"I didn't manage to enter the LEL 2013" whinge thread

[JordanCarroll]

A place to air your grievances following the incredibly quick sell out of the 2013 LEL.

What is your excuse?

P.s. those with the powers that be may be opening up more spaces, but shhh! 

[Wowbagger]

I agonised long and hard over it but in the end I thought others would appreciate it more than I would.

Altruistic to the last, me.

[JordanCarroll]

That sir, is truly admirable :p

with 7000miles ahead of you this year sounds like you'll be busy enough!

[Pickled Onion]

Not a whinge, just an observation.

I realise it's the 21st century, but it does seem entry has been limited to those with constant access to email and access to enter on line. It was sold out before our local library was even open.

[Wowbagger]

That sir, is truly admirable :p

with 7000miles ahead of you this year sounds like you'll be busy enough!

Indeed. With all those miles to ride I couldn't possibly dedicate several days to LEL.

[Jabba]

see quote below from previous post:

I could whinge and moan and I did quite a bit last night but a new day dawns and life goes on......

I was definitely one who thought that the process would be drawn out longer (whilst also being 24hrs out as in earlier post) and was initially very cheesed off/upset/grumpy when the email link didn't do anything and I found out that I was 12hrs+ too late to get in.   

But ultimately it just means Danial and the LEL team had/have put together a very very efficient system and I should've tracked it better. So my year will change, maybe I'll get round to doing a LeJog (Audax stylee) or look for some other long Randonee, don't know but to cobble together two old sayings "Sh1t happens so no use crying over the spilt milk".

Might even think of volunteering if I can get round work (though that problem was there even if I'd got in to ride).

Well done all who organised this great event, well done all who've got in. The team could never have pleased everyone so they are always going to be vilified by some but I won't add to that, despite my frustrations it wasn't their fault it was mine.

Might have to go out and add an 'N+1' to relieve my frustrations.........hey that's a great excuse so thanks Danial and team I may just be purchasing a new bike because of LEL 

Feel much better now..

[PaulF]

As I struggled round 30 miles yesterday LEL might be a touch ambitious!

[jogler]

Not a whinge, just an observation.

same here

I realise it's the 21st century, but it does seem entry has been limited to those with constant access to email and access to enter on line. It was sold out before our local library was even open.

this is the way AUK is going.It's probably due in large part to the fact (or supposition on my part) that those folk who are the pulse & heartbeat of the organisation are IT educated;another realisation of the 21st century;& electronic comms is a natural media for them.

I'm not IT educated,don't do paypal & the like,struggle with emails & prefer audax entry using stamps & envelopes.Such ignorance can be a disadvantage.I have learnt the minimum to cope with my own needs but am fortunate to have a laptop & broadband at home:without this I simply would be unable to involve myself to the limited extent that I do.


those folk who are the pulse & heartbeat of the organisation :who we should be slow to criticise & recognise & appreciate that they spend a lorralorra of their spare time making all this happen.

[cornelius]

P.s. those with the powers that be may be opening up more spaces, but shhh! 

I trust that this might turn out to be an imaginative figment...

Non-arrival of 'entries are now open' emails; an arbitrary advance of the registration opening date and time... let's not invite any other 'order + counter-order = disorder' into the system. To those who are registered may their good fortune continue through preparation and successful completion of the brevet. We who, for whatever reason, failed to catch the selector's eye should not be teased with any 'just maybes' (IMHO).

Anyway, the organisers have more to do now than designing criteria on which to adjudicate (over 500 according to Danial) hard luck stories.

[Ray 6701]

+1 to Aidens reply wherever its gone & if you want to guarantee a place at the next LEL volunteer to work at one of the controls like I did on the last event. 

http://www.londonedinburghlondon.com/volunteer

I couldn't ride last time so I spent a week in Washingborough with Keef & Sue.  Preparing food, washing up & cleaning, control duties, lending a Spaniard a water bottle cage, sampling the local hostleries & basically helping in any way I could & it was a great experience.  If for any reason I can't ride this year I will be helping out wherever I'm needed. 

[Aidan]

+1 to Aidens reply wherever its gone & if you want to guarantee a place at the next LEL volunteer to work at one of the controls like I did on the last event. 

http://www.londonedinburghlondon.com/volunteer

I couldn't ride last time so I spent a week in Washingborough with Keef & Sue.  Preparing food, washing up & cleaning, control duties, lending a Spaniard a water bottle cage, sampling the local hostleries & basically helping in any way I could & it was a great experience.  If for any reason I can't ride this year I will be helping out wherever I'm needed.

I deleted it, as on reflection it was a bit harsh on someone who is obviously very dissapointed. And I posted in a bad mood because Im supposed to be out Audaxing today but real life got in the way  Although the point I made that if it was that important to him he would have been sitting at his computer at 1.00am and there was loads of places left.

If I hadnt have got in I had already put my name down to volunteer, so would wholeheartedly agree with Fungus and urge people to volunteer to help

[Euan Uzami]

A place to air your grievances following the incredibly quick sell out of the 2013 LEL.

What is your excuse?

P.s. those with the powers that be may be opening up more spaces, but shhh! 

I was ... away doing an audax.
Can anyone give me one good reason why britain's flagship audax event can only offer less than a fifth of the number of places that france's can? Apparently AUK has got massive cash reserves so it's not like it can't afford it.
I don't blame anybody for it but if LEL doesn't want me, it's it's loss.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

LEL is about 100 years younger than PBP. LEL doubled its capacity since the previous edition, which is pretty good in my books.

I was one who thought LEL might struggle to fill up but was spectacularly wrong (not the first time that has happened).

[Tynan]

A place to air your grievances following the incredibly quick sell out of the 2013 LEL.

What is your excuse?

P.s. those with the powers that be may be opening up more spaces, but shhh! 

I was ... away doing an audax.

between 10pm and 11am?

[Euan Uzami]

between 10pm and 11am?

i was in the travelodge at that time yes
and it did have an internet computer but it didn't work.

[Peter]

It's posible - people frequently travel somewhere to do a distant audax the next day.  Not everyone has a web phone and not all B&Bs and hotel rooms have the net.  I have no complaints as I didn't try to enter.

Edit: Cross-post with Ben.

[Tewdric]

As the old saying goes, shit happens.  Move on.

I decided a while ago that a summer assault on CS10A was a far better option for a guy with a young family and that is what is planned.  There are lots of alternatives.

Very well done to the organisers for their efforts so far!

[Tynan]

between 10pm and 11am?

i was in the travelodge at that time yes
and it did have an internet computer but it didn't work.

fair dos, get busy on the thread saying LEL will take a further 100 AUK members on a waiting list?

[Wobbly]

Can anyone give me one good reason why britain's flagship audax event can only offer less than a fifth of the number of places that france's can? Apparently AUK has got massive cash reserves so it's not like it can't afford it.

I would imagine the effort of organising a PBP-sized LEL would be, er, quite significant.

But no doubt you volunteered huge amounts of your time to help the organisers in the last couple of years and that's why you're disappointed LEL isn't a larger event.

[rogerzilla]

I thought it would have embarrassed everyone else to have ridden the whole thing at TT pace and finished in two days, so I bowed out.

[Chris S]

Can anyone give me one good reason why britain's flagship audax event can only offer less than a fifth of the number of places that france's can? Apparently AUK has got massive cash reserves so it's not like it can't afford it.
I don't blame anybody for it but if LEL doesn't want me, it's it's loss.

Cash still needs to be herded and spent properly, no small feat across 710km of route.

Another alternative would have been to hand the whole thing over to (eg) Bike Events. And now, instead of posts from people who couldn't get in, we'd be reading posts from people (like me) who couldn't afford the £499 entry fee.

[Tewdric]

The UK regulates "events" far more tightly than France.  Most big public events have to go through a local authority "Safety Advisory Group", which often imposes significant professional stewarding and (sometimes) policing requirements, which cost an awful lot of money.  If the event is licensable it's inevitable, if it's an oddity like Audax then they don't have their claws into you to the same extent, however any organised event places a duty of care on the organisers, and it is generally felt that abiding by the wishes of a SAG is jolly good idea should liability for a nasty become an issue. The bigger the event, the higher the stakes, so the organisers seem to be, very sensibly, keeping things manageable. 

I'd suggest (and it's no more than my personal view) that an event involving the sort of risks that LEL does for more than 1000 participants should be run by a professional event management company. 

Staying below the radar, whilst employing a proper and thorough risk assessment, is an understandable policy.

[Jaded]

I didn't manage to enter the LEL 2013 whinge thread.

But I have now.

[JordanCarroll]

^Good work, you're halfway there.

My student loan has now rolled in, 2 days too late!

*Refreshes LEL entry page* :p

[Euan Uzami]

The UK regulates "events" far more tightly than France.  Most big public events have to go through a local authority "Safety Advisory Group", which often imposes significant professional stewarding and (sometimes) policing requirements, which cost an awful lot of money.  If the event is licensable it's inevitable, if it's an oddity like Audax then they don't have their claws into you to the same extent, however any organised event places a duty of care on the organisers, and it is generally felt that abiding by the wishes of a SAG is jolly good idea should liability for a nasty become an issue. The bigger the event, the higher the stakes, so the organisers seem to be, very sensibly, keeping things manageable. 

I'd suggest (and it's no more than my personal view) that an event involving the sort of risks that LEL does for more than 1000 participants should be run by a professional event management company. 

Staying below the radar, whilst employing a proper and thorough risk assessment, is an understandable policy.

I'm pretty sure "the authorities" know about LEL. It's not like it's being run in secret... if 'most big public events' have to go through a SAG, but LEL doesn't, then there must be some definition as to what a 'big public event' is which LEL comes in below. LEL's already a 'big public event', just obviously not big enough to need a SAG assessment. Besides, what's wrong with costing an awful lot of money, AUK's GOT an awful lot of money. Apparently.

I don't mind about it - I'll do something else, I just thought it was a bit... inaccessible, really - to anybody that didn't happen to be sitting by a computer during a time window a matter of hours long, and I think it shows that AUK can hardly whinge about not many people wanting to do longer events any more either.