Author Topic: LEJOG: 03-08 JULY 2022  (Read 88234 times)

Wycombewheeler

  • PBP-2019 LEL-2022
Re: LEJOG: 18-23 JULY 2021
« Reply #300 on: 15 June, 2021, 05:20:10 pm »
??? LOCKDOWN Extension till 19th July  ???
Take it easy through Cornwall and arrive at the first overnight control after 00:01  19/07/2021
 ;D
In fairness not many will be able to do this in less than 15 hours anyway.

Eddington  127miles, 170km

Andy Corless

  • Doesn't take the p***, says it as it is!
Re: LEJOG: 18-23 JULY 2021
« Reply #301 on: 16 June, 2021, 12:00:21 pm »
According to a post by the AUK Secretary published on the AUK Forum, the limit of 300 km was only set because there were no 400 km+ events published in the calendar at the time that the decision was made limiting the validation of events up to 300 km. AUK have given the green light for the LEJOG 1400 to run but there might be problems with the sleeping arrangements. The big concern for me here is the geography of the LEJOG. The route would pass through Wales and Scotland (as well as England of course) and the Scottish government seem reluctant to ease their lockdown to level 0 on 28 June as planned and their relaxation of restrictions is likely to be delayed until late July.

Being totally honest, I'd be reluctant to run any 'night' events before 19 July. If there were any Covid-19 outbreaks at any of the control facilities shortly afterwards the blame would fall squarely on us and possibly damage reputations. I'll be emailing all the 2021 entrants this coming week to gather their thoughts and see if they're all willing to proceed. Many have already requested a transfer to 2022. It's still being discussed at this end.

Kind regards,

Andy Corless
Organiser
LEJOG 1400 AUDAX

Re: LEJOG: 18-23 JULY 2021
« Reply #302 on: 16 June, 2021, 06:15:21 pm »
Thanks Andy. I’ve been looking forward to the journey and don’t want to defer, but I appreciate the challenges so I’m happy to book private accommodation and carry my own kit etc if you are happy for me / others to use the route?

Re: LEJOG: 18-23 JULY 2021
« Reply #303 on: 16 June, 2021, 08:37:14 pm »
Hi Andy, I'm sure Steve Scott and myself would also do the journey on own booked accommodation if it made it work for you. Alan Steele

Andy Corless

  • Doesn't take the p***, says it as it is!
Re: LEJOG: 18-23 JULY 2021
« Reply #304 on: 16 June, 2021, 11:42:52 pm »
The event has been given the green light to run but I'm a bit sceptical. The infection rates are rising again in the UK and Scotland is expected to announce a further delay to its lifting of restrictions. It's being discussed behind the scenes at the moment but the bunk bed accommodation is a huge problem. If it runs, it'll likely run as an X-rated event. We all want the LEJOG to run in its planned format, but we also have to deal with what's in front of us. Neither do we want to fully commit to running it and have to pull the plug at the last minute because we go back into lockdown which I wouldn't rule out at the moment. Nevertheless, everyone is being offered a transfer to 2022.

I'll be emailing all the 2021 entrants later this week.

Andy Corless

Wycombewheeler

  • PBP-2019 LEL-2022
Re: LEJOG: 18-23 JULY 2021
« Reply #305 on: 22 June, 2021, 02:17:17 pm »
Rumours are that Scotland will delay opening by 3 weeks,  of course, these are not confirmed and there is still a risk they could be delayed again either in England or Scotland.

I'd be interested to ride x rated if it runs on that basis. If it diesn't run, I'll probably look at riding it as a 7x 200km ride.

Eddington  127miles, 170km

Andy Corless

  • Doesn't take the p***, says it as it is!
Re: LEJOG: 18-23 JULY 2021
« Reply #306 on: 23 June, 2021, 12:13:23 am »
AUK have given all events the green light but judging by the current circumstances if the LEJOG AUDAX runs this year it'll now have to run as an X-rated basic event with no overnight controls because some of the controls can no longer accommodate us anyway due to the Pandemic. Many of the volunteers are understandably reluctant to attend as no one wants to social distance wearing a face mask for 2-3 days!

Scotland's current restrictions would limit the field to 50 riders however, these restrictions are due to be relaxed on 19 July. LEJOG wouldn't arrive there before 20 July so there's room for manoeuvre here but this could be extended or even tightened at anytime and what we don't want of course is to have to cull the ride halfway through.

The spread of the Delta variant in North West England is also a major concern. Visitors to Manchester and Salford are not eligible to travel to Scotland and this travel ban could be extended to Lancashire at anytime.

Nightmare at the moment but I'm confident that things will improve later this year and optimistic that next year's edition, set for 03-08 July 2022, will be a full value event and be a success.

All the 2021 entrants will be receiving emails later this week. Those that preferred to transfer over to next year (which I'm certain will go ahead as planned) will also be receiving confirmation emails.

As an aside, I'm as confident that the next event I'm organizing after LEJOG, Inverness 1200, set for 11-15 September will also be a success. Scotland plan to remove all restrictions around 09 August 2021.

Andy Corless
Organiser
LEJOG 1400 AUDAX

Wycombewheeler

  • PBP-2019 LEL-2022
Re: LEJOG: 18-23 JULY 2021
« Reply #307 on: 23 June, 2021, 10:46:08 am »


The spread of the Delta variant in North West England is also a major concern. Visitors to Manchester and Salford are not eligible to travel to Scotland and this travel ban could be extended to Lancashire at anytime.


The rate in Warrington is not far below Manchester and rising quickly.  I think there is a very real risk that by mid July the affected area will present a significant barrier to the route.  If any control locations fall under the same restrictions as Manchester then the ride could not go ahead with auk knowing that riders will have to stop in areas which would result in them not being allowed to enter Scotland.


Eddington  127miles, 170km

Re: LEJOG: 18-23 JULY 2021
« Reply #308 on: 24 June, 2021, 11:14:08 pm »
It is inconceivable that a citizen travelling through Merseyside/Manchester conurbation will thus be 'prohibited' in law or in practice from travelling into the Scotland.
Maybe 60% of the M6 to M74 traffic will have passed through Manchester (J23-J27).
Cyclists en route are not 'visitors to Manchester and Salford'.
The sleep stop control was to be Warrington.
There is a McD's and a 24 hour Shell garage on the road a mile north of Warrington (on A49).
This is outside Greater Manchester: https://tfgm.com/public-transport/maps/greater-manchester-bus-boundary-map
The route I've shared:
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/31764424?beta=false
avoids Greater Manchester, straying into its edge for a mile between Billinge and Orrell.
Maybe merit in riders NOT booking somewhere to stop within city limits.
Several Travelodge options including one in central Warrington (<£30) and for £32:
https://www.travelodge.co.uk/hotels/135/Haydock-St-Helens-hotel?checkIn=19%2F07%2F21&checkOut=20%2F07%2F21&rooms%5B0%5D%5Badults%5D=1&rooms%5B0%5D%5Bchildren%5D=0
The next control was (once upon a time) shared as Carnforth.
ETA: I've also cut out the 4km excursion to Sandford (Churchill) Activity Centre (was to be end of Day 1 stop/bed offer) on the RwGPS route: there is a 24 hr service station on the A38 (col) above Winscombe as the control option.

Wycombewheeler

  • PBP-2019 LEL-2022
Re: LEJOG: 18-23 JULY 2021
« Reply #309 on: 25 June, 2021, 11:51:58 am »
It is inconceivable that a citizen travelling through Merseyside/Manchester conurbation will thus be 'prohibited' in law or in practice from travelling into the Scotland.
Maybe 60% of the M6 to M74 traffic will have passed through Manchester (J23-J27).
Cyclists en route are not 'visitors to Manchester and Salford'.


Agreed greater Manchester is not a problem,  but the trend in surrounding areas such as Lancashire and Warrington is upwards,  the risk is that at any time in the next two weeks the restrictions on Manchester could be applied to other areas.

Passing through non stop is not being a visitor,  this is established. But overnight stops would be and I'm not sure if having lunch in a pub or restaurant would count.

Eddington  127miles, 170km

Andy Corless

  • Doesn't take the p***, says it as it is!
Re: LEJOG: 18-23 JULY 2021
« Reply #310 on: 26 June, 2021, 10:47:10 pm »
This is a major concern at this end. The spread of the Delta variant in northwest England is also giving us all greater concern. If the LEJOG AUDAX was due to start tomorrow it would probably have gone ahead as planned; but our observations at this end are is that restrictions are likely to extend/tighten over the next 2-3 weeks and areas such as Lancashire and Cumbria could have strict restrictions implemented at anytime and it's the view of the organiser's that the negatives of having to cancel the LEJOG part way through seem greater than postponing the event again for another year. Restrictions in Scotland would also limit the field to just 50 riders.

The UK has recorded the highest number of COVID-19 cases today since February so it's not a good sign. My club advisors are also concerned that if any of the overnight controls recorded a Covid-19 outbreak shortly after we passed through the blame for the spread would fall squarely on us, or probably AUDAX for sanctioning the event.

However, there's always a "however", I'm confident that we'll have a LEJOG AUDAX at some point.

I'm about to send out a group email to all those on the 2021 LEJOG start list advising of the options.

Nightmare situation.

Andy Corless
Organiser
LEJOG AUDAX

Re: LEJOG: 18-23 JULY 2021
« Reply #311 on: 27 June, 2021, 10:43:40 pm »
This is a major concern at this end.
. . . .
 My club advisors are also concerned that if any of the overnight controls recorded a Covid-19 outbreak shortly after we passed through the blame for the spread would fall squarely on us, or probably AUDAX for sanctioning the event.
Andy Corless
Organiser
LEJOG AUDAX
Were you still planning to arrange 'overnight controls' Andy? Thought you had changed it to be 'X rated'.
I hope Ironman UK at Bolton next Sunday manages to run. Over 1000 athletes are entered.

Re: LEJOG: 18-23 JULY 2021
« Reply #312 on: 04 July, 2021, 12:46:01 pm »
I'm happy for my entry to be put against 2022 please
Thank You

Re: LEJOG: 03-08 JULY 2022
« Reply #313 on: 27 July, 2021, 09:23:06 pm »
Did this ride actually happen?
Bill Watts

Andy Corless

  • Doesn't take the p***, says it as it is!
Re: LEJOG: 03-08 JULY 2022
« Reply #314 on: 28 July, 2021, 11:24:18 pm »
No, not in AUDAX terms anyway. It was sensibly called off due to the rising Covid cases in places along the route. Restrictions in Scotland would have limited the field size to 50 riders anyway. A few of the entrants did ride the route on their own accord

Looking ahead, which is about the only thing that we can do at the moment, we're already preparing for the 2022 edition and planning for 500 riders.

If you plan to travel over to the UK from abroad I'd advise you to get your Covid vaccination jabs up to date before booking. The US apparently doesn't recognize the Oxford AstraZeneca/Pfizer vaccine. I don't know if it's the same vice versa.

I've been out of it this last week with only limited email access so if you've emailed this last week you'll be getting a reply soon.

We've already updated the LEJOG event website with next year's details (see link below).

Looking forward to seeing you on 03 July next year ....

Andy Corless
Organiser
LEJOG 1400 AUDAX

https://lejog1400audax.com/


Re: LEJOG: 03-08 JULY 2022
« Reply #315 on: 29 July, 2021, 06:42:42 pm »
Thanks, Andy.  I will be coming from the States, and had already delayed my participation to 2022.  I was just curious about whether this had come off for UK participatns, and I am grateful for your response.

Bill Watts
Bill Watts

Re: LEJOG: 03-08 JULY 2022
« Reply #316 on: 23 August, 2021, 08:31:18 pm »
Hello Andy, I've just entered.  Thanks for putting on such an iconic route as an event  :thumbsup:

Re: LEJOG: 03-08 JULY 2022
« Reply #317 on: 14 September, 2021, 11:00:53 am »
Hi Andy,

I signed up for the event next year on 12 August but have not received a confirmation email? I have however got the one from PayPal.

Out of curiosity, how many people is the event open to/what numbers usually do it? Also, do bunches form during the event or does everyone usually just stick to themselves and ride their own routes + pace solo?

Cheers,

Marek

Wycombewheeler

  • PBP-2019 LEL-2022
Re: LEJOG: 03-08 JULY 2022
« Reply #318 on: 14 September, 2021, 05:21:46 pm »
Hi Andy,

I signed up for the event next year on 12 August but have not received a confirmation email? I have however got the one from PayPal.

Out of curiosity, how many people is the event open to/what numbers usually do it? Also, do bunches form during the event or does everyone usually just stick to themselves and ride their own routes + pace solo?

Cheers,

Marek
Post upthread says there are 500 places, so I would expect plenty of groups to form on the road.

Eddington  127miles, 170km

Re: LEJOG: 03-08 JULY 2022
« Reply #319 on: 14 September, 2021, 08:25:22 pm »
Hi Andy,

I signed up for the event next year on 12 August but have not received a confirmation email? I have however got the one from PayPal.

Out of curiosity, how many people is the event open to/what numbers usually do it? Also, do bunches form during the event or does everyone usually just stick to themselves and ride their own routes + pace solo?

Cheers,

Marek

The event hasn’t run before. That latter point has no answer.

Andy Corless

  • Doesn't take the p***, says it as it is!
Re: LEJOG: 03-08 JULY 2022
« Reply #320 on: 15 September, 2021, 02:55:49 am »
Hi Andy,

I signed up for the event next year on 12 August but have not received a confirmation email? I have however got the one from PayPal.


Checking the records there was only 1 entry on that date and the entrant was sent a confirmation email the following day at 12:04 pm. I've sent you another one just in case.

Look forward to seeing you then.

Andy Corless
Organiser
LEJOG 1400 AUDAX

Re: LEJOG: 03-08 JULY 2022
« Reply #321 on: 15 September, 2021, 11:54:56 am »
Thanks Andy, got it now :)

This will be my first Audax, so glad to hear that groups will likely form!

Looking forward to it

Re: LEJOG: 03-08 JULY 2022
« Reply #322 on: 15 September, 2021, 01:09:36 pm »
Oh, this is getting tempting...  I am weighing up a few possible long rides next year (will only do one :))

Andy I don't want to be a pain so really just asking, do you think any manned controls are likely to have gluten-fee options?   With bag drops it's not impossible for me to put dehydrated meals in as a backup & obviously there are commercial options,

Cheers,

Wycombewheeler

  • PBP-2019 LEL-2022
Re: LEJOG: 03-08 JULY 2022
« Reply #323 on: 15 September, 2021, 01:43:55 pm »
Thanks Andy, got it now :)

This will be my first Audax, so glad to hear that groups will likely form!

Looking forward to it
This is to a certain degree speculation on my part,  but I evermore completed a 1000km brevet with only 12 riders and of the 15 stages I think I ride 5 with compensation and could have had company on at least 3 more of us been prepared to wait.

More riders means more chance of people riding at your speed. Nothing is guaranteed. Best bet if you want company is to ride with a group you are not flat out to keep up with.

Eddington  127miles, 170km

Andy Corless

  • Doesn't take the p***, says it as it is!
Re: LEJOG: 03-08 JULY 2022
« Reply #324 on: 21 October, 2021, 11:08:06 pm »
"Andy I don't want to be a pain so really just asking, do you think any manned controls are likely to have gluten-fee options?   With bag drops it's not impossible for me to put dehydrated meals in as a backup & obviously there are commercial options,"

Not being a pain at all. So sorry for not responding earlier but I'm playing catch up at this end after a rather hectic last few weeks. The answer is very probably. There'll be a wide selection of food options available at each of the overnight controls.

More in the next update, due early December.

Andy Corless
Organiser
LEJOG AUDAX