LEL - trying to peak

[border-rider]

Shouldn't be

a lot of LEL is on quite fast roads, and the controls are well-spaced and much faster to get through than on PBP

[simonp]

Indeed - I don't think it's unreasonable.  My plan on the BCM this year was to do 20kph to 400km.  I averaged 20.5; I had expected to do even better (100km in sub 4h, 200 in 8h, 300 in under 14h) but got delayed (twice) on the way back to Dolgellau.  On the BCM that gave me 7 hours in hand; on LEL that would have been 10.5 hours.

The level of fitness and focus I had on the BCM in May is what I need to reproduce.  Then I'll be fine, I think.

[MSeries]

The level of fitness and focus I had on the BCM in May is what I need to reproduce.  Then I'll be fine, I think.

You'll be fine. If you can complete a 600 comfortably with no real aches or pains then i think most people can complete LEL. Just a question of riding for a few more days. My fitness in 2005, my first year of Audaxing wasn't where it was in 2007 and I was fine.

[Hummers]

Train yourself to be able to ride 300km in 17 hours, and be able to get up the next day and do it again.

I've not done LEL - and won't be this time around, but from what I understand, it's basically a series of back to back 300s - some of them hilly.

So practice back to back 300s. And make some of them hilly.

That's the H plan and one that clicked into place on PBP - 1x 450, 2 X 300(ish) and 1 x 140k

For LEL I understant that as a late entry I only  have the 8pm start as an option so I am working on 22-24 hours of riding followed by a kip then 3 x back to back 300s. I think. 

H

[yello]

So practice back to back 300s. And make some of them hilly.

That's my thinking too. I'm more concerned about riding big mileage on consecutive days than I am about riding one off big mileage rides. I know I can do the latter.

I'm thinking, at this stage, as LEL being 4 consecutive 350s. I want to know that I can do that before I get to the start line. 

[Hummers]

So practice back to back 300s. And make some of them hilly.

I'm thinking, at this stage, as LEL being 4 consecutive 350s. I want to know that I can do that before I get to the start line. 

Unless you do a 1400k ride beforehand, you'll never know for sure if you can do it and entering this event (and others like it) requires a certain leap of faith.

For example, the qualifiers for PBP work on the basis of the rider completing an SR series some months before the actual event.

I was puzzled as to how being able to complete a 600k ride in the middle of May will mean I would be more likely to finish an event twice the length towards the end of August. I was reassured by various Anciens that all would be OK as long as I kept up some riding (200s) and they were right.

Even then, despite all the training and preparation, it will come down to the ride on the day(s) as anything can happen.

So my advice is do not fret too much about it now - just get a sensible training plan in place (the LEL pages suggest one) and more than anything else, enjoy your time awheel as life is too short.

H

[yello]

entering this event (and others like it) requires a certain leap of faith.

Indeed. And I'd not want to take the fun out of it either. I do however want to feel confident in my own mind though that my backside wont stop play on day 3!

[vorsprung]

entering this event (and others like it) requires a certain leap of faith.

Indeed. And I'd not want to take the fun out of it either. I do however want to feel confident in my own mind though that my backside wont stop play on day 3!

I rode around LEL 2005 with a bloke in a hat who had a single 300k as his only other previous audax experience.  He made it, so can you

[yello]

I rode around LEL 2005 with a bloke in a hat who had a single 300k as his only other previous audax experience.  He made it, so can you

What sort of hat?

[hellymedic]

Last LEL AFAIK I did the Arrivée stamp of one chap who'd never done any Audax before.

[RichForrest]

Last LEL AFAIK I did the Arrivée stamp of one chap who'd never done any Audax before.

He's now my Conservative councilor  and he did an SR last season.

[border-rider]

Last LEL AFAIK I did the Arrivée stamp of one chap who'd never done any Audax before.

He's now my Conservative councilor 

 

Let that be a warning to you all.

[Hummers]

Last LEL AFAIK I did the Arrivée stamp of one chap who'd never done any Audax before.

He's now my Conservative councilor  and he did an SR last season.

I wonder what his qualifying 600 was?

H

[Fixedwheelnut]

  I am not in for next years LEL  after riding no events this year I'll take it easy next year with hopefully an SR

 My training for 2005  was to start riding harder and faster from March onwards.
On top of my commute, Tuesday night pub runs and weekend club runs.

 In March I started riding to a friends house once a week after work a round trip of forty miles, towards the end of April I did this twice a week and started to ride it as fast as possible [17-18mph at the time]

 During May I started adding a century ride, there is a 100km route that is a favourite of mine and riding to the Wrotham start and back makes it a 104 mile route, I would finish work at 4pm on a Saturday and ride it reasonably fast so I was out of my usual comfort zone but not flat out and blast the last 20 miles out hard.
 This definitely made a difference and made it less of an ordeal than PBP 03.

My Audax rides for the year were;
   03-25-144    7225  ANYWHERE  400                  25 Mar     4  0   
       05-15-207    7225  MEOPHAM, Kent  200             15 May     2  0   
       05-22-202    7225  WRABNESS, Essex  303           22 May     3  0   
       06-11-334    7225  CHIDDINGSTONE CAUSEWAY, Kent  403 11 Jun     4  0   
       07-23-637    7225  LEE VALLEY YH, N London  1400  23 Jul    14  0   
       09-11-382    7225  WROTHAM, Kent  101             11 Sep     0  0   

That last one was my training ride and is still my fastest Audax to date 

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