Brief LEL 2022 ride report.
I DNFd at Innerleithen, about 50 miles southbound after the turnaround. After some thought, I've identified three contributing factors leading to this, my first ever DNF.
Saddle
I've struggled with saddle comfort since switching from recumbent to upright, and clearly still don't have it sorted. Although I rode an SR series on this saddle, by 400k things were bad. Every chance to get out of the saddle, I took. Before Dunfermline, pain was approaching unbearable levels. I faced sleep deprivation and was very close on time, but saddle pain was the deciding factor for abandoning.
Sleep
Jet lag and a hot hotel room meant I slept little the two nights before the ride. I was behind on sleep at the start line. This led to drowsiness and roadside naps that my speed could not afford. To make matters worse, the first night in a control, I could not sleep at all. After three hours I got up and carried on. That was three wasted hours
Lack of fitness.
Speed on the bike makes everything else easier. Speed means time to deal with things, more time to sleep. Speed = time.
London Edinburgh, however, was a fabulous ride. Beautiful scenery (and I live in Oregon), super volunteers, a beast of a ride. Not the quaint villages and cheering crowds of PBP, but oh my the rugged beauty of Scotland!
It's true, what Ken Bonner told me after Cascades 1200: people who DNF have stories to tell. There's much for me to learn from this.
Typed from my phone, on a southbound train to London.