DNF rate

[hellymedic]

My zipped panniers with zipped pockets were pretty quick.
Kept most stuff I'd need fast on left side.

Not very waterproof though...

[The French Tandem]

As a volunteer on the park a thing that surprised (and shocked) me was the amount of time spent faffing with bags (particularly closing bags and particularly those roll-top bikepacking saddlebags) and with reattaching bike number tags.

I know what you mean. One rider at Barney had been fiddling with his bike/bags for at least ten minutes preparing to leave southbound and then we reminded him that he needed to do suncream. He debated this internally for a while before deciding that, as it was almost dark, it wasn't strictly necessary.

I put this on unconscious procrastination, which is just a normal human behaviour! You know that you have to go back to the road quickly, you know what is waiting for you on the road, and some little voice within you say:"I don't want this".

I think we, volunteers, have a double sided mission. On the one hand, we want the riders to feel at home in the control, and we all do our best for that. On the other hand, we know they all have to be back on the road as quickly as possible, so they better don't feel at home too much! At some moments, I found it uneasy to manage this contradiction.

A

[alwyn]

I put this on unconscious procrastination, which is just a normal human behaviour! You know that you have to go back to the road quickly, you know what is waiting for you on the road, and some little voice within you say:"I don't want this".

I think we, volunteers, have a double sided mission. On the one hand, we want the riders to feel at home in the control, and we all do our best for that. On the other hand, we know they all have to be back on the road as quickly as possible, so they better don't feel at home too much! At some moments, I found it uneasy to manage this contradiction.

That's a really interesting paradox and I'm not sure how you manage it. I think you are right to encourage people to move along though. Perhaps the focus should be 'how can I help you prepare for the next section?'

[Lightning Phil]

Conversely, in retrospect I think I moved too quickly through the controls.  I have the don’t faff manta and as soon as I finished eating I was on my way with topped up bottles.  But it was a false time economy that ultimately saw me DNF later on due to the progression of heat stress.  Longer stops, much earlier , to reset from the heat, would likely have seen me still going north instead of having to stop.

It’s a difficult one for volunteers, there’s the riders you want to encourage to take a bit longer at the control to recover from the last leg, and there’s the ones you want to encourage to be on their way.

You want to find out how those riders are feeling without tipping them into negative thoughts.  For instance had I been asked by a volunteer how I’d found the heat it might have been enough for me to ponder that question some more and make a different decision.

[ElyDave]

Incidentally one of the bags that really impressd me was a racktop bag on a Tailfin rack. Easy to open, easy to close, everything accessible and nothing falling out when it was open; seemed to tick all the boxes (not that I am in the market for one!)

I quite liked the look of them too, but they are very expensive! I'm struggling to find a saddlebag that fits, so have been investigating and was surprised to see that they are also not actually that light. I think something like a tubus fly lightweight rack with a generic zip up dry bag might be a much cheaper alternative (not quite as good, I admit, but might be worth an experiment)

Having procrastinated for a while, I finally bought one for my tour last week. Yes, expensive, but they just work. As did the Ortlieb panniers with neither leaking on the day of torrential rain and stuff easily accessed if you pack it logically.

[mmmmartin]

Incidentally one of the bags that really impressd me was a racktop bag on a Tailfin rack. Easy to open, easy to close, everything accessible and nothing falling out when it was open

Rack and bag = £500 according to one rider i asked. A proper knackered ancient Carradice might be £30 on eBay - that's how much mine was.

[JonB]

Conversely, in retrospect I think I moved too quickly through the controls.  I have the don’t faff manta and as soon as I finished eating I was on my way with topped up bottles.  But it was a false time economy that ultimately saw me DNF later on due to the progression of heat stress.  Longer stops, much earlier , to reset from the heat, would likely have seen me still going north instead of having to stop.

Interesting as I've thought for a while that the no-faff mantra can be overplayed. I've found that time off the bike is important for me, even on 200s but particularly on longer rides.  I went into some controls, notably Barnard Castle both ways, feeling that I needed at least an hour before setting off again. The difference in my energy levels and mental state between arriving and leaving a control can be significant and this was the case for a number of LEL controls. You used the word 'reset' above and that's been a word or phrase that's been in my mind whilst audaxing and particularly long rides. I'm not fast but I guess I tend to accumulate sufficient buffer to take breaks, I will sometimes scuttle through as well but I think it's important to find a balance and take some time out when the body/ head is struggling.

[hellymedic]

There is a difference between faff and rest.
Resting for a specified period is a valid use of time.
Faffing is not.

Queuing is best reduced. Tasks can be reordered to minimise this.

[The French Tandem]

I put this on unconscious procrastination, which is just a normal human behaviour! You know that you have to go back to the road quickly, you know what is waiting for you on the road, and some little voice within you say:"I don't want this".

I think we, volunteers, have a double sided mission. On the one hand, we want the riders to feel at home in the control, and we all do our best for that. On the other hand, we know they all have to be back on the road as quickly as possible, so they better don't feel at home too much! At some moments, I found it uneasy to manage this contradiction.

That's a really interesting paradox and I'm not sure how you manage it. I think you are right to encourage people to move along though. Perhaps the focus should be 'how can I help you prepare for the next section?'

I'm not saying I have a sureproof recipe, and I don't think there is one. I was in charge of the mechanical repairs during the whole event, and to every rider who asked for my help, I said : "Okay, I'll take care of your bike. In the mean time, you can go to the dining room, have a hot meal and relax". That's for the "feel at home" bit. Most of the repairs I conducted were very basic things like changing tubes, or tensioning gear cables, so it didn't take me very long. Several times I was surprised to see the same rider who was still in the control 2 or 3 hours later. I tried to gently push them out by saying: "your bike is now perfectly able to finish the ride, and is waiting for you outdoor!"

[Jon+1bike]

 On subject of LEL, DNF….  Don’t recall PBP being as bad !
Didn’t do 2022 but did do 2017.. 34 to 50% heat wins!?
Wind or Heat? Both make it more difficult, but no one does it because it’s easy!
Personally, as there is no qualification for LEL, that’s got to increase DNF rate.  I can clearly remember, day one, a rider saying how excited he was to reach 90miles, why says I?, “it’s the furthest ride I’ve ever done”
I also remember, negative heads, going table to table at control encouraging riders to Jack-in, due to weather forecast of wind in fens. I got a group of 6-8 to sit on my wheel to next control, all very grateful & happy to make that section. (Payback for times other Randonneurs have helped me)
So DNF !? Aside from mechanical strife, Weather or PMA ??(positive mental attitude)

[Ivo]

A lot of riders had either their preparations hampered by Covid during the spring or started having recovered From Covid only a few weeks before the ride (a surprising number mentioned about 4 weeks). No way you're going to be in form 4 weeks after Covid. And with less kilometers in the legs as planned, your chances of finishing LEL are also diminished.
Forme it's both as I had Covid both in march and caught it a 2nd time on the way to London (discovered it only after packing)

[Wycombewheeler]

A lot of riders had either their preparations hampered by Covid during the spring or started having recovered From Covid only a few weeks before the ride (a surprising number mentioned about 4 weeks). No way you're going to be in form 4 weeks after Covid. And with less kilometers in the legs as planned, your chances of finishing LEL are also diminished.
Forme it's both as I had Covid both in march and caught it a 2nd time on the way to London (discovered it only after packing)

I tested positive for Covid on the 3rd of April and completed the Brevet Cymru on the 30th (400km, 5000m climb), it was tough, my only other ride that month was a 300km permanent on the 16th, which was incredibly hard.

Completing LEL four weeks after getting Covid would be borderline for me.