Essex 100
Sun 26 May 2024

RideLondon-Essex 100

RideLondon-Essex 100 returns with an exciting traffic-free route from the capital into glorious Essex countryside and back to a rapturous finish at Tower Bridge. Charity places now available for 2024.

  • Sun 26 May 2024

Essex 100

06:00

Sign up £20

Fundraise £400

Age 18 & over

Overview

RideLondon has now enjoyed several annual editions and has grown into a record-breaking festival of cycling enjoyed by more than 460,000 participants, from beginners to the world’s best professionals.

The festival takes place over one day and each year inspires people from all backgrounds to take up cycling as part of their daily lives, including families and Londoners.

The spring date helps people engage with cycling early in the year, so they can maintain the momentum to cycle all year round.

Highlights

  • world's greatest cycling festival

    Cyclists of all abilities can take in glorious landmarks of the capital on closed roads from the comfort of their saddles.

  • central London and Essex

    Seize this rare chance to enjoy traffic-free riding in the capital and out onto quiet countryside lanes.

  • beginners and Pro's

    Ride the short, medium or long sportive, spectate, or join the fun family FreeCycle.

2024 details are to be confirmed.

This event is part of RideLondon.

Event video

  • All fitness levels
  • Event expo
  • Families
  • Fancy dress
  • Newcomers
  • Spectators
  • Teams
  • Traders at event

Timetable

  • 06:00-09:30 | RideLondon-Essex 30, 60 or 100 will start in waves between these times.
  • 10:00-15:00 | RideLondon FreeCycle route is open.
  • 10:00-16:00 | RideLondon FreeCycle Festival Zones are open.
  • 15:45-17:45 | RideLondon Classique pro women's race.

Free festival zones

Look out for the four free Festival Zones on the route at Lincoln’s Inn Fields, Waterloo Place, Guildhall Yard and St Paul’s Churchyard and Paternoster Square. They’re the perfect places to stop to rest your legs and have some refreshments while enjoying the fun, free, family-friendly activities on offer to a soundtrack of live music and DJs.

The London Marathon Charitable Trust

RideLondon is organised by London Marathon Events (LME) Limited. All of the surplus generated by LME from RideLondon, the TCS London Marathon and other events organised by LME, is passed to the parent company, The London Marathon Charitable Trust, a registered charity.

The London Marathon Charitable Trust’s mission is to Inspire Activity by providing funding to initiatives that enable people to become and remain physically active regardless of age, gender and background, creating healthier and happier communities.

Since its founding in 1981, The Trust has given in excess of £95 million to more than 1,500 projects that Inspire Activity in London and across the UK.

RideLondon was held in London and Surrey between 2013 and 2019, with more than £4.3 million awarded to projects in Surrey that Inspire Activity.

As RideLondon is now partnering with Essex County Council, communities in Essex will soon be able to benefit from The London Marathon Charitable Trust funding.

  • Cafe
  • Entertainment
  • Music
  • Rural
  • Toilets
  • Urban

Event HQ

Victoria Embankment
Victoria Embankment
London
Greater London
UK

The festivities of RideLondon offer so much to see and do, as part of this wonderful celebration of cycling. Why not make a weekend of it, and take some time to explore the delights of London. Visitors flock from all over the globe to sample the sights and sounds of the 'Big Smoke', with such a rich and vibrant culture, there truly is something to satisfy each and every visitor.

  • Cut off time
  • Distance markers
  • First aid
  • Food stations
  • Marshals
  • Out and back
  • Sweeper
  • Toilets
  • Traffic free
  • Undulating
  • Water stations
  • Wave start

The iconic 100-mile distance is the longest challenge ride in the RideLondon programme. It has been part of RideLondon since it was first held in 2013, with the first seven editions starting and finishing in London with a loop of Surrey in between.

The brand new route for 2022 saw participants set off from Victoria Embankment in central London and into Essex via the historic Epping Forest. Once in Essex, riders glided past some of the county’s most picturesque towns and villages, including Ongar, Fyfield, the Rodings and Great Dunmow, before joining a section of the 2014 Stage Three Tour de France route.

That part of the course guided riders through Felsted and around the county town of Chelmsford before heading through Writtle and back towards Ongar and central London. Once in central London, participants then completed their ride to rapturous applause at Tower Bridge – a stunning finish line for the 100-mile challenge.

RIDELONDON-ESSEX 100 ROUTE MAP
From central London into Essex countryside then back to a grand Tower Bridge finale.

Access to the Start will be via Parliament Square.

There’ll be mile markers at approximately every five miles along the route and toilets will be near them.

All riders in the RideLondon-Essex 30, 60 and 100 events have eight-and-a-half hours to complete the ride from the departure of the last start wave. For the 100-mile ride, this equates to an average of 12 miles per hour.

Cut-off points are in place which means you need to reach the following points at the time specified in the guide:

  • Woodford Green at mile 18
  • Four Wantz Roundabout, Chipping Ongar
  • The finish line

Sustainability

  • Bring your own cup
  • Public transport links

  • Event app
  • GPS tracking
  • Medal
  • Training plan

Souvenir photos

Photographers from Sportograf will be positioned along the course to take photos of you in action. These can be downloaded for £5.

  • Fundraising materials
  • Fundraising support
  • Submit fundraising up to 1 month after event

RideLondon has raised millions of pounds for charities since its first edition in 2013!

Every year thousands of cyclists take part in this event and fundraise for charity. While this is hugely beneficial to the charities it gives the rider advantages too, from supporting a cause that is close to your heart to securing a place in this highly sought-after event and much more.

Benefits of riding for charity

Committing to raising money for charity gives you motivation to get out and ride, plus all of these extras which will elevate your event experience:

  • Fundraising support

    Charities know that raising money is all part of the challenge, which is why they provide advice, branded materials and a personalised online fundraising page to help the donations roll in. Think videos for social media, branded imagery and testimonials from previous participants.

  • Training support

    Whether this is your first ride or your fifth, you'll need to train for it! You'll receive an in-depth training plan with guidance, plus many charities have access to expert coaches and elite riders too, who can provide exclusive tips for your race preparation. Experts include Runningwithus, Full Potential and Olympic champs.

  • Branded cycling kit

    When you show up on the day, people need to be able to see clearly that you're supporting a charity. Most charities will give you a branded and personalised cycling jersey to wear on the big day, and often a t-shirt too.

  • Support on the day

    When you're partway through your ride and your energy is flagging, what you need is a boost from cheering spectators to keep you moving. Many charities set up a cheer station along the route, keeping an eye out for you to send up a huge cheer as you go past!

  • Post-race recovery

    Refreshments and an indulgent post-race sports massage are often provided by charities for their cycling team. This is the perfect way to recover alongside other people who have taken part for that cause.

  • Exclusive social groups

    You won't be the only person riding for that charity, so it's well worth meeting other supporters through the charity's invite-only social media pages! You can organise to meet up for training rides, chat with the charity's expert coaches and share tips and stories with each other to keep motivation levels high.

What are charity places?

Charities buy places in this event, then give them to cyclists who agree to raise money for the charity – these are called charity places. Charity places are a great way to support a good cause and get a place in the event, especially if ballot entries are closed.

Cycle sportives and charity fundraising go hand-in-hand - which charity will you ride for?

  • Age 18 & over
  • 25000 places
  • Entries open
  • Charity entries open
  • Charity places
  • Enter online
  • Series discount

General entries

There's a VIP option for general entries which includes a choice of start waves so you can ride with friends, breakfast, bag drop at the start, priority front wave loading, exclusive VIP feed stop at 50 miles, bag collection at the finish, access to food and drinks in the exclusive VIP recovery area plus family meet and greet zone. £275.

The London Classics

These prestigious events are the three toughest challenges London Marathon Events has to offer and they make up The London Classics. Conquer all three and you've conquered London - and you'll receive the medal to prove it too.

  • The London Marathon
  • RideLondon 100
  • Swim Serpentine Two-Mile