Author Topic: LEL 2021 Route  (Read 41414 times)

LEL 2021 Route
« on: 25 April, 2019, 11:42:15 am »
I was going to hold on until August to tell you more about the next LEL, but I thought that any news would be (quite rightly) crowded out by PBP. So I'll start a thread here with my news.

Rather than slim the LEL route down from a rather podgy 1430km, we've decided to fatten it up instead. LEL2021 will therefore become a 1500km event. This will give you an extra 8 hours and 20 minutes to complete those extra 70km.

Subject to LRM approval, we'll also have a 100 hour group, albeit rather smaller than last time. There will be just one group at this speed, leaving at 5am. And because of other changes that I'll reveal soon, this means we will have far, far more starting slots between 06:00 and 12:00 for people who want a 125 hour limit.

The route will be mandatory this time. There will be a single secret control. Again, because of extra details that we'll tell you about soon, we may also ask LRM to waive this requirement for a short stretch of the route.

Re: LEL2021 - route details
« Reply #1 on: 25 April, 2019, 01:03:37 pm »
As someone with little long ride experience but aiming for LEL2021:

Mandatory route sounds good. I'm all for having fewer choices, and presumably that means less infos/proofs-of-passage which is very welcome.

1500km: eek, but I guess it's only 5% further. As a full-value sort the extra time sounds good, though depends how it lines up with day boundaries really. In some ways a 3am finish might be more civilised than an 11am one for those of us at the back. But I'm sure it'll work out.

Can't really respond to the decisions for super secret reasons without knowing the full picture, so I'll wait and anticipate for the news.

Re: LEL2021 - route details
« Reply #2 on: 25 April, 2019, 02:33:26 pm »
In some ways a 3am finish might be more civilised than an 11am one for those of us at the back. But I'm sure it'll work out.

For the 125 hour group, the cut-off times will be between 11am and 5pm.

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Re: LEL2021 - route details
« Reply #3 on: 25 April, 2019, 02:56:04 pm »
1500km.
 :o

I'm guessing that you're including extra ups and downs too. I hope I'm up to the challenge.

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Re: LEL2021 - route details
« Reply #4 on: 25 April, 2019, 03:59:56 pm »
Imm

and presumably that means less infos/proofs-of-passage which is very welcome.

There are NO info controls .. and the only proof of passage needed is the validation stamp at each of the controls as you pass through .. roughly every 80kms
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Re: LEL2021 - route details
« Reply #5 on: 25 April, 2019, 05:06:33 pm »
I'm guessing that you're including extra ups and downs too. I hope I'm up to the challenge.

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I'm not normally a fan of mandatory route, but for a prestige event, I think it makes sense for everyone to take on the same challenge.

Re: LEL2021 - route details
« Reply #6 on: 25 April, 2019, 05:12:54 pm »
In some ways a 3am finish might be more civilised than an 11am one for those of us at the back. But I'm sure it'll work out.

For the 125 hour group, the cut-off times will be between 11am and 5pm.

Exactly - whereas presumably in 1400km form the cut-offs were between 3am and 9am.

Re: LEL2021 - route details
« Reply #7 on: 25 April, 2019, 05:20:22 pm »
Wow that sounds  :o  For me Paris was not going to happen this year as health issue have kept me off the bike, but this gives me something to aim/train for. Looking forward to seeing the route in more detail.  :) Thanks alwyn
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Re: LEL2021 - route details
« Reply #8 on: 25 April, 2019, 05:38:14 pm »
Sounds interesting. I'm one of those who skipped the Howardian hills, preferring the flatter option.

But then I did end up in Grimsby by accident on the Sunday night instead  ::-)

Phil W

Re: LEL2021 - route details
« Reply #9 on: 25 April, 2019, 05:38:34 pm »
Those extra 8.3 hours will likely result in an extra sleep on the final night for me.  Good decision to take it up to 1500km.

Re: LEL2021 - route details
« Reply #10 on: 25 April, 2019, 05:43:54 pm »
The route will be mandatory this time. There will be a single secret control. Again, because of extra details that we'll tell you about soon, we may also ask LRM to waive this requirement for a short stretch of the route.
Sorry to be dense. Alwyn. What requirement might you ask LRM to waive? Does LRM require a mandatory route? Does LRM require all mandatory routes to have a secret control?
I'm assuming it's not the recommendation to require qualifying rides. "Il est recommandé que tous les événements RM validés suivent le modèle du PBP et utilisent les brevets qualifiants pour s’assurer que les participants soient bien préparés et limiter le nombre d’abandons."
Personally I took a (slightly straighter) hillier option over the Lincolnshire Wolds on the way up, allowing me to call on friends in Boston en route.

LMT

Re: LEL2021 - route details
« Reply #11 on: 25 April, 2019, 06:31:34 pm »
That the route is mandatory.


Re: LEL2021 - route details
« Reply #12 on: 25 April, 2019, 10:05:05 pm »
In some ways a 3am finish might be more civilised than an 11am one for those of us at the back. But I'm sure it'll work out.

For the 125 hour group, the cut-off times will be between 11am and 5pm.

Exactly - whereas presumably in 1400km form the cut-offs were between 3am and 9am.
No. Iirc in 2017 the 117:05 time limit ended at 0605 through till 1305 (as those starts were 0900-1600) - daylight by design.

Re: LEL2021 - route details
« Reply #13 on: 25 April, 2019, 11:29:50 pm »
Exactly - whereas presumably in 1400km form the cut-offs were between 3am and 9am.
No. Iirc in 2017 the 117:05 time limit ended at 0605 through till 1305 (as those starts were 0900-1600) - daylight by design.

Ah I see - fair enough, certainly I can see how a late finish would be a burden on the organisers.

Re: LEL2021 - route details
« Reply #14 on: 26 April, 2019, 09:13:53 am »
Exactly - whereas presumably in 1400km form the cut-offs were between 3am and 9am.
No. Iirc in 2017 the 117:05 time limit ended at 0605 through till 1305 (as those starts were 0900-1600) - daylight by design.

Ah I see - fair enough, certainly I can see how a late finish would be a burden on the organisers.
We spent the whole of that 'last' day packing up the finish, accelerating the process in the afternoon once the last riders had completed, but still offering a welcome and food (till late afternoon) to those who arrived 'hors délai'. 2017 timings worked well.

Re: LEL2021 - route details
« Reply #15 on: 26 April, 2019, 06:42:43 pm »
*Pricks up ears* Looking for my first long distance event.

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Re: LEL2021 - route details
« Reply #16 on: 26 April, 2019, 09:01:57 pm »
LEL is great; the longer the better IMO :thumbsup:.

I've taken advantage of the free route nature of LEL both times I've ridden. however mandatory route makes everything simpler as it's just a case of follow the provided track rather than thinking about the off piste options.
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Re: LEL2021 - route details
« Reply #17 on: 26 April, 2019, 11:41:00 pm »
I'm curious as to where the additional 70 kms are going into the route.  I suppose I'll just have to wait until Danial stops teasing us  ;D

Re: LEL2021 - route details
« Reply #18 on: 28 April, 2019, 02:06:48 pm »
Presumably that means one more control than 2017. As one who is planning to be a volunteer and is coming from afar I also will be waiting for the route announcement(s) with bated breath.

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Re: LEL2021 - route details
« Reply #19 on: 28 April, 2019, 06:59:42 pm »
Presumably that means one more control than 2017. As one who is planning to be a volunteer and is coming from afar I also will be waiting for the route announcement(s) with bated breath.
Not necessarily. 70km could be split between a number of sections with mandatory routing preventing people using busier more direct roads.

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Re: LEL2021 - route details
« Reply #20 on: 29 April, 2019, 09:18:12 am »
In some ways a 3am finish might be more civilised than an 11am one for those of us at the back. But I'm sure it'll work out.

For the 125 hour group, the cut-off times will be between 11am and 5pm.

Exactly - whereas presumably in 1400km form the cut-offs were between 3am and 9am.

There were a lot of people heading out of St Ives into the night, having to ride tired through the early hours in 2015, as a consequence of headwinds in the Fens. 
Eddington Numbers 130 (imperial), 182 (metric) 571 (furlongs)  114 (nautical miles)

Re: LEL2021 - route details
« Reply #21 on: 30 April, 2019, 12:50:04 am »
I'm curious as to where the additional 70 kms are going into the route.  I suppose I'll just have to wait until Alwyn stops teasing us  ;D

We're using some of the distance to shift the route through Yorkshire further east. Wilkyboy knows more than me at this stage, he is looking after the route while I book controls. To facilitate this, we have new controls in 2021 at Hessle and Malton. The Malton control(s) are only 20km further from the start than Pocklington, making them very reachable on the first day.

Hopefully having two controls in Malton and a third in Hessle will ease some of the problems we had in 2013 and 2017. It also means we can offer many more start slots before 09:00 to people riding a 125 hour limit.

Re: LEL2021 - route details
« Reply #22 on: 30 April, 2019, 10:26:17 am »
I feel the need to push back against the tone of the "more hills, isn't that grand?" stuff in the FB post about this. I hope an eye is being kept on trying not to repeat the high DNF/hors delais rate last time. The challenge is meant to be riding 1500 km, isn't it? It shouldn't need extra obstacles!

Re: LEL2021 - route details
« Reply #23 on: 30 April, 2019, 10:37:44 am »
The high DNF in 2017 was down to Danish hills rather than British hills. 2021 will have more hills because it is longer. But I doubt it will be much hillier, as in overall average climb.

Re: LEL2021 - route details
« Reply #24 on: 30 April, 2019, 05:26:53 pm »
The high DNF in 2017 was down to Danish hills rather than British hills. 2021 will have more hills because it is longer. But I doubt it will be much hillier, as in overall average climb.

Danish hills? Clearly those were Dutch mountains. (My apologies, but for Dutch folk like me being able to cycle into endless headwinds is a source of national pride.)

Anyway, thanks for the update. I'm sure 1500k or 1425k won't make much of a difference. Either way looking forward to LEL in 2021.