The Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Adventure Begins

At 05:00 am the alarm on my phone chimes. The sun is also only just thinking of rising as I head for the shower, the first task in what I know is going to be a long day. My RideLondon buddie, Jason, has stopped over so that we can get a quick start on our 180 mile drive to London. We loaded the bikes in the car last night, I just finishing fitting mud guards to the Roubaix before darkness fell, a decision triggered by the ever worrying reports of heavy rain for Sunday's ride.

By 06:00 am the Yeti and its two excited passengers are driving east along the picturesque A35 for London. The RideLondon soundtrack filling our ears and bringing a smile to our tired faces. The anticipation builds.

We make amazingly good time, hitting the outskirts of London within 3 hours and spotting that as the congestion charge does not apply over the weekend, we set a new course to take us through the centre of the city. Our destination is the Holiday Inn Express within a mile of the Olympic Park, the start of Sunday's ride.

Taking the last remaining space in the secure car park, after an interesting challenge gaining access via the high security gate, we check in, greatly relieved as to how smoothly the day is panning out. We waste no time in heading over to the ExCeL centre, via the Light Docklands Railway, to register with the Prudential team and collect our rider packs. This is also very well organised, such that by 11:30 we are back at the hotel, not first without having also acquired a few cycling goodies from the cycle show that had also been put on within the centre. Marketing genius! With the sun beaming down outside, it was incongruous to see the major interest in clothing being around the waterproof overshoes and capes! Jason joined the Kask club, coming away with a professional looking new helmet, both of us picked up a set of RideLondon red, white and blue souvenir water bottles and Free Ride goodie bags containing an an eclectic mix of sweets, sunglasses, sports foods and vitamins, oh yes an a packet of Grand Depart Yorkshire tea!

The question now is to lunch or cycle and in which order. Decision made, we'll ride into the city for the FreeCycle, via the Olympic Park to check out our starting positions for tomorrow, and then we'll eat.

The weather is beautiful and there is a real carnival atmosphere across the city. The centre's roads are closed and the parks turned into festival sites. The FreeCycle route takes us along the Embankment to the Houses of Parliament, around St James Park, back to St Paul's Cathedral and out to the Tower of London.

We could have cycled the circuit all afternoon, but it being 7 hours since breakfast, a stop for food was required and Green Park offered the lure of a Rotisserie which, I for one, find it difficult to pass up even on a full stomach.

Jason relaxes in the shade over lunch in Green Park

After lunch in the park, it is back on the bikes for another gentle ride through the car free centre before the 7 mile battle with the weekend traffic on the return ride to the hotel.

It would have been great to have been able to have returned later to see the RideLondon Women's Grand Prix from the roadside, but a plan to meet up with group of friends for dinner and the need for an early night meant that we had to make do with the hotel TV. It was a strange sensation watching the riders race over the same closed roads we'd be cycling just a couple of hours before.

At 7pm we're walking through the ExCeL hotel complex to meet with our friends when we came across a number of ProCycling Team vehicles. The teams are obviously based here for the night and although we see no riders, the Sky mechanics and management were out in force making last checks and cleaning the bikes ahead of tomorrow's RideLondon pro race .. the one which follows the 24,000 cyclists, Jason and I will be riding with.

Following an enjoyable bit of banter and a pre cycling plate of pasta carbs, by 10:00 pm lights are out and our phone alarms are again set for another 05:00 am start!