|
LEL 2009
The journey started early on Saturday 25th July with the rail journey to London Euston which went very smoothly. At Euston I met another of the riders who was on the same train we teamed up for the short ride across the city to Liverpool Street station and connecting train to the start.
Rail works meant a rather crowded journey to Cheshunt station. Eventually arrived and cycled the few hundred metres to the YH to register.
The queue was long and not moving very fast, taking 3 hours to reach the front of the line. Next step was to head off and find my hotel for the night for some food and rest before my scheduled 14:45 start time.
Travelling in style
The next morning after a good nights sleep it was off to the start preparing to hang around for mid afternoon departure time, on arrival at the start I got talking to a few riders who indicated that they were quite ‘relaxed’ about the start times so went to seek out the controllers and was given an earlier start time of 11am.
Got talking to another guy from Scotland quite new to Audax and we set off together, just outside the YH as we prepared to cross the railway line the barriers came down and we were held up for 10 minutes as several trains passed in either direction!
Off again and through the town and into Broxbourne Woods to Hertford (passing along Bollocks Lane – a great postal address ) pushing along the rolling roads to Gamlingay, an optional food stop on the way north. Pulled in for a quick sandwich, some tea and a few cakes before heading back on the road for the next control at Thurlby.
The weather was sunny and we were enjoying a nice tail wind making the km’s pass without too much strain on the legs. Arrived at the control at 16:20 with 150km down, enjoyed the fresh fruit and fine selection of cakes that were on offer. Pushed on again as the forecast was showing rain on the way, wanted to make the most of the favourable conditions.
About mid-way to the next control the first signs of the rain started to appear, a darkening sky and a few spots of rain a sign of things to come. By the time we reached the control at Washingborough (just to the east of Lincoln) the rain was pretty constant and we were soaked through. (Oh well it is a British Summer after all what do you expect!)
A quick turn around at the control and back out in to the wet and darkening evening, my plan was to ride through the first night but my riding partner was looking to rest up at the next control. Unfortunately the next control was a van parked in a pub car park so no chance of a sleep there, next stop Thorne
.
The rain was pretty constant now and the night riding slowed the pace down, just a case of tapping out the pace. As we came on to the A18 a rider was at the side of the road trying to fix a jammed chain, we pulled over to see if we could help out. With a combination of brute strength and several pair of hands we were able to get him going again with just over 20km to go to the control. Thankfully the night was not too cold so we did not cool down too much with the unplanned stop. Arrived at Thorne just after midnight with 321km completed and still feeling o.k.
Met up with Mark Shannon from Edinburgh who was having some food before a planned sleep, chatted for a while as I ate the ample food on offer at the rugby club. Time to move on so said my farewells to Mark and my riding partner from Lee Valley (sorry I have forgotten your name) before heading out on my own for the next leg to Coxwold.
Navigation always becomes harder at night, trying to read the route sheet (in the rain), look out for road signs/street names in the dark, and avoid potholes and the local wild life all add to the difficulties. The rain eased off and eventually stopped before I reached the next control. I started to dry out a little arriving just before 5am in fairly good spirits.
A good feed, a bright sky, a short leg to come meant that I was back on the road in no time, unfortunately how things change. After about 10 km I began to feel very tired and the km seemed to drag by. I made my mind up to have a quick sleep at the next control before heading out on the road again. I eventually reached Middleton Tyas at 7:45.
Headed in to the control and grabbed myself something to eat then got my head down for about 1 hour in one of the camp beds set up in an Army tent. After the sleep I felt much better and ready for the start of the lumpy bits as the route crossed the A1 and headed west for Alston.
Out on the road the skies were pretty clear but there was a stiff headwind which I would be heading into for most of the day, the nether regions were beginning to complain a little by this stage and I had forgotten my chamois cream so before the long climb of Yad Moss it was in to the local chemist for some Sudocrem. Need giving way to modesty as I applied a liberal application of said cream, such small pleasures go a long way .
This was the start of the long and gradual climb to the highest point on the route, the open and exposed moor land offering little in the way of shelter from the wind just grinding on as the road continue upwards before eventually cresting for the descent down to the control at the Outdoor Centre at Alston.
Arrived to be greeted by Chris who was stamping the cards, I had last seen him at an AUK event in Dumfries before PBP2007, it was nice to see a familiar face and have a quick chat before heading for the food. I was ushered to a table and asked for my choice of food from the menu displayed on the wall, just what the doctor ordered after a tough leg.
A final chat and farewell to Chris then out in to the gathering rain clouds for the long leg crossing the border into Scotland and the control at Eskdalemuir.
Almost from the word go there were heavy downpours as the road climbed back out of Alston and headed for Brampton into a troublesome headwind.
As I approached Longtown I was beginning to struggle, a combination of the miles, wind and rain taking its toll. Still a long way to Dalkeith, this was my next planned sleep. A few negative thoughts started to creep in, can I make it to Dalkeith never mind back to London. Someone must have been looking out for me. Just when things look bad something happens and sure enough a rider was coming up from behind so I decided that when he came through I would jump on the wheel.
As he came up on me I exchanged a few words and indicated I was feeling a bit rough and would sit on the wheel if he did not mind, thankfully he did not.
As we left Longtown we changed direction and began to head northeast which meant the wind was now behind us at last. My new companion, Tom Glancy, had been riding with a few Germans but had ended up on his own as well. He was riding strong so I stuck like glue to his wheel as we charged up the main road.
A while later we saw a few riders up the road and pushed on to catch them, low and behold it was the Germans that Tom had been riding with along with an Italian guy. There was now a good group formed and we stayed together all the way to Dalkeith.
The group kept a steady pace all the way to Eskdalemuir where there was a good choice of food on offer and again I had a chat with a few familiar faces helping out at the control, after all I was on my home turf now.
The internal clock was ticking so not much time to hang around at the control before we moved on, within minutes of leaving the control the heavens opened up for about 20 minutes and gave us all a good soaking.
A few of the guys in the group could speak English so I spent sometime chatting away the miles, one of them Roger had visited Glasgow before so he gave me his best Scottish accent and I helped him with a few of the local pronunciations.
The optional sleep control at Traquir turned out to be a secret control so we were directed in to the control by none other than Ian Jackson (one of the Audax Ecosse stalwarts) the offer of some cake and coffee was gratefully accepted by everyone in the group ready for the final push north.
A few long drags began to wear everyone down so the talking dried up as everyone just focussed on pedalling. At long last we crested the final climb of the day to give a great view of Edinburgh just before sunset, a great sight indeed. A long fast decent down to the control was a nice end to a long day in the saddle.
In to the control just after 10pm and handed over the brevet card to be stamped with a hello to Sonya who was in charge, next step a look around for my wife and daughter who were helping out at the control. Spotted them helping a couple of riders from Sweden with their food order a squeeze past them, with a polite excuse me, to plant a big kiss on my good lady much to the amazement of the Swedish riders. That done I now had to wait my turn in the food queue!
Food for thought at Dalkeith
I had made a loose arrangement with the other guys to head off at 4 in the morning but was going to play it by ear as I wanted to enjoy the break and spend some time with my family.
Sat down to my food served by my wife and daughter (there’s a first!) and chatted away for a while in between them helping out.
Two heads are better than one!!!
Time for a shower and a change of clothes then a few hours sleep in the front seat of my car but sleep came really easy. Woke up around 4 and headed in for some more food before heading off, had a look round the control but no sign of my riding companions.
My wife and daughter were still working away but things were getting pretty quiet in the control. There was a sleep area in a church hall just down the road but that was full and there were bodies spread all over the place in the control.
Sleep overflow from the church hall at Dalkeith
Eventually headed out on my own around 5:30am just as the sun was rising, a cold start but it was all up hill for the next 15miles, payback for last nights drop down to the control.
Time to head back south –London here I come
Got myself into a good rhythm and tapped away passing a few riders on the way, as the sun got up the wind slowly began to pick up and by the time I reaches the top of the first climb it was a pretty stiff head wind which meant pedalling down hill as well as up which was how it was for the rest of the day
By the time I got to Traquair again, I did not need to stop but decided on a quick ten minute break from the head wind, feeling a bit fresher now so headed out again for Eskdalemuir, another chat with Ian who was still directing a steady stream of riders into the control as they headed north enjoying the tailwind as they went, one of the riders was the guy who I had ridden the first 400km with
On the way to the next control Tom Glancy appeared from behind me, seems he had slept longer than he planned and the German guys had headed off earlier than expected. We teamed up again and the control came in no time.
As we arrived at the control I met up with one of the guys that I had been queuing with during the registration on Saturday ( so long ago), he was in good spirits as he put his wet shoes back on again. Said our farewells as I headed for some more food (how much food can you eat on these events - answers on a post cards please). Passed a bit of time joking with Neil Henderson who was helping out at the control, a man who knows a thing or two about road side repairs to his bike (he’ll never win mechanic of the year award for sure )
A quick turnaround at the control was hit on the head as Tom came out of the control to a front flat, time for a quick repair. There were a few other riders who were heading north also carrying out a few running repairs, a clear sign that the weather and road conditions were taking their toll on the bikes. Chatted with Andy Corless who was heading north and in good spirits.
Eventually back on the road heading for the border the wind still pretty strong making every mile hard fought, still I was feeling good so was able to keep a good pace. A quick stop in Longtown to use the public convenience to ‘download’ some of the food I had been eating for the last two days.
Suitably refreshed it was off again for the lumpy road over to Alston, as Tom and I pushed on the rain clouds began to gather again and we were caught in a few heavy showers.
As we headed over the exposed moor road from Brampton we passed a rider who was looking like he was suffering, eased up a bit to let him grab the wheels and then pressed on again. Unfortunately he could not hang the wheels for long but we were not far from the control now.
A drag up the hill out of Alston to the control at the Outdoor Centre, with Chris still doing his bit looking a little bit more fragile by now but still smiling away, just, another helper at the control now was Andrew Sinclair who was having an easy year after the ‘Scottish Star’ with McNasty. Swapped a few McNasty stories making me feel like a softy for complaining about a little wind and rain.
Out again for the climb up Yad Moss and again the wind was in our face the whole way. We both shared the pulling at the front and eventually reached the top but still had the pedal down hill too. On the way down Tom got an attack of the ‘dozies’ so we eased up and plodded along for a bit chatting away to fight off the ‘dozies’
.
After a bit we caught up with the rider we had passed on the way to Alston, seems he had a quick turn around at the control and pushed on.
This time we stuck together and got chatting away. His name was Nik and he was from Greece, seemed that one of his friends who was riding the event had ran in to the back of a car after just 70km, thankfully he was o.k. but the bike was a write off so his LEL did not last very long.
We arrived at the control at Middleton Tyas just before 7pm, the chat with Nik revealed that he hoped to reach Thorne before his next sleep and Tom and I had similar plans so we agreed to stick together until then.
We pushed on to the next control conscious of the time it would take to reach Thorne so no point hanging around. We kept a steady pace as the miles slowly ticked away, caught up with another rider with a Cambridge CC top on so he tagged on for a bit.
The rain was moving in again and it was getting dark, in my head I had decided to stop at the next control for a sleep rather than pushing on in the dark and wet for another 80km to Thorne. Told the other guys of my plan, they were still keen to push on but my mind was made up.
As we approached the control the rider with the Cambridge top on swung round a corner but his backend slid away from him and down he went. Luckily he was o.k. but his rear mech was bent up and over and looked pretty terminal. He was forced to set up as a single speed to get back on the road. The rest of us pushed on as he carried out the repairs.
Pretty wet by the time we reached the control at 9:40pm, some more food, Nik was having some problems with the food (it did not seem to agree with him) and had been living on fruit and bread with chocolate spread but when he saw Tom and I tuck in to plum crumble he was tempted to give it a try and cleared the plate in no time (seems the folks at Coxwold know the way to a Greek mans heart )
I said my farewells to the guys as they headed out in to the rain and I headed for some sleep. A few hours on the floor of the snooker room helped me feel a little better, back down stairs now for you’ve guessed it more food.
The rain was still on but was pretty light as I headed off in to the dark around 2:30am with just over 400km to the finish in London.
The rain and the dark made route reading a bit difficult so the pace slowed up not helped by a few wrong turns and some time trying to find a turn only to discover that the route sheet distance was out.
This was a long section not helped by going off course a few times, the last long flat section to the control seemed to take forever. Arrived at the control a little bedraggled and in need of a break.
As I arrived Nik was getting ready to head off, exchanged a little conversation about the last leg seems he had similar experiences to myself. In for some food, was fairly quiet a few bodies on the floor with some more in the back room sleeping happily away.
As I worked my way through breakfast Tom appeared from the sleep room looking like he had been dragged through a bush backwards, I assume I probably looked similar. The team was back together, as we chatted away there was a German guy who was also set to head off, a quick discussion on the wind and the forecast of heavy rain meant we had another member of the team. With a goodbye to the folks at the control we were out to some bright skies and a stiff headwind with the hope of making the next control before the rain set in for the day.
Sharing the load at the front and working hard we formed a good group making this flat section seem not as bad, until about 2/3rds of the way through this section when I began to feel pretty tired and sat on the back and passed in to a semi-hypnotic state just staring at the wheel in front.
As we approached Lincoln the rain began light at first but increasing as we passed through the city centre. By the time we reached Washingbrough just before 11am we were well and truly soaked. Yet again we met Nik at the control as he was working his way through some food. The group of six Italians we had been meeting exiting/entering controls for a large part of the return leg were just heading out in to the downpour.
George Hanna and his riding partner Gerald? were adopting a rather novel approach to rainwear with cling film from the kitchen they began to wrap themselves up in readiness for departure.
We hurried along and joined up with George and Gerald as well as Nik, a feeling of safety in numbers for the rest of the route, just over 200km to go thankfully.
Out into the pouring rain and after a bit we were on the B1188 heading for Sleaford ,the road had a fair amount of traffic on it and with the rain and spray it made for a rather unpleasant section lasting for around 18km.
The pace was fairly slow most of the group were in auto pilot just thinking about finishing the event and getting out of the rain.
We eventually arrived at Thurlby just before three, the weather was still pretty grim and we decided to keep the stop short before we cooled down too much and push on for the last control before the finish
After a quick break and some more food it was out on the road again heading for Gamlingay. A few km on the busy A15 before we prepared to turn off to the right, however just before the junction I went through a puddle with a hidden pot-hole and sure enough a front flat. Crossed the main road and stopped on the grass verge to fix the flat, Tom started to help out with the other guys just up the road waiting. After a few minutes the flat was fixed and ready to head off only to discover the Tom had a flat as well.
Shouted to the other guys to push on and we would catch them up as we set about repairing Toms puncture. Back on the road again and pushing on to join up with the rest of the group only to be halted at a level crossing as not one, not two but three trains passed holding us up for around 10mins in the pouring rain, not what you want at this stage.
We pushed on again this time it was Tom who was beginning to feel pretty tired so we just plodded along counting down the km’s to the next control.
We approached the A47 Peterborough road and from the last time I remember this as a rather hairy crossing of a busy main road. It was just as I remembered trying to find a gap in the traffic as they sped along. Thankfully we were only on this stretch of road for a few km before turning off at Wansford.
The pace was still pretty slow but the rain had stopped for a while so things did not seem too bad for now. After a bit we saw riders ahead it was the rest of the group who had left the last control with us, this picked us both up as we closed in on the group.
The wet roads caused more problems as Tom suffered a further two punctures, George and I waiting with him close to Gamlingay as the others pushed on to the control nearby.
Eventually we reached to control just after 8:30pm, a very slow leg indeed, the Italian group were just leaving so it was high fives as they rode out of the control for the final leg.
The heaters in the hall were on full blast so it was nice to be warm if not dry of a while. The rest of the group decided on a quick turn around and head for the finish, Tom and I decided to repair the punctures before heading off on the last leg.
As we sat at the control we chatted away with Steve Abraham who was ‘taking it easy’ this year. Melita, the event organiser, was there too so a bit more chatting as we stalled on leaving the hall for the cold dark night.
Eventually departed with a farewell to the helpers, it felt cold but the rain had eased as we pushed on. The wind had dropped so we made a good pace and the ‘smell’ of the finish helped us along.
Lots of big puddles in the dips on the road indicated how heavy the rain had been for most of the day. One more puncture as we started another climb was fixed with a bit of flaffing around. A small section on the A602 and we were back on the lanes with some lights just ahead, George and Nik were both off the bikes and walking.
George had a serious case of the ‘dosies’ and Niks knee was pretty much knackered. A quick pep talk and we got the guys back on the bikes and they followed behind us as we made for Hertford. Tom and I missed a turn and headed through the town but doubled back to the right route which the other guys had already found.
A long climb out of town saw George and Nik slide off the back but this was the last dig before the end. The final problem for Tom as his front light packed in so we used my light to guide us down the last hill in to Cheshunt, street lights and civilisation – we had made it
A roll down to the control at the youth hostel ,arriving just after 2am, a well done handshake and hug, chapeau to Tom on his first LEL ( never again he said – but we shall see, I’m sure I have said that once or twice in my cycling career).
I’d like to say a big thank you to the organisers, and the volunteers at the controls who made things run so smoothly. Unfortunately you couldn’t control Mother Nature but still it all adds to the experience. Think I will stick to offering my services at one of the Controls next time although, like Tom I’ve said never again once or twice before...just ask my wife!
|
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
I mean who in there right mind would want to try it after reading that!!! I know its not about being first but I'd be interested to know what position you came and how you would score your own performance against your expectations...
)