Cycling UK Forum

according to this report it says 'sheer mental fatigue'

http://www.project7racing.com/press_rel ... ttempt.pdf

Sounds bizarre though with just 68 miles left to go bearing in mind these are Olympic athletes - used to digging in deep for the final push.

I think there's more to this that they are not telling us.

....... or the record wasn't real either.

The record for a penny farthing was set in the 1800s and still not broken. How real was that?

patpalloon wrote:... just 68 miles left to go ...

When 700+ miles have been covered, that sounds like a mere trifle, or even a formality. back on Planet earth, sixty eight miles would be a demanding day's ride for many people, even if they hadn't just ridden 700+ miles. It must be heart-breaking to be so near to success but to find it out of reach.

Mick F wrote:....... or the record wasn't real either. ...

I'm not sure what you mean. RRA records are set under pretty strict conditions and going back a few years they were even more strict than they are now. I may have posted before that I remember an account of a successful record attempt on the End-to-End, probably ridden by John Woodburn. The rider was wilting as it was getting dark. A supporter went ahead and told everybody in a roadside pub that the rider would soon be passing. When everybody had got over their incredulity, utter amazement, sheer disbelief that somebody might do such a ride, they all marched outside and gave him a big cheer. There was then concern that this might be ruled a breach of the strict "no advance publicity" rule.

I think the sheer lack of sleep must be a huge factor. They had started at 3am on the Saturday morning, ridden all through the following night and were facing the best part of yet another night in the saddle. Other riders of such long events have suffered from hallucinations - Cracknell was convinced they were on the wrong route which suggest that he was losing the plot. Their speed had dropped after Inverness and they weren't going fast enough to get within the time.

There is quite an art to riding a tandem, and if one or both of them was starting to sway with fatigue or falling asleep, they would be much more likely to crash than if they were riding solos. With a couple of steep climbs and descents coming up it would be very unsafe to contine.

It goes to show just how impressive the 1966 record is, especially when you consider that it was 32 miles longer, on poorer roads, and without all the technical advantages of modern bike technology. I imagine Swinden and Withers were both much more experienced Tandemists.

LollyKat wrote:I think the sheer lack of sleep must be a huge factor. ...

+ 1 and I think that there is now a much better understanding of its ill-effects than was the case until quite recently. Although physical tiredness and sleep deprivation may often occur together, they are not the same thing. I suspect that if an organisation like the RRA were to be starting from scratch now, there would be some rule about maximum riding time without a break for sleep. (I think the Guinness Book of Records changed its own rules some years ago.) This may sound like another example of health and safety gone mad, but, as has been hinted at in this case, if somebody begins to lose their grip of reality through sleep deprivation, then those looking after them have a certain responsibility to say "Enough is enough." If there were to be a big personal injury claim based on something like this, then minds would be concentrated.

I think the problem with an End-to-End record ride is that the times are now down into the zone where there is both the possibility of avoiding a couple of hours' "catnap" and the imperative of doing so to save every second. As has been pointed out already, co-ordinating the needs of a tandem pair must be quite a problem.

I think if you do the arithmetic,68 miles to go and the amount of hours left (less than 4 hours)to beat the record, they simply wouldn't been able to achieve the record. Their average speed was down to 16.7mph, so they must have been going considerabley slower than that when they gave up. To make up time during the last 68miles (which will include the Berriedale Breas) would mean averaging 18mph.It was not going to happen.

I have to agree with PompeyJoe - they hadn't done Helmsdale or Berridale Brae which in my experience of a few weeks back were the hardest climbs I came across (mind you it was blowing a headwind gale when I tackled them).
www.nigelend2end.co.uk

Good effort all the same boys!!!

I've just watched Race Across America, the story of James Cracknell's ill-fated trip. This is a guy who pushes himself to the limits of human endurance.
He cycled from LA to Death Valley with very little sleep and then did 3 consecutive marathons in Death Valley in 115 F! He had a previous metatarsal injury which meant running was agony. He was on all sorts of painkillers and was getting seriously dehydrated. Then he continued his journey by cycle and was hit by the truck in Arizona.

I can't believe a guy who can do all this in extreme conditions would pull out of a LEJOG ride right near the end. I did read on his blog that since the accident he does listen to his support team when they say stop. Maybe the combination of lack of sleep and his head injury made it dangerous for him to cycle. Even if they knew they weren't going to beat the record I can't believe they would just stop so near to completing it.

A friend was observer in the following car for this record attempt.

They advised the pair to stop due the dangerous nature of their riding presumably due to the fatigue of sleeplessness.

You must remember that James Cracknell received a serious head injury only a couple of years ago. The effects of that will still be with him (as he freely admits) and will be for many years to come. In a recent interview Stirling Moss said that he was still recovering from his crash in the 1960's. Head injuries are not like broken bones, they never fully heal. Something is always lost.
He will no longer have the drive, or the capacity to realise when he does not have the drive, to push himself to achieve what he could before his injury.
Throughout this ride, which has been an incredible achievement, he has had to rely on the opinion of others as to the safety and his condition as he cannot trust his own judgment of the situation. The fact that he was willing to take the advice to stop should be applauded.
My only criticism of the entire venture is the choice of bike. They went for a tandem more suited to a time trial or sprint, not something you can ride for 50 hours. Slightly more comfortable geometry would not have cost them very much speed, but would have helped stave off fatigue.