Just a thought on timings. Both LEL and PBP I managed to get around at something like 21.3kph moving average. Let's say I do the same again this week, then that's almost exactly 50 hours' riding over 1060km of the route, leaving 25 hours for controlling, eating and sleeping. Sounds like plenty, but ...
There are 18 controls, plus the ACME Party up Black Mountain, so 19 stops. Remove 3x 3-hour sleeps leaves 16 hours over 16 stops. Just an hour each — if I bounce a few it should be easy to build up some sort of buffer
Given the forecast heatwave and advice to "slow down when hot", plus silly AAA (wherever did that come from?), I can see my average slipping down towards 20kph. If so then that would mean 53 hours' riding and just 22 hours' stoppage
I have to say my Achille's heel is sleep-dep — I've been trying to get good sleep the past week, but the heat has put paid to that, so I think I'll be starting tired. I'm planning on bivvying my way around — I'll be sleeping in a freezer bag as an experiment*, so it might not all be quality sleep
If I find I do need to sleep more than 3x3 then I'll be even more up against the ever-ticking clock.
I'm coming to realise, this could be a challenging ride, even more so as it's fully X-rated
Now, do I ECE it or try to catch the train down?
* not strictly true.