Thanks for the route Nik. Does this mean you got permission to ride?!
I am deeply committed to a stop in a comfy hotel half way, this being my first 600 and expect to be heading towards the time limit, despite the flatness. A finish is a win in my book 
I do believe that it is inevitable that every ride on the Essex SR series will be a strong tailwind followed by a brisk headwind... I expect nothing less. The memory of the last half of the Green and Yellow solo still makes me wince. So like that, only double... yikes!
At the moment yes, but waiting for RL to catch up and drag me off to some family do or other.
And, yes, the headwind is undoubtedly going to be there: last year we got to the turn in about 14.5 hours with a strong-ish tailwind (325km), which was really quick for me. And it then took about 25 hours to ride 305km back (including sleep stop). Don't get too comfortable in your hotel if the wind is up, as you'll need all the time available to winch yourself back over the fens into a blow! Once you hit Cambridge then you're back among hills (gently rolling) and hedgerows where any headwind is far less of a burden, and it only gets better as you get further south.
Here's hoping for a northerly, so we can get the hard work out the way while we're all fresh on Saturday and get a nice push all the way home on Sunday. I'm hoping, but you know it ain't gonna be so.
