LEL 2022 - Minimum Distance and Speed Requirement and Training

London Edinburg London (LEL)

2022 Edition

7 August to 12 August

Distance: 1,520 kilometers

Maximum time: 125 hours and 100 hours

 

About the ride:

London–Edinburgh–London (LEL) is a randonnée bicycle event of approximately 1,500 kilometres (930 miles) over an out-and-back course between the capital cities of London (England) and Edinburgh (Scotland). LEL is the flagship event of Audax UK, it is held every four years. The 2021 (being held in August 2022 due to the covid pandemic) ride will be the 9^th edition of LEL.

The ride starts at Central London for the 100 hour batch and from Davenant School, Debden for the 125 hour batch. Over 2,000 riders are participating in the event. The 100 hour batch starts at 5:00 am from Central London and the 125 hour is divided into batches of 40-60 riders in each batch with the start times for each batch being 15 minutes apart.

The route has 19 control points (excluding the start and end controls). The average distance between controls is 60 kilometers. The maximum distance between two controls is about 110 kilometers; between Malton and Barnard Castle on the way in and out and also between Moffat and Dunfermline.

 

Mileage and Speed Requirement:

For the 125 hour batch

Distance (kilometers)	Total Time (hours)	Speed (kmph)
1,520	125	12.16

 

Daily Mileage Requirement

Total Time (hours)	Speed (kmph)	Distance (kilometers)
24	12.16	292

The required minimum mileage per day for LEL is 292 kilometers. However, we do not stay on the saddle for 24 hours and we get off the saddle for the following:

- Control Point Stamping

- Food and hydration

- Rest

- Toilet breaks

- Drop bag access (charging of equipment/shower/change of clothes)

- Sleep (average of 2.5 hours per 24 hours)

On an average in a 24 hour bracket we spend 8 hours off the saddle for the above breaks. Since the clock does not stop in randonneuring events, the required ride speed is as below:

Distance (kilometers)	Ride Time (hours)	Speed (kmph)
292	16	18.25

Note 1:Average time that we spend on a drop bag access and sleep is 4 hours. Usually the first day riders do not access drop bags/sleep which gives an additional 4 hours of riding time, so on the first day we ride about 70 kilometers more provided we stick to the minimum average speed required of 18.25 kmph.

Note 2: Cutting down on sleep will lead to hallucination and although we might get ahead of the required mileage in the beginning, we run the risk of taking an extended break later on

**Disclaimer**:

The above data is referential information. Riders can analyse data from their past rides (average riding speed, sleep time, average time taken off the saddle) and see if they have met the minimum required daily mileage and plan accordingly to either increase the saddle time or increase their ride speed.

Kindly factor in the following while making a comparison:

- Weather conditions will be cold and wet as against hot and dry

- Elevation

- Road conditions: we will be on interior/rural roads where the road surfaces will be rough as against the ride on the highway which is on smooth surfaces. Rolling resistance will be higher on interior/rural roads and as a consequence our average speed will be lower.

- If the riders are from Bengaluru, note that we build a buffer at the start of the ride since Bengaluru is at an elevated height, we might not be able to build a buffer at the beginning as much as we do in Bengaluru

- Navigation - there might be some time loss since the roads are not familiar and navigating the course will cause a few delays

- Nutrition - our comfort foods may not be available and this might lead to drop in performance as well

Summary:

Category	Distance (kilometers)*
Exceed Expectation	> 300
Meet Expectation	300
Below Expectation	< 300

*the minimum kilometers have been rounded off to 300

Riders can keep a track of the the distance covered every 24 hours and try to stay ahead of the required mileage. Even a 10 kilometer excess on a daily basis makes it 40 kilometers lesser required on the last day.

Note: On days when the elevation is high and also in inclement weather the average ride distance is 250 kilometers, so kindly do not ease up or lose focus if you are far ahead of the requirement, the elevation and weather in Scotland will be a big test and so too will be the return in England with head winds expected on the flat sections making it very difficult to meet the minimum required speeds/mileage

Suggestion: 

“Make hay when the sun in shining” and try to meet the minimum speed required when things are not going your way.

- Try to ride 350-400 kilometers in the first 24 hours

- 600 kilometers in 40 hours

- Remaining 900 kilometers will have 85 hours, if we can meet the minimum of 300 kilometers per 24 hours from this stage we should be good

Training for the Event:

Countdown to the event: 2 months; 61 days

Effective training days remaining: 45-50 days

 

We have just about 1.5 months of time remaining to train for the event. We have ridden long distances and pretty much know our riding styles and nutrition requirements and how we react on the rides.What time of the day and what weather conditions favour us and what are the times when we do not ride well. How do we react when we are riding well and also when we are not riding well.

We might not have been riding or might be feeling under prepared for the event. We still have time and we have to find the rhythm/form to ride. There is just enough time to improve our fitness levels also by about 10% at least which will hold us in good stead during the event.

Spending time on the saddle will go a long way in getting back to form/getting our confidence back. However, how much saddle time is required, the rider is the best judge for this.

The following approaches could be adopted:

Approach 1: Long rides

Long is a relative term, however, we do not need to do many multi day rides. We can start with 200 kilometer rides and build up to about 700 kilometers by mid-July. Choose routes which closely mimic the event route. There are many routes around Bengaluru where the elevation and flat sections with wind can be practiced.

 

Approach 2:

Ride everyday with the focus being on time rather than distance. Spend at least 1-2 hours everyday depending on the intensity of the ride and 5-6 hour rides on the weekends, target being to get 18-20 hours of riding every week (week here being 6 days with a day off). Ease up from 20 July so that the body recovers, low intensity rides after this is sufficient.

Note: the hours spent on riding should be meaningful hours and not hours spent riding in traffic or rides with intermittent stops

If using an indoor trainer, get onto a base training plan and try for a 10-15% improvement in your respective FTP. Riding on the trainer will improve the fitness levels. 

Can try a combined approach also, indoor training plans alternate between interval training and recovery days. The interval training can be done on the indoor trainer and the recovery rides on road so that the feel for the weather conditions and bike handling is not lost.

Note:

1. The most important aspect at this stage is to stay injury free. There isn't enough time to recover from an injury

2. Look for small improvements rather than exponential improvement at this stage