LEL Glossary

[Really Ancien]

Rat-Running.
Drivers using small roads on the edges of towns to avoid traffic jams, this happens from 8am to 9.30 am and from 4pm to 5.30 pm. Rat runners are by definition impatient and selfish drivers, watch out for them in the final miles of your ride as you return to Cheshunt.

Bonk.
Normally a colloquial term for sexual congress, used by older cyclists to indicate a lack of energy due to glycogen depletion. 'Fancy a bonk?' would be a salacious invitation, however 'I've got the bonk', does not indicate a state of arousal, rather an explanation for inadequate athletic performance.

Damon.

[Really Ancien]

North Pennines.
An area of high ground in Northern England. 'The Pennines' are the range of hills which stretch about 200 miles from the English midlands to the Scottish Border. 'The North Pennines' can be held to refer to area North of the A66 and East of Penrith. Scenically they are generally unspectacular, but very interesting in terms of their geology and flora, especially for peat moorland and hay meadows, as described on this website.
North Pennines - Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and UNESCO European Geopark - Home Page
We cross the North Pennines by climbing Teesdale and descending the valley of the South Tyne, so while we climb to 2,000 feet at Yad Moss, the climbing is very gentle, apart from a steep hill in the town of Alston.

Damon.

[L Hedley]

VOLUNTEER - • noun 1 a person who freely offers to do something. 2 a person who works for an organization without being paid.  Such people should be treated with great respect as they are giving up their valuable time to support riders on LEL, please be kind, without them,  this ride would never happen! Anyone want to volunteer for Coxwold?

[L Hedley]

bulk buy:   Definition:
 
large quantity: a large amount of something or a number of things bought at one time, usually at a reduced rate.
 
Think the 30kg of Alpen sat on my dining room table fit into this bracket!  Also, you get funny look when you buy 432 wheetabix biscuits and 12 kg cornflakes at Tesco!  I was asked if I had a cornflake fetish today!!

[jende]

Wow!  30kg Alpen.  I like that cereal.  Put me down for 500 gm.  I can't wait.  If there is any left on the way back through I'll just pour the rest into my jersey pockets.  Thanks for volunteering.

Cap'n

[Really Ancien]

The Debateable Land.

Prior to 1551 the border between Scotland and England was undecided and an area North of the River Esk was outside the jurisdiction of either country and home to 'the Border Reivers', a species of brigand. The solution was to divide the debateable land, England got the West, Scotland the East. The boundary was delineated by the 'Scots Dyke', which is an earthwork, rather than a woman in sensible shoes and a kilt, and by the River Sark. This explains why the border is not the very obvious bridge over the River Esk at Longtown, but a seemingly arbitrary point a few miles East on the A7, which you will cross on the LEL.
Scots Dyke, Cumbria

Damon.

[L Hedley]

If there is any left on the way back through I'll just pour the rest into my jersey pockets. 


Cap'n

Would you like milk with that? 

[HenkV]

What is it? Sounds like food?

[L Hedley]

What is it? Sounds like food?

Yes, it's a cereal, with nuts and fruit in...very good for getting you pedalling!

[Really Ancien]

Alston.

A small town that was an important centre for the mining of lead and silver, important for the development of Scotland in the 12th Century under David I.

The revenue of his English earldom and the proceeds of the silver mines at Alston allowed David to produce Scotland's first coinage. These altered the nature of trade and transformed his political image.

More recently, it is known for having a ratio of 10 eligible to every eligible woman.          Wanted: women to live the high life with lovelorn lads of Alston |
            UK news |
            The Guardian
   
If LEL had more young women, rather than men of a certain age, a warm welcome might ensue.
The main feature of Alston to interest us is the steep cobbled high street. Alston lies at about 1,000 feet, leaving 400 feet to climb to the control 2 miles to the South. The Co op shop in Alston has a surprisingly good selection of wines, it closes at 10pm daily.

Damon.

[Really Ancien]

Scottish Banknotes.
Is Scotland a separate country, you might ask? Well, Scottish history is complex and little understood in England, and tempting though it is to annoy Scots with a summary, it would take too long.
The main practical differences are a completely different legal system based on investigating magistrates and the right of three different Scottish Banks to issue notes.
The Royal Bank of Scotland issues £1, £5, £10, £20, £50 and £100 notes, The Bank of Scotland and The Clydesdale Bank issue their own versions of those notes apart from the £1. There are also still notes of the previous Bank of Scotland 1995 series in circulation.
These notes are legal tender in England, where a single set of notes of £5, £10, £20 and £50 is issued by the Bank of England, which holds a monopoly in England and Wales, but no-one really knows what all the Scottish notes look like, so they are viewed with more suspicion the further South you go.
You may wish to keep a sample as a souvenir. A full set of the Scottish notes currently in circulation would amount to over £700. You may well wish to limit yourself to the Royal Bank Pound note. Here is a picture of the commonly seen notes up to £20. Scottish Bank Notes


Damon.

[Chris S]

Fenlander

Ever seen Deliverance?

Remember the chaps in the woods?

[Chris S]

Fenland Alps

Surely some kind of Oxymoron? No. A Fenland Alp is the experience you have when riding across the flatlands in a headwind. There is no escape. There is no descent afterwards.

When you cross the Fens, pray for calm.

For the purposes of LEL - Fenland is the area north of Gamlingay, and south of Lincoln.

[TimO]

Actually...

Scottish Banknotes.
...
These notes are not legal tender in England, ...

(not added by me).

However, shopkeepers etc can choose to accept them if they wish to.  Likewise, Bank of England notes are not Legal Tender in Scotland, but they are also generally accepted there.

Wikipedia on Legal Tender

[Really Ancien]

However, general agreement between banks within the United Kingdom is to treat all notes as legal tender.

But as we both say, shopkeepers are more dubious about them, the further from Scotland you go.

Damon.

[Really Ancien]

The Great North Road

We’re going from London to Edinburgh and back, there is a single road which does that. We call it the A1, but historically it’s the Great North Road. Our route doesn’t follow it for the very good reason that over the years much of it has been upgraded to Motorway standard and bicycles can’t use Motorways, even if you wanted to do such a thing. In England we have the idea of ‘right of way’, this means that most roads are open to all traffic. Some very scary roads, such as the A2 in Kent are open to cycle traffic, and parts of the A1 can be ridden on and are even favoured for time trial racing, as the drafting from lorries gives improved times. But we don’t ride on the current A1, we cross it and the upgraded parts of it, called the A1M, a few times, once in St Neots, at Wansford and at Barton, near Scotch Corner.
There’s an interesting website on the Great North Road, which has a lot of detail about the route and its environs, giving an insight into the areas we pass through.
Contents
One such area it touches on is the Bullock Road, an old drove road that forms part of our route.
Medieval Route
An interesting aside is the role of the North Road in the development of randonneuring. The North Road Cycle Club was founded to encourage long distance rides, using the North Road, and organised its first 24 hour time trial in 1886. So we can be said to be revisiting that tradition.
Long Rides History in the UK - Summary Chart


Damon.

[rogerzilla]

Scotch Corner is really nowhere near Scotland (and anything from Scotland is "Scottish" not "Scotch" anyway, unless you're talking about whisky).

It's the junction of the A1 and A66 roads and is so named because travellers from London would go one way (A1)  towards the border with east Scotland and the other (A66)  for the border with west Scotland.

There are a number of petrol stations and a Moto service station.

[rogerzilla]

Yad Moss

The highest point on LEL is on the B6277 from Middleton-in-Teesdale to Alston.  There isn't much there apart from a winter sports centre, which will (hopefully) be out of action in July.  The climb is slow and relatively gentle and starts after the Low Force waterfalls on the River Tees, then past High Force (England's highest waterfall) before levelling out a little.  After Langdon Beck the steady climb resumes, but it follows the contours of the hill where possible and a granny ring will only be necessary if you're really tired.  You may see some C2C (Coast to Coast) riders near Garrigill, where, if you choose a short detour from the route (losing most of the height you've gained)  there is a little shop, post office and a blacksmith at Thortergill Forge, should you need to emulate Eugene Christophe.

[rogerzilla]

South Tynedale Railway

Keep an eye out for this as you leave Alston and head north, because it's on the opposite side of the River South Tyne to you.  It sells itself as "northern England's highest narrow gauge railway" and you might see a steam train.

[mikewigley]

Helpston level crossing

Police have been keeping a close eye on this level crossing, on the LEL route south of Thurlby.  It appears that motorists - and pedestrians - have been dodging under the closing barriers.  It's on the East Coast Main Line, the high speed route that anyone abandoning LEL could well be using when returning to London at something like 200kph.

You could face a bit of a wait here but don't take any chances


   Cameras could be installed at Helpston level crossing - Peterborough Today

[Really Ancien]

Broxbourne Woods

You'll either be too intent on staying with a group, or too tired, to notice these extensive, Sessile Oak/Hornbeam woods, which are the only National Nature Reserve in Hertfordshire, as they occur within a few miles of the Start/Finish.

hertsdirect.org Broxbourne Woods National Nature Reserve

Damon.

[Really Ancien]

Lincoln Cathedral

Probably one of the top ten buildings in Britain. It is one of the great churches of Eastern England and is situated in a charming medieval quarter including the oldest house in England.
The route as set out gets to within 500 metres of the Cathedral close. It is possible to contour along Carline Road and Drury Lane to get the best team photo opportunity of the ride, just be careful descending back to the main centre. The Shortest route, Steep Hill has handrails for pedestrians and is cobbled. Here is a one minute intro.
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/aD9LG7R5-yY&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/aD9LG7R5-yY&rel=1</a>
Lincoln Cathedral - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Damon.

[rogerzilla]

Cattle grids

These monuments to the stupidity of the cow (you'd think they would have worked out how to tiptoe across or even roll by now) frighten some riders.  Generally they're best taken at a decent speed, whereupon they make a satisying "brrrrap" noise, and you're over them.  In the dark, beware: there are often joins between the plates which run in the direction of travel, and you don't want to hit those.  Likewise, they are pretty slick in the wet.

[rogerzilla]

St Neots

A contender for the least interesting town in England (along with Swindon and Northampton), St Neots is basically a dormitory town for Cambridge.  The only interesting fact I can think of is that Pizza Hut wax crayons are packed there.

[Really Ancien]

BOGOF

Travelling in Britiain can be an expensive business, roadside shops in petrol stations and small supermarkets always charge heavily for anything you might actually want, 85 pence for a 330ml can of Coke is normal. This is where BOGOF or Buy One Get One Free comes in. You will find that everything you might buy is much cheaper if you buy more than one or the large size.
Team up with a companion and you can up the calorie count per £ considerably.
However, do not simply enquire 'BOGOF'? as this is mildly offensive.

Damon.