PBP Registration website

[Greenbank]

So basically, what I'm saying is the €30 fee for pre-registration isn't much money in Europe, but in India it's a lot more even for the sort of people likely to be attracted by PBP.

Sure, but it's probably still less than a tenth of what they will be paying all in (once you've got flights and probably accommodation) if they go through with it (given this, the relative cost is a red herring). It doesn't seem much if you consider it a ~10% non-refundable deposit.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

The ACP has been progressively contacting tandem pre-registered folk about who else will be riding with them. Nice to get early confirmation that my stoker's place is reserved.

When I lived in Oz and rode PBP, the airfare and accommodation costs dwarfed PBP's entry fee. 100€ more or less was mostly irrelevant.

India's randonneurs, particularly those aiming to go to PBP and LEL, contain a higher percentage of doctors and similarly comparatively highly paid folk than the general population.

[grams]

Places have dropped to 2011 - about 200 places gone since I last checked.

The current takeup rate is about 25/day*, so there'll be loads left on Sunday. Whether there'll be any left after Sunday is an open question.

(* yes, I have a spreadsheet)

[SPB]

Not that they'd necessarily still be the same on Sunday night, but wondering if anyone already pre-registered can see the current availability of each start wave?

Ideally I'd like to be in an early 90 hr wave, and a friend who also only has a 400BRM will be after an early Vedette wave.  Of course, we'll have to choose from what's left but just curious how it's looking at the moment.

[Phil W]

Earliest available 90hr wave is 20:15 at the moment. It has 251 spaces still available.

[SPB]

Earliest available 90hr wave is 20:15 at the moment. It has 251 spaces still available.

Thank you  .  Hmm, maybe then I'll think of going for the latest wave to be behind the bulge. 

[Diesel]

Hi, I've still not received any confirmation email and specifically no email to say payment successful. The registration section of the website still does not say payment successful. (paypal went through fine, I've had confirmation)

I emailed them on contact@paris-brest-paris.org over a week ago. Appreciate this is a busy time for the organisers (understatement!) but thought I might have had a reply by now.

Can anyone confirm I have the best email address or an alternative?

Anyone else had same problem?

Thanks Richard

[Ajax Bay]

Hi, I've still not received any confirmation email and specifically no email to say payment successful. The registration section of the website still does not say payment successful. (paypal went through fine, I've had confirmation)

Richard, I think the risk (loss/no pre-registration) mitigation is to pay again, before Sunday, if your PBP account page allows you to, and sort it out with Paypal.
Might you have used the wrong entry number as a reference when you paypalled?
Compare the Paypal e-mail - example:

Inscription Paris-Brest-Paris 2019, Dossier: PBP-14xx
Item Number PBP-14xx

with the number on your PBP account - example:

Pre-registration
Entry: PBP-14xx

[bairn again]

Earliest available 90hr wave is 20:15 at the moment. It has 251 spaces still available.

Thank you  .  Hmm, maybe then I'll think of going for the latest wave to be behind the bulge.

That's excellent I'm glad that folk are leaving the later starting slots free for me.   

[mattc]

Based only on two 90h starts from the veeeeery back, I feel that if you are in the slower half of the field, starting last is no worse than starting in the middle for "bulge-dodging". There are a billion other variables.

(My 2007 start was very late at night - 10pm-ish? - which led to the drawback of finishing in rush-hour traffic, but n.b. I took nearly 92 hours! That was the only real drawback, and SQY wasn't exactly hell even then.)

[bairn again]

Based only on two 90h starts from the veeeeery back, I feel that if you are in the slower half of the field, starting last is no worse than starting in the middle for "bulge-dodging". There are a billion other variables.

(My 2007 start was very late at night - 10pm-ish? - which led to the drawback of finishing in rush-hour traffic, but n.b. I took nearly 92 hours! That was the only real drawback, and SQY wasn't exactly hell even then.)

I was group T last time (20.00 start v. first 90hr starters @ 17.15) and finished 88 hrs later.  I reckoned that I was just the right distance behind the bulge all the way round as there were never any slow/long/both queues and food was still in plentiful supply too.  The folk at controls also had that "the-cavalry-have-just rampaged-through-and-were-glad-its-calmed-down-now" look about them!   

My plan is much the same for 2019.

[Ian H]

There were fewer riders and less organisation when I first rode.  A disorderly queue of riders formed, were corralled into groups as one gate shut and another opened ahead.  Sheila Simpson dragged me by the ears up a bank and over a grassy area to jump down and join the first of the 90s.  Cue shouts of 'OI!' from Rocco.

[simonp]

2011 - standing in a queue in hot sun for hours just before a 1200km ride - not ideal.

I'm not sad to see the back of that.

[Roberto]

2011 - standing in a queue in hot sun for hours just before a 1200km ride - not ideal.

I'm not sad to see the back of that.

Yes I remember that well, ended up with a mild case of heat stroke and had to seek medical assistance by the time I reached the first control

[SPB]

The one downside I can see to a last-wave 90hr start is what to do with oneself all day after the hotel kicks out.  Head to Rambouillet and find a tree at the Bergerie to lie under, I suppose.

[Diesel]

Hi, I've still not received any confirmation email and specifically no email to say payment successful. The registration section of the website still does not say payment successful. (paypal went through fine, I've had confirmation)

Richard, I think the risk (loss/no pre-registration) mitigation is to pay again, before Sunday, if your PBP account page allows you to, and sort it out with Paypal.
Might you have used the wrong entry number as a reference when you paypalled?

Thanks Ajax Bay

Can't pay again through the website and checked paypal receipt - it has the right ref number. So not sure there is much else I can do. Thanks

[Ivo]

The one downside I can see to a last-wave 90hr start is what to do with oneself all day after the hotel kicks out.  Head to Rambouillet and find a tree at the Bergerie to lie under, I suppose.

Or go to the campsite and join the dozens of riders there dozing before the ride starts.

[SPB]

The one downside I can see to a last-wave 90hr start is what to do with oneself all day after the hotel kicks out.  Head to Rambouillet and find a tree at the Bergerie to lie under, I suppose.

Or go to the campsite and join the dozens of riders there dozing before the ride starts.

Didn't Huttopia camping fill up long ago?  And there aren't any others.  I did want to camp near Rambouillet, but lack of availability means I'll be in a motel some 30km away.  I can cancel if you know something I don't though!

[Ivo]

The one downside I can see to a last-wave 90hr start is what to do with oneself all day after the hotel kicks out.  Head to Rambouillet and find a tree at the Bergerie to lie under, I suppose.

Or go to the campsite and join the dozens of riders there dozing before the ride starts.

Didn't Huttopia camping fill up long ago?  And there aren't any others.  I did want to camp near Rambouillet, but lack of availability means I'll be in a motel some 30km away.  I can cancel if you know something I don't though!

I booked right at the beginning. Directly for a full emplacement, of the 6 places on my spot already 5 are taken. There could still be a lot of free spots with other randonneurs.
And certainly for daytime, you could claim that you're visiting a friend

[bairn again]

The one downside I can see to a last-wave 90hr start is what to do with oneself all day after the hotel kicks out. 

Agree with that.  Getting stupidly excited on the Sunday and then hitting a wall on the 1st night is one of the more naive errors.

However as I'll be using a friends apartment in Paris that's not an issue for me.   

(I did mention the fact that Ive got a mate with an apartment in Paris didnt I?   )

[mattc]

But don't the first 90h waves leave well after hotel-kicking-out time too? 

[SPB]

They do, but less so.   Starting at 18:00 means one would get further in before one's circadian rhythm starts expecting sleep than one would starting at 21:00.  The extra three hours hanging around before just strikes me as more time awake wasted.

[Redlight]

One idea is to book your hotel to include the Sunday night and to try to get some rest - and sleep, if possible - during the day.  In 2015 I calculated that there was very little difference between booking for a couple of days before the ride plus one afterwards and booking for the whole week, so all I had to worry about on the Sunday was riding down to the start and I knew that I had somewhere to go no matter what time I finished on the Thursday morning.

[mattc]

They do, but less so.   Starting at 18:00 means one would get further in before one's circadian rhythm starts expecting sleep than one would starting at 21:00.  The extra three hours hanging around before just strikes me as more time awake wasted.

Sounds like you haven't yet discovered the soporific effects of a proper French "lunch"

(and taking an afternoon nap in the sun is good practice for later in the ride)

[SPB]