Author Topic: Food/Liquids available at the controls & what to take.  (Read 7592 times)

Re: Food/Liquids available at the controls & what to take.
« Reply #25 on: 01 July, 2019, 03:44:14 pm »
Hi Tom - [...] While I admire your fortitude and preparation and commitment to the UK ethos I am remembering the teams of Euro club riders and their vans and thinking that a drop bag is not exactly out of the spirit of the event.


In your shoes, I would plan to take at least the bare minimum with me to get all the way around unsupported; I would also consider sneaking some into Tomsk's Carradice without him noticing and then ride with for the duration  ;D

I thought the "bag drop" was a misnomer and was referring to an ability to leave stuff in a bag at the start for pick up on the return?



Thanks Wilkyboy - potential chaos and desperation noted. I think I am being lulled into a false sense of LEL. I do I think Tom should definitely carry some of my kit, though then I would have to keep up with him :-)

Also perused Baxter's website and it looks like you can only get the bag drop with the full package of a ride down so.... will plan on not using one! (Goes to run up a spread sheet of how much Complan it would take to get around....)


Re: Food/Liquids available at the controls & what to take.
« Reply #27 on: 01 July, 2019, 05:27:43 pm »
Nope — there's a "bag drop at the start" and there is a "bag drop" — the former is effectively "left luggage" and will most likely be a pile in the corner of one of the two registration "barns"; the latter will be hoiked into the back of a van and transported up the road, probably to Loudéac again

Are you talking about an ACP-provided service at Loudéac? Is there anything confirming it will happen in 2019? It’s conspicuously not mentioned in the rider briefing (left luggage is).


wilkyboy

  • "nick" by any other name
    • 16-inch wheels
Re: Food/Liquids available at the controls & what to take.
« Reply #29 on: 01 July, 2019, 10:47:06 pm »
Nope — there's a "bag drop at the start" and there is a "bag drop" — the former is effectively "left luggage" and will most likely be a pile in the corner of one of the two registration "barns"; the latter will be hoiked into the back of a van and transported up the road, probably to Loudéac again

Are you talking about an ACP-provided service at Loudéac? Is there anything confirming it will happen in 2019? It’s conspicuously not mentioned in the rider briefing (left luggage is).

No — I was suggesting that was where the American and Asian bags would end up, as it's the logical best-place for a single bag drop, so those riders would visit it twice. 

I don't believe ACP is involved in any bag drops.
Lockdown lethargy. RRTY: wot's that? Can't remember if I'm on #8 or #9 ...

Re: Food/Liquids available at the controls & what to take.
« Reply #30 on: 02 July, 2019, 08:57:20 am »
Nope — there's a "bag drop at the start" and there is a "bag drop" — the former is effectively "left luggage" and will most likely be a pile in the corner of one of the two registration "barns"; the latter will be hoiked into the back of a van and transported up the road, probably to Loudéac again

Are you talking about an ACP-provided service at Loudéac? Is there anything confirming it will happen in 2019? It’s conspicuously not mentioned in the rider briefing (left luggage is).

No — I was suggesting that was where the American and Asian bags would end up, as it's the logical best-place for a single bag drop, so those riders would visit it twice. 

I don't believe ACP is involved in any bag drops.

I went the whole way and booked double bag drop with Baxters - Fougeres and Carhaix (sp) for £42. Gives me a total of four chances to find a bag - 300, 500, 700, 900. And means I don't have to buy a new dynamo wheel for my disc brake bike. In order to offset the impact of this assistance I will forego losing that extra 3kgs between now and then - it's a sacrifice, but fair is fair.

Re: Food/Liquids available at the controls & what to take.
« Reply #31 on: 21 August, 2019, 12:01:31 pm »
Food at the controls didn't work for me. I'm vegan, but was prepared to revert to being veggie. One or two controls had some variety, but the plain pasta, plain rice or thin soup just didn't work – no sauce to make it palatable, no protein and too bland to eat again and again.

Cheese baguettes, where available (typically only ham and cheese) were too dry to eat much of. Most (all?) controls seemed to offer chicken and fish, but the lack of veggie protein was poor. Even the food outside the controls and along the route was heavily meat-based, though I wasn't prepared to stray to look further afield. Lack of food (eating nothing but bonk rations only lasts so long) and lack of sleep meant I ran out of energy (legs were fine, muscle-wise) at Sezun and bailed there.

hellymedic

  • Just do it!
Re: Food/Liquids available at the controls & what to take.
« Reply #32 on: 21 August, 2019, 12:35:31 pm »
AIUI you are not the first vegan to run out of juice!

Commiserations!

Re: Food/Liquids available at the controls & what to take.
« Reply #33 on: 22 August, 2019, 12:13:31 am »
Being Vegan is the one thing that puts me off riding through France for anything more than a one day trip.

I'd revert to being Veggie if I had to, but from the looks of it, even that would be a struggle. 

Re: Food/Liquids available at the controls & what to take.
« Reply #34 on: 22 August, 2019, 09:36:45 am »
The control with the upstairs restaurant where I could only have grated cheese with the pasta, didn’t have cheese this time. One control had a bland tomato sauce, and a few had the soup I mixed with the pasta. Only had rice at a roadside stop. Wished I’d stopped for pizza or other food at the establishments passed in the control towns before the control itself.

A hard event for a veggie, but even harder if you’re vegan.
Bikes are for riding, not cleaning!

Planet X Paul

  • The Green Machine
Re: Food/Liquids available at the controls & what to take.
« Reply #35 on: 22 August, 2019, 09:47:02 pm »
I did briefly harbour ambitions of PBP and even though I pre-qualified and have an SR this year, from the stories that I read, the whole thing just does not appeal to me.  It seems overly chaotic and being a veggie I'm sure I would have struggled which just adds to the stress of riding a long way.  LEL on the other hand is something I want to have another crack at  :thumbsup:

Redlight

  • Enjoying life in the slow lane
Re: Food/Liquids available at the controls & what to take.
« Reply #36 on: 22 August, 2019, 09:53:31 pm »
The control with the upstairs restaurant where I could only have grated cheese with the pasta, didn’t have cheese this time.

That'll be Tinteniac. The food is always bit unimpressive there.  Still, I haven't heard of Carhaix and Quedillac running out of food, as happened in 2015!
Why should anybody steal a watch when they can steal a bicycle?

Re: Food/Liquids available at the controls & what to take.
« Reply #37 on: 23 August, 2019, 01:04:12 am »
That'll be Tinteniac. The food is always bit unimpressive there.  Still, I haven't heard of Carhaix and Quedillac running out of food, as happened in 2015!

I was a helper at Carhaix. 5 hours after the control had officially closed we were still serving hot food and drinks to stragglers at 5am.
More impressively the beer tent stayed open throughout all this as well :)

FifeingEejit

  • Not Small
Re: Food/Liquids available at the controls & what to take.
« Reply #38 on: 23 August, 2019, 02:28:58 am »
The control with the upstairs restaurant where I could only have grated cheese with the pasta, didn’t have cheese this time.

That'll be Tinteniac. The food is always bit unimpressive there.  Still, I haven't heard of Carhaix and Quedillac running out of food, as happened in 2015!
Oddly I think I had my 2nd best Controlfeed at Tintineac, the best being villains.

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marcusjb

  • Full of bon courage.
Re: Food/Liquids available at the controls & what to take.
« Reply #39 on: 23 August, 2019, 06:45:00 am »
The control with the upstairs restaurant where I could only have grated cheese with the pasta, didn’t have cheese this time.

That'll be Tinteniac. The food is always bit unimpressive there.  Still, I haven't heard of Carhaix and Quedillac running out of food, as happened in 2015!

Tinteniac was amazing - though I played very fast and loose with the risky stuff.

The chef was knocking up actually very decent steak hache to order - it was pretty blue but so so tasty.

I do have a pretty strong stomach, so all was well, but probably not a meal for everyone.

Probably best thing I ate on the ride, though the pizza for breakfast on way out of Brest was damned fine as well.
Right! What's next?

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

Re: Food/Liquids available at the controls & what to take.
« Reply #40 on: 23 August, 2019, 07:57:15 am »
That'll be Tinteniac. The food is always bit unimpressive there.  Still, I haven't heard of Carhaix and Quedillac running out of food, as happened in 2015!

I was a helper at Carhaix. 5 hours after the control had officially closed we were still serving hot food and drinks to stragglers at 5am.
More impressively the beer tent stayed open throughout all this as well :)

I was looking for you and Sabine both ways, but missed you, sadly. Next time!