[LEL17] Weather

[Peter]

I've no experience of riding beyond 600k though, as a NORTHERNER, I have plenty of hours riding in the rain.  Looking at the forecast for the next few days, I'm wondering if any one will consider abandoning their spreadsheets.  I wonder if it might be an idea to ride as far as you can on the first day, if it is dry and then use some of the wet weather for sleep time, considering that (in my opinion) there is no way anyone is going to be dry, after about an hour in the weather we are having in Manchester at the moment.  All talk of rain jackets and shoecovers is wishful thinking.  Take lots of socks and gloves - a glove change is a great boost.

Good luck, everyone - see you at Eskdalemuir.

Peter

[Delph Cyclist]

I've no experience of riding beyond 600k though, as a NORTHERNER, I have plenty of hours riding in the rain.  Looking at the forecast for the next few days, I'm wondering if any one will consider abandoning their spreadsheets.  I wonder if it might be an idea to ride as far as you can on the first day, if it is dry and then use some of the wet weather for sleep time, considering that (in my opinion) there is no way anyone is going to be dry, after about an hour in the weather we are having in Manchester at the moment.  All talk of rain jackets and shoecovers is wishful thinking.  Take lots of socks and gloves - a glove change is a great boost.

Good luck, everyone - see you at Eskdalemuir.

Peter

What?  You're going to be in Eskdalemuir, holder of the UK weather record for highest rainfall in a 30 minute period?

[Peter]

Records are made to be broken (especially when they are by Wet Wet Wet).

[CrazyEnglishTriathlete]

I've been keeping an eye on the wind forecast as that's the biggest determinant on when people are likely to get back (and more importantly for me when I have to feed them in sunny St Ives at c1300km).  Its remarkable consistent from the SW and moderate most of the time but getting stronger during the afternoon. That means cross/tail on the way up and cross/head on the way back.  So you might expect to get a little further than you hoped in the first half but remember that you will need that time in hand on the way back.

[pondlife]

What?  You're going to be in Eskdalemuir, holder of the UK weather record for highest rainfall in a 30 minute period?

was that the tuesday evening in 2009? 

[Peter]

I think so - even Don Black abandoned

[Delph Cyclist]

What?  You're going to be in Eskdalemuir, holder of the UK weather record for highest rainfall in a 30 minute period?

was that the tuesday evening in 2009? 

No.  According to Wikipedia (so it must be true):  "Eskdalemuir holds the UK Weather Record for the highest rainfall in a 30-minute period: 80mm, recorded on 26 June 1953"

Good job we didn't run LEL then.

[Martin]

Best not to hit the Spalding - St Ives section tomorrow pm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/2650023

[thesloth]

It was a tiny bit windy crossing The Fens yesterday:
https://youtu.be/xuVxZK-ZRrE

[T42]

Gor bugger.

[Flatlander]

Weather as a whole was fair. The outward trip was fast wuth a consistent headwind, the return was payback time. Generally on Wednesday it was a cross head wind  and so wasn't too bad where there were hedges for protection. Got my first drenching approaching castle Howard on the way back. Torrential rain with vivid rainbows and blue sky. Castle Howard looked magnificent. Rain restarted in earnest at St Ives an again from Great Eastern to the M25 . The wind was worst when the road out of Spalding goes to the top of the Welland bank.  Not made any better by my shoulders not having the strength to hold an aero tuck. Ended up with the  elbows on the handlebars, fine where the road was smooth and traffic light.

[αdαmsκι]

It was a tiny bit windy crossing The Fens yesterday:
https://youtu.be/xuVxZK-ZRrE

Horrific at the moment

https://twitter.com/Dr_AAY/status/893059614861905921

[LEE]

Ouch! 

Memories of my PBP 2015 Qualifier 600km.

One stretch was Humber Bridge to Boston into a horrid headwind.  I'd chosen that 600 so I didn't have to contend with Welsh Hills on the BCM600 again.

Give me hills any day.

[blueskies]

Go adamski, hope you make it back in time. Good to catch up on Saturday.

We certainly had weather, lots of it. I think we had rain and sunshine every day, but the main factor was / will be the wind. It was tough yesterday in the fens and suspect today is even worse. The wind eased last night but rained on and off throughout. What else? It was very cold Monday night in Scotland, 3degC in Innerleithen, but generally good conditions in the Pennine hills and the borders.

Great to catch up with friends old and new, thesloth, drmekon, veloboy etc. See you all again soon.

[αdαmsκι]

Go adamski, hope you make it back in time. Good to catch up on Saturday.

Done. Now home. And you?

[DrMekon]

It was a tiny bit windy crossing The Fens yesterday:
https://youtu.be/xuVxZK-ZRrE

Aero beard and wheelsucking is the way forwards.

[Pip]

The 8 mile stretch from Spalding to Crowland was the hardest ride I have ever done.

The road from Crowland to Ramsey was harder still.

You can deal with the rain and the cold (of which we had plenty), but it's more difficult in such a fearsome, unrelenting headwind.

[T42]

Ouch! 

Memories of my PBP 2015 Qualifier 600km.

One stretch was Humber Bridge to Boston into a horrid headwind.  I'd chosen that 600 so I didn't have to contend with Welsh Hills on the BCM600 again.

Give me hills any day.

Thanks for the memory. On my 2011 600k I had six thunderstorms, hammering rain and 75 kph headwinds, and DNF'd with industrial-strength diarrhoea at around 400k.

Audaxing is such fun!

[hellymedic]

Does anyone have any records of the weather at various points of LEL?

Someone posted on Facebook that the weather on this year's was extreme.

I am of the belief that 2009 was wetter at Eskdalemuir, 2013 was hotter at the later southern stages but this year might have been windier on the fens.

But

Does anyone have any hard data?

[Terry2wheelz]

I've no hard data, but the head-winds across the fens weren't !  they were GALES & I'd agree with previous postings that it was indeed horrific at times. I'm a hefty 95kilo rider & I struggled to keep the bike upright & on the road a few times after wagons passed too close -  lord only knows how riders with less bulk & frame fitting luggage went on?    Also the rain between Moffat & Edinburgh was as wet & torrential as I've ever ridden in, during my 50 years on this planet.  Also once leaving Edinburgh I had a head or crosswind to contend
with all way home into Loughton...  But as many a hardened & seasoned rider will dryly tell you " There's always the weather to contend with" 
For me 2017 was wetter & windier than 2013 for sure  - but the event wasn't any of the worse for it.
Terry from Bury.

[toontra]

I was also wondering how those who rode this time and in 2009 would compare the weather conditions of the 2?  There were flooded roads, gale-force winds, hail, etc and a pretty high DNF rate then also.

It's a pity that the height of British summer seems to pile on such shitty weather on top of what is already a difficult endeavour so regularly!

[wajcgac]

For LEL 2013 my only memories of the weather were

1) a good tailwind on the first day.

2) getting a good soaking (but the rain felt warm so not really unpleasant) southbound between Thirsk and Pocklington (Wed evening) before it gradually drying up on the way to the Humber bridge.

3) This was followed by a slight disbelief when reaching Market Rasen that there was a heat wave (30C) on the way for the next day (Thursday) and there would be a strong headwind to contend with. A combination that to be honest I'd been dreading - I'm quite light and let's face it no UK based rider is accustomed to that heat

This turned out to be true and it was indeed a tough day heading south - made easier though by being in a group of 4 all with similar ability and able to share the workload on the front.

Other than that I'd describe the weather for LEL 2013 as pretty benign.

I didn't ride this years event but one of those who I rode with in 2013 did so again this year. He has described the weather conditions as tougher this year than 2013

So out of interest I had a look at the data for Thurs 2013 and Thurs 2017 in the Spalding area (actually data from Holbeach) for a comparison.

Spalding area 2013

Spalding area 2017

The wind speed data towards the bottom of each page suggests that while that day in 2013 was tough, the corresponding day in 2017 was in another league of difficulty.

From what I can gather there was more wind and rain around for the other days as well.

[mattc]

Does anyone have access to one of those neat Weather-Hindsight-Bagel things for the whole route? That would resolve much of this

I rode in 2009. I wasn't out there (man) in 2017 - I never made it north of St Ives. From the many reports I'm seeing, I'd say:
- 2009 was wetter - much wetter overall
- the last 2 days were pretty benign in '09
- 2017 had consistent wind most of the way south, whilst;
- 2009 had an official near-Tornado in the Scottish section, which verged on dangerous in the high ground
- ... and the flooding was defintely dangerous for those few on the road at the wrong time.

2013 sounds like the best of the recent 3 editions.[I was at Pock all week.]

oh and tailwinds north, headwinds south seem a fairly consistent pattern. Not very surprising in the UK. There is one simple solution:

The ELE!

[Exit Stage Left]

The weather was very variable. Yad Moss was particularly fickle. I went up to see Drew Buck at the ski-club car park at about 9pm on Tuesday, and it was relatively warm, with low wind speeds. We slept in Alston, and filmed on Wednesday morning, when it was relatively fine, with increasing wind.

I had to go back to Brampton, and came back to Yad Moss about 1.30 pm. It was wet up to the Durham border, but into Teesdale it was the worst I'd seen it. There was mist down to Langdon Beck, it was lashing down with rain, and extremely windy. I arrived at Barnard Castle wanting to leave the motorbike there. and carry on in Dave's car. That was the worst weather on the ride, and more riders would have packed there, but for the quality of the control.

[JimN]

I did a Thorne-Edinburgh-Thorne (800k, anybody old enough to remember?) and recall all the recumbents sailing past in the headwinds, usually with a cheery wave when we were all dead in the saddles - they seemed effortless. It was an experience I will never, ever, forget, and about six years ago I took the plunge. My first, second-hand, Trice, generally wore out and was replaced by a brand new one which is now beginning to show signs of mileage as I do pretty long distances. Perhaps slower, but huge fun and incredibly relaxing. Two years ago I bought a Fujin (low-racer recumbent bike) with the anticipation of trying the LEL, but chickened (??too old at 64, beginning to regret that decision now!) and supported at BC instead. I would be fascinated by stats of DNF's vs wind conditions as they related to recumbents -has anybody ever done this? Are these statistics potentially available?