Author Topic: [LEL17] Easiest and hardest LEL's  (Read 2500 times)

[LEL17] Easiest and hardest LEL's
« on: 11 August, 2017, 10:01:35 am »
LEL has been run in various formats over the past decades. These formats were very different, from a hard core x-rated event in the first year to the fully catered versions of the this millenium. The weather has been different as well.
So the degree of difficulty of LEL varies greatly, as does the amount of DNF's as a sign of this. So time for some comparison.


Re: Easiest and hardest LEL's
« Reply #1 on: 11 August, 2017, 10:01:46 am »

I've ridden the '97, '01, '05, '09 and '17 editions as a participant. Of these I rate 2005 and 2001 as easiest. There was already a lot of support, none of the controls was overrun and the weather was benign. 1997 still had a lot of commercial controls so the level of pampering was a lot lower. 2009 and 2017 had so many participants that the timeloss on the controls start to factor in, a large control just eats away your time. And when there are only 5-10 people at the same control, everything is just faster and more personal.
The weather in both 2009 and 2017 was harder as during the other editions. Personally I would rate the 2017 as the hardest one due to the weather and the more exposed roads south of Humber Bridge. The original course stayed well west of the Humber Bridge so there were some extra hills but less exposed roads with a headwind.

Brakeless

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Re: Easiest and hardest LEL's
« Reply #2 on: 11 August, 2017, 10:48:46 am »

I've ridden the '97, '01, '05, '09 and '17 editions as a participant.
Quote
Personally I would rate the 2017 as the hardest

Nothing to do with the 20 years since the first one ;-)

Re: Easiest and hardest LEL's
« Reply #3 on: 11 August, 2017, 11:54:50 am »
The first one in '97 was hard as well. Some controls were commercial so a facilities were a lot less. And I had a mechanical between Carlisle and Alston, resulting in climbing Yad Moss on 3 gears.

Re: Easiest and hardest LEL's
« Reply #4 on: 11 August, 2017, 02:54:01 pm »
Personally I would rate the 2017 as the hardest one

Thank you , Ivo. I feel a whole lot better reading that from an experienced randonneur. TBH, I said that I would ride it just the once and the conditions that I experienced confirmed that decision.
 However, one week on from LEL , I drove over the A66 past Barnard Castle and northwards beyond Moffat.
On Wednesday, the wind was from NNW, so would have been a tailwind up and over Yad Moss, and it was relatively dry.
Yesterday (Thursday), the hills were bathed in warm sunshine and there was a gentle SW breeze. Very tempting to reconsider.
Mind you,on Tuesday it rained heavily all day.
Luck of the draw on the weather front .

LittleWheelsandBig

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Re: Easiest and hardest LEL's
« Reply #5 on: 11 August, 2017, 03:11:36 pm »
I've finished LEL05, '13 and '17. I'm pretty sure that LEL17 was the toughest for the combination of rain, wind and hills. Even allowing for variations in fitness, 2013 was a step below that.
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vorsprung

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Re: Easiest and hardest LEL's
« Reply #6 on: 11 August, 2017, 07:53:36 pm »

I've ridden the '97, '01, '05, '09 and '17 editions as a participant. Of these I rate 2005 and 2001 as easiest. There was already a lot of support, none of the controls was overrun and the weather was benign.

I got to a control in 2005 near the Howardian Hills and it was so full that there wasn't even a crash mat, I slept (badly) on the floor

Other than that it was pretty good.  This was the end of the age of the YHA and I slept in an actual bed in two of the YHA ( Alston and Lincoln ) controls

Agree the weather was pretty good.  The only significant rain was in the last stage near London ( I was a London starter )




Re: Easiest and hardest LEL's
« Reply #7 on: 11 August, 2017, 08:30:38 pm »
The easiest LEL was the Thorne start in 2005. The advantage to Thorne was that you could park your car there, sleep in it, and even have a bike change if you felt like it. Heather's mother lives in Thorne, and I slept at her house, LWAB didn't accept her hospitality. He was also resistant to taking diversions. I think he's a bit of a purist at heart.

CrazyEnglishTriathlete

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Re: Easiest and hardest LEL's
« Reply #8 on: 11 August, 2017, 10:18:54 pm »
I found cooking for 1400 in 2017 harder than cooking for 900 in 2013, but fortunately I was much better prepared this time.  :smug:
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