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I don’t think it’s nostalgia. After all – I DNF the LEL09 so why would I want to do the route again?? My excuse is that I wanted to check how feasible it would be to do the first 200km or so of the route with a fixie!

Well, the conclusion is that going North is very doable. I did not have to walk even once. Going back, however, posed two challenging sections at the very last 10Km, which I could not climb (too steep) and had to walk a hundred meters or so in each case.

Judging from how knackered I was at the end of the 418 Km I can fully appreciate how difficult it would be to do the full length of the LEL on a fixie. While my timing was far from bad (I mastered it in about 26 hours and 50 minutes) that really leaves me with just 90 minutes or so ‘in hand’. That means that if I wanted to go the distance and achieve 600km I would certainly not be able to do it – I will be too tired and far too slow at the end of it.

Doing the LEL route yet again was kind of fun though. I know it quite well and spent a good time in the first half singing to myself and having a good time. I also made good progres (this time it was NOT a back wind!) and covered 210 Km in 12 hours – exceptionally good in my book! Coming back was an increasingly hard struggle, with tiredness and sleepiness and what not. At some stage I just felt soooo tired I had to stop and take a nap. The night was cold but I just didn’t care. I found a place in the field and just collapsed there and then. I did remember to look at the watch and memorised the time (03:10) so I could learn how long I was asleep for. I don’t know how long it took me to fall asleep (seemed like forever) but when I wole up I was really astonished to see that I spent just 15 minutes in horizontal position. So far I am consistent beyond belief – every time I go to sleep on the road doing an Audax ride I sleep excatly 15  minutes and I wake up without any crude artificial means (like an alarm clock of sorts).

It is pretty lonely out there, but from time to time I encounter people. Especially when I stop… So this time I was at a petrol station and it was like 22:00 or so and I was delighted that it was still open (they are not a 24 hours establishment). Upon purchasing some water the clerk asked politely ‘so, do you have far to go?’. Yeah, I replied casually. Quite far. All the way to London. He gave me an incredoulous look, ‘Seriously’ – I say nonchalantly and leave the store.

I guess doing the distance does give me some bragging rights – however limited. Sure – there are out there many hundreds of people that are so much stronger and faster (and certainly younger) than me, but there are many millions who would not even consider coverig such distances on a bike – so I can brag here and there.

Upon return (and after few days of recovery) I did some calculations to ascertian how much have I improved or deteriorated compared to my pre LEL long distance rides (which were done on my geared bike). Amazingly, I have improved! So a fixie certainly doesn’t seem to slow me down, but subjectively I feel that I was more tired at the end now than I was then – or I just forget how bad it was …

My task for this year is to go for the golden standar of SR (Super Randonneurs) this year. That means 200, 300, 400 and 600km. Moreover – I would like that to be gained on a fixed wheel! So this ride was my first attempt at the 600. I obviously did not make it – but did complete the 332 km distance in a quite acceptable 19 hours.

The ride route is quite simple: London -> Cambridge -> Kings Lynn and back. It’s almost a straight line going NE and the SW. The first half I did in real good form. I averaged 20km/h for the first 100 km. That’s pretty amazing at first sight – but not so much so if you consider that I also had a tail wind in assistance.

Obviosuly – what comes up must go down and they way back confronted me with an equally strong head wind. As one can expect – it felt so much stronger than before 🙁 I guess it’s a combination that no assistance is ever ‘too much’ and I was already quite tired, having covered 166km by then.

I had two short sleeping breaks, when I felt that my cycling path is too wobly for my own safety. I really don’t quite understand it, but every time I got up within 10 minutes of lying down – no alarm clock or anything. It’s wonderful what  short period of closing one eyes does!

I had one worrying moment in Cambridge when I was not sure if I will find a place to get a receipt and to fill up my water bottles. Luckily I had an inspiration and I found a hole in the wall AND a watering hose in a closed petrol station. Crisis averted!

On my way back, I dreaded the climb in the Hertford city, which I remembered to be REALLY steep and REALLY hard. For some peculiar reason – it wasn’t so at all! On the other hand, on the route to Potters Bar there were two climbs that sucked all the energy from me. I did not give up ever and never walked – but it was quite an effort.