Andrey

In preparation for the upcoming PBP I would like to start this thread so some more experienced rides will share their mistakes during previous PBPs so the newbies could avoid them this year.
(i.e...equipment, nutrition, sleeping arrangements, travel, training, language, etc...)

Thank you.

thebulls

Great topic!

Be extremely careful to avoid people who are sick for the two or three weeks before PBP. Clean your hands frequently with hand sanitizer, etc. Become a hermit if you need to. Before PBP07, I got a cold a few days before flying to Paris, which just got worse and then turned into pneumonia during PBP. Being sick didn't stop me from riding, but I couldn't ride really hard because it would just make me start a coughing fit, and then I'd have to pull over until I could breathe again. And of course, being sick made sleep deprivation even tougher, so I had to stop more often for little ten minute naps. I couldn't keep up with my training buddy, but fortunately I still had friends to ride with. But I was just enough slower than usual that when I arrived at Dreux, I stopped there rather than risking riding the last 40 miles with more rain, fatigue, etc. only to arrive two hours after the deadline. It was the right decision to stop there, but even four years later I still think about whether there was anything I could have done differently to save my ride. Yes: Don't get sick before going to PBP!

Nick

Marcello

I haven't done PBP, and I look forward to hearing what others have to say. I do have some lessons that I learned by finishing two 1200k in the past two years (and two 1000k brevets in the two years before that).

1. Ride your own ride. On the last day of the Cascade 1200 I tried unsuccessfully to pace and "pull" another rider who was having a tough time. And I finished the ride with only 5 minutes to spare. Helping each other is part of the spirit of randonneuring, but don't forget that you have your own ride to finish within the time limits.

2. Have something to look forward on the last day of riding. On the Cascade 1200, I was looking forward to the amazingly beautiful climb up Washington Pass on the fist half of the last day. When I had my tough times during the first 3 days, the idea of reaching that goal helped me a lot. It may sound silly, but on the Gold Rush I was looking forward to having a big plate of Singapore noodles at a Chinese restaurant in Oroville, 100 miles from the finish, and that really boosted my spirits through the second half of the ride. Visualizing something positive that is relatively close to the end of the ride really helps me a lot.

3. Practice relentless forward motion. Make sure that you "stop and smell the roses", but if you can small them while you ride by, even better. The minimum speed that you have to maintain to make the control time limits are pretty low, especially in the second half of the ride. If you keep moving forward you will be fine. I seem to struggle the first two days, then find that my body gets into a slow but steady rhythm, and as long as I don't waste too much time outside of riding, I do well (for a slow poke).

4. Things will not go as planned, don't let it get to you. On the Cascade 1200, I was bringing up the rear at the first two night controls, which meant that there was pretty much no food left, and on top of that the rock-hard gym mats that made it impossible for me to get any sleep. So I continued riding, and stopped at the first town for a large breakfast and a nap. On both the Cascade and Gold Rush I was much slower than I expected given my training and the speed on the qualifiers, but I did not let it get to me.

5. Know the route. While preparing for the Gold Rush, I studied the route in detail. I looked at the profile, found out how long the climbs were, and trained on climbs that were similar. When I got to the GRR, I knew what was ahead of me. It did not make the climbs any easier on the legs, but it made it easier on the mind to know what was still ahead of me. For me, finishing a 1200k ride is a feat of determination, a challenge for the mind even more than for the body. Training the mind by knowing what to expect has been a key to finishing those two rides.

Machka 

Even if it is really hot in the days leading up to the event, pack a long-sleeved merino wool top in your trunk bag. The nights can get very chilly.

Daveyboy

Really? That's it?

Homeyba

in 2003 they had that heat wave that killed all those people in France and even though the daytime temps were warm it still got cool at night. The last night was especially cold. I stuffed newspapers in my jersey to stay warm.

At PBP in 03 I had these grand ideas of finishing really fast and got so caught up in the excitement of the ride that I pretty much didn't eat for the first 350kms. That was a major blow-it! Luckily I went so fast earlier that I had plenty of time to eat and recover in Tinteniac but my grand plans were all blown out the window.

Then I had a few major mechanical issues. These were a bit of a surprise because I had a new bike with new wheels. I very frustratingly had to have my front deraileur adjusted at 4 time stations before I discovered (1/2 way between Brest and Carhaix) that the bottom bracket had come loose (none of those mechanics noticed it). Good thing I had an aluminum tire iron to bend into a make shift spanner wrench. Heading into Brest my nearly new 32spoke wheel broke several spokes all at once. I rode the last 15kms into Brest with the rear wheel barely able to turn. By the time I got everything fixed I ended up leaving Brest 2hrs after the control closed. I had no problem catching up but it's no fun being in that position. That's the only 1200k that I've had any mechanical issues on.

Machka 

Yep, that's it.

I did a lot of long distance riding in preparation for the PBP. In 2001, I rode the SR series, plus a bunch of centuries and other long rides. In 2002, I rode the SR series, plus the RM1200, plus a bunch of centuries, double centuries, and back-to-back centuries. And then in 2003 ... I rode the SR series, plus a couple additional randonnees, plus a whole bunch of centuries, double centuries, and back-to-back centuries. If I'm not mistaken, I logged something close to 40 centuries that year. And I successfully rode the PBP.

After all that riding, I had a pretty good idea of the equipment I needed. I had a handle on the nutrition thing and my body had begun to adjust to eating all the way through a long distance event. And I had a reasonable idea of the sleep aspect of long distance riding because I had done two 600Ks and a 1200K.

In late 2002, I also flew to England and cycled around there a bit. I wanted to visit a friend there, but I also wanted to do have some experience with an international flight, jet lag, etc. before I flew over for the PBP. But I've done quite a bit of travelling in my life, so I had a reasonable amount of experience with that aspect of the adventure.

And as for the language, in 2003, I knew enough French to get around ... and the French people are great if you make an attempt to speak French and don't shout at them like they are deaf or slow. In 2007, I had even more French because I took more classes, and by the end of our month in France, I could hold a reasonable conversation.


Sure, stuff happened on the 2003 PBP ...
-- I discovered that you don't drink tea in France, so I switched to coffee
-- The bracket on my handlebar bag broke, so I loaded my stuff into plastic bags and hung them off my trunk bag creating a "Leaning Tower of Pisa" look back there, and I decided to go with a Carradice Nelson Longflap for my next trunk bag
-- I tried an energy drink which turned out to be awful and tainted my waterbottle, so I switched to cans of Orangina instead ... and I discovered I love the Orangina over there!

But those are things which may not affect you ... you might like extremely weak tea, you might try an energy drink and love it, your handlebar bag might not break. I'm not sure that those are mistakes, they are just things that happen on a long ride ... and with some flexibility and creativity, you deal with them.


The only thing that really sticks out in my mind is that I wish I hadn't packed the sleeveless jersey, and had packed the long-sleeved Merino instead.

Interestingly, my clothing choices on the 2007 PBP were perfect. I had fixed that mistake.

The reasons we didn't finish in 2007 had more to do with:
-- a lack of fitness - not doing all the riding I had done in 2003, and the years leading up to 2003, because my attention was focussed on University and getting a degree.
-- a bad accident a few months before the PBP which affected my confidence
-- a lack of desire and motivation to continue

chewybrian 

On my 600k, I kept thinking the whole 2nd day about the barbeque joint next to the hotel. I was going for a big plate of ribs right after the finish. While I waited for my food, I drank 3 quarts of iced tea. When I got back to my room, I had a couple onion rings, and couldn't eat any more! It made a good breakfast the next day, though, and I guess my body knew what it needed most.

Machka 

On any long ride, I can't think about what I'm going to do immediately after the ride (i.e. great dinner, hot shower, comfortable bed, etc.) until I'm within a couple hours of finishing the ride. It's too depressing. If I start thinking about it too early, the ride seems so much longer and harder. However, I can think about what I'm going to do the next day, or next weekend or next month or whatever and in fact, that's a good way to pass the time.

claire

One mistake I did last time: I planned to ride the whole thing with the friend I did all the brevets with. I eventually dropped her before Loudeac, because she wasn't as well prepared as me and I was feeling really, really well and I wanted to spend some time sleeping. I didn't see her again until the end. She eventually finished but had a much harder time than me. She wasn't happy about me dropping her and we didn't talk to each other for a month even though we used to be best friends (after some time we ended up having a beer together and we had a good talk about it and we're back in very terms). So, this time I'll be very careful about that kind of thing. I don't want to loose my friends! If I manage to ride with one of my friend I will, otherwise I'll just see what happens!

Carbonfiberboy 

Yes, that's very difficult and very important. That's happened to me twice on big rides. Once the person was very understanding, and once it created a rift that never healed. Even if it's understood between you that if a rider just has to go, they're going to go, expectations still develop. I've found it easier to do major rides solo, picking up and abandoning groups randomly. It's faster and more comfortable emotionally. One only need stop for one's own needs. Riding comes from the heart and is expressed by the body. When the heart urges, one needs to respond, whatever that means. If one really feels the need to ride with someone, a tandem is the way to go.

Homeyba

I remember seeing that! Actually, I don't think I'll ever forget it.

bobbycorno

FATAL ERROR! I made just that mistake a couple times early in my rando "career", and paid for it with a couple DNFs and some miserable rides. So now, I start eating and drinking no more than an hour into the ride, and keep it up until the finish. IME, insufficient fueling and hydration is the WORST thing you can do.

SP
Bend, OR

bobbycorno

Once the ride starts, my mental strategy is not to think beyond the next control. As The Book says, "Don't worry about tomorrow, it's got worries of its own."

SP
Bend, OR

bobbycorno

Oh, and DON'T EVER use anything untested on a big ride. If you haven't had a chance to use whatever it is (food, equipment, clothing, riding strategy, whatever) on at least one longish brevet, DON'T USE IT on a 1200! There's enough that can go wrong already without throwing in a wildcard.

SP
Bend, OR

Homeyba

Well, it wasn't a fatal error but it was a really dumb one. I think that is where experience and some help from some friends got me through it. I went into the cafeteria at the control and piled a huge amount of food on my tray and sat there till I had eaten it all, then gave myself some time to digest and I was off good as new. Never quit until you are timed out!

chewybrian 

Yes! 3 or 4 times, I really didn't think I would finish a ride, but I kept going on as best I could, sometimes at 8 mph or so. It is amazing how far you can come back from a bad bonk, if you give youself the chance.

downtube42

Good stuff folks, keep it coming.

Daveyboy

I hope to do this ride someday. One of the potential problems I see is the lack of sleep for several days in a row. Is it possible to do PBP at a reasonable pace and still get 4-6 hours of sleep each night?

claire

Yes absolutely! Last time I rode through the first night (you have to in order to make it through the first checpoint), and after that I slept 3 times for 4-5 hours each night. My partner was waiting for me at the campsite in Loudeac for the first 2 nights and had a tent ready for me to sleep. Same thing in Mortagne. I completed the ride in 88 hours. Planning to do the same thing this time!

Mark W

Not sleeping enough was a mistake for me in 1999. As someone else said, everyone on the 90-hour start generally rides through the first night, but I have done much better sleeping 2 or 3 hours per night after that. I ride really slowly during 1-4 am anyway so I might as well be sleeping. The sleep arrangements are OK, but in a pinch anywhere dry and warm will work if the lines are too long.

It becomes a vicious circle if you get behind so you can't sleep: you ride through the night so slowly that you don't make up enough time to sleep enough the next night, and so on.

Mark W

lonesomesteve

I haven't done PBP yet, but on the Cascade 1200 last summer I was off the bike for 8 to 9 hours each night. I wasn't blazing fast on that ride. It's really about managing your time well at the controls during the day. If you value sleep, keep your lunch breaks and other daytime stops short, and you should have plenty of time each night.

Homeyba

The amount of sleep you get is directly proportional to how you manage your time off the bike, as lonesomesteve said, and how fast you are on the bike. I have friends who've done PBP and other 1200ks and never ride in the dark.

Mark W

I think it's a major mistake to go all the way to Paris and not see the sights: Versailles, the d'Orsay, the Eiffel Tower, the Cluny, the Rodin Museum, Sainte Chapelle, the Louvre, Notre Dame, etc.

Avoiding this mistake leads to the second mistake: trying to see all this in a few days just before PBP. I was tired, my legs were sore, and I hadn't had much sleep.

Assume you'll go back to Paris some time and be moderate, and mix in some stops at the sidewalk cafes. Make sure you're doing some walking or running this summer; the Paris metro is great with a station every few hundred yards, but you'll do a lot of walking and stair climbing anyway. And you might want to take the elevator at the Eiffel Tower instead of the stairs.

Mark W