[LEL17] LEL preparations.

[Exit Stage Left]

LEL supplies are continuing to arrive at the home of Heather Swift, controller at Brampton.

[paul851]

Looking forward to working with Heather at Brampton 

Paul

[Bunker22]

It is humbling to peek at the work and thought going on behind the scenes to make our LEL possible. Thank you all.

[Exit Stage Left]

Heather's looking forward to welcoming everyone. There's a strange effect whereby she knows all the people I've filmed, and vice-versa. We sometimes forget who's met whom.

There's still room at Brampton if you want to go there.

[Fidgetbuzz]

I do understand that you appreciate the effort that goes in .. both centrally and at the controls.

However I doubt whether anybody realises what an immense task LEL is .. unless you are actually in the thick of it.. and even then I for one have no idea of the sheer hard work and  practicalities of running a control  .. nor what skill and how many hours Phil has had to contribute.. never mind things like getting control locations sorted and the route worked out, refined, amended, refined etc etc . volunteers sorted etc etc .. the list goes on    and on     and on.

I understand my bit .. but that included new things .. setting up $ and € accounts .. dodging Paypal , setting up the sale of insurance ..  buying drop bags , lanyards etc .. never mind the old things of dealing with budgets , cash and eventually annual  accounts and  the wretched taxman

This thing takes over ones life ..

[Exit Stage Left]

I quite like the sense of nostalgia, looking back at the various years.

We've recently got through the final surplus ravioli from 2009, when 600 riders were expected, but 500 turned up.

I have found some tins of peach slices with an expiry date of 31/8/2010. I like peaches, but Heather's not so keen, so it might not be worth opening a tin of evaporated milk dated BBE Nov 13, to go with them.

[Wobbly]

When it comes to nostalgia, my abiding memory of the very lovely Heather Swift is her putting me to bed at Langdon Beck youth hostel in 2001

[Exit Stage Left]

When it comes to nostalgia, my abiding memory of the very lovely Heather Swift is her putting me to bed at Langdon Beck youth hostel in 2001

I can remember you waiting for a 20 inch tyre at Thorne for your recumbent, and us riding past a Karting circuit at Ancaster, where you'd driven at one time. We got a bit lost around Humby, and ended up on the A15, as I recall. Those lanes were quite a challenge.

[Wobbly]

Ah. Memories, memories...

[Ivo]

When it comes to nostalgia, my abiding memory of the very lovely Heather Swift is her putting me to bed at Langdon Beck youth hostel in 2001

Which was a great improvement to the 1997 control, a caravan on the top of Yad Moss (I arrived in the company of Jack Eason who immediately lit his pipe).

[Exit Stage Left]

A big unknown will be how riders from hot countries deal with the spread of temperatures. It's something that came to the fore at PBP. Obviously I'll be interested to see how that plays out, as there are so many coming from Asia. Hopefully it won't figure too much.

[Exit Stage Left]

We're getting stuck into detailed preparations, so I thought I'd do a film concentrating on the actual route. It can be downloaded, so is suitable for sending to media outlets with not much to report on.

[Wobbly]

Another good video Damon.

[Exit Stage Left]

Heather has ridden PBP and filmed that three times, in addition to running a control at LEL every time since 2001. I've ridden LEL three times, PBP four times, and filmed LEL and PBP both as a participant and purely as a film-making exercise.

Our current thought is that riders might consider carrying a tray.

[Wobbly]

"No-one does LEL for the quality of the cutlery"   

Our local poncy gastro-pub serves meals on slates. Have you looked at using roofing tiles instead of Ikea plates? You could re-roof your place afterwards...

[mattc]

"No-one does LEL for the quality of the cutlery"   

Yes, I liked that!

But plastic cutlery is one of those many little things, which together contribute to erode rider's* morale. So anything stronger than plastic is A Good Thing  As a volunteer, I'm always slightly embarrassed when deploying plastic cutlery 


*well, this rider, anyway.

A big unknown will be how riders from hot countries deal with the spread of temperatures. It's something that came to the fore at PBP. Obviously I'll be interested to see how that plays out, as there are so many coming from Asia. Hopefully it won't figure too much.

Very good! Putting all those interviews together really makes the point.

[Redlight]

We're getting stuck into detailed preparations, so I thought I'd do a film concentrating on the actual route. It can be downloaded, so is suitable for sending to media outlets with not much to report on.

Great to see the inclusion of the legendary Alston Traffic Cone Dance at 2.01.  many have heard of it, but few have actually seen it performed.

[Exit Stage Left]

900 drop bags will be going to Brampton. The space for them will be limited, so some form of organisation will be needed. Putting them in builder's bags is one thought. If those bags are at Loughton for the check-in, then it should be possible to organise them there.

[Wobbly]

The work that goes in. Amazing.

[/eternal gratitude]

[Exit Stage Left]

We're interested to know how the bag-drop will be organised in Loughton. Julian Dyson is helping at Brampton, and he mentioned builders bags being used in 2013. I must admit I didn't see any.

Mark Brooking and family had been involved with the bag drops for a number of editions, but I believe they are going to Semaine Federale in Mortagne. So we can only speculate on how we might organise the bags better.

I'll be coming down to film the signing-on and the early starts, I might come in a van, so I could deliver bags borrowed from a friend. Any preparatory work that results in less work at busy times in the controls will help.

[Cycling Redemption]

I'm doing some of the bag drop delivery and collections for Brampton so interested in the concept.  Not sure how they would react stacked several on top of each other though.  See you at Loughton

[Exit Stage Left]

I'm doing some of the bag drop delivery and collections for Brampton so interested in the concept.  Not sure how they would react stacked several on top of each other though.  See you at Loughton

I suppose you could 'nest' them, folding the tops of each successive bag, and cable tie the top of the master bag while they are still light enough to shift. I don't think the vans had tail lifts though.

[Exit Stage Left]

Meanwhile, in the settlement of Farington Moss, over 100 miles South of the Brampton control, preparations are progressing.

[Veloman]

I'm doing some of the bag drop delivery and collections for Brampton so interested in the concept.  Not sure how they would react stacked several on top of each other though.  See you at Loughton

I suppose you could 'nest' them, folding the tops of each successive bag, and cable tie the top of the master bag while they are still light enough to shift. I don't think the vans had tail lifts though.

I was at Brampton last time and from Heather's video clip the same space will be used for bag drops as last time (second floor so it will be a 'bag drop' when returned for riders!).  Last time they were all thrown in the back of a van in London and driven to Brampton.  Next step was to unload and transfer from van to upstairs bag room which from memory has outside stairs.  Easiest way was to get everyone available and form a human chain to transfer them upstairs into a big pile which can then be sorted into the sacks (great idea and improvement from last year where they were stacked in rows on the floor).  Carrying them up the stairs is far less efficient, hence the great use of human chains in all the great old film when loading/unloading 'stuff'.

Riders have no doubt been warned that bags will be stacked and anything breakable should be protected.

It was great to see the video of the preparations and memories of me helping at Brampton last time came streaming back and I wish I could be there helping this time.  Volunteering is great fun, if very tiring!

If I were a rider and had a bag at Brampton, I would be asking "can I have access on the way up and on the way down, or will be it a 'one shot access only' that might require a strategic decision when to access the bag?"

[LittleWheelsandBig]

My expectation is getting into the bags both ways at Louth and Brampton.