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Rob Skinner’s 194-page book, Riders of the Storm, tells the story of the 2025 London–Edinburgh–London audax, which was curtailed as Storm Floris brought dangerous weather. The review says Ian McBride was the only rider to complete the full route, while the book also follows other riders and the organisers’ response. It combines first-person accounts with practical advice for long-distance cyclists.
Rob Skinner’s book Riders of the Storm recounts how organisers curtailed the 2025 London–Edinburgh–London (LEL) audax as Storm Floris made conditions dangerous, and how riders and volunteers responded. A road.cc review says Ian McBride was the only rider to complete the full route, while the event’s organisers worked to bring the rest of the field safely back to London.
LEL is a roughly 1,500-kilometre endurance ride between the English and Scottish capitals. Skinner’s book covers his own experience, accounts from fellow participants and a behind-the-scenes view of the organisers’ decisions as the storm disrupted the event. The review describes the 2025 ride as an unusually challenging edition, curtailed for all but one rider.
The accounts include McBride’s completion of the full route, volunteer Laura Massey-Pugh’s experience at the Dalkeith control as the change of plan took hold, and Therese Johansson’s account of reaching Scotland. Indian doctor Radha Krishnan writes about the effects of long-distance cycling on family life. Organiser Danial Webb and his team are presented as central to route checks and decisions prioritising rider safety.
The book is listed at 194 pages and includes a foreword by endurance cyclist and author Emily Chappell. The review praises Skinner’s descriptions of audax riding and says the book ends with advice for people attempting long-distance rides. Its main criticism is structural: separate chapters for individual riders can, the reviewer says, make the developing drama feel less connected.
How Floris Changed the Ride
The event illustrates the difficult choices involved in running a mass endurance ride when severe weather changes the risk. The review describes an event planned for a large field that instead became a curtailed ride, with organisers and volunteers managing the response as participants were brought back safely. That makes the book relevant beyond its account of individual cycling feats: it also documents how event staff handled an unexpected disruption.
For prospective riders, the story offers a reminder that completing a route is not the only measure of an event. The review describes disappointment among riders alongside understanding, and recounts volunteers’ emotional response to the decision. Skinner’s focus on both participants and organisers gives readers a view of the consequences of weather decisions for a community spread across a long route.
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A 1,500-Kilometre Audax
London–Edinburgh–London is held every four years and draws cyclists from different countries. The publisher’s description characterises it as a 1,500-kilometre ride intended to be completed within five days. The road.cc review places it in the audax tradition of long-distance, self-supported cycling and compares its standing in England with that of Paris–Brest–Paris in France.
In 2025, forecasts warned of severe weather from Storm Floris. The publisher’s description says the storm was associated with transport disruption, including cancelled trains and grounded flights, and reports that 70,000 homes lost power. The supplied material does not specify the time period or geographic scope for that power figure, so it should be treated as a claim in the publisher’s description rather than a standalone measure of the storm’s wider impact.
““Audaxing is an extreme sport for sensible people.””
— Road.cc reviewer
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Details Still Not Specified
The supplied review does not give the precise date the event was curtailed, the exact route changes, or a full account of how participants were transported back. It also does not provide a complete breakdown of how many riders reached each point before the change of plan. The statement that McBride was the only person to complete the full route is reported by the review; no separate event results or organiser statement are included in the material provided.
The publisher’s account says Storm Floris was forecast, but the source material does not establish the exact weather conditions at each control or explain which operational thresholds led organisers to act. The book and review describe the decision as safety-focused, but readers do not have a detailed timeline of the organisers’ assessment in the material here.
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The Book and Future LEL Rides
The review recommends the book to people considering LEL 2029 and to readers interested in endurance cycling. It is available in paperback and ebook formats, according to the supplied product information. No further event-specific announcement or follow-up from organisers is included in the source material.
For future editions, the account may serve as a record of how riders, volunteers and organisers experienced the 2025 interruption. The next LEL is expected in 2029 according to the review, but details of that event’s route, entry arrangements and weather or safety plans are not provided here.
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Key Questions
What is Riders of the Storm about?
It is Rob Skinner’s account of the 2025 London–Edinburgh–London audax, covering his own ride, other participants’ experiences and the organisers’ response to Storm Floris.
Why was the 2025 ride curtailed?
The road.cc review says organisers curtailed the event because Storm Floris brought dangerous weather. The material provided does not give the precise operational thresholds or full decision timeline.
Did anyone complete the full route?
According to the road.cc review, Ian McBride was the only rider to complete the full route. The supplied material does not include separate official results to corroborate that account.
How long is London–Edinburgh–London?
The event covers about 1,500 kilometres between the two capitals. The publisher’s description says riders take on the distance within five days.
What does the review say about the book?
The reviewer praises Skinner’s writing and the range of rider and organiser accounts, while saying the individual-chapter structure can lessen the sense of a single unfolding drama. The book also includes advice for long-distance riders.
Source: rss
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