London to Paris 2009

[paddington]

Hi All,

After doing the marathon earlier this year I decided my next challenge would be the London to Paris ride in June '09. In case anyone doesn't know it's a three day ride to Paris, about 300 riders, rolling road closures, full support crew and is supposed to be the closest an amateur can get to a professional race (though I won't be doing any racing...). Just wondering if anyone else has done this and what their experience was.

I've been cycling for years but mostly on an MTB so I'm going to have to put in a lot of training. Any tips on this would be most appreciated - I'm thinking I need to be doing at least one long ride each week, combined with cycling into work each day, increasing the mileage significantly in the two months before the ride.

I also haven't bought a bike yet... I was thinking of picking up a Specialized Tarmac Elite as my MTB is a Specialized and it's been brilliant. Does anyone have any opinions with these? My mate who's riding it with me has been suggesting I pimp myself up with something Italian from Colnago or Wilier but they don't seem great value.

Sorry for all the questions - I'd be really grateful for any input.

Cheers,
James

[The Londoner]

I rode this year's L2P. It was tough in places but doable if you had done the training. I had hoped to ride again in 09, but my riding buddy has been hit hard by the downturn, the entry fee has gone up and the overall distance has come down by about 60k., so it is looking unlikely. Happy to answer any questions if I can either here or by pm.

[leggly]

If you're riding on normal tyres, LOADS of innertubes. Apart from that, fitness. Should be a piece of.

[anonymous-user]

paddington said:

Hi All,

After doing the marathon earlier this year I decided my next challenge would be the London to Paris ride in June '09. In case anyone doesn't know it's a three day ride to Paris, about 300 riders, rolling road closures, full support crew and is supposed to be the closest an amateur can get to a professional race (though I won't be doing any racing...). Just wondering if anyone else has done this and what their experience was.

I've been cycling for years but mostly on an MTB so I'm going to have to put in a lot of training. Any tips on this would be most appreciated - I'm thinking I need to be doing at least one long ride each week, combined with cycling into work each day, increasing the mileage significantly in the two months before the ride.

I also haven't bought a bike yet... I was thinking of picking up a Specialized Tarmac Elite as my MTB is a Specialized and it's been brilliant. Does anyone have any opinions with these? My mate who's riding it with me has been suggesting I pimp myself up with something Italian from Colnago or Wilier but they don't seem great value.

Sorry for all the questions - I'd be really grateful for any input.

Cheers,
James

having sat on many a bike recently, specialized geometry seems to suit touring more than wilier for sure, they seem to put the rider in a much more upright psition and the wilier seems a little longer in the top tube so you are in more of an "attack" position which might not suit touring as much. the 09 trek bikes are quite comfortable and the spec is pretty good.

in terms of VFM, colnago and wilier are not that great, £749 for an 09 campag mirage wilier escape or you are paying for the frame but almost all of the lower end models will probably be built in the far east. havent sat on a jamis or a focus but they are good value for money at the moment as buyabike and wiggle have some 08 models left...

[Sarkmeister]

I did the L2P last year, on a Genesis Day 01 hybrid, managed to keep up with all the road bikes pretty well. Depends how competitive you are really, but fitness is a lot more important than getting the perfect bike (within reason obviously)

As for punctures, we were a team of 4 and didnt have a single one, guess we were lucky.

Good luck with it, its such a great feeling when you get to the end and sit down on a terrace in Paris with a nice pint..........

[Sarkmeister]

As for training, i did 2 15 mile evenign rides, and one 65 mile weekend ride per week for about 3 months. Im not mega fit but that was enough for me. My team even came second on the first (easiest) day, despite setting off later than everyone else.

[paddington]

Hi All,

Thanks very much for the input - I'm really looking forward to doing the ride. I committed to the Specialized at the weekend and should be taking delivery by the end of the week. Realistically I'm not sure how much riding I'm going to get in before the new year though but I might take it somewhere quiet to acclimatise to the SPDs - another new experience.

Appreciate the training advice. I think one long weekend ride coupled with shorter evening rides and spinning classes at the gym should see me in good (enough) shape come June. I'm also considering getting a turbo trainer but I'm not sure if the downstairs neighbours would appreciate it (I live in a flat). I've never done a ride anywhere near this length before so I think it's all about getting a lot of hours in the saddle.

Can anyone tell me how seriously the other riders take it? I get the feeling from some sources it's going to be wheel-to-wheel peloton-style riding and I certainly haven't had much experience of that.

Hopefully I can also raise a few quid for a good cause at the same time.

Cheers again.

[The Londoner]

paddington said:

Can anyone tell me how seriously the other riders take it? I get the feeling from some sources it's going to be wheel-to-wheel peloton-style riding and I certainly haven't had much experience of that.

The set up this year was 4 groups based on average speed. Group 1 was for the guest professionals eg Stephen Roche, James Cracknell and a few others. To ride in group 1 though, you'll need a racing licence. I forget what the speeds were for groups 2 and 3, but I rode in group 4 for which the average speed was 25-27kph. Each group has a ride captain who is supposed to shepherd everyone along, a lead car and a support van and 4 or 5 motorbike outriders. I think the idea for 09 is to have 2 ride captains for each group, one at the front and one at the back.

You can swap between the groups if you find you are struggling or feel that you could be faster. There is a lunch stop each day, and a comfort break every two hours or so to fill bottles, empty bladders etc.

Generally we rode 2x2, so if you haven't got much experience in riding on the wheels of others, I would try and get some, maybe riding in a local cycling club's chain gang. I don't know about "seriously" but people generally buckle down and get on with it. Ultimately the lead car and the ride captain control the pace to keep the group together, so there are no balls out sprints to worry about.

In terms of your training, I would try and get a few sportive rides in as well for the distance if you can. L2P also organise a few training rides out of Esher every 6 weeks or so, so it is worth getting along to at least one of these if you can so you meet others who will be riding in your group, you'll get an idea of the speed, and riding in close proximity to others as well.

Good luck.