After effects...

[jdsnape]

Wondering what people's post-ride experiences have been?

Weirdly, my legs feel better after this than they have after many shorter rides (e.g. the 600 I did beforehand). I'm wondering if this is because I had a cold shower then walked with the bike to Debden tube station after the ride, which was good low-intensity exercise. I have some stiffness in my hands when I wake up - I wasn't able to use the aerobars I fitted as much as I'd have liked because it aggravated some saddle-sores I had, but I'm relieved I don't have any numbness. I was quite careful to keep changing position.

The first night I slept back home I woke up four or five times in the night convinced I'd overslept and I needed to be heading out for the next control. Once or twice I even found myself halfway down the stairs looking for my bike!

Most 'seriously', my eyesight seems to have been affected slightly, and I'm finding it slightly difficult to focus on the computer. It's odd because I can't figure out what that would be - my vision is normally fine. I will give it a few days and hopefully it'll settle down.

[alfapete]

 

[hmmm...]

I'm still dreaming of checking how much soup and beans are left before new supplies need to be heated, and rolls to be baked...😱

After a mere 48 hours at Innerleithen early last week 😂

[FifeingEejit]

Most 'seriously', my eyesight seems to have been affected slightly, and I'm finding it slightly difficult to focus on the computer. It's odd because I can't figure out what that would be - my vision is normally fine. I will give it a few days and hopefully it'll settle down.

Exhaustion/brain fog due to sleep deprivation that's not caught up on yet?
I had it most of last week following a 600 the week before.

[Zed43]

Maybe your eyelids are swollen? I did have that the last time and after PBP, this LEL only for a short time afterwards. It did affect my ability to focus my eyesight.

Bottom still a bit tender but not the hurting hell it was in 2017 where I used two pants on top of each other for some 100+km.

My pinkies have started to tingle slightly, I really hope it doesn't turn into the sever cyclist's palsy I had in 2017 (numbness lasted until end of December). Was not an issue with PBP (same bike), the UK roads are dangerous in more than the obvious ways...

[slugbait]

Let's see. Worst saddle sores I've ever had, but that will heal in a couple of days. Numbness in all hands and feet, but especially bad in the right pinky and ring finger. Now that the feeling is slightly returning in the right pinky, I realize that it may be bruised. Little wounds everywhere due to clothing rubbing against skin. General feeling of tiredness. Otherwise, I feel fine ;-)

[Zed43]

Possible (because n=1) tip to prevent the worst of saddle sores during long brevets.

When going to sleep (in my case 3x ~4 hours), put sudo creme on the affected parts and wear regular underwear over it (boxers, whatever, just not your cycling pants). Mind you, the white Sudo creme stains horribly. For me, it did not prevent the minor bruising, but may have been a factor in preventing damaged / infected skin at the contact points.

[slugbait]

Possible (because n=1) tip to prevent the worst of saddle sores during long brevets.

When going to sleep (in my case 3x ~4 hours), put sudo creme on the affected parts and where regular underwear over it (boxers, whatever, just not your cycling pants). Mind you, the white Sudo creme stains horribly. For me, it did not prevent the minor bruising, but may have been a factor in preventing damaged / infected skin at the contact points.

I think you're right. The two controls where I slept, I slept in my bibs and I regretted it. Whenever I sleep in normal clothes, things improve overnight.

[toontra]

For sleeping purposes I carry a pair of cycle undershorts with a thin pad and apply Sudocrem.  The pad absorbs the cream and limits seepage.

[aidan.f]

I disbursed quantities of Conotrane* to other riders  from the 500g pot I brought as planned in Biggar, and carried back to Davenant in my saddlebag. As I came out of the chemists another rider was walking in 'do you need some of this? '
*Less messy than Sudocreme and imo more effective.

[Zed43]

Definitively less messy, but subjectively for me a little less effective. Sudo creme seems to be available everywhere (in Europe), whereas Conotrane appears to be UK only; pre-brexit I bought a tub from amazon.uk after reading about it on this forum. One other caveat for Sudo creme I just learned: contains peanut oil so not to be used when you have a peanut allergy!

Small tins (2" diameter) of Assos chamois creme and Sudo creme are standard in my hygiene/med kit for 200+ rides.

Another after effect: I'm still in eat! eat! eat! mode

[basset]

I’m probably in better condition than when I finished in 2017 when I had a very sore undercarriage and hands.
This time I used a redshift stem which allows some flex and this really helped on the so so rough Scottish roads
I used no chamois cream as I find unless it’s used very liberally the pad becomes damp and this causes me more issues.
I changed my shorts(Assos I find suits me best) 3 times I did not get a shower till Hessle on the way back mainly because no showers at innerleithen which I did not realise.
Undercarriage was sore on last day but much better than last time and is now flacking up nicely  :facepalm:but not to sore .
Feet became very sore at times later in the ride and I still have a loss of sensation in my toes
Was using the same shoes as 5 years ago maybe it was the heat I’m not to sure .
Hope everyone heals quickly

[Notfromrugby]

Another after effect: I'm still in eat! eat! eat! mode

That, I found, was always my problem with Audax... cycle like a lunatic and put on weight as a result. Cholesterol went up, blood pressure went up... all the health indicators were going in the wrong direction... and yet I was cycling 250k a week on average!

[Lightning Phil]

I abandoned due to heat stress that was clearly heading towards heat exhaustion.  After a good nights sleep I rode back to the start taking it a control at a time, avoiding the main heat of each day.  No lingering after effects, once I’d got over the waves of fatigue. My weight before / after was unchanged, resting HRV / HR in baseline, blood pressure normal etc. 

During the riding I was wearing sandals with no socks, even at night.  But during the day I still got hot foot.  That was cured via walking around in bare feet for a few minutes and / or wetting them

I was on a recumbent with merino boxers and yoga pants on lower half.  Merino short sleeve up top.  It did a good job of not stinking after a few days of riding.

Been out on the bike a couple of times, Sunday and yesterday.  Later today riding to a village pub for lunch today, for a LEL debrief (where did it all go wrong / could I have done anything differently) with a friend. 

Planning a 50km outing on Sat and 200km route check on Sunday. Fortunately weather looks more the type suited to my physiology.

[jdsnape]

Another after effect: I'm still in eat! eat! eat! mode

Ah, definitely this too! I let myself eat what I wanted on Sat/Sun, but am trying to get back to a more normal diet now. It's always hard adjusting from a snack every 30 mins / hour and a meal every three back to a sensible amount. That and coffee too - I normally have two a day maximum, I didn't count but that went out the window during LEL!

[sizbut]

Volunteers suffer too. Certainly had trouble keeping track of which day it was at the time, and still suffering sleep based confusion now. Not lack of sleep, more to do with still not having re-established anything like a normal sleep pattern.

Yes, as said elsewhere I was surprised at how few riders getting kip didn't also use it as a chance to get out of cycle kit (regardless of whether dirty or clean).

[Philip Whiteman]

Volunteers suffer too. Certainly had trouble keeping track of which day it was at the time, and still suffering sleep based confusion now. Not lack of sleep, more to do with still not having re-established anything like a normal sleep pattern.

Yes, as said elsewhere I was surprised at how few riders getting kip didn't also use it as a chance to get out of cycle kit (regardless of whether dirty or clean).

Often harder than riding an event.

[basset]

I’m still waking up try to limit my time at controls 

[mzjo]

Volunteers suffer too. Certainly had trouble keeping track of which day it was at the time, and still suffering sleep based confusion now. Not lack of sleep, more to do with still not having re-established anything like a normal sleep pattern.

Yes, as said elsewhere I was surprised at how few riders getting kip didn't also use it as a chance to get out of cycle kit (regardless of whether dirty or clean).

As a volunteer I generally suffered from not enough sleep - but this was partly my fault for not managing my time better, I tended to stay out on the park without noticing the time of day. Surprisingly enough once I've got past 6am I wake up regardless of how much sleep I've had. It certainly was the case on friday morning; 1h sleep since 3am thursday morning, left control at 4am friday and then stayed awake (with grandson) until 10pm. Mind I was a bit in slow motion! Napping in the middle of the day on the control seemed to be out due to the heat .
I found that on the control I ate very little. The heat killed my appetite. Also I started a bit of serious heat exhaustion on the sunday (in spite of living with heatwaves in central France since june; the difference is that heatwave management at home involves avoiding the heat, on LEL there was no cop out, "il n'y a qu'à...." as we might say. Some of the riders might have discovered this salutary fact as well!
As for after effects, I did something wicked to my knee very early on, probably due to the saddle on the folder slipping a tiny bit. It is finally starting to come right again, although I am not risking riding anything yet.

I am very sorry that I didn't get a photo of Phil soaking himself at the taps in St Ives sunday. It was quite spectacular!

[Lightning Phil]

I found that on the control I ate very little. The heat killed my appetite. Also I started a bit of serious heat exhaustion on the sunday (in spite of living with heatwaves in central France since june; the difference is that heatwave management at home involves avoiding the heat, on LEL there was no cop out, "il n'y a qu'à...." as we might say. Some of the riders might have discovered this salutary fact as well!

I am very sorry that I didn't get a photo of Phil soaking himself at the taps in St Ives sunday. It was quite spectacular!

I avoided the heat during my training, for instance if doing hill prep and the day was forecast to be hot, then I was out early before it warmed up.  This meant during the event that a. I wasn’t used to riding in the heat b. Didn’t have a gauge for just how much I’d sweat and therefore need to drink. I also packed my clothing better suited to hot weather in my drop bags, on the basis the heat would not hit till I was coming south.

As to soaking myself at the taps that was necessary, and one of my post event reviews of my abandon is that I should have stopped much longer at St Ives to reset my body. A longer earlier reset may have been enough to avoid the later and more severe heat stress that did me. But of course, our instincts are to get through the controls as quickly as possible. A false economy in my case, this time round.

I’m not agonising about it, just filing away in my hot weather lessons for the future notes. Notes I’ll use for PBP as I hope to ride that again next year, and it’s usually hot.

When I came south through St Ives riding back, I was at least mostly recovered.

As a friend said, had it been cool and raining, I’d I have been in my element.

[Can’t swim won’t tri]

My main after effects have been saddle sores and still some dexterity and hand strength issues, despite using aero bars for a lot of the time.

In some ways, I feel that being a novice audaxer (who only got a bike <2yrs ago) was helpful this year - I had no preconceptions. I’d taken to heart the advice that I’m pretty sure I saw in here about training/riding in whatever conditions arose, so I’d done some horrendous rides! Rain, cold, heat, even snow… if I’d planned a ride, almost regardless of weather, I did it.

What I also did, in common with most of the south Asian riders (but almost no other brits), was wear long sleeves. I’ve hiked in dessert environments and find that covering skin is cooler than leaving it exposed to the burning sun, as well as protecting it much better than any sunscreen.

[slugbait]

What I also did, in common with most of the south Asian riders (but almost no other brits), was wear long sleeves. I’ve hiked in dessert environments and find that covering skin is cooler than leaving it exposed to the burning sun, as well as protecting it much better than any sunscreen.

This can't be stressed enough: when it's hot and the sun is out in full strength, cover your skin. I've been doing this for a couple of years and it makes the difference between being hot and overheating. I use the Megmeister Ultrafris arm coolers, but as long as it's thin and uv-resistant it should do the trick.

[pineapple bod]

Most 'seriously', my eyesight seems to have been affected slightly, and I'm finding it slightly difficult to focus on the computer. It's odd because I can't figure out what that would be - my vision is normally fine. I will give it a few days and hopefully it'll settle down.

Yeah, that's what I said when I developed vitreous detachment.  When I did eventually roll into the opticians 10 days later I got a sound telling off - it could have developed into retinal detachment with permanent partial loss of sight.  In the event I seem to have got away with it.

Look up "PEARS scheme" to get yourself an emergency optician appointment. It's not widely advertised, but should be.

[jdsnape]

Look up "PEARS scheme" to get yourself an emergency optician appointment. It's not widely advertised, but should be.

On the back of this I rang my local optician...they'd never heard of PEARS, and the first appointment they can do is the 13th September! I will have to do some more research and see if there is anyone else nearby who can help.

[Wycombewheeler]

Weirdly, my legs feel better after this than they have after many shorter rides (e.g. the 600 I did beforehand). I'm wondering if this is because I had a cold shower then walked with the bike to Debden tube station after the ride, .

I think It's as likely that every day after day 2 was low intensity exercise, with output limited by fuel available. no 500 watt efforts to stress the muscles