LEL 2025 / London - Edinburgh - London Audax

My parents live about 2 miles from the start.

Loads of people commute into the City from Chelmsford already.

About the cost.

It's probably gone up for a few reasons.
Catering isn't done by volunteers anymore.
Writtle College is going to be a better start and finish than Debden.

Are you still meant to enter the ballot if you're on the AUK guaranteed entry list?

No. The ballot is for others.

I'm kinda tempted by this now.

I assume because I'm AUK I don't need to do anything except cough up 500 squids in Jan 2025?

Yes, I'm pretty sure that's right.
Renew your Auk membership before the end of the year.

I think I'm on the 5 year membership thing anyway.

We had the option of starting in central London last year.
It was a nice touch and only added around 20km, but of course would have been difficult with large numbers.

It's also the case for 2025. Guildhall start option.

It was a nice low key option and lovely setting, and I found the route out easy if a little un- inspiring as we reached the outskirts.
It also meant we could book a nice hotel for the weekend (the area around the main start wasn't the best for a weekend away) and my non audaxing other actually had a pleasant city break.

Do they add distance and time for the London start? How do they deal with the two start locations? If I was going to do it I might just ride from home or take Crossrail to the start.

I don't actually know but I assume that the official start is at Writtle and the London bit is just an optional prologue. Like an official ride out.
Once you get to Epping Forest it's a lovely ride to Writtle. Pretty back lanes.

In 2022 London starters had a different brevet card with different timings and didn't go via the normal start control.

If I was going to do it then the London start makes sense. I might have more fun (and finish) compared to the DIY I once started

Depending on when it starts, I could just ride the extra bit to the normal start too.

Thanks - apologies for bluffing!

I know this is a long time away, and maybe it's playing on my mind because it's not been a big year of audaxing for me (although has been mostly a good riding year) - can anyone link me or suggest an ideal rough schedule of how to approach sleep on LEL? It comes out as 300k+ a day so with efficient stops and steadying riding I'm not concerned, but I do need to get in actual chunks of sleep as my brain not my legs has been my nemisis on longer rides. Please god may I ask in advance for something more specific than grizzled audax OG advice like 'just sleep when u need it and eat something at some point, you'll be grand'

Just sleep when you need it and eat something at some point, you'll be grand!

Oh, come on, if I wasn't trolling here I'd be a dictator of some small country somewhere, so you're robably helping some people out.

I'm not bothered about it because I normally work it out, but I am curious about other people's strategies. Is there a route already? Do you know what your start time might be? That will probs caused most change to stops - because if you're essentially forced to ride through the first night you will likely want a good sleep the night after.

I've no idea. Look at it, not a jot.

I KNEW this was going to happen. Actually pretty funny though (and sadly not untrue) but that's not the goddamn point!

Looks like someone's started answering your questions on the site...
https://londonedinburghlondon.com/london-edinburgh-london-2025-day-one-tactics

1. Aim for Malton
   
   

The control at Malton lies 364 kilometres (226 miles) along the route. This makes for a long day of cycling, but there are real advantages to getting there. First of all, Malton is a huge control, with lots of space for sleeping. It's unlikely to be as busy as Hessle or Louth further south, so you've a good chance of getting a bed for as long as you like. Aiming for Malton will also position you ahead of the bulge of riders for day two, which will help you navigate the bottleneck of facilities around Brampton and Hawick. Best of all, you'll bank a good 100 kilometres of distance compared to splitting your riding equally over five days. You might well be glad of that later on.

To make the most of this tactic, you need an early start time. And that's why, for 2025, we are increasing the number of early start slots available from both central London and Writtle. Our plan is for at least a quarter of the field to be on the road by 7 a.m., so there's a good chance we'll be able to offer you an early start.

1. Aim for Louth
   
   

Three control points are geared up to accommodate riders on the first night of the event. These are at Malton, Hessle and Louth. By far the busiest will be Hessle, just after the Humber Bridge. If you cannot press on to Malton to avoid the bulge, then it might be a good idea to start late and stay in Louth instead.

1. Don't faff
   
   

It can be tempting to relax into the ride once you are on the road. And why wouldn't you? You've worked hard to be here, so why not enjoy yourself? If it's a nice day you might want to take photos of the gorgeous Essex lanes and the big skies of the fenlands around Spalding. The control points are a great place to catch up with friends, either on the ride or at home via your social media. And you'll definitely want to linger at the Humber Bridge, not to mention at the special surprise we have planned for you after you depart.

But ... don't let relaxing turn into procrastinating. It's far too easy to waste time lingering over your dinner, or chatting with friends. Believe us, we know! But we also know that you need to keep your focus and momentum. To do this, we recommend you allow yourself a maximum of 30 minutes to get through controls during the day.

So, be prepared! Make sure when you get to a control you have your brevet card ready (you'll need it), your water bottles and any clothing you might want to change. Get your card stamped, get some food, use the toilet, fill up your water bottles – and crack on. You can chat to your friends once you're back out pedalling on the open road!

1. Which way is the wind blowing?
   
   

The London Edinburgh London route follows largely the same course northbound and southbound through England. It features nearly 200 kilometres of cycling along flat, exposed roads between St Ives and Mareham le Fen. When you are cycling this section, be aware of the strength of the wind and the direction it is blowing. If you have a strong tailwind on day one you might not necessarily notice it, and this might give you an unrealistic idea of your pace.

But ... a strong tailwind on day one likely means a strong headwind on your return, when you are tired. So, if you are lucky enough to enjoy the wind at your back on the way to Edinburgh, make the most of it and bank the time and energy gained to use over the days ahead.

Geniunely useful - I think really this means sitting down and looking at the route. Sounds like hard work

Yeah, that's why I don't bother. I'm lazy but also, it's like, bonus adventure.

On the hillier events I'm slow enough now that I might do a little bit of planning to make sure I'm not stuck up a mountain, but mostly plans get thrown out the window on day one and I wing everything.

I'd say it's got a lot to do with your start time. Get a 5am start and you could probs avoid any night riding and keep a somewhat normal ish sleep schedule.

• Start each day between 4am and 6am
  
• Start planning for a stop late afternoon and figure out where you might be around 9pm to 11pm
  
• Repeat
  
  

I'd caveat that though and say I haven't rode LEL before

So my PBP plan was to sleep when I really really needed to and eat all the time, but then the San Francisco guys were handing out these stickers at registration which was extremely useful as I ended up referring to all the time so that I could do a bit of actual planning on the way.

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