Audax Atlanta

2005 LEL - Ian Flitcroft



Executive Summary

For those not in the mood to follow every wheel rotation here's a summary:

London Edinburgh London 2005 1400km randonee is organized by Audax UK and held every 4th year. There were 300 starters, 200 starting in London and 100 starting 300km North in Thorne. I started in Thorne on Sat July 23 at 8.30 am and finished on Wednesday at 10 am (98 hours, out of a maximum of 118 hours). I rode the first 400km quickly but slowed down considerably around London, mainly because my knees were sore. I slept 2-3 hours every night and ate almost exclusively at the controls. Food was very good at nearly every control although very variable in price.

The course is quite hilly in the Northern half (from just before Hovingham to Edinburgh) but is by no means flat in the Southern section. The hills are either long or steep but never both and the terrain is not overly challenging. The weather was dry, cool and breezy for the most part. I was not rained on but did ride on wet roads. The ride was routed on country lanes where possible and this provided pleasant riding with excellent scenery, except for the very flat section either side of Lincoln. Roads were rough for the most part and I was happy to be riding on 28mm tires.

The non-executive version

I seem to have established a pattern of misfortune getting myself and my bike to the start line of 1200s. This time my kids and I were delayed in Newark for 24 hours after a delayed flight from Atlanta. Then the bags, bike and all, were delayed 48 hours once we arrived in Manchester, and when the bags finally showed up, all my bike tools had been stolen.

But let's skip forward to Saturday morning at 8.30am and a very low key start to a long ride. Four groups of 25 riders left Thorne at 15 minute intervals, heading North to Edinburgh. For those two hundred riders starting off 300km to our South, the ride is simply up to Edinburgh and back South to London. For the 100 Thorne starters we change direction twice - 400km North to Edinburgh, 700km South to London, passing through Thorne, before the last 300kn North again to finish in Thorne. The Southern group was much more mixed, nearly all the continental riders, Japanese riders and most of the North American riders were starting in London. By comparison I was surrounded by lots of broad Northern accents sprinkled with a few Scots, a few Southerners who had chosen the Thorne start, and four Germans.

The ride regulations for LEL are very relaxed, there are no qualifying rides, there is no bike inspection, no reflective vest requirement, and helmets are optional. About the only rule is that riders must use a non-blinking rear light and have a steady front light. I saw this rule interpreted as a single low power LED headlamp.

The roads around Thorne are as flat as the first 100 miles of Goldrush, i.e. very flat indeed, and I settled into a group of half a dozen for the first leg up to Hovingham. This group included David Kirsop from Vancouver Canada who I'd met at the hotel the night before. I saw David near London so I assume he made it around.

The road started to become lumpier as we entered the Howardian hills and passed through Castle Howard. While attempting to take a picture of some riders entering the gates of the estate I drifted over to the verge of the road. The sandy steep verge grabbed my wheel, held me for a second and then down I went. It was an inconsequential fall, but I felt pretty foolish for not paying attention. Apart from some skin off my elbow and right knee there was no damage. After a couple of short but stiff climbs we dropped down from the Howardian hills into the control at Hovingham. Hovingham was doing a brisk trade in Cornish pasties and baked beans but I was carrying my usual excessive amount of food so I filled my water bottles and carried on.

I've already forgotten much about the leg to Eppelby other than I spent some time riding around John Spooner, a Brit who has ridden every edition of LEL. In Eppelby I stopped to eat and was discouraged to find that the soup on offer was from a packet and contained lumps of dried soup mix. Not an auspicious first tasting of control food.

The next leg from Eppelby to Alston crosses the Pennines through Teesdale. There was a strong breeze blowing up the Dale and I cruised up to the Youth Hostel (YH) at Langdon Beck without really noticing I was climbing. I stopped here to get my card stamped but didn't dally to eat as the tailwind was too good to miss out on. The climb continued to the top of Yad Moss and steepened somewhat after Langdon Beck YH. I caught up with Paul Hackin from Bolton and spent a few minutes tuning my ear to his Broad Lancashire accent. I'm sure he was having the same problem with my accent, but we enjoyed each other's company enough to stick together through to Canobie. As we descended the West side of the Pennines we entered the market town of Alston, the highest town in England I'm told, and also a center for witchcraft and the occult. The steep cobbled street we descended on entering the town held more fears. Okay when dry but potentially lethal in the wet and dark, as the cobbles are at the bottom of a long hill and there is no warning. I stopped at the Alston YH alternate control (here or Langdon Beck) for water and Paul and I continued on in the late afternoon. The sun was finally starting to peep out between clouds after an overcast and cool day. After riding along a ridge for a while, with great views of the Pennines to our east, we descended to Longtown, North of Carlisle and the last flat seven mile bash along the busy A7 highway, made worse by the wind which was now in our faces.

In Canobie Paul headed for the showers and some sleep but I decided to carry on. But first I had a good nosh. And thankfully the food was in a different league to my first meal in Eppelby - lentil soup, fish pie and fruit crumble - all homemade and excellent. This was one of my favourite controls as the food was so good. There was a flat charge of 5 pounds for the meal, drinks and as much "bonk food", as the Brits call it, as you cared to carry. I left the control at dusk, feeling stuffed and with stuffed pockets.

The ride continued North through Langholm where I dodged a kilted pub crowd which was spilling out on to the streets, and then up the remote valley of Eskdalemuir to a small control at Etrick. I'd hooked up with Richard Mitchell, a retired doctor from Kendal (another Northern town), and we stopped for tea and cookies before carrying on to Edinburgh. The next leg was the highlight of the ride for me. The weather had been progressively clearing as we rode North and for the next 70km we rode through a cloudless and calm night over several climbs, with first a never ending twilight and then an almost full moon helping us to see the shapes of the hills around us. The climbing was very gentle for the most part and we were riding well. At the top of the Moorfoot hills we caught a bunchlet of riders and together we took the very long descent down to the turnaround control in Dalkeith, arriving at 3 am.

A few hours sleep on a padded bench, two helpings of trifle for breakfast, and it was time to climb back up the Moorfoot hills and head South for 700 km. I spent the day riding alone for the most part, taking pictures and admiring the Scottish scenery. I was also reflecting on arriving in Edinburgh after 400 km in 18.5 hours. So much for the "tough Northern hills". Another rider had warned me of 2,500 meters of ascent for the 110 km between Canobie and Edinburgh. If that was true it was certainly the kindest, gentlest 2500 meters I've ever ridden.

After Canobie (more excellent food) the road turns SE to Alston where I stopped for some tea and cookies at the YH before tackling the cobbled section out of Alston. This was best accomplished by avoiding the cobbles altogether and taking to the sidewalk. I was joined by John Connaghan from Edinburgh on the climb up Yad Moss, that persistent Easterly breeze now in our faces. We swapped cameras and took each other's picture at the top. It was cool and blustery under a grey sky. The long coast down Teesdale was interrupted by a stop at Langdon Beck YH for my first helping of beans on toast. The control was very quiet, there were only three other bikes parked outside. Carrying on alone (John didn't stop) I made my way to Eppelby by dusk. By now my knees were starting to bother me, in particular my right knee was quite sore. I was tempted to stop at Eppelby but I wasn't that sleepy. An easy solo ride to Hovingham seemed like a good idea. It took me 5 hours to ride the 70km to Hovingham. Five hours that included a thirty minute nap on somebody's front lawn, several stops to relieve my knees and a couple of circuits of small villages dithering about the correct route. The only highlights were glimpsing a badger and a hedgehog in the hedgerows. At 3am, although there were a dozen bikes parked outside, the control was like a morgue. But the food staff were nice enough to rustle up a sandwich for me before I took a sleeping pad and blanket for 3 hours sleep.

John came in while I was eating breakfast. He'd slept at Eppelby and then managed an extra 35km riding to Hovingham. Clearly I wasn't the only one having difficulty with the cue sheet on that section. John and I rode down to Thorne uneventfully. The Howardian hills being a little less steep in this direction. In Thorne it was time for a shower and change of clothes. John and I hooked up with three others, including David Wilkie from Hull, and we took off for Lincoln aided by a tail wind . This was a very flat and rather dull section except for one steep hill. We rode into the city of Lincoln during the rush hour, which turned out to be a foretaste of things to come further South.

The food at the Lincoln YH control was being run by the hostel staff so prices were not "nominal" as they had been elsewhere, e.g 1.50 pounds sterling for a bowl of rice pudding. After a chicken salad sandwich and said bowl of rice pudding, there was a collective decision to take advantage of the real beds and take a one hour nap. I woke up feeling rather groggy and sore. The five of us left together around 6pm. We rode uneventfully to Thurlby, noticing that the flat Southern section was anything but, and arrived around 10pm. After a mound of homemade curry, and quite a long stop, David and I took off, leaving the others to enjoy the candlelit ambience and homemade desserts. I'd thought about stopping here but the sleeping area was in the main hall - no chance to sleep unless exhausted. It looked like another late night on the road.

The route followed an arrow straight Roman road out of the control for 10 miles South before finding it's way over open and remote country (remote for the South, you are never too far from a town) into the control at Gamlingay. We made good enough time for a night time leg this far into the ride and arrived at Gamlingay, once again, right at 3am. Clearly, as far as sleep was concerned, this was a pattern I could repeat over and over. Even though I was sleeping barely 3 hours a night I never needed to be woken up, always waking naturally. After some pasta (30 pence for a plateful, this was the other end of the price scale!) We were led by flashlight to air mattresses lined up on the creaky Community hall stage. Three hours later, after a big breakfast, we took off for Lee Valley and the turnaround control at Lee Valley YH. This section and back again to Gamlingay was mostly forgettable. As we rode the rush hour traffic volume rose and subsided, and even though we were riding on the smallest lanes there was a stream of traffic, driving in a hurry down lanes with blind curves and high hedges. It wasn't much fun. About 20km North of the turnaround we came across Astrid Muth, sitting on a village green, propped up against a mile marker. I'd ridden with and around her near Edinburgh. She was not particularly quick but was riding with little or no sleep so she was making good time. We learnt at Lee Valley that she'd called the control on her cell phone complaining that suddenly the cue sheet was "not working". Lack of sleep had clearly caught up with her.

On the return to Gamlingay I told David to carry on ahead as my knees were not happy and I needed some time off the bike. A front flat gave me one more excuse to stop. It was after 3pm when I pedalled gingerly into Gamlingay. Paul Hackin, on his way South, was sitting in the dining area complaining about his knees. On his advice I stopped at a pharmacy and bought some rub-on pain reliever. This took the edge off the discomfort as I made my way to Thurlby, and about halfway I caught up with Richard Mitchell and David Johnston. The three of us rode into Thurlby where we sat about and giggled while stuffing curry into ourselves. David was stopping for the night but Richard and I decided sleeping on real beds at Lincoln YH was a more appealing idea so we carried on. The stretch directly North of Thurlby is lumpy and complicated but we made it through without too much route finding angst, took the big downhill to the flatlands and rolled at speed, sore knees be damned, through the deserted city streets of Lincoln. This was a popular overnight stop for the London starters making their way South and at 3am all the beds were taken. We were offered a couple of couches and had a decent 40 winks until 6am.

The sun finally decided to make a prolonged appearance on this last morning and Richard and I took it very easy for the last 70km to the finish at Thorne. We stopped at Rosie's cafe for a cup of coffee where we were entertained by the very last group on the road heading South. This group included a couple of large, voluble Willesden riders who'd taken a slightly bewildered Japanese couple under their wing. They seemed unconcerned that they'd left the Thorne control after it closed and were taking their time tucking in to enormous greasy breakfasts of the sausage, bacon tomato, fried egg, fried bread, baked beans variety. I was told in Thorne that they usually make it around on the cusp of the time limit.

All in all this was an enjoyable, if low key, event. I've taken some photos which I will try to share on the web when I have a chance (it may be a while). Ian

Equipment

I was riding my Dave Quinn, steel 531 bike Audax bike, with 36 spoke wheels and Mavic MA2 rims, Rivendell 28 mm tires (Rolly Polly front, Ruffy Tuffy back), Brooks saddle, Carradice Nelson saddlebag. Lighting was a Cateye Micro on a Willie Hunt regulator, supplemented with a Cateye EL500 LED and a Petzl Duo headlamp (highly recommended). I was carrying a wool undershirt, tights, winter gloves, windvest, and rain jacket, and was glad for the warm clothes on the first night riding to Edinburgh when I think the temperature dropped into the 40's.