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LEL 2017 / Re: LEL Suggestions Box
« Last post by PhilB on Today at 01:53:15 am »Clear expectations about how much support DNFers can expect with getting themselves back to the start.This might have been useful. I found myself as travel advisor to quite a few DNFs at Brampton, explaining to them how to book themselves and bikes back to London on the train. It's not that easy - and the savings by using the advance booking system (even for trains later the same day) were significant (£50 vs £115 walk up fare). On Monday 31st I merrily used the Virgin East Coast website with some success, come Tues 1st August they had moved completely to their new "improved" booking site with no bike reservation option. So I went over to GWR. Still had some issues with riders who had left their credit cards in their car at Loughton (why?) and a couple of Indian riders with prepaid mastercards which weren't useful at all.
In hindsight it would have been useful to have a sheet giving details generally of how to book bikes on trains which we could have given out. Even for UK riders who don't usually travel by train it can be a bit tricky.
Maybe we went beyond the call of duty with this, but for the overseas riders there was a point where I felt it was a hospitality issue - and putting myself in their position I would have been grateful for the same assistance.
Well here's a story you may not be aware of even though it happened right next door to your "Travel Bureau". Around 6am on Wednesday morning I woke up a German rider in the Brampton dorm. When he emerged he looked confused and I tried to help and direct him, but couldn't get much other than he'd fallen off his bike in the night, was very tired and where were the toilets. 15 minutes later he was still sat in the corridor, saddle bag contents spread all round him and it was clear something wasn't right but the 2 of us couldn't communicate. I located a German speaking volunteer & we managed to ascertain that he felt he couldn't go on but was very worried about how he could get himself and his bike back to London.
Once we knew this we were able to explain a) we were close to a main line station and b) if he went round to the control desk someone would be able to assist him with train times, ticket purchase and directions to the station.
Five minutes later he was crying on my shoulder and thanking me profusely. I didn't think we'd done a lot at the time, but looking back on it, this poor chap was a tired & not feeling well, he was a long way from London and even further from home, and felt like he was alone with a problem he didn't know how to solve. Your Train Travel expertise meant we were able to help him solve his problem and allay his anxieties so I think it was exactly the right think to be doing and very much in the spirit of Audax
