The noble steed
Achilles is a Dawes Century Audax SE (my 2011 Road.cc review). He’s been a trusty companion since 2011 and has done LEL 2013 and two SR series. Steel frame, rim brakes and a set of Gevenalle CX2 shifters, set to friction. Rear wheel is an H Plus Son, about 11 years old, but strong and bombproof. The front wheel came from Spa. Neither wheel has ever needed adjusting or gone out of true and the rims are sound. I’m not very hard on wheels – braking is for losers! Chainset is Tiagra (50/34) as is the rear mech. I have a large 40t Sunrace cassette on the back, which will get me up almost anything. Tyres are Continental Grand Prix 5000 AS/TR. TR means tubeless ready, but they fit wheels with a hooked rim.
Saddle is a Gyes GS-06H – comfy enough to forget about. Bars, stem and seatpost are original. Tri-bars are cheap and cheerful from Ebay. I use Cinelli Chubby bar tape. I can’t remember what brand the mudguards are, but they’re aluminium and very solid.
All of this kit is tried, tested and utterly reliable. Achilles is also surprisingly fast, although all the extra salad he’s fitted with takes the edge off slightly. Everything worked perfectly on LEL and I wouldn’t change anything. Incidentally, I can’t remember when I last oiled my chain, but I’ve been using Brunox Top Kett for over ten years now and it’s way superior to any wet lube I’ve used (and I’ve used a lot). It dries well, doesn’t get as filthy as a traditional oil and lasts forever.
Lighting & Charging
I have an SP dynamo, running a B&M Luxos U front light and a B&M Secula rear light. I also had a Ravemen CR1000 as a backup and a couple of CatEye rear light on the Carradice.
I had no concerns or issues with lighting on LEL (or any previous ride TBH) but charging was trickier.
I use a spare phone, running RWGPS, for navigation. It’s easier to use than a Garmin and has a bigger screen, but it’s thirsty, so keeping it alive is a challenge. I’ve been charging it directly from the Luxos for many years now, or inserting a powerbank into the circuit between the light & phone, to smooth out power delivery. It’s a system that’s never let me down, but it can be temperamental. On those occasions I’ve just used a simple phone > powerbank system. For some reason it decided to be really tetchy on LEL. I couldn’t figure out what the problem was, but it’s likely to be some unholy combination of my phone being an arse, my cables being unreliable, plus the inherent potential for flakiness in any system that relies on multiple components being combined. I would have managed, I was carrying spare USB cables, plus three 10000m/ah powerbanks, but what I ended up doing was using the hired powerbanks (5000m/ah) to charge up my phone while we were stopped at controls. It was never a major cause of stress, but I’m starting to wonder if I could just use the dynamo for lighting and rely on powerbanks alone for charging. It feels like heresy, but if it’s feasible it would make life easier, plus it would reduce the amount of cable clutter around Achilles’ front end.
Luggage
My Carradice Super C (23l) weighs the same as a small child, even when it’s empty. But it’s waterproof, reliable and very practical. I love being able to reach back and get stuff from the side pockets while riding. Plus, it’s one of those bits of equipment that stays with you for many, many years and gradually moulds itself to you. Mine has a fine patina from use and is acquiring patches and stickers which make it uniquely mine. I wouldn’t swap it for anything.
My nav phone, plus powerbank, cables and a few bits and bobs (lip balm, drugs) lives in a cheap handlebar bag thing mounted between the tri-bars and stem using pieces of plastic pipe.
I used a small bento-box thing on the top tube for guava blocks, but I could probably have done without it.
I also used a musette I’d bought a week or so earlier. I bought it to use at controls (carried in the Carradice) but on a whim decided to wear it and carry my brevet card, beach shoes and a few other bits and pieces that I didn’t want to be digging for: earplugs, chewing gum, toothbrush and toothpaste. It was a brilliant decision. It wasn’t intrusive and it made accessing (and storing) small things much easier. I rode the whole thing with it and I’d probably do the same again in future.
Food & Drink
The observant will notice two large bottles on Achilles and wonder ‘what about the hydration pack?’ On a test ride, just a week before LEL, I happened to be using a new water bottle, a freebie from a work thing. It had a big hole at the top, rather than the usual sucky-nipple arrangement. OMG, it was so nice to just tip a drink into my face. So I bought two of the largest bottles I could find with similar tops and ditched the backpack. Bottles are less fiddly to fill than hydration bladders and with the big hole I was drinking plenty.
I packed lots of Liptons Iced Tea powder, plus Tang Orange & Mango powder, all portioned into 1 litre doses wrapped in sandwich bags. I think I had about 6 litres worth in the Carradice, plus more in my drop bags. I used pretty much all of it, so at some point I’d have been running on water and Coke/orange juice. The one things I’d change is to use more of the Tang than the Liptons, simply because a 1 litre dose of Liptons is about twice as heavy!
The guava blocks were a great supplement to the food at controls and I was snacking on a couple every 100km.
The Supernatural Food pouches were great. In fact, I’d happily eat them at any time. They’re too heavy to be a complete solution, but as an occasional boost they were a real treat.
The Real Meal bars were also a big win. They’re lighter than the pouches, but contain nearly three times the calories. I found them easy to eat, not dry or chewy, although a cup of coffee or a drink did help. They were also delicious, which makes them dangerous to have around the house for future rides.
Other stuff
The surf shoes I took for controls were genius! I can’t remember where the idea came from, I don’t think it was mine, but I’m very grateful. Quick to slip on, easy to walk in and light.
Well Chuffed Cycling 
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