On the 30th July 2017 Bro. Gerry Price competed in The Prudential RideLondon 100. This was the fifth year since its inception which was an initiative by Boris Johnson who was Mayor at the time. Gerry has ridden in 4 out of 5 of these challenges. Most of the riders ride for a charity, and Gerry rode for Children with Cancer UK and he has raised in the order of £700 per year. Neleus Lodge sponsored him for £100. The ride in total raises £15,000,000. Its a cycling weekend covering all sorts of cycling events on Friday Saturday and Sunday with around 100,000 participants. On Sunday the RideLondon100 starts with all roads on the route closed all day with around 30,000 riders on a staggered start from 05.45 until 09.30. Riders starting times are determined by their past performance, or individual riders forecast a time if they haven't competed before. Gerry's determined time was 7hrs and he completed it in a creditable 6hrs 45min., average speed 14.7 mph, altitude gained 2000ft, calories consumed 6800. The course is basically the same course as was used for the Olympic race. It covers the following land marks :-
Start - Queen Elizabeth Olympic Stadium
- Trafalgar Square
- Chiswick
- Richmond Park
- Kingston upon Thames
- Hampton Court Palace
- Moseley
- Walton on Thames
- Weybridge
- Byfleet
- Ripley
- West Horsley
- Newlands corner
- Ambinger Hammer
- Forest Green
- Leith Hill
- Westcott
- Dorking
- Box Hill
- Leatherhead
- Oxshott
- Esher
- Thames Ditton
- Wimbledon
- Putney
- Chelsea
- Westminster
Finish - The Mall
The training required obviously depends on the individual and experience. For someone starting from scratch following a strict training plan 4/5 rides a week would take around 6 months.
Gerry cycles every week summer and winter and has a number of years experience. He ramps up the training for May, June and July. During July his Sunday rides will build up to 80 miles.
Bro. Gerry has cycled a number of rides for charity over the past few years some of the biggest are:-
Lands end to John O'Groats 870 miles.
The London Dulux 180 mile Sat and Sunday ride around London over night at Ascott in a tent
Kew Gardens to Eden Project Cornwall via Southampton off road 640 miles
South Iceland to North Iceland 360 miles
London to Paris 360 miles
Across Britain twice from Whitehaven to Sunderland 130 miles per crossing over the Pennines.
WHAT AN ACHIEVEMENT!