middleagecyclist
Call me MAC
- Location
- Prestwich, Manchester
Haven't read whole thread yet. Who do I contact for the book I read about?
Found it.
Ordered it.
Received it.
Read it. Wow! Totally gripping. I'm in.
London-Edinburgh-London 2013: The thread
- Thread starter Arch
- Start date
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PpPete
Legendary Member
- Location
- Chandler's Ford
50 CCers !
middleagecyclist
Call me MAC
- Location
- Prestwich, Manchester
???
frank9755
Cyclist
- Location
- West London
A good suggestion.
I took two pairs of earplugs on PBP just in case I mislaid one. For comfort value vs weight, earplugs must be top of the list!
I took 4 pairs so I could just throw them away after each use, only used three pairs as my other sleeps were just naps with my head on a table at a control.
middleagecyclist
Call me MAC
- Location
- Prestwich, Manchester
Well, I've only gone and done it now. Announced to the World (my blog readers anyway) I am going to enter, I stress enter rather than complete, LEL 2013.
No backtracking now!
No backtracking now!
Simon Doughty's Long Distance Cyclists Handbook is a worthwhile read:-
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Long-Distance-Cyclists-Handbook/dp/0713668326
ISBN: 0713668326
ISBN-13: 978-0713668322
For someone considering it in 2013 I'd suggest a minimum of:-
a) Start doing Audaxes now (if you're not already doing them). You can dip your toe in with a 100 if you like, everyone starts somewhere. Just start.
b) Ideally you'd work up to 200km rides within a few months and keep that going over the winter, there are some lovely winter 200s in the calendar.
Don't worry too much if you don't, but you should be happily doing a 200km ride by Feb/March 2012.
Also don't worry if you finish close to the time limit on a winter ride. I'm near the back of the field usually and will took ~13 hours for a winter 200 in the run up to LEL'09. Even at my fastest in the summer I'm still taking at least 10 hours for a 200. For the longer rides I've rarely finished with more than an hour to spare, and minimal sleep.
c) Aim for an SR (200, 300, 400, 600km) in 2012.
An SR in 2012 would be perfect, but not absolutely required, preparation. There are plenty of people that didn't do any long distance riding until 6 months before LEL 2009. However, the more prepared you are the less likely you are to fail.
What you almost might find is that night riding just isn't for you. If you're not fast enough to minimise it then you may find that rides longer than 300km just aren't for you (I know several people who've found this), but give it a few tries before deciding this.
The SR isn't just physical preparation, it's mental preparation. You need to get to know how you deal with sitting on the bike all day and, sometimes, all night. You need to know how you deal with sleep deprivation. You need to know whether you have the mental strength to keep going rather than just giving up when you reach an inevitable low point. You need to learn how to listen to your body, when it's hungry and needs food (almost always during an Audax), when you're dozy, when you're thirsty, etc. Learning how you deal with stuff never stops, so don't assume a single SR series and you've got it licked.
d) Aim for at least an SR in 2013 in the run up to LEL.
If you can go for hillier rides (with AAA points) then even better. Lots of bits of LEL are flat but the Northern section is quite hilly (but worth it for the scenary).
Obviously, the more you can do in advance the better. Each training ride or each Audax means you'll suffer a little less on LEL itself (and hopefully not 'suffer' at all).
My LEL'09 preparation wasn't ideal, I was off traveling around South America with my wife for 2 months (Nov/Dec 2008) where I didn't go near a bike in all that time. But, in the 7 months leading up to LEL'09 I got my cycling fitness back and did a fair bit of riding (3000km of Audaxes and another 4000km of commuting before LEL itself). Before that I'd done an SR in 2008 and only got as far as a 300 in 2007. In 2006 I did my first ever 200s (two of them).
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Long-Distance-Cyclists-Handbook/dp/0713668326
ISBN: 0713668326
ISBN-13: 978-0713668322
For someone considering it in 2013 I'd suggest a minimum of:-
a) Start doing Audaxes now (if you're not already doing them). You can dip your toe in with a 100 if you like, everyone starts somewhere. Just start.
b) Ideally you'd work up to 200km rides within a few months and keep that going over the winter, there are some lovely winter 200s in the calendar.
Don't worry too much if you don't, but you should be happily doing a 200km ride by Feb/March 2012.
Also don't worry if you finish close to the time limit on a winter ride. I'm near the back of the field usually and will took ~13 hours for a winter 200 in the run up to LEL'09. Even at my fastest in the summer I'm still taking at least 10 hours for a 200. For the longer rides I've rarely finished with more than an hour to spare, and minimal sleep.
c) Aim for an SR (200, 300, 400, 600km) in 2012.
An SR in 2012 would be perfect, but not absolutely required, preparation. There are plenty of people that didn't do any long distance riding until 6 months before LEL 2009. However, the more prepared you are the less likely you are to fail.
What you almost might find is that night riding just isn't for you. If you're not fast enough to minimise it then you may find that rides longer than 300km just aren't for you (I know several people who've found this), but give it a few tries before deciding this.
The SR isn't just physical preparation, it's mental preparation. You need to get to know how you deal with sitting on the bike all day and, sometimes, all night. You need to know how you deal with sleep deprivation. You need to know whether you have the mental strength to keep going rather than just giving up when you reach an inevitable low point. You need to learn how to listen to your body, when it's hungry and needs food (almost always during an Audax), when you're dozy, when you're thirsty, etc. Learning how you deal with stuff never stops, so don't assume a single SR series and you've got it licked.
d) Aim for at least an SR in 2013 in the run up to LEL.
If you can go for hillier rides (with AAA points) then even better. Lots of bits of LEL are flat but the Northern section is quite hilly (but worth it for the scenary).
Obviously, the more you can do in advance the better. Each training ride or each Audax means you'll suffer a little less on LEL itself (and hopefully not 'suffer' at all).
My LEL'09 preparation wasn't ideal, I was off traveling around South America with my wife for 2 months (Nov/Dec 2008) where I didn't go near a bike in all that time. But, in the 7 months leading up to LEL'09 I got my cycling fitness back and did a fair bit of riding (3000km of Audaxes and another 4000km of commuting before LEL itself). Before that I'd done an SR in 2008 and only got as far as a 300 in 2007. In 2006 I did my first ever 200s (two of them).
OP
OP
Arch
Married to Night Train
- Location
- Salford, UK
Right, well, I've not looked at this thread for a while. I'm up to date with adding folk to the map if they've PMed me - is anyone missing?
Apologies. I've been somewhat otherwise engaged this summer, and the longer distance cycling has dropped right off, so I stopped looking in this section. Not sure where this leaves my ambitions, but whatever, I'll try and keep the map updated properly!
Apologies. I've been somewhat otherwise engaged this summer, and the longer distance cycling has dropped right off, so I stopped looking in this section. Not sure where this leaves my ambitions, but whatever, I'll try and keep the map updated properly!
middleagecyclist
Call me MAC
- Location
- Prestwich, Manchester
Thanks for the in depth reply. It may be just your opinion but is sounds a damn good one.
I was planning on a 200 km this year and building up to 600 km in 2012, while refining my bike/kit and making a decision whether or not i need to get an all out Audax machine for 600 km+.
Do you mind if I quote you on my blog?
Cheers
I did LEL in 2005 as my first 1000km+ event
In 2004 I did a 200 and two 300
In 2005 I did 200,300,400,600,300,600,300 then the 1400km of LEL
Incidentally, on LEL I rode for a while with someone I remember as "Hatman" and he had previously done just one 300km event
Don't mind at all.
PalmerSperry
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Aberdeenshire
Well hopefully Pickfords will delivery my bikes tomorrow, meaning at the weekend I can go for my first actual bike ride since last November!
Why the big gap? Well I moved country, twice if one regards Northern Ireland → Scotland in that way! And until I was sorted and settled in Scotland it seemed simpler, if less fun, to leave the bikes in Austria.In the short-medium term the plan is to sell both the recumbent ('07 Bacchetta Giro 26) and the racebike and buy either a Day 01 Alfine or a Specialized Secteur. However if selling the racebike proves overly difficult then I may settle for getting a Thorn Audax Mk3 frame & forks and swapping as much as possible of the racebike over onto a more audax/light-touring -able base.
Anyway, hopefully I can work my way up to ~200km before the end of this year. Next year my plans (or should that just be "aspirations"?) include both a SR series and a 7x200km LEJOG.
Excellent. Spending multiple long days on the bike consecutively is another thing you need to get used to (again, mentally and physically).
I had just 10 hours' sleep on LEL'09, and 6 hours on PBP 2011. How will you feel after waking up after just 3 hours' sleep and realising you have another 300km+ day ahead of you (just like the last 3)...
PalmerSperry
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Aberdeenshire
That was part of my thinking! (Other parts of it being that I have "unfinished business" with the whole LEJOG thing!) I've got a few ideas for some build up to it as well - having successfully finished a 200[1] or two, I'm thinking of doing a pair of 200s on consecutive days ...
[1] Which will be a first, since I'm currently 0 for 4!
