What is LEL

LEL is a 1400km Audax (long distance cycling) organised by Audax UK.  It is not a race, but there is a maximum (and minimum) time limit.  It runs every 4 years.  This year there are approximately 1000 entrants.  I am H19 starting at 07:30 on Sunday 28’th July.  This gives me until Friday 04:10 am to complete the 1419km route.

How to follow me

Viewranger

I shall be using viewranger to help me follow the route and also to give live updates of my location.  So, if all is working, go to http://viewranger.com/buddybeacon/, click on add buddy beacon and put stuartm@stiona.com as the username and 9999 as the PIN.

LEL rider tracking

As I check in at each control – the organizers should update this page - http://www.londonedinburghlondon.com/lastseen/?rider_no=H19 – you can see the route and controls here - http://www.londonedinburghlondon.com/route

Runkeeper

I will try and run this too – but depends on me remembering and battery.  You can find my tracks at http://runkeeper.com/user/stuartm9999/.

Twitter/Facebook

Maybe some updates – but I wouldn’t expect too much.  @stuartm9999.

What training have I done.

Since the end of last year I have been riding regular Audaxes with Audax Ireland.  Since January I have completed (amongst other rides) what is known as a Super Randoneer sereis- a 200, 300, 400 and 600 km brevet (ride) within the time limits laid down by the rules of Audax.  I owe a lot of gratitude to fellow Audax Ireland members for not only organising these events but helping me round them!

Audax is a great way to see the country, eat and cycle at the same time.  I do it for the food, the challenge, the craic and the views.  All you need is a bike. 

Yesterday I caught some of Tony Adams’ appearance on Radio 4’s Desert Island Disks.  He was quite an interesting bloke.  The more he talked about his alcohol problems the more guilty I felt about some of the chants I’d delivered at him (along with a few thousand others).

Sorry Tony.

You were going through a tough time and I should have been more sensitive to this.

A spot of Golf, kebabs and drinking gave us the opportunity of testing Dave’s new defender.

More...

After a few beers Martin and I decided that we would but a mini and enter some rallies.  Perhaps even the world rally.  Basically we wanted to do this -

I owned a mini when I was younger and loved driving it and Martin had driven one once.  Also, I have fixed just about everything that could go in it as anyone who remembers my 1975 clubman estate would testify.  It was held together by insulation tape and ran on WD40.

It will also fit in my garage – my wife tells me I can buy anything that fits in my garage.

We checked a couple on Ebay and found we could buy a 90’s mini in repairable condition for around £500.  I calculated bringing it up to scratch with roll cages etc. would cost another £2K and then another £500 for a trailer.

We checked out some local events and they all talked about this Group A and Group N stuff.

There are 3 categories we could enter-

Group A -  this seems to be production cars that are highly modified - basically you can do pretty much what you want.

Group N - unmodified production cars - you can do some minor stuff around suspension but not much in terms of performance.  May get away with a stage 1 tune which is a modified exhaust and tune.

Historic - an old car.

To race I think you have to have a car that has been Homologised (such as a mini cooper S) or (re-)built to the homogenised spec – so I think you can take a standard 1969 mini and rebuilt to cooper s.  So for minis that pretty much puts you in historic.

Here are the Homologation papers - http://mk1-performance-conversions.co.uk/homologation_papers.htm

There seem to be a list of historic homologations here - http://www.fia.com/resources/documents/1906603385__Historic_Pre_Homologations_a.pdf

And current ones here - http://www.fia.com/en-GB/sport/Pages/Homologations.aspx

Unfortunately old mini coopers now seem to go for about 20K.  We might get a 1970’s 1275GT though.  My mate had one of these and I remember it was a rocket.  He sold it for about £500!

Then all we need  is to empty my garage, find the money and time and were in business.

I seem to remember during the last top beer road trip claiming I would be able to organise a regular golf game that would

1. cost very little - I believe £50 may have been discussed
2. not involve more than 1/2 a day off work as we're all busy guys and many of us self employed
3. involve watching football

Subject to fitness tests – the next round at Killymoon is due to take place 3rd Nov.  Which is a Tuesday so there will be football.  I checked on easyjet and returns from London can be done for about £50.  We will probably tee off around 3pm but can be a bit flexible.  I pass 2 airports on the way and can pick up 6 people.  If flights are in the morning anyone can use my office in Belfast or Conor’s in Cookstown.

I can kick as many children out of there beds as needed for stay over's and can offer similar airport transport/use of office Wednesday am.

Golf is £15 a round.

Total cost is £65 + beer which, when telling our wives/partners – comes in £15 under budget.

Any takers?

After a bit of a confusion over holiday dates - the top beer team have booked themselves on a real motoring event the wacky rally

Next month we are playing Golf at Killymoon Golf Club.  The last time I played golf there was 10 years ago the day before I got married.  I have played golf once since then.

Conor organised it but did not know there was a competition on that day – and we were entered for it.

We showed up in our scruffs with half a bag of clubs and no clue.  The place seemed a bit more upmarket from Altrincham Municipal where we were used to playing.  The club house overlooks the first tee which seemed dangerously close to the car park to me.

We made Conor go first as he can actually play golf.  He made the fairway.

I went next and landed in the rough just short of the fairway and rolled onto it.

Still – now I haven’t played for 10 years I’m sure it will be much less embarrassing.