LEL 2022 Volunteers

[Graeme]

Yay! Debden for the start, and then a secret control later in the week.
 

Ooh! Exciting. Will you be wearing a disguise?

I was thinking of coming dressed like a Vicar. Lol.

[IanDG]

Yay! Debden for the start, and then a secret control later in the week.
 

Ooh! Exciting. Will you be wearing a disguise?

I was thinking of coming dressed like a Vicar. Lol.

LOL - think if I was riding and was woken by a vicar at Brampton (on the return) I'd probably think you were there to read me the last rites 

[Graeme]

Yay! Debden for the start, and then a secret control later in the week.
 

Ooh! Exciting. Will you be wearing a disguise?

I was thinking of coming dressed like a Vicar. Lol.

LOL - think if I was riding and was woken by a vicar at Brampton (on the return) I'd probably think you were there to read me the last rights 

Ha. I don't think Alwyn has included that on the list of volunteer duties. But remembering what everyone looked like southbound I would be tempted to say last rites just in case.

[Graeme]

I'm so excited about volunteering again. The chance to be at Debden without having to ride 1500km but see so many friends is going to be amazing. Then to be able to also support riders at a secret control is doing to be a real honour too. And I've learnt (from experience) that conversation is less important than:

food/stamp/toilet/go!

[IanDG]

I'm so excited about volunteering again. The chance to be at Debden without having to ride 1500km but see so many friends is going to be amazing. Then to be able to also support riders at a secret control is doing to be a real honour too. And I've learnt (from experience) that conversation is less important than:

food/stamp/toilet/go!

Agree, it's not just about the old friends you meet - but also the new friends you gain - makes volunteering special

[mzjo]

Is there any sort of volunteer sleeping facility for the pre-start formalities? I'd like to help if I can be useful (before going to a control for the event) but I'm not local and commuting fromthe family in Oxford might be prohibitive (cost and timewise). Or are pre-start volunteers necessarily local?

Sleep? As a volunteer? Sorry, I think you need to be a rider if you want sleep.
 
(I'm thinking of camping at Debden to get a mix of both sides of planet Audax.)

Hey, I'm an old man and francowhotsit; apéros midi (that's 11am your time) lunch, siesta, apéros, diner, digestive, snooze and pee sometime about prostat o'clock! - whaaat, it's not like that???
I'm really pretty good on the late night/early morning stuff and not eating regularly at lunchtime will probably convince the body that it's not yet time for the siesta!
I'll probably camp if it's not too much hassle going intercontinental with the camping gear, otherwise YH.

[mmmmartin]

Last time volunteers could put up a tent in the school grounds. The volunteer camping is a looong way away from all the noise of the start, etc. It's good

So ... I out up my tent. Spent the first night sleeping on the floor of the school to let the caterers in at 5am. Spent the second night sleeping next to the drop bags to ensure security. The third night i was in moffat on the floor of the school hall after a train journey, then memory goes a bit faded: eskdalemuir for either one night or two, then on the train back to London to help with the finish. There was a night sleeping in my car at some point. Not exactly sure.

It was fabulous. I think i had some sleep on the train.

At eskdalemuir i had the privilege of removing the shoes of the son of Adrian Hands. Yes, that Adrian Hands.

Afterwards i didn't do much for about a week.

[joy of essex]

Just volunteered for Debden.

[Wycombewheeler]

At eskdalemuir i had the privilege of removing the shoes of the son of Adrian Hands. Yes, that Adrian Hands.

Afterwards i didn't do much for about a week.

were that that bad?

[Ajax Bay]

I'm so excited about volunteering again. The chance to be at Debden without having to ride 1500km but see so many friends is going to be amazing.

Graeme - I think we shared the A road out of Louth one August dawn, with some smoking fixed rider who had to stop for paperwork (as I did) at Horncastle.

[alwyn]

Is there any sort of volunteer sleeping facility for the pre-start formalities? I'd like to help if I can be useful (before going to a control for the event) but I'm not local and commuting fromthe family in Oxford might be prohibitive (cost and timewise). Or are pre-start volunteers necessarily local?

If you have a tent, you are welcome to pitch it on the school field with the rest of us. We can loan you an airbed and I usually buy a load of duvets and pillows so there's a least a lick of civility to proceedings. We may even be able to give you a spot in one of our tents but cannot guarantee that yet.

[Graeme]

I'm so excited about volunteering again. The chance to be at Debden without having to ride 1500km but see so many friends is going to be amazing.

Graeme - I think we shared the A road out of Louth one August dawn, with some smoking fixed rider who had to stop for paperwork (as I did) at Horncastle.

That'll be Deano of this place. What a fabulous route out of Louth that was, gently undulating downhill - one if the highlights of the southern half of the route. That was a genius find.

[mzjo]

Is there any sort of volunteer sleeping facility for the pre-start formalities? I'd like to help if I can be useful (before going to a control for the event) but I'm not local and commuting fromthe family in Oxford might be prohibitive (cost and timewise). Or are pre-start volunteers necessarily local?

If you have a tent, you are welcome to pitch it on the school field with the rest of us. We can loan you an airbed and I usually buy a load of duvets and pillows so there's a least a lick of civility to proceedings. We may even be able to give you a spot in one of our tents but cannot guarantee that yet.

Thank you very much, I will do my best to organise a tent - my daughter in Oxford might have one I can borrow or, if necessary, bring mine over the Channel. I wouldn't share with someone, my snoring might give them murderous intents!

[redfalo]

Folks, your support is amazing! 

just fyi - we are still recruiting more volunteers. https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=122290.0

  Hi,

I'm the volunteers' coordinator of London-Edinburg-London 2022, a long-distance cycling event that will take place from Aug 6 to Aug 12 this year.

[Yes, I know: there is a whole sub-forum dedicated to this https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?board=84.0, thank you very much. I want to reach people who have not yet gone down the rabbit hole of Audaxing  , but those who are just sane and normal cyclists].

LEL is a non-profit ride organised by Audax UK, and some 2000 rider from all across the world will try to ride 932 miles from England's capital to Scotland's and back. (My own take after riding it in 2017, and a comparison to PBP, can be found here: https://cycling-intelligence.com/2017/08/27/lel-and-pbp-how-does-it-compare/)

We have 13 control in between (start & finish in Debden, St. Ives/Camebridgeshire, Spalding, Louth, Hessle, Malton, Barnard Castle, Brampton, Moffart, Dunfermline, Innerleithen, Eskaldemuir and Great Easton) where the riders will get their brevet cards stamped, get food and drinks and can sleep and shower.

We need some 1000 volunteers to turn this into a successful event.

While we already have close to 700 registered - many also from outside the UK - we still need many more. This will be a great opportunity to be part of one of Britain's most iconic cycling events, and get in touch with riders and volunteers from all over the world and marvel at their machines and their madness.

Many volunteers are experienced long-distance cyclists who want to give something back to the community, others are relatives of riders, some are cyclists who want to get a first impression about long-distance cycling.... Whatever your motivation: Every hand is welcome, be it for one afternoon or for the whole week.

Volunteers stamp brevet cards and check in riders, marshall at the controls, allocate beds and wake up riders, serve food and clean tables. We are also looking for drivers who can drive vans from the start to the controls and back to organise the backdrops and shuffle kit back and forth during the event, and for mechanics who repair bikes at the controls.

We still need volunteers at every control but the biggest needs are in the remote and densely populated areas in Scotland. We offer accommodation (potentially in a shared place, but separate from rides) to volunteers as well as hot food. We can help with the logistics with regard to getting to the controls from the start, and reimburse fuel costs for volunteers who drive to the control.

Any questions? Drop me an email at volunteer@londonedinburghlondon.com

Or, even better,  just register here straight: https://londonedinburghlondon.com/volunteer

cheers
Olaf
 

[redfalo]

Apologies if this has been asked before.  LEL is way beyond my capabilities however I would be happy to help as a volunteer.  Is there a central contact or website where I could leave my details?  Or do I just check the route and controls and get in touch?

yes, that's me! [the central contact, not the website] please send any questions to volunteer@londonedinburghlondon.com [ideally no messages here or FB, as the various platforms drive me crazy]

Website to volunteer registration here: https://londonedinburghlondon.com/volunteer

Cheers Olaf

[coops456]

I'll be back at Great Easton... planning to pace myself better to avoid middle-of-the-night sense of humour failure 

[Mr Larrington]

I'm at Brampton this time.  Steadily getting further from Larrington Towers

[MikeFromLFE]

And I'll be at Spalding

[arabella]

Do we know who the chief controllers (& cooks  ) are?  I'm sure in 2013 there was a nice list.  Though it's probably not strictly relevant.
(Currently pondering how far I want to ride to/from wherever, going away from E Anglia.)

[alwyn]

Do we know who the chief controllers (& cooks  ) are?  I'm sure in 2013 there was a nice list.  Though it's probably not strictly relevant.
(Currently pondering how far I want to ride to/from wherever, going away from E Anglia.)

Cooking is all contracted out now to the schools or freelancers. I don't think we have any self-cooking controls this time. But I do have a couple of controls to fill, so if anyone is a mass caterer by trade and fancies a paid gig then please get in touch.

[Socks]

I'm at Brampton this time.  Steadily getting further from Larrington Towers

I'm also at Brampton, my first time as an LEL volunteer.

[Lightning Phil]

I think, based on what I’ve heard in passing, these are some of the controllers.

Loughton - Tim Decker
Hessle - Rachel Thompson (Thirsk last time)
Barnard Castle - Peter Davies (same as last time)
Moffat - Grant (The guy who did the test ride that I read about in a blog)
Innerleithen - I’m guessing at June James (same as last time)

[IanDG]

I think, based on what I’ve heard in passing, these are some of the controllers.

Loughton - Tim Decker
Hessle - Rachel Thompson (Thirsk last time)
Barnard Castle - Peter Davies (same as last time)
Moffat - Grant (The guy who did the test ride that I read about in a blog)
Innerleithen - I’m guessing at June James (same as last time)

I'm controller at Brampton with Chris (I think, but he may be looking after Alston)

I'm looking after Alston, Chris is looking after Brampton

[Kangaroocourt]

I withdrew from the ride this week, finally accepting that I won't be sufficiently recovered from LeJog, so have signed up to volunteer.  Really looking forward to it

[dod]

I'm the controller at St Ives, completing the set of volunteer then rider now controller.