The intervening two years were filled with a couple of brevet series, a 1000K and two successful Grand Randonnees. Unfortunately, it also had a DNF at the Great Southern and a DNS at the Tiki Tour, both due to recurring back problems. As regular readers (do I have any?) will recall, I also DNF'd the Cascade 1200K in 2014 with back trouble so I was determined to do everything I could to minimize the risk. This included losing 35 pounds (down to my current weight of 165 or a BMI of 20.5) and making core strengthening part of my regular routine. This last has been a real challenge for me given my slothful nature but I've been pretty consistent. I'd like to say I'm "cured" but know better. All I can say is I've done everything I can do and hope for the best which is pretty much how I feel about 1200K starts in general - you toe the start line and see how it goes.
So I was as ready as I could be for the big event. I did my usual agonizing over what bike to use (to paraphrase a saying: "a man with one bike to ride knows which one to take, a man with many bikes is never sure") and finally decided on my S-Works Roubaix. It's light, comfortable and was equipped for brevets with a dyno front hub and lights. I was confident that if I didn't finish it wouldn't be the fault of the bike. Here's a shot of it as outfitted for LEL, 23 pounds as shown with all of the clothes, spares, etc., that I'd use on the ride:
and here's a shot of me at the start:
The plan
One of the more difficult things to figure out for LEL is where to send drop bags and what to put in them. You're allowed two small bags that the organizers will transport to any control you like. Ideally, they'd be positioned at a place where I'd be ready to sleep and if they were in the right spots I'd be able to access them both on the way out and again on the return. Deciding the location obviously depended on knowing my start time which wouldn't be announced until fairly close to the ride date (April) and also required that I have a reasonable idea of how far I could ride each day given the vagaries of terrain and weather.
Being the analytical sort that I am, I've used a spreadsheet to develop ride plans for Grand Randonnees that given inputs such as distance between controls, the amount of climbing, etc., will automatically calculate arrival times at each control. I've refined it over the years so it's pretty accurate for me with the only caveat being it doesn't allow e.g., for 50 MPH headwinds or other biblical sorts of weather events. I use this spreadsheet to develop the plan but then completely ignore it during the ride itself preferring to let how I feel and the conditions dictate my pace. Having said that, it usually proves to be pretty accurate and that would turn out to be the case for LEL (more on this later).
The only problem is it requires a start time...
The algorithm for assigning start times used by the organizers (with benefit of hindsight) appears to give priority to teams. Since I wasn't devious enough to form a "team" with someone that I had no intention of riding with just so I could have a better shot at getting my requested start time I just put in for 11:15 AM and hoped for the best. I developed my plan including my overnights and drop bags using that time.
Unfortunately, the more devious riders won in this case and I was allocated a 1:30 PM start. I contemplated changing to the 100 hour time limit so I could start in the morning but decide instead that I'd just ride hard the first day and try to get back on the plan I developed using the 11:15 start. Based on my plan, my overnights would be in Louth, Brampton, Brampton and Louth which would mean my ride segments would be:
- Loughton-Louth, 151 miles
- Louth-Brampton, 195 miles
- Brampton (Edinburgh) Brampton, 188 miles
- Brampton-Louth, 195 miles
- Louth-Loughton 165 miles
The ride
Rather than try to recount everything that happened each day (which I don't remember and which would likely bore you to tears) I'll give a brief summary. The bike and I arrived in London in good order. I went to the pre-ride party with Mark Thomas, Calista Phillips and Brad Tanner and had a great time talking to friends I've made from around the world. This is one of my favorite things about 1200K's - renewing friendships and swapping stories about past rides. The next day I rode to the start, got registered and organized my drop bags. I was a bit worried about my stuff fitting in the smallish bags but it turned out I had lots of room (could have packed more!).
Day One - Loughton to Louth
One upside to my early afternoon start time is I had lots of opportunity to eat and nap prior to the start. This actually worked pretty well for me as I don't normally sleep well before 1200K's. I rode over to the start at about 12:30 and watched others get underway while waiting for my 1:30 start. The weather for the day looked pretty good with no rain forecast and a fairly strong tailwind - this suited my plan of trying to ride faster on the first day to get back "on plan".
Although the groups for each start time were supposed to have about 50 riders I'd guess mine had somewhere in the mid-30's. The start was a fairly anti-climatic "3-2-1 go" and we were off! I rode at a reasonably hard but not killer pace and gradually overtook a number of riders with earlier start times. I had resolved to not spend a lot of time "faffing about" (my favorite British expression) at the controls so I went through St Ives fairly quickly stopping only to refill my water bottles and get a few energy bars. My "planned" arrival time was 17:35 and I got there at 17:20 - so far so good!
The tailwind continued between St Ives and Spalding. This was one of the flattest legs on the route so I was able to make pretty good time, arriving in Spalding at 19:40 against a plan of 20:12. Since I was now just about 100 miles in I decided to take a little longer break and get something to eat which really hit the spot.
On the leg between Spalding and Louth across "the Fens" there was a stretch of really rough road. I hit a series of bumps which were sufficient to jar my saddle so that the nose was pointed way up. I made a quick stop to adjust it, didn't get it anywhere near right, stopped again, closer but still not there, ... I finally got it to where it was tolerable but never did get it in "exactly" the right spot and this would come back to haunt me later.
I got into Louth at 23:20 against a plan of 23:54 - screwing around with the saddle had cost me a bit of time but I was still ahead of plan so I felt pretty good about that. Got some food and headed off to bed, day one done.
Oh, and a quick note on the food. I really have to applaud the organizers. Although I heard reports of food shortages, particularly at Louth, I never experienced any. I ate a LOT, the food was good and the volunteers were uniformly cheerful in dishing it out. Bravo!
And a note on that "off to bed"...
I don't sleep very well. Even at home in my own bed I typically go to bed at 10 PM, go out like a light then wake up at 2 AM. I'm then awake for 1.5-2 hours before I go back to bed for a couple of hours. This is my "normal" sleep pattern.
So as you might expect, I find it even harder to get decent sleep on a gym floor surrounded by snoring, farting, etc., randonneurs and people coming & going. Clever boy that I am, I decided to eschew the provided accommodations and book myself a hotel room at each of my planned overnights. At Louth, my hotel was approximately 10 very hilly kilometers from the official overnight control. So this meant I had to go to the control to check in and eat then ride an additional 10K with my drop bag over my shoulders then turn around and ride back the next morning so the drop bag would be there for the return leg.
Gosh, I'm a smart guy :-(
And a note on that "off to bed"...
I don't sleep very well. Even at home in my own bed I typically go to bed at 10 PM, go out like a light then wake up at 2 AM. I'm then awake for 1.5-2 hours before I go back to bed for a couple of hours. This is my "normal" sleep pattern.
So as you might expect, I find it even harder to get decent sleep on a gym floor surrounded by snoring, farting, etc., randonneurs and people coming & going. Clever boy that I am, I decided to eschew the provided accommodations and book myself a hotel room at each of my planned overnights. At Louth, my hotel was approximately 10 very hilly kilometers from the official overnight control. So this meant I had to go to the control to check in and eat then ride an additional 10K with my drop bag over my shoulders then turn around and ride back the next morning so the drop bag would be there for the return leg.
Gosh, I'm a smart guy :-(
Day Two - Louth to Brampton
I actually got a pretty decent nights sleep (for a brevet). On tap for today were crossing the Humber bridge, riding through the Howard estate, going through Barnard Castle, up and over Yad Moss, the cobbled descent (climb on the retour) through Ashton then on to Brampton.
But your thoughts will soon be wandering
the way they often do
when you're riding 16 hours
and there's nothin' much to do
and you don't feel much like ridin'
you just wish the trip was through
Bob Seger "Turn the Page"
So what do you do when you're seeing the world at bike speed? Seriously, I love riding and have never been one of those people that needs distractions like an MP3 player to take me out of the present. Having said that, when the scenery is going by at 12-15 MPH you can only look at it so much before your mind starts to wander.
So what was the theme on LEL? I've never been much of a fan of Adam Sandler but was vaguely aware of various skits he'd done on SNL ("Canteen Boy") so the mental floss for LEL became inventing names for the riders that I'd occasionally see. There was "bent boy" on the recumbent, "Rapha boy" decked out in full Rapha kit, you get the idea. I'd like to say I was doing something meaningful with the spare brain cycles but this is all I've got.
As was the case on day one, I rode day two pretty much entirely by myself. I saw a number of people that I knew but they were either riding faster or slower than I wanted to go at that particular point so I opted to say hello then either pass them or let them go by as the case may be.
On this day, I had a number of short rain showers. This would be a theme for a lot of LEL and informal polling of the 50 or so people that I know that did the ride indicates I was just unlucky. Most people reported either no rain or very brief showers. I got a lot of rain (more on this elsewhere). Just luck of the draw.
This day was relatively cool and fairly windy. The ride through the Howard estate was quite spectacular. It's hard to even imagine the wealth and power the Howards had but seeing the grandeur of the gates and the size of Howard castle sure gives a good idea of their influence.
I rode pretty steadily through the day and was reasonably efficient through the controls. As was the case on day one, I opted not to overnight at the ride provided facilities. Instead, I once again had about 10K to ride to my hotel. My planned arrival time was 21:38 and I got there 9 minutes later so I was still doing a pretty good job of maintaining my planned pace.
The days ride also included one of the sections I was looking forward to: up and over Yad Moss and through Alston and it's "famous" cobbled main street. Neither disappointed, the climb and descent of Yad Moss was one of the real highlights - ruggedly beautiful country and boy did those cobblestones in Alston hurt! I descended through Alston pretty gingerly as I was worried about the front wheel getting caught in a crack between the stones but made it without mishap.
When I got to my overnight at the Farlam Country House the proprietor (a lovely woman) was waiting for me. I'd asked for dinner and breakfast to be left in the room and everything was as requested. The only problem was all of the dishes, condiments, etc., were under charming little china covers so it was like playing a shell game to figure out what was under each one. I finally took all the lids off and laid them on the floor.
One definite benefit to my plan was since my next overnight was also at Brampton I could leave my drop bag there so all I needed to do in the morning was ride the 10K or so back to the control and start the next day.
I rode pretty steadily through the day and was reasonably efficient through the controls. As was the case on day one, I opted not to overnight at the ride provided facilities. Instead, I once again had about 10K to ride to my hotel. My planned arrival time was 21:38 and I got there 9 minutes later so I was still doing a pretty good job of maintaining my planned pace.
The days ride also included one of the sections I was looking forward to: up and over Yad Moss and through Alston and it's "famous" cobbled main street. Neither disappointed, the climb and descent of Yad Moss was one of the real highlights - ruggedly beautiful country and boy did those cobblestones in Alston hurt! I descended through Alston pretty gingerly as I was worried about the front wheel getting caught in a crack between the stones but made it without mishap.
When I got to my overnight at the Farlam Country House the proprietor (a lovely woman) was waiting for me. I'd asked for dinner and breakfast to be left in the room and everything was as requested. The only problem was all of the dishes, condiments, etc., were under charming little china covers so it was like playing a shell game to figure out what was under each one. I finally took all the lids off and laid them on the floor.
One definite benefit to my plan was since my next overnight was also at Brampton I could leave my drop bag there so all I needed to do in the morning was ride the 10K or so back to the control and start the next day.
Day Three - Brampton (Edinburgh) Brampton
Got on the road more or less when planned and headed toward Edinburgh. I realize that I'm going to strain credulity to the limit but literally within seconds of seeing the "Welcome to Scotland" sign it started pouring down rain - welcome indeed! It continued to rain for a while then finally quit as I approached the control at Moffat. The stretch between arriving in Scotland and the control passed through Lockerbie which looked to be a nice little town, it's unfortunate that it's best known as the crash site of a 747 from a terrorist attack.
Leaving Moffat, the route to Edinburgh featured a fair amount of climbing including an extended climb just out of Moffat. I have to say the Scottish roads really were crap. As mentioned previously, I didn't have my saddle in the right place after it had slipped and I was really paying for it now. The rough roads were really beating me up and I was developing some serious saddle sores. These would get worse and worse over the remainder of the ride, more on this story as it "develops".
On the stretch in to Edinburgh I stopped briefly near a farm gate with a large hill off in the distance. As I was standing there, an old farmer came walking down the road. What followed was one of the few times I had a conversation who spoke the "same" language as me where I didn't understand a word. After exchanging brief hellos, I pointed at the hill and asked if it had a name, he said something like "deels beeftube". I asked him to repeat it twice and it sounded the same each time so I did what you do when you're talking to someone and not understanding them at all: smile and nod.
I then asked him if there was any kind of landmark since it stood out so much. He said "aye" so I asked what it's significance was and he said "we used to teek the coos". Again, I asked him to repeat it to the point of rudeness then feigned understanding and bid him good day.
I found out later that it was the Devils Beeftub and that the Scots used to use it as a hiding place for stolen cattle.
After my not so enlightening conversation, I continued on to Edinburgh. The roads didn't improved and I got rained on again just before getting to the control. One other anecdote about LEL is that every time I've told a non-cyclist about the ride they always ask "did you tour the castle in Edinburgh?" Heck, I didn't even see it! We came in on a maze of bike trails and left on country roads.
I had a great meal at the control, taking a bit more time than planned before heading out. I was now more than "halfway" (855 of 1433K) so it was a small matter of riding back to Loughton. There was a lot of climbing headed out of Edinburgh and I got caught in another rain show so intense I stopped and waited it out under some trees.
Leaving Moffat, the route to Edinburgh featured a fair amount of climbing including an extended climb just out of Moffat. I have to say the Scottish roads really were crap. As mentioned previously, I didn't have my saddle in the right place after it had slipped and I was really paying for it now. The rough roads were really beating me up and I was developing some serious saddle sores. These would get worse and worse over the remainder of the ride, more on this story as it "develops".
On the stretch in to Edinburgh I stopped briefly near a farm gate with a large hill off in the distance. As I was standing there, an old farmer came walking down the road. What followed was one of the few times I had a conversation who spoke the "same" language as me where I didn't understand a word. After exchanging brief hellos, I pointed at the hill and asked if it had a name, he said something like "deels beeftube". I asked him to repeat it twice and it sounded the same each time so I did what you do when you're talking to someone and not understanding them at all: smile and nod.
I then asked him if there was any kind of landmark since it stood out so much. He said "aye" so I asked what it's significance was and he said "we used to teek the coos". Again, I asked him to repeat it to the point of rudeness then feigned understanding and bid him good day.
I found out later that it was the Devils Beeftub and that the Scots used to use it as a hiding place for stolen cattle.
After my not so enlightening conversation, I continued on to Edinburgh. The roads didn't improved and I got rained on again just before getting to the control. One other anecdote about LEL is that every time I've told a non-cyclist about the ride they always ask "did you tour the castle in Edinburgh?" Heck, I didn't even see it! We came in on a maze of bike trails and left on country roads.
I had a great meal at the control, taking a bit more time than planned before heading out. I was now more than "halfway" (855 of 1433K) so it was a small matter of riding back to Loughton. There was a lot of climbing headed out of Edinburgh and I got caught in another rain show so intense I stopped and waited it out under some trees.
Day Four - Brampton to Louth
Rain, saddle sores, Yad Moss, cobbles in Ashton, gearing.
Day Five - Louth to Loughton
Across the Fens
