It was extremely hot (mid-90s all four days), humid, and hilly. Consensus among everyone I spoke with was that this was the toughest 1200K (actually 1242K -- the route ran long!) course out there. Various elevation numbers were being bandied about, but I've heard reports of 45-50K of climbing measured by GPS. I ran GPS at night only and the riding I did at night came out to 70 feet per mile. That number doesn't include any of the "real" climbing on the route, all of which occurred in the daytime of the second day. Folks I spoke with who had ridden both BMB and the Shen 1200 described the latter as much more difficult. Several compared the route to a 1200K version of Quadzilla. The heat and the hills took their toll on the field -- the DNF rate was roughly 50%. This was only my third 1200K, and it was by far the most challenging course. Compared to the Shen 1200, PBP was very easy and very flat.
My own ride went great. I rode the same strategy I did for PBP: ride the first day fast to bank a bunch of time and then spend the rest of the ride taking it easy, getting a bunch of sleep, and generally enjoying the ride. The course is beautiful -- the views from the valley and the ridges were stunning, and riding the Blue Ridge Parkway at night, looking down into North Carolina at all the little towns lit up was especially pretty. Riding through Gettysburg and then Antietam on a weekday morning, having the parks to yourself with no cars around, was very special. To top it all off, Virginia has a lot of untraveled back roads that are well-maintained. Most of the roads were great for randonneuring (except for US11, which the fastest riders would have been on during rush hour -- that would not have been any fun at all). Otherwise, it was a good, challenging 1200K. Am curious to see whether it's run again in the future as word gets around about how tough it is. It's a beast of a ride to tackle in early June. There may not be many takers for future editions, but I hope so. It's a good challenge for randonneurs who want to test themselves and their gear in some really hilly terrain.
Special thanks and shout out to Matt and Bones and the many others who organized and volunteered and made the ride happen. They absolutely worked their butts off and the support was first-class. If you're looking to be pampered, this would not have been the ride for you. But the value of what you got for your entry fee cannot be beat (the cabins at Fancy Gap were awesome!), and most importantly the support and good cheer from everyone at the controls (and those patroling the route keeping an eye on us) was just great. The size of the ride -- just 56 riders started -- made everything seem really personal. You really felt like you were being taken care of personally at the controls and there was a lot of great camraderie -- this is what makes randonneuring so much fun!