Paris-Brest-Paris 2023?
- Thread starter CruzinCambridge
- Start date
Derek
Active Member
My simplistic hypothesis, be right or wrong, is that the scarab bag is in the path of what is already disturbed air, the banana bags when bulging / fully-loaded are widening the riders profile into what was previously undisturbed air. Also, I like that this approach of scarab bag with aero bags behind it, is modular. I can ditch the Scarab on all but the longest rides. For example, I’m doing a 600k this weekend. The first 400k is flat and fast riding. The final 200k is hilly and going to be at night. So, since the 400k ends where it started, my plan is to roll during the day with only the aero sidebags and then add the scarab before the final 200k. Why the scarab on the final 200k you ask? Well the temp should drop into an iffy layer-up range and I also may need to crash for an hour or two, so I’m packing layers, an ultralight sleeping pad, insulated sleeping bag liner, and an emergency bag. If I were running w the banana bags I would need to have all this on me the whole way which seems like a lot to haul when there’s really no need until the final 1/3. Just one example of how modularity is a big plus for me. But is it really more or less aero when using everything….who knows!
Derek
Active Member
Nice! After installing mine, I do think the 3Ls are probably the better option if you want to keep your CdA tax (did I just coin a new phrase?!) at undermount-bottle levels.
Frito Bandito
Zen MBB Master
CdA tax... I think you did. Your's are pointy on the end, just like Elon Musk said they should do for Space X, so they are probably doubly good.
Andreas
Active Member
Looks great.
3L are too small for me and Rockbros 4L has a bad shape for our purpose.
But together with your Scarab and Brain Bag you already have a lot of space.
How did you attach the bags?
Do you have a photo straight from the site?
My idea was to attach narrow carbon plates between the frame and the seat, which I put through the loops on the pockets instead of the velcro straps.
Yeah, Vaude. If I want to support my locals I would buy these. Vaude's headquarters are only 16 km from my home.
I've made some progress on the bags that come into question.
If you are looking for zippers on both sides and freely positionable and removable velcro straps in the 5 liter class, there are not that many bags left.
In addition to the already mentioned Geosmina and Blackburn, I also discovered the Bontrager Adventure Boss.
They are available in many sizes (1.3, 1.7, 2.5, 3.0, 5.0 and 5.9 liters). These are also prepared for attachment with screws and I could easily attach them with 2 or 3 additional holes in the carbon seat.
A local dealer even had the 3L and 5.9L and I was able to hold them to my bike.
They only loosely attached and would end up hanging about 2 cm closer to the seat.
(These are not yet mine! :- )
The 3L looks very nice, the 5.9L is very bulbous at the front.
I think the shape of the 5L bag is somewhere in between, if you can trust the pictures on the website:
And where I already started with the cropping of images, I continued straight away and did some Photoshopping.
Bontrager 5.0 L could look like this:
And my current preference, Geosmina Gravel 5L:
And attached the other way around:
Geosmina also has the "MTB series", which fits better at the front but doesn't look that great at the back:
And the Blackburn probably looks too square for me:
I think I'll go for either Bontrager 5l or Geosmina Gravel.
Frito Bandito
Zen MBB Master
I like the Geosmina Gravel 5L also because it is the one that looks the most aero IMO. The only way I'd go for anything larger than that is if what I needed to carry didn't fit in the Geosmina 5L bag. The Sketch Geosmina looks like it would fit on your boom, so if you needed a bit more storage then that could work there.
Derek
Active Member
I used Velcro AND drilled 2 more holes in the seat to attach via bolt/wingnut. I’m glad I did the latter because while the Velcro seemed to be working well, about 250miles into my 600k yesterday, I hit a bump and one of my bags fell off. So, I attached the bolts for the rest of the ride. Worked great.
Frito Bandito
Zen MBB Master
That is a good idea Derek. I can see that the velcro might not hold if the bag contains heavy stuff, not enough velcro, the adhesive on the back of the velcro doesn't hold, or if the velcro isn't heavy duty enough. When I checked out the Vaude bar bag I noticed that the bar straps were not very thick and I was thinking of how I could take advantage of them by cutting small slits in the CF seat as a failsafe in case the adhesive backed velcro strips were not enough to keep the bag connected to the bike. When I tried to open the Vaude velcro bar strips I was surprised at how well such a small piece of velcro was holding together. The hooks on 1 side of the velcro were tiny and the loops on the other side were tiny too. But I felt like Austin Powers trying to remove the wig.
Congrats on your 23:28 600K the other day. Impressive.
Derek
Active Member
Thanks Ed!
Derek
Active Member
Just posted a series write up here: https://forum.cruzbike.com/threads/my-path-to-pbp-‘23.15121/
Tor Hovland
Well-Known Member
Hi, guys, sorry for being absent so long!
I will go to PBP as well, but this time I'm going to do it on my Trek Domane. Not because it's a better option. It isn't. If I was trying to see how fast I could do the event, I'm not aware of a better choice than a Vendetta. Actually, a velomobile is probably a little faster overall, but there are lots of small hills on PBP! No, I'm taking the Domane because I will be riding along with a friend, plus an upright is easier to bring on a plane.
I've completed the qualifier season on the Domane, but last weekend I also did an epic 1000 km ride on the Vendetta, with 11.000 meters of elevation, about the same as PBP. The climbs were up to 10% in gradient, and my 11-42T cassette was just right. I use it with an MTB derailleur and a Jtek Shiftmate. Search the forum for pictures. After struggling with saddle sores and the fatigue that comes with upright bikes, it was really refreshing to ride the Vendetta again. I'm usually a wreck the day after a long ride, but today I feel pretty much completely fine. I should add that I suffered from back discomfort this time, which hasn't really been a problem before. Maybe it's an age thing, I don't know.
Strava activity
A dynamo powered lamp is highly recommended, because the summer nights in France are long and very, very dark. (And cold. I'm from Norway, and I was surprised. I think 90% of the Indians DNF'd, many, if not most, because of the cold nights.) But a good battery strategy will work too. A battery bank as well as a small charger is also good for charging bike computer and phone. A really small battery bank can simply be wrapped around the handlebar or boom while you need to charge on the go.
When it comes to bags, I prefer the Radical Banana Racer for being so convenient to use. And it has an abundance of room. For PBP a smaller one would be even better, but it works very well. Add a dry bag to keep stuff that can't get wet. I have the Scarab as well, but I don't really like it.
Fenders, I have plenty experience riding in rain. Did I mention I am from Norway? I use fenders on my upright, but not on the Vendetta. The spray from the rear wheel is handled with some tape across the neck rest posts. The spray from the front wheel has never bothered me. The number one advice I can give for rain is neoprene gloves. Perhaps one size up, so you can get them on and off easily when wet. They still get wet. All "waterproof" gloves do (apart from dishwashing gloves). But they will keep your hands warm enough for temps down to 5-10 degrees C. Also wool socks and merino base layer. On the off chance that they forecast cold nights (like 3 C) with lots of rain, you would need to add a pair of "waterproof" winter gloves. Or just endure it until the next control.
For hydration, I have one bottle easily available under the boom, and two more behind the neck rest. That is more than enough for a PBP stage.
As for video, you only need one large micro SD card. That can give you 8 hours of footage, which is way more than you'd want to edit. You only need one battery too, but you need to be able to connect to a battery bank or dynamo every now and then.
Pacing strategy for long rides is interesting. The thing is, it only applies for half of day 1. For the rest of the ride you will go at your comfortable speed whether you want to or not (unless you're really committed to breaking some sort of record). When on an upright, I have found I really need to get enough carbs to avoid a slump at about 150-200 km. I use sports drinks and or a top tube bag full of candy to take care of that. But if the slump comes, it's gone after a rest stop with food. And at that point my body seems to have gotten the point that we're on a long ride, and adapted to fat burning. When on the Vendetta, I can keep a good pace with lower intensity. What's more, my heart rate naturally drops about 10 bpm just due to the reclining. These things seem to make a big difference for me, and I generally don't get that slump at all. On the 1000 km last weekend, I only had sports drink for my initial load of 3 bottles, and little candy. But at no point did I feel exhausted.
I will go to PBP as well, but this time I'm going to do it on my Trek Domane. Not because it's a better option. It isn't. If I was trying to see how fast I could do the event, I'm not aware of a better choice than a Vendetta. Actually, a velomobile is probably a little faster overall, but there are lots of small hills on PBP! No, I'm taking the Domane because I will be riding along with a friend, plus an upright is easier to bring on a plane.
I've completed the qualifier season on the Domane, but last weekend I also did an epic 1000 km ride on the Vendetta, with 11.000 meters of elevation, about the same as PBP. The climbs were up to 10% in gradient, and my 11-42T cassette was just right. I use it with an MTB derailleur and a Jtek Shiftmate. Search the forum for pictures. After struggling with saddle sores and the fatigue that comes with upright bikes, it was really refreshing to ride the Vendetta again. I'm usually a wreck the day after a long ride, but today I feel pretty much completely fine. I should add that I suffered from back discomfort this time, which hasn't really been a problem before. Maybe it's an age thing, I don't know.
Strava activity
A dynamo powered lamp is highly recommended, because the summer nights in France are long and very, very dark. (And cold. I'm from Norway, and I was surprised. I think 90% of the Indians DNF'd, many, if not most, because of the cold nights.) But a good battery strategy will work too. A battery bank as well as a small charger is also good for charging bike computer and phone. A really small battery bank can simply be wrapped around the handlebar or boom while you need to charge on the go.
When it comes to bags, I prefer the Radical Banana Racer for being so convenient to use. And it has an abundance of room. For PBP a smaller one would be even better, but it works very well. Add a dry bag to keep stuff that can't get wet. I have the Scarab as well, but I don't really like it.
Fenders, I have plenty experience riding in rain. Did I mention I am from Norway? I use fenders on my upright, but not on the Vendetta. The spray from the rear wheel is handled with some tape across the neck rest posts. The spray from the front wheel has never bothered me. The number one advice I can give for rain is neoprene gloves. Perhaps one size up, so you can get them on and off easily when wet. They still get wet. All "waterproof" gloves do (apart from dishwashing gloves). But they will keep your hands warm enough for temps down to 5-10 degrees C. Also wool socks and merino base layer. On the off chance that they forecast cold nights (like 3 C) with lots of rain, you would need to add a pair of "waterproof" winter gloves. Or just endure it until the next control.
For hydration, I have one bottle easily available under the boom, and two more behind the neck rest. That is more than enough for a PBP stage.
As for video, you only need one large micro SD card. That can give you 8 hours of footage, which is way more than you'd want to edit. You only need one battery too, but you need to be able to connect to a battery bank or dynamo every now and then.
Pacing strategy for long rides is interesting. The thing is, it only applies for half of day 1. For the rest of the ride you will go at your comfortable speed whether you want to or not (unless you're really committed to breaking some sort of record). When on an upright, I have found I really need to get enough carbs to avoid a slump at about 150-200 km. I use sports drinks and or a top tube bag full of candy to take care of that. But if the slump comes, it's gone after a rest stop with food. And at that point my body seems to have gotten the point that we're on a long ride, and adapted to fat burning. When on the Vendetta, I can keep a good pace with lower intensity. What's more, my heart rate naturally drops about 10 bpm just due to the reclining. These things seem to make a big difference for me, and I generally don't get that slump at all. On the 1000 km last weekend, I only had sports drink for my initial load of 3 bottles, and little candy. But at no point did I feel exhausted.
Andreas
Active Member
Breathtaking photos at your strava activity, @Tor Hovland. When I look at the landscape, I think better to go to Norway instead of Paris. But there are certainly not so many crêpes.
CruzinCambridge
Active Member
@Tor Hovland - will be sorry to miss riding with you in the 'bent peloton. If you're in one of the 80 hour groups I'll likely not see you unless I come early to the start! Looks like just @Andreas and I in Group F.
Thanks for the advice. I'm grateful I was able to get a dynamo wheelset before they hit backorder - one less thing to worry about. I try to get in 300+ grams of carbs per hour in sports drink and add bars on top of that. I bonked about 250km into my 300k last year and have been able to avoid that this year. I did a 100K this March that started at about 5 degrees C and rain off and on all day so got a good feel for what works and what doesn't in the wet and cold and have gotten proper waterproof socks and gloves.
There's rain forecast for my 600K this weekend and low temp of about 15C so I'll get another chance to try out my wet weather kit. I'll also be trying out my Radical Aero bag to hold my extra kit. I could probably cram everything into the double century like I did for the 400K, but it would be good to try it out on the road.
Thanks for the advice. I'm grateful I was able to get a dynamo wheelset before they hit backorder - one less thing to worry about. I try to get in 300+ grams of carbs per hour in sports drink and add bars on top of that. I bonked about 250km into my 300k last year and have been able to avoid that this year. I did a 100K this March that started at about 5 degrees C and rain off and on all day so got a good feel for what works and what doesn't in the wet and cold and have gotten proper waterproof socks and gloves.
There's rain forecast for my 600K this weekend and low temp of about 15C so I'll get another chance to try out my wet weather kit. I'll also be trying out my Radical Aero bag to hold my extra kit. I could probably cram everything into the double century like I did for the 400K, but it would be good to try it out on the road.
Good luck and wishes on PBP 2023, Tor. I am trying to decide whether to change my registration from Group B to Group F with similar reasons as you. It is hard to ride with uprights on a fast bent. They are slow on the flats and then I am slower on steep hills. A velomobile would be nice on PBP. My current plan is ride to Brest in around 24 hours and then Pontivy to sleep at a hotel on a Felt AR upright but I know my chance to complete PBP are better on a bent due to my back/neck/arm problems. I should be on a bent. So, if you see a big lug on a 61 cm black Felt in Group B....say hello.
First timers are always surprised at the cold. From 3-6am in the Loudeac/Tinteneac area out in the country in low areas, I have consistently registered 3-5C (37-41F) but the dew point can be a bigger issue on account of condensation (dew). (radiational cooling and also how the marine air moves in......it gets chilly especially on day 2 or 3 when fatigue starts to hit). Anyways, GL and have fun. Best, Ed
Andreas
Active Member
Ok, so I took the V20 for my BRM 600 JURA+ with AUDAX SUISSE.
The Vendetta performed well on the 200k, but I relied on the VTX for the rest of my qualification rides. And since I passed all of them, I was able to risk my 2nd 600k on two wheels.
The mostly flat route only had two noteworthy climbs to cross the Jura mountains, so it should be easy. The weather forecast was excellent, no rain but possibly a bit too hot.
There were about 50 riders at the start for two different BRM, 7 had choosen the CAMINO DEL DIABLO, a course with 11,400 meters (37,500 ft. !!!) of climbs, a bit for the insane but not for me. The rest took the track for toe dippers like me. A velomobile and a Schlitter Encore were also at the start.
We started at 8 pm on Friday. The first 80 km were probably the fastest I've ever driven in a BRM. With a heart rate of under 120, I was able to easily keep up with a breakaway group that wanted to go at around 35kph. Of course I kept a few bike lengths away, nobody should be able to accuse me of drafting.
The uprights then got a little weaker and I had to leave them (forwards, for sure). After a few minutes I saw a vertical chain of lights in front of me and some moments later I rode a few dozen kilometers together with the velomobile.
Then it slowly started to get hilly until I reached the dreaded mountain at KM 150. Here I had to stop riding for a while:
I walked the 6 km with an average of 10%+ as planned right from the start and so I was able to see many of the riders again.
During the descent it slowly got light and I was able to enjoy the most beautiful part of the route at sunrise.
Since the first part of the descent had a lot of potholes and afterwards the road surface was better but full of rockfalls, I rarely drove faster than on the flat.
The first checkpoint awaited me in the valley, a bakery full of French specialties.
I was really looking forward to the flat 200km along the river, ideal terrain for the vendetta. But that day there was a strong north-east wind that blew steadily against us and slowed me down by what felt like 5-8 kph. It shouldn't be a new best time that day.The poor roadies were probably hit even harder.
In the last 100km I took too many breaks. Search for drinking water, mix carbohydrate powder, put on arm warmers, a few km later add the jacket, plug the bike computer into the battery and take a little break each time. I could organize that better.
I hadn't looked closely at the second mountain pass beforehand. I knew it was much lower than the first, but didn't know how steep. But apart from a few hundred meters with 12% everything was rideable in the end. The last kilometers before the pass were still close to my limit and I needed the full width of the road. Luckily there were no more cars here in the middle of the night.
At the summit, 30km from the finish, I threw in some more carbs and was passed by another randonneur, the last one I had seen 9 hours earlier.and the velomobile did the final pass 7 hours before.
At 3:50 am I was back at the starting point and saw the Schlitter, the velomobile and a hand full other bikes.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9329436926
The Vendetta may be faster, but also more tiring than the VTX. Compared to the last 600k, I had 2 hours less net time and almost an hour total time, but also 2000 m less elevation. Or could the 200 km long steady headwind (4 to 5 Beaufort) be counted as a 1% permanent climb with no possibility of a descent?
And climbs become increasingly difficult the more tired you are. The reflexes are reduced to keep the V20 straight at low speeds. With the VTX, I climb those inclines half asleep.
And pushing is slower and more strenuous than driving:
10.5% on 1.6 KM cranking slowly the VTX (26 front, 32 rear): 5.2kph at 120 bpm.
10.4% on 5.6km pushing the Vendetta: 4.5 kph at 140 bpm.
By the way, I decided on the Geosmina bags and all in all I had exactly the right storage space for a 600 in June and without the risk of rain.
Both bags together have nearly the same volume as one side of my Banana Racers. I was able to attach them with some carbon plates and without the need to drill holes into the seat.
And my Velogical worked well too, but is now being remounted to the VTX for PBP.
1200k & Vendetta? Probably in 2027 ....
EDIT: Posted the wrong Strava link, this one is mine: https://www.strava.com/activities/9329436926
The Vendetta performed well on the 200k, but I relied on the VTX for the rest of my qualification rides. And since I passed all of them, I was able to risk my 2nd 600k on two wheels.
The mostly flat route only had two noteworthy climbs to cross the Jura mountains, so it should be easy. The weather forecast was excellent, no rain but possibly a bit too hot.
There were about 50 riders at the start for two different BRM, 7 had choosen the CAMINO DEL DIABLO, a course with 11,400 meters (37,500 ft. !!!) of climbs, a bit for the insane but not for me. The rest took the track for toe dippers like me. A velomobile and a Schlitter Encore were also at the start.
We started at 8 pm on Friday. The first 80 km were probably the fastest I've ever driven in a BRM. With a heart rate of under 120, I was able to easily keep up with a breakaway group that wanted to go at around 35kph. Of course I kept a few bike lengths away, nobody should be able to accuse me of drafting.
The uprights then got a little weaker and I had to leave them (forwards, for sure). After a few minutes I saw a vertical chain of lights in front of me and some moments later I rode a few dozen kilometers together with the velomobile.
Then it slowly started to get hilly until I reached the dreaded mountain at KM 150. Here I had to stop riding for a while:
I walked the 6 km with an average of 10%+ as planned right from the start and so I was able to see many of the riders again.
During the descent it slowly got light and I was able to enjoy the most beautiful part of the route at sunrise.
Since the first part of the descent had a lot of potholes and afterwards the road surface was better but full of rockfalls, I rarely drove faster than on the flat.
The first checkpoint awaited me in the valley, a bakery full of French specialties.
I was really looking forward to the flat 200km along the river, ideal terrain for the vendetta. But that day there was a strong north-east wind that blew steadily against us and slowed me down by what felt like 5-8 kph. It shouldn't be a new best time that day.The poor roadies were probably hit even harder.In the last 100km I took too many breaks. Search for drinking water, mix carbohydrate powder, put on arm warmers, a few km later add the jacket, plug the bike computer into the battery and take a little break each time. I could organize that better.
I hadn't looked closely at the second mountain pass beforehand. I knew it was much lower than the first, but didn't know how steep. But apart from a few hundred meters with 12% everything was rideable in the end. The last kilometers before the pass were still close to my limit and I needed the full width of the road. Luckily there were no more cars here in the middle of the night.
At the summit, 30km from the finish, I threw in some more carbs and was passed by another randonneur, the last one I had seen 9 hours earlier.and the velomobile did the final pass 7 hours before.
At 3:50 am I was back at the starting point and saw the Schlitter, the velomobile and a hand full other bikes.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9329436926
The Vendetta may be faster, but also more tiring than the VTX. Compared to the last 600k, I had 2 hours less net time and almost an hour total time, but also 2000 m less elevation. Or could the 200 km long steady headwind (4 to 5 Beaufort) be counted as a 1% permanent climb with no possibility of a descent?
And climbs become increasingly difficult the more tired you are. The reflexes are reduced to keep the V20 straight at low speeds. With the VTX, I climb those inclines half asleep.
And pushing is slower and more strenuous than driving:
10.5% on 1.6 KM cranking slowly the VTX (26 front, 32 rear): 5.2kph at 120 bpm.
10.4% on 5.6km pushing the Vendetta: 4.5 kph at 140 bpm.
By the way, I decided on the Geosmina bags and all in all I had exactly the right storage space for a 600 in June and without the risk of rain.
Both bags together have nearly the same volume as one side of my Banana Racers. I was able to attach them with some carbon plates and without the need to drill holes into the seat.
And my Velogical worked well too, but is now being remounted to the VTX for PBP.
1200k & Vendetta? Probably in 2027 ....
EDIT: Posted the wrong Strava link, this one is mine: https://www.strava.com/activities/9329436926
Last edited:
CruzinCambridge
Active Member
Well done, Andreas! What a beautiful ride. It seems to me like you're switching back to the trike just to make it hard for me to draft off of you. If you didn't see my fb post - or if you did - here's my report on my first 600K. Interested in feedback from the Anciennes on my PBP plan. at the end if you're still awake.
600K Ride Report
The short and long of it is that I qualified. I finished in 34.5 hours, well under the 40 hour time cut but slower than my R80 goal of 32 hours… but I’ll be easy on myself given that I rode about 400K of the ride by myself and 300K in the rain. More importantly my average moving speed of 14.7mph was within my target. And most importantly, I felt good. I could have kept going. I was glad to be done, but I didn’t have to empty the tank to finish. I was confident on the bike, I knew the route and managed my pace appropriately. My bike, clothing, and nutrition were all dialed in. I had moments of self-doubt, but I was ready to keep going. Doing twice that distance seems hard and unwise, but not impossible. I think I’m ready for PBP.
Pre-Ride Preparation
Forecast: Ten days out the forecast was for a week of rain, clearing for 70-80 degrees and sunny over the weekend. Another picture perfect ride, like the 300K and 400K if maybe a bit hot. As the week wore on, the forecast changed to “rain with intermittent thunderstorms all weekend.” Well, at least it will be cool and help me test out the new rain gear I bought after my last rainy ride proved that my waterproof gloves weren’t the least bit waterproof.
Body: After the 300K I took 2 weeks off to let my strained hip flexor and Achilles tendinitis heal. After a few conversations I diagnosed that (1) the hip flexor strain was probably from pushing too high a gear in the 200K. And (2) the right Achiles/left knee problem is best fixed by adjusting for my leg length deficiency. I can’t get a shim on my SPD pedals because the screws are too short, so I added a second insole to the right shoe. Between this and being careful to watch my pedal stroke on the climbs (push through a flatter foot instead of a pointed toe) I was feeling much less issue in my training rides. I also had a numb pinky and ring finger in my left hand for weeks after the 300K, so I double wrapped the bars and was careful not to hold too tightly and didn't get a recurrence.
Bike: After the 300K I did some training rides and decided my Frankentrain (front Rival road double, rear mountainbike 11-42) was taking too much mental energy. I had to be really careful to shift into the big ring only in the 13-15 or else I would drop the chain… and in the little ring, the chain would search around in the middle of the cassette until it settled into the 28. I looked online on how much a SRAM Eagle 1x setup costs and there was a used MTB groupo for sale on ebay ending in 2 hours for $200. I went for it. My LBS (Cambridge Cycle) installed the “Ratio” aftermarket kit converting my right Rival brifter from 11 to 12 speed, found a 5 bolt ovalized 42 1x chainring, and put 2 SRAM 12 speed chains together to make the right length. The bottom gear (42:50) is a .88 which is basically the same as my frankentrain (38:42 = .90) and a more than 20% lower than my original (36:32 = 1.11). The top end is a good bit lower (11:42=3.8… about the same as a 13:50 and 20% below 11:50) but in a Brevet, I’m not pacelining at 25mph and with my aero advantage, I’m likely braking or coasting downhill. The big benefit was smooth shifting instead of constant attention to the drivetrain. The nice think about the Cruzbike is you can back yourself out of a dropped chain like 75% of the time since you can see it happening right in front of you… but with the 1x setup I *never* dropped my chain… *never* had to chase back on… *never* had to curse out loud and soft pedal up hill as my drivetrain ground and hopped between cogs in the middle of the cassette.
Fender: With the upcoming rain, it was time to put on my fenders. I bought the fancy German fenders after reading about them on the forum, but whoever said they’d work with an S30 must not have had disc brakes. Luckily I had a cheapo plastic Planet Bike fender that I’d scavenged from a street find. I was able to cut and file the fender to fit my fork, add a scavenged fork-mounted caliper brake bolt to hold it in place, and find wide front fork P-clamps at my LBS. I couldn’t get the rear fender to work… but with the Thor seat and Radical Solo Aero, I knew my neck wasn’t going to get sprayed… I would just have to deal with nobody wanting to take my wheel.
Bags: I added the Radical Design Solo Aero to my setup. I wasn’t sure I’d really need it since we had drop bags at the overnight and the weather was warmer at the start so less layers to peel off and stow, but I wanted to test out the setup. This meant I had to move my SON rear light higher to clear the bag, but that was pretty easy. LBS took care of it with a jury-rigged aluminum mount.
Nutrition: I’ve been playing with my beverage mix and finally have settled on 1 full GU Roctane = 300 calories split between fructose and glucose, 1/2 UCAN Superstarch = 200 calories, and ½ LMNT electrolyte per 500ml bottle. My Osprey hydration bladder holds 2.5 liters but I usually fill it up only to 2 liters. I made up two 2 liter bags of mix – 1 for the start, and 1 for my drop bag for the final 200K. Then two 1 liter bags for mid-ride. I find that if it’s hot I want to consume less calories and more electrolytes so its good to have the option to either top up the bladder with 1 liter, or re-fill with 2 liters at ½ mix (plus add an extra electrolyte if its hot). I had also heard the control points were a little sketchy so I brought a dozen different bars with me and put a half dozen in the drop bag.
Route/Pace Planning: I put together a plan for my ride with estimates of where I should be at 13, 14, and 15mph average paces. This is the first time I put in calculations for the time-off-bike. The ride leaders saw my laminated card and thought this was a pretty pro move. It did keep me from fretting too much over my rando-math.
Camera: I’ve been taking movies with my phone on a quadlock mount on the handlebars, but with all the rain expected, I dug out my old Gopro Hero. My Samsung Galaxy is supposed to be reasonably waterproof without submerging… but it becomes useless when there’s water on the touchscreen. The GoPro has a wider angle and can run on pushbuttons, but getting footage off of the thing takes hours, so I’m wicked delayed in putting together a ride video.
600K Ride Report
The short and long of it is that I qualified. I finished in 34.5 hours, well under the 40 hour time cut but slower than my R80 goal of 32 hours… but I’ll be easy on myself given that I rode about 400K of the ride by myself and 300K in the rain. More importantly my average moving speed of 14.7mph was within my target. And most importantly, I felt good. I could have kept going. I was glad to be done, but I didn’t have to empty the tank to finish. I was confident on the bike, I knew the route and managed my pace appropriately. My bike, clothing, and nutrition were all dialed in. I had moments of self-doubt, but I was ready to keep going. Doing twice that distance seems hard and unwise, but not impossible. I think I’m ready for PBP.
Pre-Ride Preparation
Forecast: Ten days out the forecast was for a week of rain, clearing for 70-80 degrees and sunny over the weekend. Another picture perfect ride, like the 300K and 400K if maybe a bit hot. As the week wore on, the forecast changed to “rain with intermittent thunderstorms all weekend.” Well, at least it will be cool and help me test out the new rain gear I bought after my last rainy ride proved that my waterproof gloves weren’t the least bit waterproof.
Body: After the 300K I took 2 weeks off to let my strained hip flexor and Achilles tendinitis heal. After a few conversations I diagnosed that (1) the hip flexor strain was probably from pushing too high a gear in the 200K. And (2) the right Achiles/left knee problem is best fixed by adjusting for my leg length deficiency. I can’t get a shim on my SPD pedals because the screws are too short, so I added a second insole to the right shoe. Between this and being careful to watch my pedal stroke on the climbs (push through a flatter foot instead of a pointed toe) I was feeling much less issue in my training rides. I also had a numb pinky and ring finger in my left hand for weeks after the 300K, so I double wrapped the bars and was careful not to hold too tightly and didn't get a recurrence.
Bike: After the 300K I did some training rides and decided my Frankentrain (front Rival road double, rear mountainbike 11-42) was taking too much mental energy. I had to be really careful to shift into the big ring only in the 13-15 or else I would drop the chain… and in the little ring, the chain would search around in the middle of the cassette until it settled into the 28. I looked online on how much a SRAM Eagle 1x setup costs and there was a used MTB groupo for sale on ebay ending in 2 hours for $200. I went for it. My LBS (Cambridge Cycle) installed the “Ratio” aftermarket kit converting my right Rival brifter from 11 to 12 speed, found a 5 bolt ovalized 42 1x chainring, and put 2 SRAM 12 speed chains together to make the right length. The bottom gear (42:50) is a .88 which is basically the same as my frankentrain (38:42 = .90) and a more than 20% lower than my original (36:32 = 1.11). The top end is a good bit lower (11:42=3.8… about the same as a 13:50 and 20% below 11:50) but in a Brevet, I’m not pacelining at 25mph and with my aero advantage, I’m likely braking or coasting downhill. The big benefit was smooth shifting instead of constant attention to the drivetrain. The nice think about the Cruzbike is you can back yourself out of a dropped chain like 75% of the time since you can see it happening right in front of you… but with the 1x setup I *never* dropped my chain… *never* had to chase back on… *never* had to curse out loud and soft pedal up hill as my drivetrain ground and hopped between cogs in the middle of the cassette.
Fender: With the upcoming rain, it was time to put on my fenders. I bought the fancy German fenders after reading about them on the forum, but whoever said they’d work with an S30 must not have had disc brakes. Luckily I had a cheapo plastic Planet Bike fender that I’d scavenged from a street find. I was able to cut and file the fender to fit my fork, add a scavenged fork-mounted caliper brake bolt to hold it in place, and find wide front fork P-clamps at my LBS. I couldn’t get the rear fender to work… but with the Thor seat and Radical Solo Aero, I knew my neck wasn’t going to get sprayed… I would just have to deal with nobody wanting to take my wheel.
Bags: I added the Radical Design Solo Aero to my setup. I wasn’t sure I’d really need it since we had drop bags at the overnight and the weather was warmer at the start so less layers to peel off and stow, but I wanted to test out the setup. This meant I had to move my SON rear light higher to clear the bag, but that was pretty easy. LBS took care of it with a jury-rigged aluminum mount.
Nutrition: I’ve been playing with my beverage mix and finally have settled on 1 full GU Roctane = 300 calories split between fructose and glucose, 1/2 UCAN Superstarch = 200 calories, and ½ LMNT electrolyte per 500ml bottle. My Osprey hydration bladder holds 2.5 liters but I usually fill it up only to 2 liters. I made up two 2 liter bags of mix – 1 for the start, and 1 for my drop bag for the final 200K. Then two 1 liter bags for mid-ride. I find that if it’s hot I want to consume less calories and more electrolytes so its good to have the option to either top up the bladder with 1 liter, or re-fill with 2 liters at ½ mix (plus add an extra electrolyte if its hot). I had also heard the control points were a little sketchy so I brought a dozen different bars with me and put a half dozen in the drop bag.
Route/Pace Planning: I put together a plan for my ride with estimates of where I should be at 13, 14, and 15mph average paces. This is the first time I put in calculations for the time-off-bike. The ride leaders saw my laminated card and thought this was a pretty pro move. It did keep me from fretting too much over my rando-math.
Camera: I’ve been taking movies with my phone on a quadlock mount on the handlebars, but with all the rain expected, I dug out my old Gopro Hero. My Samsung Galaxy is supposed to be reasonably waterproof without submerging… but it becomes useless when there’s water on the touchscreen. The GoPro has a wider angle and can run on pushbuttons, but getting footage off of the thing takes hours, so I’m wicked delayed in putting together a ride video.
Attachments
CruzinCambridge
Active Member
600K Ride Report Part II: The Ride
Although 28 people were registered for the ride, the weather kept a lot of folks away and only 14 showed up for the start. We were all amazed that it wasn’t raining at the start and the temp was a reasonable 60 degrees. I chatted with John from New Jersey who towed me the better part of KM 200-300 in the NJ 400K. I was glad I did because he was off the front pretty soon after. Then rode for a while with Zach from VT who I rode with on the 300K. A number of people took a wrong turn so it was hard to tell who was in front and who was behind. As dawn broke we made our way to the first control in Hollis, NH at mile 30. There were maybe 7 of us at the control. I left early with Jeff who I know is a similar pace to me and Benge. We rode together till the 200K mark.
We hit our first big climb not long after Hollis. I remember walking one or two steep sections in the morning, but I did it with enthusiasm, taking the opportunity to stretch my hamstrings a little and knowing that stopping and walking is a much better use of time and energy than fighting to get going again up hill on slick roads. At some point around Belmont, mile 100 with lots of up and down, I remember having a low point, getting worried about whether I could keep up this pace and what was I getting myself into. When the same thing happened about mile 30 on Sunday, I think I’ve figured that there’s a natural adrenaline surge at the start and to be ready for the feeling of that wearing off and what it does to the body and more importantly the spirit.
It had been misting off and on but not long after Concord at maybe 10:30, 6 hours into the ride, it started to actually rain. I put on my rain jacket but left off my long gloves since it was kind of warm. Also, I should note I was wearing my fancy Showers Pass waterproof socks… and within 1:00 of rain I started to feel my heels get wet… and within 2:00 the balls of my feet and by 3:00 my feet were soaked… but plenty warm. I don’t know whether it was the rain or my pace, but Jeff didn’t want to take turns drafting so going down one of the big descents I thought I’d just let it go, recumbent style, and then we could gather back together in 20 miles at the control in Lincoln, NH. What I forgot was that the Control in Lincoln NH was an open control so I didn't see them again.
Just as I got into Lincoln NH the rain picked up, and there was a lot of traffic, and I was struggling to read my Wahoo on where the control was, and was looking to see where the McDonalds was and as I was going over some railroad tracks that were angled across the road, my tires slipped out from under me and I went down. It was a low speed fall. Scrape on my ankle, hole in the sleeve of my raincoat and scrape on my forearm. A lot of wet and grit all over me. I walked it into the McDonalds parking lot to gather myself and prepare to go up the Kankamangus Pass – 2,000 feet over 10 miles of straight up… after 150 miles and 9,000 feet of vertical.
I was pretty good with my control discipline up to this point. I spent maybe an extra 0:10 in Northampton when Benge needed to top up on water and Jeff and I stopped even though we didn’t need water till the next control. I spent at least 0:30 at the McDonalds in Lincoln… two burgers, a shake, washed out my wounds in the bathroom, filled up bottles, filled my shoes with paper towels, etc. It was way too air conditioned and I was shivering by the time I got back on the bike. That ended pretty soon.
“The Kank” was a lot of fun. It’s a state park and the road is smooth with a good wide shoulder for the first half, starting out on a gradual grade heading past the Loon ski mountain. It was Laconia weekend so there were a lot of motorcycles on the road roaring by. At about mile 4 it gets a little steeper but never gets over 7%. I just alternated between my lowest and second lowest gear and ground my way up for like 0:50 minutes being careful not to spike my heart rate and to modify my position and monitor my pedal stroke to keep pedaling circles. Now and then a view or vista would decloak from the clouds or the mist. I took a selfie at the top and then took on the descent in a pretty steady rain. I rode the brakes the whole way down keeping it under 35 … and it’s about 25 miles down. I wished it would never end.
View attachment 15015
The next control was what had been described as a sketchy Cumberland Farms in Conway and it lived up to that billing. It was the last resupply before Portland. Somewhere in here I noticed it started raining, and that’s when I realized it must have stopped raining for an hour. It seems the rain had stopped bothering me.
Riding solo in the pitch black in the rain was a new experience. On the country roads I was fine going uphill, but going downhill at >25 mph and a light that throws about 30 feet I was relying on my GPS to tell me when the road was about to curve. But then looking at the backlit GPS would blind me for a a few seconds peering back into the dark. Later as I got to the outskirts of Portland, there was a decent shoulder, but a lot of traffic on the road and I would be completely blinded when oncoming traffic passed me. There were a few times I was going uphill at a slow speed and cars were coming in both directions when I just put my foot down and waited or walked so that I wasn’t worried about wobbling into traffic at low speed. Somewhere in here there was a secret control… two randonneurs in a camper van parked in a baseball field by the side of the road shouting at me for quite a while before I understood what was happening. I learned here that I was #2 on the road and that there were only 11 others on the road with two scratches. They had hot vegetable soup which was nice and warming and I was able to top off my water.
I arrived at the overnight control at the Westbrook Community Center on the outskirts of Portland at 11:30. I took a hot shower, did some stretching, had some chicken and vegetarian lasagna and lay down in the darkened gym at about 12:30. There was a lot of time pfaffing about. I was glad to have some conversation I guess. I asked for a 4:00AM wakeup but then woke up on my own, used the bathroom, and tried to get back to sleep after looking around for a clock and not finding one. Then I heard birds chirping through the roof… it turns out it was 4:15AM. It took me a while to get my stuff together. With all the rain and grit I swapped out my chain for my backup chain (I use wax, so this is my strategy for wet weather… and at PBP if it’s wet, I’ll wet lube one of my waxed chains) and filled up my hydration pack and got on the road at 5:15AM. John who had arrived at 10:30 had just plowed straight through, but nobody who had come after me had, and there was nobody up (there were in fact two people who came in during my long departure) so I was back out on my own. This was maybe the poorest part of my randonneuring performance, burning 2 hours of non-sleeping time at the control.
The good news was that the rain had stopped or slowed to a mist and it was already dawn. I felt great at first, but then at about mile 30 I started to feel sluggish and started doing bad rando-math… if I feel this bad, I might only manage 12 mph… and with 200K that means I’ll get in 10 hours from now which is almost four with controls… I think I’ve learned to pattern recognize this as the adrenaline of the start wearing off. Later in the morning I had a genuine case of the famed “dozies” where I felt really tired and was seeing bright flashes when I blinked. At one point after being on larger roads with a lot of trucks, and fighting to keep maximum attention the route took a turn onto a dirt road through the woods and decided it was a good opportunity to take a break, have a pee, eat a fig bar, do some stretching, drink some water and then I was back to myself again. One thing I had been reminding myself the day before was to keep my pace up on the flats – when you’re solo there’s a tendency to just ride an easy pace… but I knew, pushing on the hills will burn some matches but pushing myself from 14 or 15mph to at least 16 or 17 mph on the flats would just consume calories. My pace was off on day 2… or rather I held the same pace with less vertical… but not by as much as I might have expected. Looking at my splits I realize I might have taken the Kank (third 100K) slower than I needed to, but I was a little bit intimidated. Side note, I checked on Strava and only 71 people have climbed The Kank this year and I’m #61. I’ll bet most of the people ahead of me didn’t do it after 150 miles though.
View attachment 15016
To finish it out - the rain came back for about 0:30. The course was a lot flatter but there were still some hills that were tough and some hills that were too steep to bike. The sun came out just as I was coming in to the finish. Then, the best part, as I come into the finish – which is a hotel parking lot with a Dunkin Donuts - somebody backs up out of the Dunkins without looking and nearly T-bones me! Luckily I stopped in time. It’s not a race, but I was still pleased to be the second one in and not be worried about rolling in too close to the time cut.
Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/42647026
Strava Day 1: https://www.strava.com/activities/9286223177
Strava Day 2: https://www.strava.com/activities/9291250221
Although 28 people were registered for the ride, the weather kept a lot of folks away and only 14 showed up for the start. We were all amazed that it wasn’t raining at the start and the temp was a reasonable 60 degrees. I chatted with John from New Jersey who towed me the better part of KM 200-300 in the NJ 400K. I was glad I did because he was off the front pretty soon after. Then rode for a while with Zach from VT who I rode with on the 300K. A number of people took a wrong turn so it was hard to tell who was in front and who was behind. As dawn broke we made our way to the first control in Hollis, NH at mile 30. There were maybe 7 of us at the control. I left early with Jeff who I know is a similar pace to me and Benge. We rode together till the 200K mark.
We hit our first big climb not long after Hollis. I remember walking one or two steep sections in the morning, but I did it with enthusiasm, taking the opportunity to stretch my hamstrings a little and knowing that stopping and walking is a much better use of time and energy than fighting to get going again up hill on slick roads. At some point around Belmont, mile 100 with lots of up and down, I remember having a low point, getting worried about whether I could keep up this pace and what was I getting myself into. When the same thing happened about mile 30 on Sunday, I think I’ve figured that there’s a natural adrenaline surge at the start and to be ready for the feeling of that wearing off and what it does to the body and more importantly the spirit.
It had been misting off and on but not long after Concord at maybe 10:30, 6 hours into the ride, it started to actually rain. I put on my rain jacket but left off my long gloves since it was kind of warm. Also, I should note I was wearing my fancy Showers Pass waterproof socks… and within 1:00 of rain I started to feel my heels get wet… and within 2:00 the balls of my feet and by 3:00 my feet were soaked… but plenty warm. I don’t know whether it was the rain or my pace, but Jeff didn’t want to take turns drafting so going down one of the big descents I thought I’d just let it go, recumbent style, and then we could gather back together in 20 miles at the control in Lincoln, NH. What I forgot was that the Control in Lincoln NH was an open control so I didn't see them again.
Just as I got into Lincoln NH the rain picked up, and there was a lot of traffic, and I was struggling to read my Wahoo on where the control was, and was looking to see where the McDonalds was and as I was going over some railroad tracks that were angled across the road, my tires slipped out from under me and I went down. It was a low speed fall. Scrape on my ankle, hole in the sleeve of my raincoat and scrape on my forearm. A lot of wet and grit all over me. I walked it into the McDonalds parking lot to gather myself and prepare to go up the Kankamangus Pass – 2,000 feet over 10 miles of straight up… after 150 miles and 9,000 feet of vertical.
I was pretty good with my control discipline up to this point. I spent maybe an extra 0:10 in Northampton when Benge needed to top up on water and Jeff and I stopped even though we didn’t need water till the next control. I spent at least 0:30 at the McDonalds in Lincoln… two burgers, a shake, washed out my wounds in the bathroom, filled up bottles, filled my shoes with paper towels, etc. It was way too air conditioned and I was shivering by the time I got back on the bike. That ended pretty soon.
“The Kank” was a lot of fun. It’s a state park and the road is smooth with a good wide shoulder for the first half, starting out on a gradual grade heading past the Loon ski mountain. It was Laconia weekend so there were a lot of motorcycles on the road roaring by. At about mile 4 it gets a little steeper but never gets over 7%. I just alternated between my lowest and second lowest gear and ground my way up for like 0:50 minutes being careful not to spike my heart rate and to modify my position and monitor my pedal stroke to keep pedaling circles. Now and then a view or vista would decloak from the clouds or the mist. I took a selfie at the top and then took on the descent in a pretty steady rain. I rode the brakes the whole way down keeping it under 35 … and it’s about 25 miles down. I wished it would never end.
View attachment 15015
The next control was what had been described as a sketchy Cumberland Farms in Conway and it lived up to that billing. It was the last resupply before Portland. Somewhere in here I noticed it started raining, and that’s when I realized it must have stopped raining for an hour. It seems the rain had stopped bothering me.
Riding solo in the pitch black in the rain was a new experience. On the country roads I was fine going uphill, but going downhill at >25 mph and a light that throws about 30 feet I was relying on my GPS to tell me when the road was about to curve. But then looking at the backlit GPS would blind me for a a few seconds peering back into the dark. Later as I got to the outskirts of Portland, there was a decent shoulder, but a lot of traffic on the road and I would be completely blinded when oncoming traffic passed me. There were a few times I was going uphill at a slow speed and cars were coming in both directions when I just put my foot down and waited or walked so that I wasn’t worried about wobbling into traffic at low speed. Somewhere in here there was a secret control… two randonneurs in a camper van parked in a baseball field by the side of the road shouting at me for quite a while before I understood what was happening. I learned here that I was #2 on the road and that there were only 11 others on the road with two scratches. They had hot vegetable soup which was nice and warming and I was able to top off my water.
I arrived at the overnight control at the Westbrook Community Center on the outskirts of Portland at 11:30. I took a hot shower, did some stretching, had some chicken and vegetarian lasagna and lay down in the darkened gym at about 12:30. There was a lot of time pfaffing about. I was glad to have some conversation I guess. I asked for a 4:00AM wakeup but then woke up on my own, used the bathroom, and tried to get back to sleep after looking around for a clock and not finding one. Then I heard birds chirping through the roof… it turns out it was 4:15AM. It took me a while to get my stuff together. With all the rain and grit I swapped out my chain for my backup chain (I use wax, so this is my strategy for wet weather… and at PBP if it’s wet, I’ll wet lube one of my waxed chains) and filled up my hydration pack and got on the road at 5:15AM. John who had arrived at 10:30 had just plowed straight through, but nobody who had come after me had, and there was nobody up (there were in fact two people who came in during my long departure) so I was back out on my own. This was maybe the poorest part of my randonneuring performance, burning 2 hours of non-sleeping time at the control.
The good news was that the rain had stopped or slowed to a mist and it was already dawn. I felt great at first, but then at about mile 30 I started to feel sluggish and started doing bad rando-math… if I feel this bad, I might only manage 12 mph… and with 200K that means I’ll get in 10 hours from now which is almost four with controls… I think I’ve learned to pattern recognize this as the adrenaline of the start wearing off. Later in the morning I had a genuine case of the famed “dozies” where I felt really tired and was seeing bright flashes when I blinked. At one point after being on larger roads with a lot of trucks, and fighting to keep maximum attention the route took a turn onto a dirt road through the woods and decided it was a good opportunity to take a break, have a pee, eat a fig bar, do some stretching, drink some water and then I was back to myself again. One thing I had been reminding myself the day before was to keep my pace up on the flats – when you’re solo there’s a tendency to just ride an easy pace… but I knew, pushing on the hills will burn some matches but pushing myself from 14 or 15mph to at least 16 or 17 mph on the flats would just consume calories. My pace was off on day 2… or rather I held the same pace with less vertical… but not by as much as I might have expected. Looking at my splits I realize I might have taken the Kank (third 100K) slower than I needed to, but I was a little bit intimidated. Side note, I checked on Strava and only 71 people have climbed The Kank this year and I’m #61. I’ll bet most of the people ahead of me didn’t do it after 150 miles though.
View attachment 15016
To finish it out - the rain came back for about 0:30. The course was a lot flatter but there were still some hills that were tough and some hills that were too steep to bike. The sun came out just as I was coming in to the finish. Then, the best part, as I come into the finish – which is a hotel parking lot with a Dunkin Donuts - somebody backs up out of the Dunkins without looking and nearly T-bones me! Luckily I stopped in time. It’s not a race, but I was still pleased to be the second one in and not be worried about rolling in too close to the time cut.
Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/42647026
Strava Day 1: https://www.strava.com/activities/9286223177
Strava Day 2: https://www.strava.com/activities/9291250221
CruzinCambridge
Active Member
600K Ride Report Part III
Lessons Learned for PBP
Lessons Learned for PBP
- Night riding is no joke. I was planning to do a night ride to the start of the PMC, but I haven’t scouted that route for night riding. The 600K route was carefully chosen to be on rural roads and roads with wide shoulders. I haven’t done enough due diligence I'm going to reconsider that.
- Managing time off the bike gets harder the longer the ride. I completed the ride in 25:30 moving time and 34:30 total time. Spending more than 0:30 per 100K in the first half of the ride was too much. Trying to get a real four hours sleep at the overnight was good insurance for finishing my first 600K but I didn’t need to spend 2 hours pfaffing about. After all, it's not like my butt hurts.
- Mental toughness matters. Riding almost 20 hours by myself I went through a lot of self-talk. Turning attention to pace, to pedal stroke, to choking down food and water, to moving about in the seat where you can – those all make the difference between a hard ride and an enjoyable one.
- Small goals work wonders. Climbing up the Kank, I didn’t know exactly the right point where the 10 mile climb started, but once it started getting steep I counted down and celebrated every mile and then every half mile.
- I’m in group F starting Sunday at 5:15. My goal is to do the first 600K in one go and get to the outskirts of Brest (where I have a hotel room) within 30 hours. I think I’ll be able to power through the night, but will likely need a nap at dawn or maybe in the afternoon. Still, 25:30 moving hours… maybe a little less if I ride with groups… leaves 0:30 for each of the controls and 1:00 to nap. Maybe worst case I get to Brest (Landerneau actually) closer to 1 or 2. My big insight from the 600K is that I need the stopover to be 3-4 hours sleeping and no more than 1 hour screwing around with a shower and food and coffee and conversation. I have plenty of room in my solo aero bag so I should probably buy dinner and breakfast food in Carhaix and bring it with me to the hotel.
- Then I can break the return into two 300K days, expecting to drop speed on each day. If I can get on the road by 6:00AM on Monday, I can get into Fougeres where my wife will have a room, by 11 or midnight (15 hours at 13.5mph +2-3 hours at controls), and then getting out early on try to make it into Rambouillet by midnight on Weds with a 12.5mph or 13mph pace.
- Backup I guess would be to sleep in Loudeac or Carhaix on the way out if riding through the night doesn’t agree with me… and then play it by ear. How’s that for a non-plan. Part of me feels like working out the logistics of this scenario is a little like trying to figure out how to get back to Paris if you scratch… having the knowledge will work against you in the dark hours.
Andreas
Active Member
Congratulations on your first 600k, that was a superb performance, my first ones took just unter 40h (20 minutes left or so).
That was a very detailed report that I will definitely have to read again.
Your bottom gear is identical to what I have on my trike, 26:32 (3x10). The V20 has a 34/50 crank and 11-32 cassette, so 1.06 as the bottom gear. I've already considered a different casette, 11-36 would probably still work with my rear derailleur, anything else would be a major conversion. But with the standard seat I can't drive much slower at the moment anyway.
PBP Planning
This week, someone said: "Wer plant, irrt genauer" which means more or less "to plan is to err more precisely".
That does not mean I will start completely wihout a plan, but it's more of a concept. However, it strongly depends on one's own personality and can only serve as inspiration for others.
My primary goal is not to get back to Paris as quickly as possible, but rather to experience as much of the street festival as possible. But I also need sufficient time buffer to be able to enjoy it properly. Therefore, I tried to get to Brest as quickly as possible and then, on the way back, to have enough time to make many stops and talk to all the people along the route.
I didn't plan my sleep stops in advance because I know myself. There's nothing worse for me than lying down to sleep and not being able to fall asleep for 1-2 hours. Then I end up feeling more exhausted than when I laid down.
Instead, I ride until I feel that I can't continue anymore. The next checkpoint then becomes my sleeping spot.
If the next checkpoint is still too far, I take a power nap on a bench or on the ground. I just need to think about something pleasant for a moment, and I can fall asleep within 10 seconds.
Usually, 5-10 minutes are enough for me to be able to ride again.
It's interesting to see that this concept led to my sleep breaks in 2019 exactly matching your plan: a long break in Brest and then a few more hours in Fougères.
Hereˋs my time line:
I've learned that I shouldn't worry too much when my performance decreases. There may not be any mountains, but there are hundreds of small inclines First I thought that Iˋm not going fast enough because I had to climb up hills at 8-10 km/h repeatedly. In the end, I was faster in Brest than I had initially expected.
The way back to Paris benefited from this experience, and I always had enough buffer to stay at a crêpes stand for an extra half an hour or so.
I could tell you much more, but that is already the essence of my plan.
