PBP Sleep

[rob]

taking your shoes on and off

Is this because of sore plates (of meat), white carpets at controls, or something else..?

It was a rule for LEL.   Doesn't apply at any PBP control I'm aware of.

[tomj]

The bleedin obvious here; PBP is a 750 mile event, run by the French in France for 3000+ participants, controls, particularly in the earlier part of the ride will be busy.

Even though controls now offer ‘resto rapide’ in addition to sit down ‘school dinner’ eating passing through controls quickly will be challenging, the process of parking your bike, finding the control, stamping your card takes time. The route showcases rural France (as LEL) there will be numerous spectators handing out coffee, cake and snacks, but surprisingly few cafes are open late. Few if any 24 hours petrol stations or open all hours convenience stores are available along the route.

For me tiredness is a major issue, one to accept and cope with, sleep as best as you can, where you can.

Basing your strategy on foraging en route during the day may save some time but I wouldn't rely totally on this.

Anyway, the controls are all part of the fun and a memorable experience.

[The French Tandem]

Few if any 24 hours petrol stations or open all hours convenience stores are available along the route.

It is illegal in France to run a supermarket for 24 hours a day. This is not a very audax-friendly law!

A

[Ivo]

Deciding beforehand to stick together for the whole ride is a recipy for disaster. At some point during the ride your biorhytms will vary. If you then stick together either one has to ride totally tired or the other has to waste valuable time resting while his/her body doesn't require a rest. During the first hours there are huge packs, often in the dark. How are you going to keep track where the other one is?
Sticking together has no benefit during PBP. There are so many riders around that you can always find someone else to tag along with. You don't need the other one to give you a shelter from the wind.
Ditch the plan to ride it together and both prepare for an individual ride would be my advise (unless you ride a tandem of course).

[L CC]

Deciding beforehand to stick together for the whole ride is a recipy for disaster. At some point during the ride your biorhytms will vary. If you then stick together either one has to ride totally tired or the other has to waste valuable time resting while his/her body doesn't require a rest. During the first hours there are huge packs, often in the dark. How are you going to keep track where the other one is?
Sticking together has no benefit during PBP. There are so many riders around that you can always find someone else to tag along with. You don't need the other one to give you a shelter from the wind.
Ditch the plan to ride it together and both prepare for an individual ride would be my advise (unless you ride a tandem of course).

I'd say this is rubbish. If you always ride together, you'll always ride together. Mr Smith and I rode together on solos before we tandemed. Sure, your highs and lows may not always coincide, but that's a bonus, really. You chivvy each other along.

[vorsprung]

Deciding beforehand to stick together for the whole ride is a recipy for disaster. At some point during the ride your biorhytms will vary. If you then stick together either one has to ride totally tired or the other has to waste valuable time resting while his/her body doesn't require a rest. During the first hours there are huge packs, often in the dark. How are you going to keep track where the other one is?
Sticking together has no benefit during PBP. There are so many riders around that you can always find someone else to tag along with. You don't need the other one to give you a shelter from the wind.
Ditch the plan to ride it together and both prepare for an individual ride would be my advise (unless you ride a tandem of course).

I'd say this is rubbish. If you always ride together, you'll always ride together. Mr Smith and I rode together on solos before we tandemed. Sure, your highs and lows may not always coincide, but that's a bonus, really. You chivvy each other along.

I kinda agree with fboab, although I approach it in a different way

There's someone I ride with a lot and we ride at pretty much the same speed and require a similar high caffeine intake

Even though we are evenly matched obviously there will sometimes be a hill or a time of day when it doesn't work.  Then you just have to decide what to do.  And usually it's stick together or maybe ride ahead for 5 minutes to the next control

Usually it's me that can't stay awake and needs to sleep in a hedge however

[Phil W]

My tactic over the past six years has been to have built up a buffer of approx 6-8 hours by the end of every 24 hours and to use three hours of that for sleep.  If you go into PBP well rested then riding through the first night will likely pass without an attack of the dozies.  A tactic I used for part of last PBP was to stop early and sleep,/ dose late afternoon then ride through the night.  I was happy with my bivvy bag and a quiet hay field. Some off the pop up stalls had sun loungers to sleep in. Some book a hotel for two nights at Loudeac.

What bivvy bag do you use?

Sent from my BLN-L21 using Tapatalk

Rab ultra bivvy (190 grams)

[Daymatt]

My thoughts after 2 PBP” s . One riding on my own , the other riding with
2 friends
1/ You can of course ride together but you will have more time off the bike as a consequence , double faff
time for almost every activity - but it sounds like by PBP you will be well experienced in reducing
this . Examples of time wasted x numbers of riding partners for me included punctures , comfort stops ,
stopping to talk to locals who offered suppprt , off bike stretching , emergency food/ drink stops and finally sleep co-ordination
2/ All of the above is cool if you have the speed and don’t mind being a full value rider . My first on my own was finished in 77hrs, my second in 88.5 !
3/ Make sure you are honest with your average speed predictions .My first 200 of the year was in feb , and I’d forgotten how much slower I am when it gets dark . Also are your qualifiers more or less hilly than PBP( I think PBP is approx 11k of climbing
4/ I’ve just completed a 400 that started at 9pm - invaluable to lock in some night riding / coping techniques
5/ You will both be fine

Cheers ,

Matt