Ford Ride London to Essex cycling 102 miles back to Tower Bridge 26th May 2024 using a single speed Brompton folding bike with small wheels and just one gear
The route: Victoria Embankment to Essex and back to Tower Bridge
What does S1L mean?
S means straight handlebars, which helps you lean forwards for a sporty position
1 means the number of gears the bike has. In this case, mine only has one gear
L means the bike has front and rear mudguards
Preparation for the ride. My recommendation is:
- 1000ml (or two 500ml bottles) water bottle or whatever you
can carry on your bike holder and that you think you will
need for hydration and before having to stop for the toilet.
There were sufficient toilets along the route
- Sugary snacks (normal supermarket cereal bars in my
case). Enough that you can stop and eat every
15 - 30 mins as a guide. Whatever works best for you.
- Suggest a pit stop after 2-2hrs 30 mins and get off the bike
for 10 - 15 mins for a little water with a sugary snack and a
toilet stops
- I was given more water, snacks, a very light lunch, banana,
crisp, gel and high protein bar, plus electrolyte tablets x2
for my bottled water
- Sports T-shirt / Cycling jersey that manages sweat and
ventilates well. Rear jersey pockets are useful for whatever
you want to put in them (Snacks, gels, raincoat, rubbish)
- Light thin jacket for wind (& rain optional) warmth and
protection, that can be easily folded away, if not.
required. I wore mine throughout.
- Arm warmers
- Comfortable trousers/bottoms/shorts. I used ventilated
golfing trousers in 2022/3 and shorts in 2024, which had a
couple of pockets.
- Comfortable shoes or trainers. I used normal work shoes,
which I always use when I ride with overshoe covers
- A helmet is mandatory
- I used my small ‘O’ bag to carry my snacks in 2022/3, but
ditched it and got a handlebar bag for 2024, making full
use of my cycling jersey pockets
- Gloves is a must in my opinion. I used full fingers for 2022/3
and half fingers in 2024
- Small essential tools and tyre Levers
Preparation in advance
- Service your bike
- Degrease and oil chain
- Check tyres and pump to 90-100Psi, your choice
- Carry spare inner tube and hand pump.
- Bare essential tools - Suggest Brompton or equivalent
tool kit
- If you can, I would recommend you book well in advance
& stay in a hotel the for the night before, at a near/
reasonably priced hotel, as possible. This will give you
peace of mind, as I was anxious about race day and
will help you stop stressing about arriving tired and/or
late.
- Plan your route from the hotel to the event
- Eat carbs for lunch and dinner the day before
- For breakfast, I had a honey pot of porridge, and just
added boiling water. This already had powered milk for
taste. I also had a pecan pastry and a cup of coffee,
(optional: milk & sugar)
- All relevant documents for the Race, like T-shirt and bike
number and put these on the night before
- Get an early nights sleep, preferably 7-8 hours or
whatever you consider reasonable. Avoid alcohol