PBP last minute panic / paranoia

[Feline]

Am I the only one suddenly wondering OMG what am I doing / how am I going to do it / have I got all the right stuff / is there time to order and x,y and z before I leave etc. etc.?

This seemed like a good idea at the time 9 months ago when I decided to have a go at it but I'm starting to have the occasional sane thought in my head saying 'are you stark raving mad?' and it is messing with my mind!

[Tewdric]

Just get over there and do it.  You'll be fine.  Keep calm and carry on.

[Redlight]

Are you the only one?  No. About 4,999 other will be in a similar frame of mind.

[Wowbagger]

I have that thought all the time.

Four years ago we had Julian as our roving reporter, sending text messages to me and I was relaying them to the populace at large. It was very exciting. This year, I shall have to wait and see what happens and I'm not sure if I'll be able to stand the tension.

Hang on a tick - I'm off to Brittany next week anyway, touring. I won't care! 

[Feline]

I have that thought all the time.

Four years ago we had Julian as our roving reporter, sending text messages to me and I was relaying them to the populace at large. It was very exciting. This year, I shall have to wait and see what happens and I'm not sure if I'll be able to stand the tension.

Hang on a tick - I'm off to Brittany next week anyway, touring. I won't care! 

I think this year the PBP website has a function where you can track the location of riders by their frame numbers live 
If you are in Brittany we might see you en-route 

[Exit Stage Left]

It's not paranoia, it's fear, which is perfectly rational. Did anyone ever tell you it was going to be easy?

[Feline]

It's not paranoia, it's fear, which is perfectly rational. Did anyone ever tell you it was going to be easy?

No, but I didnt expect the pain to start before the ride 

[Tewdric]

I've made a policy decision not to give a flying monkeys what it's going to be like.  It's not like we can do a lot about it.  I know it will be a challenge, but I have given myself permission in writing to enjoy it.

[AndyH]

Am I the only one suddenly wondering OMG what am I doing

No

how am I going to do it

Keep pedalling & reach the next control in time

have I got all the right stuff

If anyone has......

is there time to order and x,y and z before I leave etc. etc.?

you'd only have to carry it. Start pruning

I'm not planning on dragging a suitcase round so one Ajax jersey start to finish 

We're all apprehensive - but what is the worst that can happen? (apart from getting horribly drunk in Evreux on the way out and waking up in a French police cell, not even making the start. But I'm in therapy for that particular nightmare)

My Audax career so far seems to consist of doing things that "seemed like a good idea at the time"  and the 80 hr group is another one of those 

+1

You will be fine, & a lot of people will be rooting for you.

[Feline]

I've made a policy decision not to give a flying monkeys what it's going to be like.  It's not like we can do a lot about it.  I know it will be a challenge, but I have given myself permission in writing to enjoy it.

I don't think I have 'enjoy it' on my 'to do' list as yet 

[Tewdric]

I've made a policy decision not to give a flying monkeys what it's going to be like.  It's not like we can do a lot about it.  I know it will be a challenge, but I have given myself permission in writing to enjoy it.

I don't think I have 'enjoy it' on my 'to do' list as yet 

You really need to.  Giving yourself permission to enjoy a long ride can make quite a bit of difference to your mindset on the day. 

I'm going to enjoy chatting to people from all over the world, speaking some welsh to momentarily confuse them, taking the mickey out of Americans without them realising, smiling, nodding and shaking hands with Japanese riders, having a good whinge with the aussies about how long it will be before we can have a proper beer, telling the famous Mr Whippy joke to Germans to see if they laugh, and so on.  If all else fails there will be Bach, Mozart and AC/DC on the MP3.

[Feline]

I've made a policy decision not to give a flying monkeys what it's going to be like.  It's not like we can do a lot about it.  I know it will be a challenge, but I have given myself permission in writing to enjoy it.

I don't think I have 'enjoy it' on my 'to do' list as yet 

You really need to.  Giving yourself permission to enjoy a long ride can make quite a bit of difference to your mindset on the day. 

I'm going to enjoy chatting to people from all over the world, speaking some welsh to momentarily confuse them, taking the mickey out of Americans without them realising, smiling, nodding and shaking hands with Japanese riders, having a good whinge with the aussies about how long it will be before we can have a proper beer, telling the famous Mr Whippy joke to Germans to see if they laugh, and so on.  If all else fails there will be Bach, Mozart and AC/DC on the MP3.

Well, I do now know about 20 French PBP riders by name having chatted to them on the Sem Fed. I wonder if I will be able to remember any of their names on the actual ride or will I have to address them all as 'Jean Pierre' or 'Alain' on the off chance 

[Manotea]

I'm not going to worry about it until the weekend.

Everybody in France speaks English, don't they?

[Polepole]

Am I the only one suddenly wondering OMG what am I doing / how am I going to do it / have I got all the right stuff / is there time to order and x,y and z before I leave etc. etc.?

 This seemed like a good idea at the time 9 months ago when I decided to have a go at it but I'm starting to have the occasional sane thought in my head saying 'are you stark raving mad?' and it is messing with my mind!

  If it helps any, I feel exactly the same as regards the OMG what am I doing.

The only difference is that PBP has never seemed like a good idea to me, I just missed having a challenge looming after the 600k so eventually I entered thinking "Sod it, I'll give it a go- what's the worst that can happen?"

If I manage the full distance I'll be over the moon even if I'm OOT (although I will do my best not to be)

[Feline]

Am I the only one suddenly wondering OMG what am I doing / how am I going to do it / have I got all the right stuff / is there time to order and x,y and z before I leave etc. etc.?

 This seemed like a good idea at the time 9 months ago when I decided to have a go at it but I'm starting to have the occasional sane thought in my head saying 'are you stark raving mad?' and it is messing with my mind!

  If it helps any, I feel exactly the same as regards the OMG what am I doing.

The only difference is that PBP has never seemed like a good idea to me, I just missed having a challenge looming after the 600k so eventually I entered thinking "Sod it, I'll give it a go- what's the worst that can happen?"

If I manage the full distance I'll be over the moon even if I'm OOT (although I will do my best not to be)

I think we are thinking alike 

[dasmi]

Same panic came over me yesterday when I was doing a grimpeur from Marple..........just wondered why i'd done little/no training for the last 8 weeks.
Still to late to panic now....just going to enjoy the ride 

[STMS]

Brushing up on my French supping large quantities of courvoisier and listening to can can by bad manners 

[Ray 6701]

Just eat, drink & keep bloody pedalling 

[mattc]

Less nervous - cos there are so many less unknowns - but I feel more pressure than 4 years ago.

Cue Jens:
Shut up brain!

[MattH]

I think we've done all the major panicking today.

"Where's the car insurance document?" - was in a rucksack last taken on a school trip after MrsH needed it to show the school (her employers) that there was business cover on the car.
"Where's the Chunnel ticket - I remember it coming?"  - had actually arrived by email so wasn't in the huuuuuge pile of post
"Where's your driving license counterpart?" - it was in the huuuuuuuge pile of post
"Where are the EHICs?" - in that teetering pile that we've been through several times already

etc. etc.

With all the official documents and booking information put into a PBP file, I think the only thing I need to do now is last minute maintenance on the bike and pack the boring stuff that if forgotten can always be replaced on the road (as long as I remember cash and cards).

[MSeries]

What's to panic about. It's just a bike ride.

[LEE]

I always tend to get a bit panicky before a big ride but the hard part is always getting to the start with all the admin/packing done.

Once you actually start then life becomes very simple. 

My solo LEJoG was one of the simplest few days of my life and I expect PBP will be similar.  There's absolutely nothing to do or think about apart from turning the pedals.

[Pete Mas]

Remembering not finishing (yet getting close) last time is slightly worrying BUT then I remember that I finished Mille Miglia 1600k last year in good time, so feel relaxed again.
There is a lot of time to kill in the build up to the ride, after bike check, etc, waiting for the start, and its important to keep positive, and then take the ride as it comes, minute by minute, control by control.

[MattH]

The ride itself doesn't worry me. It is only a ride, and I can use my normal (very frequent business traveller) approach to dealing with issues abroad - given enough cash to hand, a mobile phone and a credit card, anything can be fixed so there is no point getting stressed.

It's herding the family over there that is the hassle, especially when it comes to things like travel insurance stuff (which MrsH has as part of a loyalty package - but had no idea of policy numbers, assistance telephone numbers etc.), the family passports, car paperwork etc.

I'm really looking forward to the depart, when it will be just me, the bike and a few days of fun.

[Exit Stage Left]

This is quite an interesting subject. I like to contrast Andy Wilkinson's 24 hour record with Cadel Evans' Tour win.
Andy told everyone that he had a 540 mile target, he trained to do that, he was cool enough to do a coherent interview before setting off from the start, and was unfazed by his helmet breaking just before the off.
Cadel was a bundle of nerves all the time, his team managed to put him into yellow at the last moment, and that was probably the only way he could have won.
I can watch these performances and savour them because I've been through something extreme; PBP. That's why the experience has value, it tells me something about myself, which I can compare with people I admire.
The pre-match nerves are part of the experience, but for many people the Audax thing is only there to stop them brooding about something else. The dilemma for them is which way to displace the PBP anxiety. Whether to allow the thing that is really worrying them to surface or to seek to worry more deeply about the technical aspects of the ride.