Paris-Brest-Paris 2019 video

[Tor Hovland]

Here's my PBP video. Hope you like it!

I already mentioned it in another thread, but I just cannot emphasize enough how incredibly well the Vendetta performed. While many, many participants complained about discomfort such as saddle sores, and even more about headwind, I had no discomfort apart from slightly sore knees and some ankle pain that disappeared on its own. I never felt the wind to be much of an issue either. And the Vendetta really did well on those endless, relentless hills. I even passed plenty of riders uphill, and I've never been much of a climber. The ease of maintaining a good speed made sure I was never challenged by the time limit, and finished the ride with plenty of time in hand.

The fastest overall time was a velomobile, at just under 44 hours. On the other hand, many, if not most, velomobiles were rather slow overall due to all that climbing. The fastest DF was less than an hour behind. This makes me think that a really fit rider should be able to set an even faster time on a Vendetta.

 

[Robert Holler]

Great video!

 

[LarryOz]

Absolutely Amazing Tor - Such beautiful footage and arrangement! Still the love the original Vendetta with the welded aluminum boom - Nothing else like it!
You are one extraordinary person - and what a great international face for Cruzbike!
Loved the way you are always smiling - also loved the jump up on to the sidewalk flying past people and hoping back on to the road, passing a velomobile on a 2% grade, and blowing through stop signs at busy intersections, truck blowing past you in the middle of the night -plus I don't think I ever remember you getting passed by hardly anyone - you were always blowing by people even DF's riding it packs. Especially loved the time trial of the last state - near and dear to my heart Tor - what a great commercial for Crzubike!
Everything - even with an original Cruzbike seat cushion - Amazing!
You are "The man" - When I grow up I want to be just like you.

Maybe we should try and put together a Cruzbike group for 2023 - I might be able to get in shape for it with 4 years practice! haha
Truthfully, I think I would probably ride myself into insanity - from my experience in RAAM 2 years ago -I just have to chase down anybody that is in front of me - It would be never-ending job in PBP!

p.s. If you have any money or time left after that- consider coming to US for the Cruzbike retreat. Oct 4-7 I will offer to be your host. All you have to do is get to the Asheville, NC airport. I will do the rest. I will even supply a Vendetta for you to ride so you won't have to bring yours. You are so famous now, I'll bet Cruzbike will even comp your retreat fee if you can just get here (If they don't I will. ) email me at larryoslund@gmail.com if you are considering it.

 

[DavidCH]

Wow... fantastic ride. Those powernaps really work. Just two hours sleep after all that riding and your still smiling. Even with that horrible front puncture. Amazing. Well done. Time to get fit for 2023 I say.

 

[paco1961]

Brilliant ride and video. Awesome accomplishment!

 

[3bs]

Dude awesome.

 

[Bill K]

Totally awesome!
Ditto what Larry said (especially the when I grow up part)!

 

[jond]

How did you ever wake yourself from power naps Tor. ? Surely not an alarm.

The other Tor looked a lot more Thor lol sic after his df experience.

Truly inspired cycling Tor you should be very happy indeed.

Great to watch your video it was thrilling

Loved the smiles and thankyou to all at the end of the video.

Must have been tough sleeping in Brest on a cold tile after hoping dreaming of a bed.

Nice temps despite headwinds.

Falling asleep impossibly on grass banks is an audax indentured right of passage.

One of the local guys I ride with (if I have to lol ) sleeps on concrete paths the nutter in winter. He rode his homemade bent with you pbp2019. Pete Heal Australia madman. And a great guy.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[cpml123]

Great video! Again... what happened to all the cars? Lots of them parked but no moving cars.

 

[bikeventoux]

Hi Tor,

I tried to post yesterday about the video you shared with us below but the forum software ate my post.

Your work with the 360 camera is a joy and you are a talented video editor.

I had to drop out of the PBP due to pain, principally knee pain, but also saddle sores, back, neck and shoulder pain, and also pretty much everything pain. I made a decision right then and there that I would buy a recumbent. I see from the below that you switched bikes due to knee pain. It looks like your old bike, the Bacchetta Giro, was also a recumbent. Why did you choose a cruzbike and did it actually help the knee pain?

I made a decision early on to carry a minimalist kit that had almost no warm clothing. This turned out to be a bad decision when temperatures turned below 4 degrees C. Not being able to cover my knees made my pain much worse. The problem is that most bikes today don't have a way to mount a pannier rack. The industry has responded by creating soft sided bags that mount to the frame and seat post. In excess of 90% of the cyclists I saw at PBP used these bags. The bags hold their shape when stuffed full, but flop around and frequently fall into the space between the frame or fork and the wheels leading to flats and worse when not properly packed. I noticed that you seem to be using some sort of pannier that attaches to the seat and frame of the cruzbike vendetta. See here:

If I could get a few of these it would make it practical for me to do ultra-marathon rides of more than a day or two. Where did you find these bags? Did you get them from CruzBike? What do you think about them? Did they give you any problems?

How did you find traveling with the cruzbike? Did you find that it would fit into standard bike boxes and bags? Did the train or airplane give you any problems?

Would you recommend the cruzbike for a beginner? I have never tried a recumbent. I see that 90%+ of new riders are choosing trikes now. I'm guessing the visibility is better on a trike. What do you think?

I read on the web that many people use sealant in the front tire. Did you go tubeless with sealant or use a anti-puncture strip or other preventative measures?

That was a spectacular ride and you are shockingly fast.

Congratulations on an exceptional ride.

Hi, everyone!

I'll be one of the Cruzbikers there! I'll be flying down to France tomorrow.

PBP has been something of a distant dream for me ever since I first heard about it, many years ago. The rational part of me has always dismissed the idea as something far outside my reach. But last year I decided to see if I was cut out for long-distance cycling by signing up for the local 400 km brevet. I completed that on my Bacchetta Giro as the sole participant. Despite knee pain at the end, and for quite a while after the event, I decided I wanted to try qualifying for PBP. That gave me a valid reason to shop for another bike, and I bought a second-hand Vendetta, incidentally from the French PBP finisher Marcel Flaux. He's got a newer Vendetta that he's riding a LOT, along with his velomobile, mountain bike, roller skis, and I don't know what.

This year I completed the brevet series completely solo without any issues apart from the horrible rain, slew and snow during the 300. There are ride reports with photos and video on this forum.

I'll be in the same wave as Ed. My start number is F131. But don't bother comparing my ride with his. Ed is a seriously fast rider. In 2015 he was among the 3% fastest finishers. Most riders need 80 hours or more, the fastest one was 42 and a half, and Ed was under 55. My main ambition is to complete the ride within the 90 hour time limit. But I will do my best to minimize time not spent riding, and see if I can get close to 80 hours.

Here's my PBP video. Hope you like it!

I already mentioned it in another thread, but I just cannot emphasize enough how incredibly well the Vendetta performed. While many, many participants complained about discomfort such as saddle sores, and even more about headwind, I had no discomfort apart from slightly sore knees and some ankle pain that disappeared on its own. I never felt the wind to be much of an issue either. And the Vendetta really did well on those endless, relentless hills. I even passed plenty of riders uphill, and I've never been much of a climber. The ease of maintaining a good speed made sure I was never challenged by the time limit, and finished the ride with plenty of time in hand.

The fastest overall time was a velomobile, at just under 44 hours. On the other hand, many, if not most, velomobiles were rather slow overall due to all that climbing. The fastest DF was less than an hour behind. This makes me think that a really fit rider should be able to set an even faster time on a Vendetta.

 

[Bentas]

Great vid Tor, the trouble is you made 1200 Klms look so easy, chilled, sitting back, smiling , waving.
One of the most enjoyable ride vids I've seen, trying to sleep on a hard tile floor the first night would have done me in I'm sure.
Your one tough and gifted ombré , about to watch again, thank you .

 

[Tor Hovland]

Wow, you are all so incredibly nice! Although I enjoy the praise, this is far more than I feel entitled to!

Yes, the video made the ride look easy, because frankly it never felt too challenging, and I enjoyed all of it. I am as surprised about this as anyone. I'm not a very strong rider. I've never had a race result above the middle of the pack. I don't have any Strava KOMs. My solo 600 km qualifier took 37,5 hours. I could easily have struggled with knee and ankle pain, sleep deprivation, and general lack of speed. I suppose I must have had a really good day(s), despite a beginning cold before the event and waking up with a sore throat the morning after finishing. Also, it was surely a good idea to take it easy the last couple of weeks. And cutting coffee probably also helped. It goes without saying that the Cruzbike helped a lot too.

Looking forward to meet all of you in 4 years

Power naps: waking up using the phone alarm was never a problem. Actually, I'm not even sure I was asleep for more than a minute on some of them. Mostly I was just half asleep. But they helped amazingly well regardless. From now on, I want to include power naps on all my rides

Although the tile floor in Brest was uncomfortable, it didn't really matter, because I fell asleep right away, and slept like a baby. But getting a gym mattress in Fougeres was luxury

Cars: There was traffic, but not much. The route is designed to avoid the worst traffic, and the locals are encouraged to stay away from these roads. I was going to say that over 1200 km, there wasn't a single incident of annoyed motorist. Actually, some were even applauding! However, 15 minutes before the finish, some guy honked hard as he passed. Clearly, he had no idea about the big event going on.

Larry, it would be awesome to join the retreat. Unfortunately, it's such a long trip (24+ hours each way), it's coinciding with the kids' school break, and I'm going to SF anyway in November. But I really appreciate your hospitality!

The seat cushion: I did buy a Ventisit pad, but I actually didn't find it comfortable enough. I think it's just an inch too short. On the other hand, I don't have any issues with the stock pad.

 

[DavidCH]

I watched the video a second time and enjoyed it more. Quite incredible how you pieced all the video together. It must have taken days. I noticed that you have a watch wrapped around the handlebars. You are just interested in heart rate? Just wondered what type of meter you used? Were you using strava?

 

[Peder Torgersen]

I enjoyed watching your excellent video. I also heard you spoke Norwegian and English!

I met you some years ago and it is nice to read that you do so well on a Vendetta.

I rode with a rider some years ago that did long rides. He did PBP ride some years ago on a DF and had neck problems. He had to holdup his neck for the last stretch. Did you see anyone with neck problems?

 

[Tor Hovland]

bikeventoux, sorry to hear about your DNF!

Yes, a recumbent will absolutely help with comfort on ultra distance rides. Saddle, back, neck, shoulder, arm, and hand pain generally disappears. The one thing it won't magically fix is leg pain (i.e knees and ankles). Some people get "recumbent butt", though I believe this goes away with riding volume.

Yes, I've struggled with knee pain a lot. I also have a weak back, and it gets uncomfortable on long DF rides. The back pain was part of the reason why I bought my first recumbent. But I've never switched bikes hoping it would help with knee pain. The reason I got the Vendetta was simply that I wanted a faster bike.

On my first brevet, the 400 km last year on the Bacchetta, my knees and ankles were shattered during the final 100 km and for several days after. On my 4 day ride to Oslo one year ago on the Cruzbike, I got sharp knee pain on day one, due to improper bike fit and bare, cold knees. I adjusted the boom length, put on long tights, learned to apply sports tape, and took some ibuprofen. That helped. Also, as suggested on this forum (by Larry, if I remember correctly), I moved my cleats as far back as possible. I believe that has helped me significantly. This season, by keeping my knees covered, and by gradually building up the distance, I've got the pain under control. On PBP I didn't have to use sports tape. I took one ibuprofen at some point. I had some ankle pain that sorted itself out, and my knees got sore, but not really painful. I had no pain anywhere after the event.

The bags are Radical Design banana racers. They work really well. They aren't even attached, just lifted over the seat, under the seat pad. I have a large pair as well, the yellow ones that you can see in my 600 km Namsosrunden video. If you don't need to carry as much stuff, the Cruzbike Scarab bag may be a better option.

Recumbents don't generally fit in bike suitcases. I know some forum members have found working options. I just disassembled the boom and packed mine into a cardboard bike box. That works, but the box typically only survives one adventure.

I use tubeless on my MTB, but not on the road. The jury is out on whether it makes any sense. The tire needs to be heavier and less supple.

I think there's a good chance you would love a recumbent, however you just need to try one yourself and see how you get along. The same goes with a MBB bike like a Cruzbike. You'll either love it or hate it, but you need to try it to find out. I was lucky enough to rent one from forum member Peder summer of 2015. I have videos on YouTube showing what it's like to learn riding it. Needless to say, I loved the stiff front end and the direct power transfer from handlebars to crank. The Bacchetta steering feels flimsy in comparison, and I feel that I can't properly pull on the handlebars. On the other hand, it's impossible to say whether you will ever get comfortable with the hand and feet steering on a Cruzbike. I'm still not comfortable going above 60 km/h. But I have a V1 Vendetta, and I understand the newer versions have improved handling.

 

[Tor Hovland]

I enjoyed watching your excellent video. I also heard you spoke Norwegian and English!

I met you some years ago and it is nice to read that you do so well on a Vendetta.

I rode with a rider some years ago that did long rides. He did PBP ride some years ago on a DF and had neck problems. He had to holdup his neck for the last stretch. Did you see anyone with neck problems?

Hi, Peder, nice to meet you again!

I've read about people with that problem, Shermer's neck, as it's called. People have been using straps around their head and empty bottles under their chin and stuff like that. I didn't see anybody with such problems, but I'm sure it happened to some.

 

[Tor Hovland]

I watched the video a second time and enjoyed it more. Quite incredible how you pieced all the video together. It must have taken days. I noticed that you have a watch wrapped around the handlebars. You are just interested in heart rate? Just wondered what type of meter you used? Were you using strava?

Thanks!

It did take a while, yes. The hardest part is trimming down 3 hours of footage. And it certainly doesn't help that the Garmin Virb software slows to a crawl when you have many clips.

I have a Garmin Forerunner 935 watch and a Garmin Edge 820 device. The watch is amazingly energy efficient. The Edge not so much. As I don't have a dynamo wheel yet, I wanted to power my phone, camera, and watch from a single power pack. That's why I didn't bother bringing the Edge. I wouldn't need it for navigation anyway, and I have access to everything else on the watch. I don't have a power meter.

I posted to Strava along the way, and joined the activities into one when I got home. I didn't use Strava during the ride.

 

[bikeventoux]

Thanks for responding to my post. You have given me much to think about. I will have to weigh the pros and cons of a recumbent carefully. Did you say you got yours used? Where exactly?

Thanks again.

bikeventoux, sorry to hear about your DNF!

Yes, a recumbent will absolutely help with comfort on ultra distance rides. Saddle, back, neck, shoulder, arm, and hand pain generally disappears. The one thing it won't magically fix is leg pain (i.e knees and ankles). Some people get "recumbent butt", though I believe this goes away with riding volume.

Yes, I've struggled with knee pain a lot. I also have a weak back, and it gets uncomfortable on long DF rides. The back pain was part of the reason why I bought my first recumbent. But I've never switched bikes hoping it would help with knee pain. The reason I got the Vendetta was simply that I wanted a faster bike.

On my first brevet, the 400 km last year on the Bacchetta, my knees and ankles were shattered during the final 100 km and for several days after. On my 4 day ride to Oslo one year ago on the Cruzbike, I got sharp knee pain on day one, due to improper bike fit and bare, cold knees. I adjusted the boom length, put on long tights, learned to apply sports tape, and took some ibuprofen. That helped. Also, as suggested on this forum (by Larry, if I remember correctly), I moved my cleats as far back as possible. I believe that has helped me significantly. This season, by keeping my knees covered, and by gradually building up the distance, I've got the pain under control. On PBP I didn't have to use sports tape. I took one ibuprofen at some point. I had some ankle pain that sorted itself out, and my knees got sore, but not really painful. I had no pain anywhere after the event.

The bags are Radical Design banana racers. They work really well. They aren't even attached, just lifted over the seat, under the seat pad. I have a large pair as well, the yellow ones that you can see in my 600 km Namsosrunden video. If you don't need to carry as much stuff, the Cruzbike Scarab bag may be a better option.

Recumbents don't generally fit in bike suitcases. I know some forum members have found working options. I just disassembled the boom and packed mine into a cardboard bike box. That works, but the box typically only survives one adventure.

I use tubeless on my MTB, but not on the road. The jury is out on whether it makes any sense. The tire needs to be heavier and less supple.

I think there's a good chance you would love a recumbent, however you just need to try one yourself and see how you get along. The same goes with a MBB bike like a Cruzbike. You'll either love it or hate it, but you need to try it to find out. I was lucky enough to rent one from forum member Peder summer of 2015. I have videos on YouTube showing what it's like to learn riding it. Needless to say, I loved the stiff front end and the direct power transfer from handlebars to crank. The Bacchetta steering feels flimsy in comparison, and I feel that I can't properly pull on the handlebars. On the other hand, it's impossible to say whether you will ever get comfortable with the hand and feet steering on a Cruzbike. I'm still not comfortable going above 60 km/h. But I have a V1 Vendetta, and I understand the newer versions have improved handling.

 

[RojoRacing]

Couple observations

I thought this event was much more self-supported like, here's the start line and a route sheet to the finish so good luck. There is a ton more guidance and support than I expected, makes me think even I could take on such an event and not get frustrated with the logicistic of being in a another country.

You did very well having fun in the event itself and again your work putting together this video is also well done. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Tor Hovland]

bikeventoux, I bought mine second-hand, because I wasn't sure how much I would use it, hence didn't want to invest in a brand new one. When I saw a reference on this forum to a Vendetta for sale in Europe (France), I went for it.

Rojo, it's funny, actually. Randonneuring is about being self-supported, but the mother of all randonneuring events is anything but. All you have to do is get from one control to the next. Even between controls, the route is clearly indicated with arrow signs, and should you have any technical issues, there's plenty of other riders and locals around who are happy to help.

A fast rider like you would have no problem. You could sleep as much as you wanted, do a minimum of night riding, stop for food and rest as often as you like, and still finish comfortably within the time limit. More likely, you would want to challenge the fastest recumbent time, ride through the first night, rest a little the second night, add a couple power naps, and finish in about 50 hours, before the third night.