[LEL17] Is LEL easier than PBP?

[vorsprung]

to finally settle this IMPORTANT issue once and for all

[L CC]

Which n idiots have said PBP is easier?

I got a chest infection. It was way more difficult. And, Formule 1 are not as nice as Travelodges. Way more difficult.



EDIT: I just remembered. My Dad wasn't there on PBP- so much more difficult!

[Ben T]

Pbp's gotta be way easier purely cos there's 5 times the number of people to draft.

[LMT]

I have not done LEL - only PBP. But I'm going to take a punt and say that PBP is more difficult. With the exception of about 10km of road out from Dreux you are constantly on a gradient on PBP, whether it be rolling hills or false flats. At least with LEL you can build up a lot of time in the first 400km, headwinds permitting of course going through the flatlands.

[Bunker22]

I just looked at my penguin map of the world. PBP is straight across and back. LEL you have to go up to get to Scotland. So must be harder. Maps don't lie.

[LMT]

Is this not cancelled out though by gravity pulling you back to London when you are heading south?

[red marley]

The difference the weather can make to the difficulty of the ride far, far outweighs the difference between those two rides.

In fact I'd go as far to say this applies to almost any ride of 300km or more. The toughest rides I've ever done were a 300 and a 600 due to the extreme wind and rain. The third toughest was PBP in 2007. Oh and joint third toughest, LEL 2009 due to riding over Yad Moss in biblical conditions.

[L.Lagopus]

I did LEL in 2013 and PBP in 2015, and I found LEL to be quite a bit easier for several reasons. LEL has a slower required pace, which let me sleep quite a bit more. The late evening start and riding straight through the night on the first night of PBP really took a toll on me. I was really sleepy by mid-morning, and never quite got back on my game. And the fact that almost everybody on LEL spoke English (I don't speak French) really made a difference to me. Several times during PBP I found myself on a long slog through the middle of the night looking for some pleasant conversation to pass the time, and I just couldn't find anybody who I could chat with. The opposite problem--of finding people who jabber on too much--is easily solved by speeding up or slowing down for a bit.   

[Exit Stage Left]

I  think there's more value in judgements made during the events. One opinion from LEL 2009 at the Washingborough control on the return.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkO7q8Kx2CY

Six years later I was still seeking comparisons, and my French was still no better.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwiIQAkW-kI

[jsabine]

I finished PBP last year but was hors delai on LEL 2013. This may have been due to a combination of inexperience and incompetence, but you're welcome to treat it as anecdata.

[Greenbank]

Hard to say.

PBP felt more relentless than LEL; undulating terrain, harsher timelimits, unfamiliar roads, language barrier, etc.

However my preparation for each was completely different:
* LEL was part of a 50 point season
* PBP I managed a bare SR for qualification (with just a 400 the season before) and was 10kg heavier

Subjectively it's too close to call and objectively I don't have good enough data for either.

[Somnolent]

Was LEL easier than PBP?
Yes (for me)

PBP is made harder by
the afternoon starts
the controls

In 2013 LEL controls were uniformly well organised, and with one exception served plenty of good, appropriate food quickly.
- even if you were 'in the bulge'.
2015 PBP many controls were badly laid out & hopelessly disorgansed leading to queues and other wasted time for riders, and with one exception the food on offer was very disappointing. 

[mattc]

I have not done LEL - only PBP. But

I hope this doesn't become a theme on this thread.

[αdαmsκι]

I found LEL easier.  This is probably because before I did LEL I had a good idea of what was in store having previously ridden a large chunk of the route and the roads that were new weren't unexpected. I also had a great time chatting to friends, family and acquaintances at all the controls.

PBP was all new to me, and there was a lot more undulations than expected, esp. the first few hundred km where it was impossible to stay within groups because I was get dropped on every descent. I also carried more on PBP because there wasn't the option of bag drops, unlike LEL.

[vorsprung]

I have not done LEL - only PBP. But

I hope this doesn't become a theme on this thread.

I think LMT is "special" so probably it won't

[Phil W]

PBP 2015 against LEL2013 was an easier ride for me. Despite the control layouts and queues. That just meant I ended up eating outside of controls and that was dead easy as there was so much on offer. No digestive or physical issues and only one attack of the dozies.  The terrain was tame just gentle rollers,  the roads smooth and fast, even faster given the pelotons that formed throughout the four days.  Other than the heat no weather you needed to even think twice about riding in. Fitness wise I was less fit for PBP 2015.

[rob]

Both rides are quite different.   Pros and cons depending on your preference.

I'd be hard pressed to opine on which is 'easier'.   

[Phil W]

Subtle point but the question isn't "which is easier" it's "which was easier?".  So it based on your rides to date on LEL and PBP not what you'd consider objectively harder under a set of straw man conditions.

[Redlight]

Oh well, in that case, I'd say that overall my LEL in 09 was easier than any of my 3 PBPs but the hard parts of LEL - principally the overnight section from Edinburgh to Eskdalemuir in the biblical weather referred to by Jo - was harder than anything experienced at any point on a PBP.  I found some of the climbs tougher than the ones on PBP, because there aren't really any tough climbs on PBP, but there was a better variety of terrain, including some long, gentle or rolling stretches, so time and energy lost on the challenging bits could be recovered elsewhere.

[rob]

Ok.   I found the last 2 PBPs and the last LEL easier than my first 3 PBPs and the 09 LEL.

This was primarily down to better weather conditions and the fact that I may have started proper training in the meantime.   Not sure if I got to 4w/kg, though.

[CrazyEnglishTriathlete]

They are about the same (3 x PBP, 1 x LEL).  LEL is further and has some harsher terrain in the northern half, but has a more relaxed time limit so you have less night riding (especially not having to ride through the first night).

The variables (weather, personal condition, company, and general mental state) are much bigger. 

PBP 2007 - atrocious weather, great mental state - easier than PBP2011 - good conditions poor mental state excacerbated by ambitious target

PBP 2015 great weather, great mental state - easier than LEL2009 - atrocious weather, moderate mental state, great company

PBP2007 + LEL2009 - recall for Noah - equal difficulty.

[vorsprung]

C'mon Anciens, "They are difficult in different ways" is a cop out.  Make a judgement

[Exit Stage Left]

Neither represents a progression from the other. You can do either first, and not feel that you've achieved more when you do the other, assuming you've not gone off course, which is easier to do on LEL.

There are other, much harder, rides. The 600 Super Randonnees, various 1000s, and a number of 1200 + events.

[Phil W]

C'mon Anciens, "They are difficult in different ways" is a cop out.  Make a judgement

You can't provide an option in your poll and complain when people choose that option!

[zigzag]

they are both easy; the rest depends on the weather you get