The supporter/volunteer interface was fairly fluid. There were volunteers at Loughton who went on to follow riders. Some volunteered at other controls. I saw Shab waiting for Hamid and working at Barnard Castle.
Cindy Tyrer was supporting her mother Vicki at various controls, and I had an interesting conversation about Texan attitudes to Trump. Vicki told me that she'd been support crew for Chris Hopkinson on a race in Texas, so relationships extend beyond Audax.
There were many riders from outside the AUK world, and they do things differently. I've ridden PBP with support from Heather Swift, as filming is difficult without someone to manage batteries, and Heather likes to be involved. She also likes to see how controls are arranged on PBP, for ideas at Brampton.
The supporters might be able to give insights into organisational aspects of LEL. The riders and volunteers are fully absorbed by the demands of the ride, while many supporters have seen how other rides are run. Characterising them as a nuisance, just helping there riders cheat, seems to be counter-productive to me.
One rider, Zoe from Bulgaria, packed at Barnard Castle, turned up as cheerleader in Cambridge, volunteered at Great Easton, and was at at Loughton to greet her friend Tsevan.