LEL 2009 - 50 up target

I am a great believer in serendipity. That's what kicked off my TDF in the first place and has now led me to a new challenge. Right now I am doing some forward planning for 2008. In the back of my mind when doing this is the fact that this year, while being fun, did not have quite the same challenge as 2006, in that I never started something I would not be able to finish.

My 2008 plan aims to sort that a bit but mainly through the quantity/quality of the events I will be doing so my challenge is a relative one of time, rather than an absolute one of whether I will finish or not. So my main target for the year is the Marmotte in less than 7:30, which will be hard but covering known ground unlike my 2006 tour.

I am happy I decided to read the Audax UK winter magazine. I joined Audax mainly to save some hassle getting medical certificates for some of the events I was doing. However looking at the rides they planned I had already decided to do a few this coming year as part of my training.

When you join Audax you receive a quaterly magazine full of sterling tales of riders and pictures of cold feet. I don't usually read it but on return from work yesterday I decided to scan it over tea, mainly to read about the Paris-Brest-Paris, an epic 1200km event, with a history dating back to the dawn of cycling. Most of the magazine was given over to accounts of the event ranging from heroic to inspiring to downright boring. Overall I was reconfirmed in my intent to give this a go at some time in the future. However since the event only runs every 4 years the earliest I could do this would be 2011.

Then a notice in the magazine caught my eye. London-Edinburgh-London 2009, a challenge to cycle between said towns the year after next. That means cycling 1400km in 93.4(? why .4: ask the organisers?) hours, so even more than PBP. I was attracted by the coincidence of me happening on this while musing about future challenges, coupled with the fact that earlier this year Mrs Miff and I spent a week in Edinburgh, thoroughly enjoying the place. However the main coincidence is that in 2009 I will have turned 50. So aiming for the LEL 2009 (as I will now call it) feels like a suitable landmark challenge, a challenge I will be assisted in achieving if things go according to plan and I leave the ratrace come 50.

So today I have printed out the entry form and am just about to send it off along with various bits of bumf.

One wierd thing. Entry includes a number of benefits including bag drops, energy bars and a free water bottle. But also 2 pairs of ear plugs?? Guess these are needed to help you sleep but given you will be cycling 20 hours a day or so then not sure there will be much of a problem sleeping when chance arises. From all I have heard main sleep issue is doing it while cycling.

Anyway I have a new challenge...watch this space.