As a ' newbie ' I thought it might be useful to relate my experience of LEL 2017.
I'm a ( very ) occasional cyclist and was talked into volunteering at Spalding by my son who was riding in his second LEL but who unfortunately had to pull out at Barnard Castle on the first leg due to a knee injury. I live close to Spalding so was able to drive in daily to our control which was set up in Spalding Grammar School. Jim and Caroline were in charge of the whole shebang.
Having had a nice pre-event get-together at the local Wetherspoons on Saturday I arrived at the control at 6.00 on Sunday. Our first three riders came through around 9.30 and what began as a trickle soon became a deluge as the day wore on. I can't recall how I ended up doing hours of pot washing - I must have made the mistake of going into the kitchen for something - but as compensation I had a lovely view of the riders and some of their very weird machines as they swung into the forecourt entrance.
Later that day I thought I'd done well in escaping from the kitchen for a while but it was ' out of the frying pan into the fire ' as there followed a manic couple of hours table clearing during peak traffic flow. I was quite glad to retreat back into the kitchen for a rest
To finish off the day I spent a while on gate duty which became a bit surreal when we were plunged into darkness as the street lights turned themselves off at midnight. Spalding in the dark is something else.
I wasn't needed again until Thursday at dawn break.By this time riders were on the return leg and control resembled Dunkirk with people and equipment sprawled on the floors and zombie-like creatures shuffling between various site locations. And that was just the volunteers..
Bed monitoring was interesting. The commandeered sports hall had seen plenty of action through the night but things had quietened down by the time I arrived on duty at around 7.00. A line of inflatables had been reserved for ' Do Not Disturbs ' which I understood to be riders who'd gone way past their time limit and just wanted to complete the course at their leisure. Judging by the state of some of them I felt ' Do Not Resuscitate ' more appropriate. One, looking for all the world like a derelict and naked except for a blanket draped over his shoulders, emerged from the darkness and staggered off to the showers. Had I seen him in the street I'd have given him a fiver for a hot meal...
I was puzzled when a couple of Chinese riders who I hadn't seen come in bid their goodbyes and hurried out for me to discover that the previously locked fire exit was now open. Perhaps they'd fallen asleep on the loo ?
Speaking of sleep I did notice a comatose Jim curled up in a corner. At one point he rose from his slumbers only to decide to have 'a few more minutes '. Three hours later he re-appeared....
Another moment of madness saw me back on another stint of pot washing and general assistance as and when for the rest of the day. Having been sweet talked into staying overnight us volunteers enjoyed a late night beer or three - thanks Jim and Caroline - and I finally collapsed onto a Li-Lo to drift off into a few hours fitful sleep enhanced by the surround sound snoring system. I never knew schools had such luxuries.
Friday was pack up day. Again the siren call of the kitchen sink proved irresistible and it was a bit frantic making sure everything was washed and put away before we handed the premises back to the school. Over the course of the event I've never seen so many stainless steel tins, aluminium pots and odd shaped pieces of metal many of which were helpfully coated with dried/burnt on food of indeterminate origin.
While all this was going on riders were still appearing even though we'd officially closed the control at 22.30 the previous evening. Over the event we'd seen people arrive in all sorts of condition including one guy who'd been found asleep on a verge and was brought in in a G4S van but these stragglers were still smiling as they slowly wove their way back to Loughton. Some wanted us to pose for photos for which we were only too happy to oblige. You have to admire their spirit.
Eventually all was calm and for those left standing at Spalding control it was back to Wetherspoons for a final farewell.
To sum up I have to say it was a great experience and I would recommend it to anyone thinking of giving volunteering a go. Hard work yes, but there's something satisfying about pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone. What surprised me perhaps most was how almost without exception everyone was cheerful, riders and volunteers alike, even towards the end when exhaustion had set in for everyone. You need a sense of humour for something like this and it was here in abundance.
I can't close without saying thanks to the cleaners and caretakers from the school who tolerated us magnificently and the chefs Steve and Keith whose patience, dry sense of humour and banter made it ( almost ) a pleasure to be chained to the sink.
A special thanks though to Jim and Caroline who somehow held the whole madhouse together. I must say it all went very well and once they recover I hope they will say they enjoyed it as much as I did.
Roll on 2021....
Graham
