How some crashes are caused by idiocy, and why it’s the family cycling event which is the most important one.

Ride London, the capital’s weekend of cycle events – now expanded to three days – is in its fourth year. And for another time, I’ve taken part in what is officially called the Ride London Surrey 100, a vast, 100-mile closed-roads sportive, which this year saw up to 27,000 people take part.

As is also traditional for the Bike Blog, below are my instant (I’m writing this in the event press tent, still clad in my clammy bike clothes) thoughts on what is the UK’s biggest cycling extravaganza.

Be careful out there

The news headlines are dominated by two nasty crashes which required air ambulances, and the subsequent delays these brought. Of course, we so far know nothing about the circumstances of the two crashes, but it is nonetheless worth stressing that more generally, the Ride London 100 can sometimes be a bit scary.

It’s now expanded to 27,000 registrations (slightly fewer will have turned out), and this year there were also 3,00o or so people taking part in a new 46-mile event. Even with start times spread out over three hours, it’s a lot of people, especially when things compress, whether for hills or a narrower road, or at places like Leith Hill, both.

I saw about three nasty crashes myself, and a grim-looking crash aftermath in which a prone man was being placed in the recovery position. The difficulty seems to be a combination of the sheer numbers and the varied levels of experience on the course. Riding as part of a group can be difficult, and it’s useful to know how to ride in a predictable and clearly-identifiable way.

That said, what worried me more than the inexperienced riders were the fast but careless ones, who zipped through barely-existing gaps in a swish of carbon wheels. Ride London is a very fast course, and lots of people want to post good times. And too many take risks.

This year I was extra careful. On descents I stuck to the left of the road, even if it involved braking to stay behind slower riders. In busy sections – which is, in truth, almost the whole 100 miles – I tended to stay out of groups and ride alone. Yes, it was slower, but there was less chance of being felled by a wheel touch or a dropped water bottle.

Hooray for the organisers and crowds

On a more positive note, Ride London is very, very well run. Some people complained about being delayed after the crashes, but the organisers, led by London Marathon director Hugh Brasher, put in two diversions to get people moving. And the on-course staff, whether putting bags on trucks or waving yellow flags to warn people of traffic islands, are absurdly efficient and good humoured.

Of course, if I’d been stuck at the foot of Leith Hill for about an hour I might see things less charitably. And it’s fair to say that the professional race being delayed for about 20 minutes so the last Ride London 100 stragglers could be cleared from the course is not ideal, especially in the year that the event is being inspected by the sport’s governing body, the UCI, to be part of its world tour series.

The crowds of spectators seem to get bigger every year, too. From the sleepily-waving west London kids in pyjamas near the start to the cheering hordes near the end, they’re a huge boost.

This is especially useful in the last 15 or so miles, when your legs are wobbly and the energy gels start tasting like the leftovers from a crystal meth lab. The encouragement reinvigorates you. On that note I seemed to be among a minority of riders who waved back.

It’s not all about the 100

For me, the really important event of Ride London comes a day before - Saturday’s Freecycle. This year about 70,000 people, lots of them families, turned out to trundle round an eight-mile route through central London.



For all the fun of the Ride London 100, it’s an event for enthusiasts, hobbyists. It’s as much about everyday cycling as the London Marathon is about walking to work.



Facebook Twitter Pinterest The RideLondon Freecycle. Photograph: Neil Turner/Silverhub for Prudential RideLondon

The Freecycle is different. For one thing it might tempt some people to cycle more often, especially as this year’s route took in London’s new, separated so-called cycle superhighways, which are a step above any bike infrastructure previously seen in the city.

But equally important, the masses of children and families enjoying their city on two wheels, in safety, gives an important message to politicians about the latent demand for everyday cycling. Brasher says he sees the Freecycle, and other events oriented at children like new kids’ BMX races, as vital to Ride London, and says he wants the organisation to start working in schools. “Cycling should be for all Londoners,” he says.

Not a takeover, a temporary appropriation

While the volume and extent of grievances have reduced in the four years of Ride London, some people do still noisily complain about road closures, especially on Sunday’s longer route.

As a participant, the lack of cars is half the thrill of the Ride London 100, and for the Freecycle. The city is yours – the tyranny of the speeding, smelly, antisocial, lethal metal boxes is lifted. This especially feels the case when the route goes along main roads like the A12, normally off limits for humans not cocooned in a tin cage.

For me, rather than complain about the two days when this happens, more people should ask why it’s only one weekend a year. London – and all other towns are cities – is supposed to be for human beings. But you’d never know it normally.

Still just London, for now

Every time I ask about Ride London people ask: what about the rest of the UK? Yes, some other cities have similar, if smaller events, some also on closed roads. But couldn’t the Ride London organisers help elsewhere?

Brasher says that they do, where possible, offer advice, but stresses that it’s not in his remit, or power, to offer franchised events around the country. He can advise, but it’s up to councils and mayors elsewhere to get things going.

“At the moment we are very much focused on this event, and trying to improve it year on year,” he says.