A friendly considerate outgoing nature with a mentality to understand that things don’t always go to plan and that it’s better to improvise adapt and overcome! A roadworthy well maintained bicycle, a helmet, lights, navigational device loaded with the route. A push to reach £500 sponsorship.
Is it a race?
It is definitely NOT a race. Some people ride faster, some people ride slower. Some people join as a group of friends and ride together. Some people join on their own and find others that ride at their pace. We ‘prefer’ that nobody rides alone.
How fast do I need to ride?
We get a mix of riders who all ride at different speeds. This can mean that the Lap can be fairly spread out. To make it practical for us to provide each rest stop we will give a time window for each stop and suggested departure times for slower or faster riders. Essentially we want the slower riders to set off first and the faster riders to set off last. Example speeds would be 12-13mph average towards the slower end, 14-15mph in the middle and 16-18mph at the fast end.
When do I get my Jersey?
When you sign up and check out you will get the option to ‘collect at lap’ or ‘jersey postage’. If you select jersey postage then your jersey will be posted to you. Please note this will not be until sometime in July when we receive them from the printers. If you select collect at lap you can collect at the start.
What is the route like?
The route is mostly quiet country roads wherever possible. These are susceptible to summer rain washing sand and stones onto the road. Decent tyres are optimal over soft sport compounds for this reason. There is some city riding through Norwich, Ipswich and Luton. And the hills! there are lots of hills especially towards the end of day two and the start of day three. Sometimes we encounter road closures, 9 times out of 10 a bicycle can still get through. If not improvise adapt and overcome.
How often do we stop?
The rest stops are on average around 20miles apart and usually for around 20minutes except lunch where we have longer. We stop at cafes and pubs so you can grab a coffee and use the toilet. Stops are not mandatory but if you are really speedy you might get to the hotel before the van with your bag.
What happens if I can’t finish?
It’s not uncommon for someone to pick up an injury or just run out of energy. This would typically happen towards the end of the day so you could be recovered by the support car. If you have to end your Lap journey altogether then we may need to transport you , your bicycle and your bag to the nearest train/bus station. We don’t want to do this but space is limited in the support car.
Do I need insurance?
We do not cover you or any of you property for injury, loss or damage. You enter at your own risk! Although we have never suffered any losses we do recommend that you obtain your own insurance.
Who organises the Lap?
The Lap is organised by friends John Bradley and Paul Tibbs. It is not operated as a business and we take no payment. It is purely organised as fun enjoyable experience to raise money for the East Anglian Air Ambulance. It is however run in a professional manner and we are very proud of our event and the way that it is operated. During the Covid pandemic we refunded, in full, every person that had signed up to take part. We do not earn any money from running the Lap and we are assisted by some volunteers who kindly donate their time to help make the Lap possible.
What do I do with my offline cash donations?
The easiest thing to do with any cash donations is to pay it into your own bank account and then sponsor yourself the money in one lump sum into your Just Giving page.