Danial Webb stands front of shot, behind him a dark, moorland vista. The light is low, the cloud is heavy, and most of all the wind is howling.
He attempts to impart a short message to those watching, a message that grows increasingly hard to catch.
“…top of Yad Moss… some really strong winds happening at the moment… gusts of around… see my lanyard going…”
It’s impossible to hear everything is says, but the message is clear: it’s very, very windy.
Webb, organiser of UK blue riband ultra-cycling event London-Edinburgh-London, has been forced to call a halt to the event due to Storm Floris, which is battering the north of the UK. He has posted the video on Facebook by way of explanation to any riders who may yet to have come across any bad weather.
The 1,400km Audax event was put on pause twice for two blocks of four hours, before riders were ultimately told that they could not continue north.
Only one person – Ian McBride – had actually reached Edinburgh.
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But the riders have not been sent home – far from it. Most were back out on the road Tuesday morning and pedalling south, back towards the London start HQ, where they will receive a finishing medal for completing what the organisers describe as ‘the event as it was run this year’, even if they did not reach Edinburgh.
“Continuing weather uncertainty means we have reached a decision point,” Webb wrote in a Facebook message to participants.
“The weather still looks challenging and we are not confident we can declare the northbound route safe in time for the ride to continue to work for riders and the helpers who have made plans around the event. People have jobs to get back to and flights to catch.”
They added: “There will still be a challenging ride homeward. The flat lands of Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire will provide a test for audacious souls and people will need to work together to get home.
“We’re sorry that the weather has beaten us this time but rider safety is paramount and can not be compromised.”
The reaction from the riders, many of whom will have been preparing for the event for months, and some who will have travelled from abroad, was largely positive and understanding.
“Quite the scene in Malton,” wrote one rider on Facebook. “Chief controller read out the cancellation message and was obviously very upset. She got a huge round of applause from a packed hall. I think everyone understands the reasons for canceling and we’re all grateful for the organisers being sensible. Viva LEL!”
Another wrote: “The right decision – excellent leadership LEL…” – a sentiment backed up by many.
Not everyone was quite so understanding, with another rider posting: “If we lost a day due to bad weather, we can either fail or punch it out in four days. We should have had the right to try. We trained for it, we PAID for it, and many of us travelled a long way for it.”
After an overnight stop at the various control points, riders were being allowed to leave and head back south earlier this morning.
