London-Edinburgh-London 2022

well, well guess where we are, here's the start of LEL

2022

at the Guild Hall, just waiting for my start, oh my goodness we're off, we're underway now, two hours, 60 kilometers in conditions are good, but it looks like there's going to be a slight headwind coming through the fence, so this is the much anticipated and trained for months Charlie l

2022

and here we are, let's get going, it's hot and dry, as you can see, the forecast It's really good for the next few days, except a little. headwind and this is the way to Edinburgh no, this is the way to London this is the way to the wedding ran the way to London anyway so we have 20 checkpoints we have to go through, well, They can't be too far from the first in St Ives Cambridgeshire.

A lot of time has passed. It was for just over 12 hours with a descent of approximately 270 km. The story so far is that I ran into a really good fast group. It is very difficult to match his pace. but the good thing was that I arrived well ahead of schedule, which is great on the bridge. I think we need a bit of a refresher because things happened, so I crossed the Humber Bridge and it was dead, completely dead. I arrived at the checkpoint. There's a place called Hessel and I basically had to make a tough decision.

I had to stop too early or too late because the hassle was only a little over 300K, but the next one I think was another 70 or something, but the status. I was in, I wasn't going to be there before midnight, so I did it and I actually think it was the right decision. I slept well. It was probably the rush head or I slept for five hours and woke up just after two. I was on the road at three and as you can see, it's Dawn now entering it. I think they are the Yorkshire walls. It's the Great Hills, okay, so that's the molten control that got going on a big stage.

I think this is 120. I've got a bunch of climbing in a pretty big one, the North Yorkshire Moors National Park, standing around here, I'm really getting into it now. I think the first day I was too worried about speed and keeping up with some fast groups and stuff, and now I'm just nice. to settle in I'm just going to do my speed I think everyone else is the same too you just go at your speed whatever it is enjoy it it's lovely oh wow listen to this huh this has been a beautiful stage yet to come Approaching Barnard Castle with Yorkshire on our county doorstep.

Welcome to Cumbria. It's going to be a good descent, so this is Scotland and the sun will set soon, which means it's time to make a decision again, so the decision looks like this. The next checkpoint is more on foot. and I'm almost there, it's less than 10K, I think it's 10K and one after that, woohoo, it's Edinburgh, Don firmly, but I think it's about 110 for a silencer, how much I climbed in the dark, I'm not too sure what to do right, a decision has been made. I made moffa and I'm going to continue with the dunfermine, I hope to get there around two in the morning arm warmers leg warmers let's go see the moon Moonlight in Bonnie Scotland beautiful quiet night I did 255 last night this morning whatever It's the 2:55 in the morning last night, many thanks to another rider called Paul, he almost saved my life, he was riding next to my saddlebag, it flew off and it has a small metal frame that holds it to the seat post and it broke. and he broke it somehow I had no way to fix it but he stopped and he had some zip ties so number one tip to LEL never leave home without zip ties so we rode together for a couple of hours.

The best guy left London at 6 15. Sunday arrived at 2:55 a.m. Tuesday morning, a little gutted, I've slept now, I'm just going to go get some food. The Scottish borders are incredible, huge white valleys, totally empty, 20 kilometers like this Little River. beautiful oh thank you hey Steve hi so that was eskdale Muir which looks green and green not like Cambridge here which looks like burnt straw I was in the pub last week my friend David is still doing this walk are we talking about that? David is not a cyclist and he said to me, oh, hold on to the phone, ping, I have to go into a reception area, uh, yeah, he told me what the reward is, what do you find rewarding for doing something like that?

I have no idea, I've already done it yet, sorry. Garmin beeps. Uh, I want to know what's one of the reasons why I want to do it. I guess anyway, David, if you're watching this. Hello and thanks for watching. You know he's really beautiful and you feel free because he's just here, in fact, it's funny to think about the world we were in in the Rose and Crown pub, it's another world, look, this one is quite different, much simpler, this it's about eating miles, coming back to England again, getting closer to Brampton, it's all designed to help you.

Do that for lunch and you can rest and stuff, granta, here we go, so I left that Brampton checkpoint around half past midnight. I was driving through the night crossing the North Pennine. It is very cold. This guy is slowly clearing up. Some very pronounced crimes two in particular patches of Colvin I've missed the sunrise at Barnard Castle day three I guess I'm not sure Wednesday yes day three no that's day four isn't it Sunday Monday Tuesday where that's what I'm reduced to Now I don't know the days? of the week I can't count to ten.

A hot day. I can see the Humbra bridge. Well, not now. I can't see the Humber Bridge now. and scores on the doors so far ah, little more than the time elapsed about 1 250. kilometers in the night now and I just left Lao, I stopped there and slept very well two hours two and a half hours something like that. I wanted it to work. because there is a slight headwind between the fans and I think you will be lighter during the night. I still want to make the most of it being very hot during the day. I think it will be another scorching heat tomorrow.

I like to be alone for a while. and then join up with others and maybe travel together talking for a while, yeah you're not in the middle of nowhere and it's very dark, very lonely, then you think you see a little flashing red light up ahead and the first few times you see it. I think your eyes are playing tricks on you, you don't know, I'm not sure, it's really nice to see it with a light up ahead and you think, oh yeah, there's a cyclist up there. I've been going through the checkpoints vaguely towards the front of the uh of the Horsemen and about a hundredth, it was uh 103 in Boston just now 98 one of the others last night anyway, so we're all spread out in a long line across the country. right now about a hundred of them in front of me 100 all the way. to the final castle, oh, he's doing well this morning and then it all fell apart a little bit when I rode hard to Boston and then I rode hard to Spalding and, uh, the first stretch through the fence when I got to Huntingdon .

Oh my God, I was falling apart. I'm so close to the finish line now I just couldn't, I just couldn't keep going, I mean, it would have been stupid, it would have been really dangerous, another Rider sees right behind me, leaning towards him. behind a parked car I figured he fell asleep for a moment I think he was down on the triple bars or something anyway he stuck his head through the back windshield and broke it Ryder turns out to be completely fine I think he's behaving himself, that's how it is. That's what I heard. I saw it in Hessel.

In the case of Sherman's neck, they had to restrain his head because his neck muscles could not support the weight of his head. I do not want to do it. that's what I mean I don't want to touch Sherman's neck I don't want to go into the back of a parked car I don't want to break someone's windshield I don't want to hit myself no those things are fun less than 50k to go now I think I could do this about 30 seconds after I said that about being maybe I'll actually do this I have a flat I don't want to jinx it something could still go wrong besides my right shifter is breaking and when I say shifter I mean there's something internal to the shifter itself not on the cable they have a spare cable I think maybe it's a little spring or something look at that down there 25 I'm getting there omg thank you so much 104 hours 104.38 that was incredible.

There was a real downturn before, but not now. I think it was absolutely amazing, the best thing I've ever done.