600k fail

[lhbernhardt]

Well, speaking as a hardened Pac NW randonneur, I think you made the right decision to pull the plug, especially if you were shivering at the end. One of the things I least like doing is fixing a flat (replacing a tube) in a cold rain. I was once in a bike race in a cold, heavy rain years ago. Conditions were so miserable that we just rode; nobody attacked until the bunch sprint at the end. But going slowly in cold rain was a really dumb thing to do, because after the race, my teeth were chattering, and I had to sit wrapped in a blanket with my feet in a bowl of warm water for about a half hour before I felt normal.

And just the fact that you had the audacity to ride thru those conditions has hardened you. Nobody needs to tell you to HTFU!

Luis

[Homeyba]

My wife is gonna hunt you down and take you out now esp if she sees me with an Aerostich catalog again!

I'll save my pennies for next year esp since our organizer has a habit of selecting weekends that have atrocious weather. Last year, there was one rider who had to be rescued - he was suffering from hypothermia.

Over on the AZRandon list, someone posted this comment:

Fair-weather riding is a luxury reserved for Sunday afternoons and wide boulevards. Those who ride in foul weather – be it cold, wet, or inordinately hot – are members of a special club of riders who, on the morning of a big ride, pull back the curtain to check the weather and, upon seeing rain falling from the skies, allow a wry smile to spread across their face. This is a rider who loves the work.

Hats off the the AZ and Canadian Randonnueurs who faced off against weather, entered the arena, and didn't shy away from this epic.

I wasn't successful so I can't take credit for anything other than, upon seeing the rain & wind at 0430 that morning, smiled & told my buddy, "Well, we wanted an adventure, right?"

I hate to say this but, there is no difference between riders who live and ride in areas of extreme weather and you or I. What separates them and their ability to finish events is that they are prepared for the elements that they are riding in. The only time you'll see people "toughing it out" or bailing out is when they weren't prepared properly. I'll be the first to admit that I'm one of those people (I've only dnf'd one brevet a 1200k). One year at PBP I was stuffing newspapers in my jersey in an effort to stay warm. It was really cold! Other people had no problem with it because they were prepared and dressed properly. Being prepared can make difficult weather manageable. Doesn't matter how cold/hot or wet it is.
One disclaimer, heat and wind are a little more difficult. Heat because there is only so much you can do to keep cool and wind because sometimes there is nothing to do but put your head down and keep pedaling.

[k7baixo]

I hate to say this but, there is no difference between riders who live and ride in areas of extreme weather and you or I. What separates them and their ability to finish events is that they are prepared for the elements that they are riding in. The only time you'll see people "toughing it out" or bailing out is when they weren't prepared properly. I'll be the first to admit that I'm one of those people (I've only dnf'd one brevet a 1200k). One year at PBP I was stuffing newspapers in my jersey in an effort to stay warm. It was really cold! Other people had no problem with it because they were prepared and dressed properly. Being prepared can make difficult weather manageable. Doesn't matter how cold/hot or wet it is.
One disclaimer, heat and wind are a little more difficult. Heat because there is only so much you can do to keep cool and wind because sometimes there is nothing to do but put your head down and keep pedaling.

Yep. I agree with you:

I agree - this is all "on me". I think one more layer on my chest, a much, much better set of gloves and shoe covers would have helped. And, if I'm honest, a little better engine tuning is necessary.

[lhbernhardt]

I hate to say this but, there is no difference between riders who live and ride in areas of extreme weather and you or I. What separates them and their ability to finish events is that they are prepared for the elements that they are riding in. The only time you'll see people "toughing it out" or bailing out is when they weren't prepared properly. I'll be the first to admit that I'm one of those people (I've only dnf'd one brevet a 1200k). One year at PBP I was stuffing newspapers in my jersey in an effort to stay warm. It was really cold! Other people had no problem with it because they were prepared and dressed properly. Being prepared can make difficult weather manageable. Doesn't matter how cold/hot or wet it is.

Well, having lived in both Northern California and in Vancouver, Canada, I would say that living in a region where it's cold and raining quite a bit of the time does make a difference. You not only learn how to prepare, but daily riding in the stuff teaches you how far you can go and what you can expect. For example, you learn that your hands need to be warm. Once they're wet inside the glove, they are going to get pretty darned cold. But once they reach a certain coldness, the coldness actually starts to get almost comfortable. If you live in a warm climate where you don't ride in the rain (especially a cold rain), you likely won't be prepared with this knowledge, so you are more likely to bail when your gloves are soaked thru. Riding in harsh conditions does make you better able to ride in harsh conditions. It's what you're used to.

Luis

[StephenH]

This is from a PBP 2007 ride report- "The 4 of us regrouped in Brest around the “Where is my ass butter?” routine, and began our return to Paris. On the ride back to Carhaix we met Peter again. He told us that all the control closing times had been extended by 2 hours because of the weather..."

[Dudelsack]

I wonder if the bent position leaves you more vulnerable to the elements. I was riding in a very light drizzle yesterday and had more trouble keeping the moisture off my face than with a safety bike. In a heavy rain it seems like your whole torso would be exposed.

[The Octopus]

This is from a PBP 2007 ride report- "The 4 of us regrouped in Brest around the “Where is my ass butter?” routine, and began our return to Paris. On the ride back to Carhaix we met Peter again. He told us that all the control closing times had been extended by 2 hours because of the weather..."

Yeah, I know. I was there and heard this for every day of the ride from various riders who insisted vehemently that it was true. I never heard it from a volunteer or organizer. It was never posted anywhere, either. And note that the program for '07 (and '11) makes no mention of "extra time" being granted to the riders. It just didn't happen.

I heard the same thing again in 2011, and that's got to have been some of the best PBP weather in a generation. Most riders had tailwinds for both days and other than the 84-hour riders and the pointy-end of the 80-hour group, pretty much no one got wet. And yet, the rumor mill was going full tilt about how "extra time" had been granted for making the intermediary controls due to the "bad weather." I even heard one guy assert that the "extra time" applied to the finish control -- you've got 92h to get to Paris, he insisted. Horse feathers.

It does seem that RUSA and other national randonneuring organizations are a bit more sticky when it comes to the rules than the ACP is in running PBP. To the extent some people some of the time are going to waive some of the rules, that's fine, I guess. But don't count on it!

[unterhausen]

I would definitely take that weather again, having (mostly) tailwinds on the way out and then a big tailwind on the way back was a big bonus on PBP. I managed to get a little wet on Monday night, but it wasn't bad at all, gentle rain. The accompanying thunder was a little worrisome. But it seems like there are quite a few 90+ hour times on the list of finishers.

[thebulls]

Yeah, I know. I was there and heard this for every day of the ride from various riders who insisted vehemently that it was true. ...

Like you, I never heard any sort of official statement at PBP2007 from anyone about a time extension. I'm pretty sure I got to some controls after the limit and wasn't timed out. FWIW, my ride report says: "Meanwhile, there had been rumours at the various controls that some controls were allowing a two-hour extension (though the total time allowed would be unchanged). We were too addled to think about how we should take advantage of this, if at all. Probably, we should have slept for four hours at Loudeac, and got a really good rest. But by now, the long hours awake made for poor decision-making ability."

As to rain on PBP11, I started with the 90 hour group at 6pm and the next day got deluged from about 9:30 pm (a few miles after Loudeac) until about midnight (around Saint Nicolas du Pelem). That was followed by dense fog over the Roc, which turned into drizzle in the dockyards of Brest. But other than that, the weather was as perfect as I've ever ridden in.

My personal rule about deciding to DNF: If continuing to ride puts you in danger or will likely cause an injury that takes more than a couple of weeks to heal, then maybe DNF. But never count yourself out until some ride official has counted you out. It's just too easy to be confused, particularly multiple days into a ride, and DNF yourself only to later work out that you had time to finish if you had only stopped to regroup, warm up, eat, sleep, or whatever.

Nick

[Homeyba]

... But never count yourself out until some ride official has counted you out....

That right there is the crux of the biscuit! Those rumors about closing times happen at every PBP. In reality, they want people to succeed and they tend to be pretty "liberal" with the intermediate control times. In 03 I had major mechanical issues (amongst other things) and ended up leaving Brest two hours after the control officially closed and had no problem finishing comfortably within the time limits.

[LWaB]

Unlike most of the PBPers on this thread, at PBP07 I read a notice at Carhaix on the return noting the 2 hr extension. It was on a whiteboard beside the tables where the brevet cards were stamped. I checked with the official at the exit of the room and she confirmed it. Didn't see anything written in any controls after that though.

[danimal123]

LWaB is right. I saw that note in Carhaix as well. There was a LOT of talk about "extending the final closing time," but the Controle officials were pretty clear (at least to me) that even if the intermediate Controles had extensions, you still had to meet the 90h time at the end.

I'm bummed! I qualified for PBP 2011 (and did a 1000K ACP in 2010), only to not go for financial reasons. I was hoping for a better weather experience than the hell I experienced in 2007...looks like I missed out. With my luck, I'll go to PBP 2015 and it'll be crap weather again.

Dan