I wouldn’t have got anywhere close to the time I did; and all it took was 2 hour long turbo sessions a week and a weekend training ride.

The RideLondon was my first ever sportive event and I was nervous.

All the riders had to go to London the day before to register and collect badges etc, which also meant a stay in a hotel nearby. I was lucky enough to be given the last start time of 8 o’clock, which meant I only had to get up at 5:30 to be there for 7.

Initially, the thought of having to go to London the day before for registration, then be up early to get to the start knowing that it would most likely be a struggle was frustrating. But, seeing hundreds of cyclists heading to the Olympic Park got the adrenaline flowing before I’d even put the bike together. I was lucky enough that my wife agreed to drop my off within a couple of mile of the start and all I needed to do was put the wheels on and check over my kit once more – then I was off!

There was a fair bit of hanging around to do before my wave of approx. 900 riders were allowed to approach the start. I knew that my wave, being an 8 o’clock start, was the last wave of the day. So, I tried to make sure I was at the very front to help me set my own pace; and make sure that I wasn’t right at the back. We rolled out and headed to the official start gate; people were already puncturing too!

This being my first sportive, I didn’t really know what to expect. I’d done all my training on my own in the Cotswold Hills and knew that I wanted to keep an average of around 15-16mph. We set off at a speed of around 24 miles an hour. I know it’s flat but I could sense that other riders, and more importantly me, were getting overly excited by the occasion.

I noted that my heart rate was higher than it should be and I needed to ease off to give myself any chance of getting through this. Tim had given me particular zones to work in on the flats and in the hills, and already, in the first 5 miles, things weren’t going to plan. I picked a group of riders and tucked in close behind to take advantage of the slipstream effect – thankfully, it worked! I kept the pace up while bringing my heart rate right down.

The one thing that I leaned very quickly during the ride was that, having done all my training on my own, it took a while to get used to riding with people again – there were thousands of them. For my next sportive (I’ve already signed up to do it again next year!!J) I’ll certainly work in some training rides with others to make sure it’s not so alien.

When it came to nutrition, Tim had given me some guidance of what to eat and when. If I were able to do the ride again next year, I would probably try to be more self-sufficient with nutrition and only have to stop for water. I chose to stop at the ‘hubs’ to make the most use of my stop, getting water and a bite to eat. However, it seemed like every other rider had the same thought which resulted in a queue and, ultimately, longer off the bike than I had intended.

During my training, I’d made a point of training on the hills because they’re a weakness. It really paid off! I wouldn’t say that I flew up the hills, but they were manageable. Tim’s advice of monitoring the heart rate zone on the hills and not working too hard at the bottom meant that I could ride over the top feeling pretty good.

A real challenge of the ride was the fact that the first 40 miles was flat, giving a false sense that the ride was easier than expected. That said, I knew that the hills ended at around 70 miles; the last section should be a nice run in to the finish.

At around 80 miles, there was a short sharp hill that required a bit of a push to get over, and both legs started to cramp. It wasn’t too bad, but I still questioned whether I could do it. I knew I had it in me. I’d done the training and preparation – maybe this was where the wall was?

From around 85 miles, I knew that it was mostly flat to the end. I kept a note of my time and became aware that I could actually do this in under 6 hours. By this time, the number of riders around me had really thinned out. Speeds were in the mid-twenties as a couple of guys next to me had the same idea – it was almost a time trial to the finish.

I got to 90 miles and was going like the clappers. Then, all of a sudden, I got really emotional. Where had this come from? The training, the fundraising, and the support that had all been for this occasion was paying off; I was actually going to do this. In a respectable time too.

The previous day, I had been watching some of the races on the Mall. Now, I was the one riding down it with crowds either side banging on the barriers; this felt like being in the Olympics. I couldn’t help but ride down with both arms in the air in celebration!(and here he is on this year’s programme! Tim)

Throughout the ride, I’d had my phone on me with an earpiece in. I kept telling other riders that it was my team car – actually, it was my wife wanting to know how I was getting on! For me, this was a real booster as, although you were always around other riders, it could actually get a bit lonely out on the course. Another benefit was knowing exactly where my wife was stood at the finish as she waved me down the mall.

I’D DONE IT!!

Would I do it again? – Absolutely!

Would I use a http://www.blackcatcyclecoaching.com again? Definitely!

Would I recommend ECoaching to others – Oh yes!!!!

By the way, when I registered, I put down an expected time of 7.5 hours; hoping to do it in under 7. I came across the finish line in 5 hours 58 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!”

So – good luck Ben, Ken Jones, Vicki Lee, Deborah Baxter, Emma Cooper (doing this one after a very bad crash and return to fitness- all the more respect), Tim Kingston, Iain Harper, Liz O’Riordan (doing this injured after completing the London tri on “one leg” – chapeau!), Rod Archibald, all the AdAlta boys, Nicolas McNamara…and anyone else I know who managed to get in. Enjoy the closed roads!!