Author Topic: Wacky races survival rates  (Read 10781 times)

quixoticgeek

  • Mostly Harmless
Wacky races survival rates
« on: 27 August, 2019, 12:22:10 pm »

There were lots of photos from bike check/registration of the weird and the wonderful contraptions people were planning to complete PBP on.

This include at least 2 fat bikes.

Does anyone know how many of the weird and the wonderful made it in time?

J
--
Beer, bikes, and backpacking
http://b.42q.eu/

Re: Wacky races survival rates
« Reply #1 on: 27 August, 2019, 12:27:50 pm »
Moderately weird, and certainly wonderful, all three upright trikes made it round...

I’m not sure if there is an easy way of identifying the ‘species’ of the special bikes for tracking etc.

Diesel

  • or Richard
Re: Wacky races survival rates
« Reply #2 on: 27 August, 2019, 12:36:42 pm »
Had to take a picture of this one at the start - complete with Brooks saddle!

Looks like he had a good crack but didn't get much further than Carhaix coming back.

Top effort!

Re: Wacky races survival rates
« Reply #3 on: 27 August, 2019, 12:38:11 pm »
This bike had the most appropriate name


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

marcusjb

  • Full of bon courage.
Re: Wacky races survival rates
« Reply #4 on: 27 August, 2019, 12:38:49 pm »
May just be me, but there were some distinctly unspecial special bikes this time.

I know it's a fairly arbitrary classification, but folders?  Special?  Not really. 

There were some very regular looking DF bikes in the Fs as well - seriously, I could not work out what was different about them; regular wheels, bars, chain driven etc.

Doesn't really matter but seems a great shame to water down the category so much as it makes it less interesting to point and stare at.

One can question the need for the category at all if anything is going to be allowed in - it makes sense, to me, to have a special category for trikes/tandems/bents/velomobiles to give them a little room for the first few km without regular DF solos flitting about. 
Right! What's next?

Ooooh. That sounds like a daft idea.  I am in!

markldn

  • Next ride: TCRno10 '24
Re: Wacky races survival rates
« Reply #5 on: 27 August, 2019, 12:39:07 pm »
We saw some fat bikes at the finish line but the volunteers said none had completed, so they were just parked up having DNF'd.  Cracking effort though.

Kim

  • Timelord
    • Fediverse
Re: Wacky races survival rates
« Reply #6 on: 27 August, 2019, 12:39:55 pm »
I wouldn't be surprised if the wacky racers did better than average.  There's a certain confidence required to deliberately make things difficult for yourself like that.

Kim

  • Timelord
    • Fediverse
Re: Wacky races survival rates
« Reply #7 on: 27 August, 2019, 12:41:43 pm »
There were some very regular looking DF bikes in the Fs as well - seriously, I could not work out what was different about them; regular wheels, bars, chain driven etc.

Possibly some attribute of the rider, rather than the bike?

I expect a few of them would be Plan B - silly bike broken, or rider not confident that they'd be able to do it on a single-speed reverse-pedal fatbike or whatever.

LittleWheelsandBig

  • Whimsy Rider
Re: Wacky races survival rates
« Reply #8 on: 27 August, 2019, 12:42:36 pm »
Other than upright trikies, the velo speciale (particularly 90hr starters) traditionally have the highest DNF rate of any group. I suspect quite a few of the VS riders ‘have’ to ride a recumbent and tend to be older than average. Accordingly, they might be a bit more fragile/ have less margin when things get tough. Tandems obviously have twice as much chance of ride-stopping physical issues.
Wheel meet again, don't know where, don't know when...

Re: Wacky races survival rates
« Reply #9 on: 27 August, 2019, 12:43:01 pm »
Only two of the 7 Bromptons finished under the time limit. Both basically stock. 4 more finished out of time, and the last finished under time but skipped all of the checkpoints back, so probably train assisted.

The fat bike pictures floating around lack tracking numbers... one showing off on Facebook was M171, who packed at Loudeac on the tracking.

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: Wacky races survival rates
« Reply #10 on: 27 August, 2019, 12:43:22 pm »
I'd heard a couple of fat bikes were taking part, but hadn't realised at least one was actually a fat bike with drops. A rather rare species altogether.

Ed: Google finds more photos of fat droppies than I'd have expected, but all the adverts it throws up are not actually fat, just 'gravel', so I expect they're all homebrewed. And all the better for that. Also a thread dedicated to the subject: https://forums.mtbr.com/fat-bikes/any-fat-bikes-dirt-drop-bars-566333.html
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

LittleWheelsandBig

  • Whimsy Rider
Re: Wacky races survival rates
« Reply #11 on: 27 August, 2019, 12:44:49 pm »
It took me a few hours to realise that the concours bikes/ riders were in the VS group. That group mostly rode in custom jerseys, at least for the first day or two.
Wheel meet again, don't know where, don't know when...

Re: Wacky races survival rates
« Reply #12 on: 27 August, 2019, 12:48:13 pm »
There were some very regular looking DF bikes in the Fs as well - seriously, I could not work out what was different about them; regular wheels, bars, chain driven etc.

Possibly some attribute of the rider, rather than the bike?

I expect a few of them would be Plan B - silly bike broken, or rider not confident that they'd be able to do it on a single-speed reverse-pedal fatbike or whatever.

There was a 'Concours de Machines' in the check-in tent. Those bikes went off in the F group, to prove their mettle. That was a nice idea, but the display took up half the marquee on the Saturday, when people were queuing in the rain. There wasn't much appetite for hanging around once the riders had queued for the bike check, then queued to collect their documents.

The French were a little less stressed, as the 1,500 of them had the same size of barn to cater for them as the 5,000 etrangers, albeit that the support vehicle documents were handled on that side.

zigzag

  • unfuckwithable
Re: Wacky races survival rates
« Reply #13 on: 27 August, 2019, 12:51:01 pm »
I'd heard a couple of fat bikes were taking part, but hadn't realised at least one was actually a fat bike with drops. A rather rare species altogether.

Ed: Google finds more photos of fat droppies than I'd have expected, but all the adverts it throws up are not actually fat, just 'gravel', so I expect they're all homebrewed. And all the better for that. Also a thread dedicated to the subject: https://forums.mtbr.com/fat-bikes/any-fat-bikes-dirt-drop-bars-566333.html

not to dismiss the aerobars :D

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: Wacky races survival rates
« Reply #14 on: 27 August, 2019, 12:57:56 pm »
I'd heard a couple of fat bikes were taking part, but hadn't realised at least one was actually a fat bike with drops. A rather rare species altogether.

Ed: Google finds more photos of fat droppies than I'd have expected, but all the adverts it throws up are not actually fat, just 'gravel', so I expect they're all homebrewed. And all the better for that. Also a thread dedicated to the subject: https://forums.mtbr.com/fat-bikes/any-fat-bikes-dirt-drop-bars-566333.html

not to dismiss the aerobars :D
As long as they don't extend beyond the brake levers!
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

marcusjb

  • Full of bon courage.
Re: Wacky races survival rates
« Reply #15 on: 27 August, 2019, 01:25:40 pm »
There were some very regular looking DF bikes in the Fs as well - seriously, I could not work out what was different about them; regular wheels, bars, chain driven etc.

Possibly some attribute of the rider, rather than the bike?

I expect a few of them would be Plan B - silly bike broken, or rider not confident that they'd be able to do it on a single-speed reverse-pedal fatbike or whatever.

There was a 'Concours de Machines' in the check-in tent. Those bikes went off in the F group, to prove their mettle.

That makes some sense - I did not even see the concourse bikes on Saturday.

But a pretty bike is not a special bike so I am really not sure boring old DF bikes belong in there.
Right! What's next?

Ooooh. That sounds like a daft idea.  I am in!

zigzag

  • unfuckwithable
Re: Wacky races survival rates
« Reply #16 on: 27 August, 2019, 01:33:53 pm »
i went to see the concours bikes on friday - some had very interesting solutions! e.g. what to do with a redundant left sti gear lever on a 1x setup? use it for hi-low beam switching for your dynamo light which is mounted on a custom fulcrum/lever!
most bikes were built to be good looking rather than advanced in any technical way.

Re: Wacky races survival rates
« Reply #17 on: 27 August, 2019, 01:42:10 pm »
I wouldn't be surprised if the wacky racers did better than average.  There's a certain confidence required to deliberately make things difficult for yourself like that.

It can easily be misguided confidence based on getting round shorter easier rides on home territory.

Ultimately in most cases you’re just riding a bike that’s 10-20% slower than otherwise (for fat bikes, Bromptons, etc). Unless you’re a +20% rider there isn’t enough margin in PBP (especially with this year’s headwind) to allow for that.

Re: Wacky races survival rates
« Reply #18 on: 27 August, 2019, 01:56:59 pm »
In previous years the press got a crib sheet with the wackiest bikes on them. That was absent this year so there's a bit of a scramble to construct stories with the benefit of hindsight. There was one home-constructed front-drive recumbent that we spotted at Longny. He spent a lot of time waiting for a pizza, which would have eaten up his time.

Obviously everyone covering the event starts from the same point. But in the absence of pointers from the organisation, experience and a keen eye counts. Drew Buck and Anco de Jong had their bikes checked in side by side, something that would mean very little to most people.

Phil W

Re: Wacky races survival rates
« Reply #19 on: 27 August, 2019, 02:00:03 pm »
Running against their tracking API

Seems to be 220 starters in F, which was the wacky racers start. As Marcus points out, a number of very ordinary bikes were in there.  Possibly DF riders trying to get spaces when all the other starts were full, or trying to sneak ahead of any 90hr "bulge".

Looking at what the API returns, I come up 78 wacky racer starts who have not recorded a finish time, so 35% DNF. Of course if one member of a tandem drops out then the other will drop out as well. Given the funny timings aerials placement at finish, we can't be certain some of these did finish but missed crossing the aerials bit.

Here are the URLs, split into five batches across the F starters.  The API seems to be limited to a max of 50 riders at a go, and you have to submit each url in it's own isolated browser window so it doesn't pick up the cookies from previous submissions. 

https://track.rtrt.me/e/PBP-2019#/tracker/RRFV7J6B,RDMB9EPL,RD5HYEU6,RNB2RDCJ,RMGRV23W,RR4GEBFN,RMGHZ5DX,RMEFN75T,RWG8F9RY,RBFWYPT6,R6K53JM7,RHGLJP3M,RBRLNJK3,RCUK9JVW,RJRK9BST,RLKMF93P,RHYK9ZJW,RREPD8GB,R34XW9GV,RRGLF4EX,RBX6DEGR,RHEV75CW,R5ZGTS84,RBD79AVW,R6N5RMH7,R5D7M2XY,R3C8ZN4R,RDXPZM72,R7285SLA,RW2G94YV,RCB59M8Y,RJ9A6RGW,RMUD29RX,R8TMB5NA,RVBKMHX9,R42KU8DV,RJ8G76V4,RYFRKGDL,R2M9GPHU,R3GNV75P,R67VB2UY,RRLE4Z7K,RPS723YV,RZ6G45X9,RVWP34L5,RH65UAC3,RUPANVDX,RJXFV4CE,RTYG85HK,R5VCMKJB

https://track.rtrt.me/e/PBP-2019#/tracker/R5VCMKJB,RM5N7RDJ,R7PKVBH8,RTN7GJYC,RKTCW6R7,RWTZXA8H,RZJ5BY23,RFTBWXYV,RKE8HSRX,REAGKJS3,RF8PUSYZ,RMEN32AC,R5FPKH2U,RT7UVAEK,R5DMF2XK,R96NM7DA,RZ7H9D8M,RMFGWU7A,R642G7NA,RNJHVLC3,RC3KJ7UP,RBEZ3KVU,RUMXNE86,RMVSNCEP,RYRA72TS,RN6L52CY,RP4WGV7R,RUFK7ZWB,RZ6H7FM4,RV5U7RKZ,RWFSZGV8,RXWV3CY6,RCFKXPVM,RHKY5GB4,RBVXFHN3,R4R6Z7YB,RYTHVGLD,RCM5EL3B,R4PHSCU7,R2DF6Z79,RZ4W6CT8,R7ZFUG5E,RZ8RXM46,RLKWUBPX,RGKS849L,RK6WBD49,RJ7VNPLG,RVA2X8LM,RPWDMNLJ

https://track.rtrt.me/e/PBP-2019#/tracker/R7YWBCVU,RTNRALC4,RFV43H8S,RFPTCJ3S,R2YVKBSU,RE5DGRMW,RZD2F9A7,RNREJA2M,RJWDHVBN,R7CAT3KF,R9TNFW8A,RL25KST7,R5JCA6L3,R6LEMDKG,RG3R5AWC,RFL5BY9H,R5HFMYU9,RGUBPXD9,RDM7VTN4,RDC4Z6NL,RDX6AL4T,RDWTYSCU,R4WXFB5Z,RUSVLT8G,RCJAM8NE,RTKPJL6B,RYGM8WRA,RPUN32MD,RC792WHA,RTB6P9ZX,R2CBFYMW,RM89NLP4,RFTAB2D3,R8XDP4UC,RE8MGXZF,RAJYRT83,RWVMBS3Y,RKWTHYBA,R4GWLFNA,RLD8TWKX,RKTV5X4B,RECGNKX4,RJCMXLVZ,R3CLYTJU,RBPSFZLD,RVN547X8,RTZBGY3E,R8D6MFEV

https://track.rtrt.me/e/PBP-2019#/tracker/RB2WU3NE,REDA5M29,R9AU46T5,RN7XJ4LS,R78WULYS,RY5J34EF,RYE6FKX8,RPA5SYE9,RUZG7MPW,RD28A53U,RGC5F38Z,RP7WFH2M,RFGLTV9W,RZPW7TG3,RTH9GRLE,R7V6UKL3,R235F6KN,RRV6GXTZ,RYKHE5WJ,RYR6EM52,RVDH6JBC,RN7E4GJL,R8PLCSNR,RDFEKSR9,RXTSP9RK,RX96M7KV,RKZBM974,R5S89KJL,R73JF9P8,RHG5AD3J,R9NCEJSD,RKUE5G4H,RHRF7V82,RKYAMPRE,RLG2RAZV,R6M3AJ8K,RSXYARJ2,RW39PFGS,R3G27P4A,R2E7LRUA,RC647L9B,R6DVTZS2,RZTFN72G,REZUPDGN,RVUDE9H8,RTL85XU6,RCUREZW2,R695Y23T,R72WPJ4N

https://track.rtrt.me/e/PBP-2019#/tracker/RP8CTDJL,RY8ND63K,RNH2P5GX,R5GR6NV4,RAC7N3G9,RBPTNRKF,RN7MRAC8,RDMNWU9T,RUNK7X5Z,RGJS4MC9,RMGHTDSV,RT3ZCWGS,RWEARFJ4,RLHVZTFA,RCWS2YLK,R3B2N6K8,RY49MKDP,R7PHXFZW,RLRZN8AE,RV4K3GBU,RVUSBW4H,RTRG2YWE,RCRHK5MD,RF8WMV6A


Edd

Re: Wacky races survival rates
« Reply #20 on: 27 August, 2019, 04:03:31 pm »
There was a tridem at the bike check on Saturday (pleasing placed next to a tandem next to a single, 1-2-3). Just had a look at my photo but they hadn't attached a frame number at that point

Re: Wacky races survival rates
« Reply #21 on: 27 August, 2019, 04:18:27 pm »
I rode with the Hase Pino tandem for several stints. I think they may have packed at mortagne?
Tremendous effort on a challenging beast.

If you’re on here, well done from me!

(K220  aka Gordon)
serendipity is my satnav

LittleWheelsandBig

  • Whimsy Rider
Re: Wacky races survival rates
« Reply #22 on: 27 August, 2019, 04:27:27 pm »
Yes, they mentioned to us a fair bit before Mortagne that lack of time to sleep would be the major factor in whether they finished.
Wheel meet again, don't know where, don't know when...

Re: Wacky races survival rates
« Reply #23 on: 27 August, 2019, 04:47:59 pm »
I think they had had 10 mins sleep by the time they were at mortagne on the return.
Their hallucinations would be having hallucinations by then....
serendipity is my satnav

Phil W

Re: Wacky races survival rates
« Reply #24 on: 27 August, 2019, 04:51:34 pm »
I think that's why they stopped, they decided they needed to sleep. Timewise they were ok at that point, before a sleep.