LEL - Sleeping facilities

[Panoramix]

I am starting to do some planning wondering where will I eat/sleep depending on my speed. One really useful info would be to know about sleeping facilities at various controls. I imagine that the first night there will be competition for sleeping space so it would be better to aim for a place with lot of space and then for the following nights one may want to push a bit further to get to a place with good quality accommodation.

Would control organisers be willing to share this?

[L Hedley]

I am starting to do some planning wondering where will I eat/sleep depending on my speed. One really useful info would be to know about sleeping facilities at various controls. I imagine that the first night there will be competition for sleeping space so it would be better to aim for a place with lot of space and then for the following nights one may want to push a bit further to get to a place with good quality accommodation.

Would control organisers be willing to share this?

I will spill!  Coxwold:  limited sleeping space, only the floor but an upstairs snooker room away from main hall through a closed door.   Floor space will be marked out, one or two mats and some blankets but no beds...sorry! But it should be quiet.  Sleeping for a max of X number of hours depending on how busy it is and if queue to rest forms (decided upon later).  Working on a keyfob system so places can be allocated and arrivals will know if space available and how long the wait is for sleep.  If not too busy, waking will be possible if asked for set number of hours.  Of course, if you just want to curl up on the playing field and sleep in the rain then that is fine too!  I don't recommend snoozing on the swings though, you may fall off 

[LEL]

I am starting to do some planning wondering where will I eat/sleep depending on my speed. One really useful info would be to know about sleeping facilities at various controls. I imagine that the first night there will be competition for sleeping space so it would be better to aim for a place with lot of space and then for the following nights one may want to push a bit further to get to a place with good quality accommodation.

Would control organisers be willing to share this?

We have deliberately not advertised full details of sleeping  facilities so that  we do not get all riders attempting to  head for the same controls and overwhelming them.  To this aim bag drops have been  arranged so that it helps reduce  pressure on individual controls.

Advice is to plan on your riding capabilities, not  whether a comfy bed is available.  And to use your bag drop to have a spare blanket. (remember - metallic space blankets are banned on grounds of noise)  There will be some blankets available , but it is a first come first served basis.


Think carpeted concrete and wooden church pews rather than feather beds and  snuggly duvets.
After all, if you got too comfy - you might not want to set off again......

[Panoramix]

Oh well, I hope that there will be plenty of space in Washinborough and Thorne then!!!

[L Hedley]

Oh well, I hope that there will be plenty of space in Washinborough and Thorne then!!!

We do have a huge football field! You could always hang on the goal posts, you might have to remove our washing first! 

[Ivo]

I plan on taking a very light weight sleeping bag with me so that I'm independent of any arrangements. Decathlon has a good offer on a 600g sleeping bag.

[simonp]

Not knowing where the controls with sleeping facilities are is going to make planning sleep stops rather tricky.  Although I discovered on the Irish Mail that I am now capable of falling asleep on a wooden floor with no sleeping bag or anything, if sufficiently tired.

[Greenbank]

Silk sleeping bag liner for me. About 150g and zero padding but a small degree of warmth.

It'll be a bonus if I get to sleep on something softer than concrete or wood, although anything comfier will be hard to extricate myself from the next morning...

[Chris N]

Silk sleeping bag liner, lightweight thermarest and a duvet jacket for me.  Packs into a small drybag (Ø10 cm x30 cm long) and weighs around 1kg.  As long as I can find a roof, I should be warm enough to sleep anywhere.

[MattH]

I've not really decided yet. On 400k+ rides I normally carry a very light (600g) sleeping bag pre-fitted into a breathable bivvy bag. That squeezes into my Nelson Longflap or straps on top in a dry bag with the longflap in shortflap mode. If I'm actually intending sleeping somewhere (like when I ride a couple of hundred K to the start of a Welsh ride and back) I'll take a thermarest-alike, but that means an extra bag on the bike - usually a pannier as that way I have room for some extra clothes. I really don't want a pannier on LEL.

For LEL I'll definitely carry at least the bivvy bag on the bike (takes almost zero room, weighs very little) just to satisfy my need to feel I have shelter if things go wrong in the middle of the night, in the rain, in the middle of nowhere. For the sleeping bag I'm torn between carrying it, or putting one in each of my bag drops. Carrying means my own bag wherever I choose to kip, which is more flexible, but obviously means lugging it up and down the country.

[LEL]

Not knowing where the controls with sleeping facilities are is going to make planning sleep stops rather tricky.  Although I discovered on the Irish Mail that I am now capable of falling asleep on a wooden floor with no sleeping bag or anything, if sufficiently tired.

Getting to be a true audaxer then?

[Greenbank]

Although I discovered on the Irish Mail that I am now capable of falling asleep on a wooden floor with no sleeping bag or anything, if sufficiently tired.

I had 10 minutes "sleep" on a wooden hall floor at about 1am before the start of the Flattest Possible 300 last year (after riding 320km to get there). Surprisingly comfy. I'd also recommend that a folding tyre makes quite a good pillow.

The only other places I've slept on an Audax have been the carpeted cafe floor upstairs at Membury Services (Severn Across) and a 20 minute doze on a bench just before the hill up to Penrhydeudreath at about 4am.

[mattc]

... and a 20 minute doze on a bench just before the hill up to Penrhydeudreath at about 4am.

Had noone told you there was a YH full of beds waiting for you just down the road?

[Greenbank]

... and a 20 minute doze on a bench just before the hill up to Penrhydeudreath at about 4am.

Had noone told you there was a YH full of beds waiting for you just down the road?

Lots of inanimate objects were talking to me, which is why I thought it best to have a little lie down at that point in time. The bustling metropolis of Penrhydeudreath might have pushed me over the edge (not to mention having to concentrate to cross those narrow gauge railway tracks that run at 45^o across the road at the top of the hill).

When I did get to the YH I just sat around talking for and hour and a half, drank some coffee and felt much better. Didn't bother trying to sleep at all.

[Keeff]

Sleeping facilities at Washingborough

We have a carpeted bar area which has enough space for around 20.  This will be open on Sunday night if there is anyone who wants to get a bit of shuteye.  We are anticipating that there won't be many riders who will take this option on Sunday, most preferring to ride through our control.  If there were to be more than the bar will take, we will open up our spare dining room for sleeping, which will hold a further 40 or so.

We are not expecting to see more than a couple of riders on Tuesday night so there will be no problems then.

On Wednesday evening, we are planning to swap dining areas to free up the large hall for sleeping.  There will be room in there for at least 75 sleepers, and the bar will still be available to us.  In an absolute emegency we will look to the new sports pavilion for space.

We have been promised 33 camp beds which we are hoping will materialise, and will purchase 50 blankets which will be issued first come-first served.

By Thursday night you will all need to be south of Washingborough before you sleep.

Keith and Sue

[Helen]

On one of the other threads, I think it said Thorne would have campbeds and blankets - but I think you need to pay extra for this.

I reckon it'll be Thorne for me. I had originally hoped for Coxwold, but then I tried riding it and realised that if I wanted to be able to get up and ride again the next day I'd need to stop at Thorne.  Plus, I am riding with rechargeable lights that I won't be able to recharge (don't worry, on the middle setting they have 20 hours of light and on the lowest one they last around 100 hours) so I reckon I'll conserve light/night-riding time for when I might actually need it towards the end of the event.

[Chris N]

On one of the other threads, I think it said Thorne would have campbeds and blankets - but I think you need to pay extra for this.

That's right.  I'm not sure how many beds Danial has at Thorne, but I've seen the control and there will be a couple of designated sleeping areas with beds.

[vorsprung]

Not knowing where the controls with sleeping facilities are is going to make planning sleep stops rather tricky.  Although I discovered on the Irish Mail that I am now capable of falling asleep on a wooden floor with no sleeping bag or anything, if sufficiently tired.

Getting to be a true audaxer then?

On that event I was sitting around in the same hall eating a bacon sandwich and making tea.  I managed to waste the best part of an hour but no sleep.  However, my feet did warm up again.

[vorsprung]

If I was doing LEL (which I am not) I believe there is a 1800hrs start.  So assuming that, I would ride through the first night, get 30 minutes nap in the afternoon the following day ( approx 350 km in, somewhere outside ) and a good solid 2 or 3 hours at the excellent bunk beds at Alston at 2 or 3 am the following morning.  Then I'd do Edinburgh and back and sleep at Alston again.

After that I would sleep whenever I got to midnight-ish and I was at a control.  I also have a 150 gram silk sleeping bag liner

[Greenbank]

If I was doing LEL (which I am not) I believe there is a 1800hrs start.

There are only two start times; 8am or 2pm.

And in reality these are actually two 2 hour windows (8am to 10am and 1.30pm to 3.30pm). You get allocated a specific start time at registration.

[MSeries]

The control at Alston is in a different building to last time.

[simonp]

If you have the 2pm start 10h 200 puts you at 200km around midnight with 6h in hand.

Why ride through the night?

[DaveJ]

Why ride through the night?

I usually enjoy riding at night.  The roads are quieter and there's something attractive about going along in your own pool of light.  Its the early mornings that get me.

Dave

[Flatlander]

If you have the 2pm start 10h 200 puts you at 200km around midnight with 6h in hand.

Why ride through the night?

Because you are going for a time
Because you want time in hand in case of problems later
Because you don't like the stress racing against time limits
Because you feel good
Because it's not raining

Nick

[L Hedley]

If you have the 2pm start 10h 200 puts you at 200km around midnight with 6h in hand.

Why ride through the night?

Because you are going for a time
Because you want time in hand in case of problems later
Because you don't like the stress racing against time limits
Because you feel good
Because it's not raining

Nick

Because there are more bunnies to see!
Because there are more hedgehogs to avoid!
You forgot that bit!  But remember, you get punctures from hedgehogs!