FWIW, I found LWL harder than the Bryan Chapman (which I did 3 years ago with not enough distance riding in my legs) and harder than the 600km I did the following weekend. This year's LWL was really windy on the outbound leg. Combined with very harsh roads - I'll fit fatter tyres if I ride it again in future, it was a surprisingly tough day out. Fast riders I know who finished in 18/19 hours also said how much harder it was than the 500km they did on the Easter Arrow.
I was also wracked with anxiety during LWL for no good reason. I sorted my head out much better for the 600 - took it a check point at a time. Had time goals to help keep me on track but didn't think about anything other than the next check point which helped massively and made for a much more enjoyable ride. The roads were much better quality and I did manage to avoid the bitterly cold section of the night though.
Even climbing makes less difference in the UK with the lack of hills we have.
Yes, even when you are going up a real pig of a hill in the UK, especially south of England, you can always console yourself that it won't go on for much longer
FWIW, I found LWL harder than the Bryan Chapman (which I did 3 years ago with not enough distance riding in my legs) and harder than the 600km I did the following weekend. This year's LWL was really windy on the outbound leg. Combined with very harsh roads - I'll fit fatter tyres if I ride it again in future, it was a surprisingly tough day out. Fast riders I know who finished in 18/19 hours also said how much harder it was than the 500km they did on the Easter Arrow.
I was also wracked with anxiety during LWL for no good reason. I sorted my head out much better for the 600 - took it a check point at a time. Had time goals to help keep me on track but didn't think about anything other than the next check point which helped massively and made for a much more enjoyable ride. The roads were much better quality and I did manage to avoid the bitterly cold section of the night though.