Author Topic: yacf riders  (Read 33254 times)

Re: yacf riders
« Reply #125 on: 25 August, 2019, 09:48:19 am »
As a new Audaxer and yacf lurker I’d just like to say thank you for the advice that has been on these threads which helped me prepare for my first PBP.

I’ve had a few injuries this year which meant I was just happy to be on the start line and was aiming to just finish within the time limit. However, things seemed to be going pretty well and I was hitting my controls at times that made me think I might even make it to Brest before sleep. Then the wind hit and whilst it wouldn't have been horrendous in normal circumstances, I had gone out a bit too hard and so I struggled. Had a good sleep at Carhaix and made it to Brest just shy of 40 hours and dreaming of a sub-80 finish.
Ticked along nicely back to Loudeac despite a failed sleep attempt at Quedillac but then I started to have a slight niggle in my ankle which turned into a big pain by Villaines. 80hr schedule was JUST manageable as I left Villaines but then a combination of a mechanical a few km out, my Wahoo screen breaking and then faffing to sort this and finally my ankle breaking down further resulted in a reversion to plan A of just finishing. Ankle progressively got worse and I ended up only really being able to push with one leg and just roll the other one round and I couldn’t stand up in the pedals. Had to keep stopping for rests to let pain subside a bit before heading on again. A bit of a massage at Mortagne helped me on my way but I knew it was going to be a slow and painful ride in. Was looking forward to a massage top-up at Dreux only to discover they only had a first aid station so put my last bit of ibuprofen gel on and headed on. I found this leg the most frustrating as it was a great flat section which I know is have been able to speed through normally but there I was hobbling along haha.

Eventually rolled in at about 86:30 very relieved! It was an amazing experience with the support on the sides of the road and in hindsight it was really good, met and rode with some great people and no one cares about your time except yourself so chapeau to everyone who attempted the ride.

simonp

Re: yacf riders
« Reply #126 on: 25 August, 2019, 11:30:56 am »
I finished in 86:41 which was a bit faster than last time but don’t think I got as much sleep. My aim after 2015 was to give it a go on fixed and for the last couple of years I have been riding almost exclusively on fixed. I used my usual 68” gear, there was a lot of talk about gearing up amongst our club but I knew how relentlessly hilly the route was and so stuck with it.

Things went pretty well through the first night but when the dawn broke between Villaines and Fougeres the wind got up and that was a real slog which carried on for the rest of the day. At Loudeac we were on schedule but broken and I took some time out, with a lie down on a bed (couldn’t sleep with the adjacent music playing) and set out for St Nicolas in the late evening and got there for midnight.  The following day was great up and down the Roc and then onto Carhaix, Loudeac and deep into the morning hours to Quedillac. Things went well to Fougeres but as the sun strengthened, the energy levels weakend. At Villaines we took some more time out with a lie down and we knew we weren’t going to get any substantive sleep until the end. Got to Mortagne, had another lie down and left at 12:30 and had a brief lie down on route. This is the section that I really hated last time because of the oppressive need for sleep and ended up doing it even later this time! Once we got to Dreux, we only needed a bit of a lie down, the sun came up and we knocked out the last 45km in a lovely misty sunrise.

I loved the event, I was disappointed that I was unable to get more sleep than last time but enjoyed doing it on fixed, the main problem on that front was the big groups overtaking on the downs, boxing you in and then dying on the hills where we had to work our way out of the group to maintain momentum going uphill. On some of the rolling sections this would be repeated regularly. The hills were relentless but not steep.

I’m 57 now and I’d like to think that I have one more PBP in me to make it three but we’ll see how I feel in 4 years time.

Chapeau Jon. 68" is a good choice of gear IMO (I've used 69" twice). I tried the same thing of sleep at Loudeac during the day last time, but the music was too noisy for me as well. There was also someone throwing up in the dorm. I went straight through to Brest this time, yet still took two hours longer despite having gears - that headwind was a real bugger.



Re: yacf riders
« Reply #127 on: 25 August, 2019, 02:33:01 pm »
Hi Jbb,say hello to Claire,we shared a shopping stop on tuesday evening,fruit cake and 1/2 lt of sour milk by mistake for me ,turned out to be rocket fuel,Hope Claire finished in good shape,

Re: yacf riders
« Reply #128 on: 25 August, 2019, 04:18:39 pm »
Brilliantly well done Claude (still very well done Zigzag of course) - so it looks like you are the fastest AUK finisher..... unless of course anyone knows better.

I have done a hasty update of the home page on the website to reflect this - apologies Claude for not giving you full credit at first.

Does anyone know which AUK member had the slowest time, but still less than 90 hours?

I took 89.29 after some seious mechanical and waiting a bit towards the end for some friends.

Re: yacf riders
« Reply #129 on: 25 August, 2019, 04:40:30 pm »
Hi Jbb,say hello to Claire,we shared a shopping stop on tuesday evening,fruit cake and 1/2 lt of sour milk by mistake for me ,turned out to be rocket fuel,Hope Claire finished in good shape,

Hi! The fruit cake thing was amazing. I loved talking to the indian guys at that stop about my Horizon tyres. "Aren't they heavy?" I said if I need to lose weight anywhere its the tyre around my waist and they laughed.

Re: yacf riders
« Reply #130 on: 25 August, 2019, 04:41:51 pm »
Still a great experience and I was able to help my friend Claire through a bad patch and I think she's going to make it.

Which I appreciate more with each passing day. Thank you.

Wycombewheeler

  • PBP-2019 LEL-2022
Re: yacf riders
« Reply #131 on: 25 August, 2019, 05:15:38 pm »
I don't see any issues with Brest, it's a sizable town so it is what it is, the control was fine, and from what I hear sleeping arrangements were good.

Rambouillet was nice, but the timing sensor in the courtyard was pointless, it should have been under the visual finishing arch which looked like a finish, and also was where people were gathered, the only other thing they need to change was to make the exit different from the finishing straight, and not have all the vehicles parked up along the course, of if they are allowed, then they should be obliged to remain in place until after the final control closing time, with access to and from on the grass, rather than the course.

Eddington  127miles, 170km

Re: yacf riders
« Reply #132 on: 25 August, 2019, 05:44:42 pm »
Hi Jbb,say hello to Claire,we shared a shopping stop on tuesday evening,fruit cake and 1/2 lt of sour milk by mistake for me ,turned out to be rocket fuel,Hope Claire finished in good shape,

Ah, common mistake, Ribot instead of milk.
Reine de la Fauche


Re: yacf riders
« Reply #133 on: 25 August, 2019, 06:08:18 pm »
Had a reasonably uneventful ride.  Took it somewhat gently after my intermittently painful knee opted to get stabby on me just hours before the start.  Thankfully the knee behaved during the event.  The best bit for me was the return route from Carhaix to Loudeac.

I liked Rambouillet as a start/finish, though the arrivee was a bit of a zoo and needed better signage or marshalling.  The circuit of the cobbled courtyard was a nice idea but not exactly what you need after 1200k.

Re: yacf riders
« Reply #134 on: 26 August, 2019, 09:45:45 am »
If it were up to me I’d either put the finish line and brevet stampers just inside the gate, or put the cars and motor homes somewhere other than the main drive (or just not have them!).

When we started we left through a different gate, which on the way back we rode past, through the town, through the main gate, through the car park, through the motor home alley to get to where that gate came out. Just routing us in through that gate would have been a huge improvement.

I mean, I’m sure there are reasons why it was done the way it was done, but that doesn’t make it a better experience.

T42

  • Apprentice geezer
Re: yacf riders
« Reply #135 on: 26 August, 2019, 09:48:33 am »
Looking at the pics & videos I get the impression that if the finish had been wet the place would've been a quagmire.
I've dusted off all those old bottles and set them up straight

simonp

Re: yacf riders
« Reply #136 on: 26 August, 2019, 09:49:26 am »
Looking at the pics & videos I get the impression that if the finish had been wet the place would've been a quagmire.

As it was at the bike check.

Re: yacf riders
« Reply #137 on: 26 August, 2019, 10:42:44 pm »
I had ridden three qualifying SR series in 1987, but had to DNF PBP with severe knee pain after damaging my bike and myself coming off on a wet descent. Since then I finished all seven PBPs but this year  I had completed three SR again so was worried about history repeating itself!
Like last time I started in the 84 hour 05:30 Group Z so I would hopefully only have to ride through the Monday and Tuesday nights. Unfortunately I started feeling tired by 22:00 on the Monday night so started on the caffeine gels that I’d hoped to save for later and despite limiting my caffeine intake for literally years they had little effect. Instead my ability to keep going through that first night owes more to the kindness of the French people offering free vegetable soup, coffee and cake to riders from tables in their gardens by the route.
I was still running myself into the ground, only stopping to control at controls and then heading straight off, eating energy bars on the move, still steadily working my way through the bulge. I didn’t want to push my luck too far so decided to briefly rest my eyes. There wasn’t much opportunity in that vicinity and it was too cold to lie down outside  so I just leaned on the back of a chevron sign on a bend and rested my head on my arms for a few seconds. The effect was immediate and I was able to up my pace all the way over the Roc to Brest.
It was 0930 when I turned at Brest after 28 hours elapsed time. I expected a tailwind after the previous day’s headwind but was disappointed to find more headwind! A definite againsterly wind whichever way I turned! I made the most of the Tuesday daylight by not stopping to eat until it got dark and for me this was Tinteneac. I was absolutely starving by this point and I picked up bean salad, potatoes, vegetable soup, coffee, Coke and water. I had to leave some of the food and put the  Coke and water in my bottle. I was now attempting a second consecutive sleepless night, but mindful of a few couchage possibilities between Fougeres and Villaines. It was another cold night and I wore my foil blanket under my Goretex jacket again. I had foolishly expected my helmet to keep my head warm enough but too much heat was being lost through the vents. All I had was my spare shorts so I took my helmet off, put the pad on top of my head, a leg over each ear and the waist band to the back. The helmet held it in place and it worked brilliantly, making the cold bearable at the price of looking even weirder than usual.
The calm, kind lady welcoming me to the free couchage at Le Ribay didn’t bat an eyelid at my strange appearance and sleep deprived state. After using the pristine bathroom I had a choice of twenty or so mattresses in a small hall, all with pillows and blankets or duvets. I was awoken by her soft voice calling my name half an hour later. At first I thought it was my lucky day but I soon realised that I had a bike ride to finish off.
By Villaines it was warm enough for me to take off my Goretex jacket and I binned my foil blanket. The wind got up and it was still a nagging headwind. Pushing into it and constant climbing was making my legs sore, just above the knees, but I had to keep going as I couldn’t face going into another night. I did relent on the way to Dreux and stopped for a lie down in the shade of some rare trees between vast fields. This eased my aching legs and ensured that I could stay awake for the rest of the ride. I had a light meal at Dreux and then pushed on the final stage to the finish. I hadn’t looked at the diversion route and only had the original route in my GPS so was relying on the arrows and at first they seemed few and far between. The diversion was longer than expected and there wasn’t much of the route left when it finished.
I had worked out that I should be on for a personal best time anyway so hadn’t been pushing too hard and just trundled up to the finish, dodging people and campervans on the final approach. I thought I’d crossed the finish line, but was directed round the cobbled courtyard to the actual finish line. Despite the tough conditions I had managed to finish in a new PB time of 61:04 at the age of 55, beating my 2015 time by 25 minutes.
After a tasty vegetarian meal in the pleasant company of a group of AUKS, I rode back to my pitch at Huttopia, still in daylight on Wednesday evening. I was surprised to find a strange woman and her young daughter there, pitching a tent and even more surprised when she knew my full name! It turned out she was Rob Gray’s Dutch girlfriend who had traveled by bus from the Netherlands as a surprise to meet him at the finish. She had a long wait as Rob had a few problems but she was excellent company for me in the meantime. The following afternoon she presented Rob with a bunch of flowers that she had brought with her from the Netherlands and he was over the moon to see her.




Re: yacf riders
« Reply #138 on: 27 August, 2019, 12:36:33 am »
If it were up to me I’d either put the finish line and brevet stampers just inside the gate, or put the cars and motor homes somewhere other than the main drive (or just not have them!).

When we started we left through a different gate, which on the way back we rode past, through the town, through the main gate, through the car park, through the motor home alley to get to where that gate came out. Just routing us in through that gate would have been a huge improvement.

I mean, I’m sure there are reasons why it was done the way it was done, but that doesn’t make it a better experience.

The first three times I did PBP, I absolutely hated the finish. There were about 3 miles of busy new-town traffic, and local drivers were getting thoroughly pissed off. That was after a series of seemingly gratuitous hills, to avoid the worst of the approaches to St Quentin.

In 2011, I came in around 6am, and that was tolerable. The only good thing was the finish roundabout, which provided a bit of a spectacle. The 2015 finish was dismal, with a narrow path into a holding area behind the velodrome.

2015 was marred somewhat by security concerns. The Nice truck attack took place soon after, and there were bouncers on the doors at the velodrome. I saw no security at this PBP.

I did two 'finishes' for filming purposes. One at about midnight, and one at 9am. The motorhomes were a bit of a nuisance, but the main problem was what I call 'Reservoir Dogs Syndrome'; pedestrians walking abreast, and hogging the road.

The desire to introduce elements of Paris Roubaix into the finish was a touch ambitious, but was perhaps an attempt to evoke the spirit of the St Quentin roundabout. The courtyard finish was a good place to film, as you'd be in the middle of the road at the main arch. It was possible to sit and photograph the finishers in the courtyard in some comfort, but the combination of cobbles and gravel was a bit crazy.


Gattopardo

  • Lord of the sith
  • Overseaing the building of the death star
Re: yacf riders
« Reply #139 on: 27 August, 2019, 01:02:59 am »
At some stage would you like me to feed back your issues to the organisers?

Have had a good chat with the president of the Rambouillet cycling club, he is a really nice.  So can feedback your thoughts to him.



 

Re: yacf riders
« Reply #140 on: 27 August, 2019, 10:18:46 am »
I had ridden three qualifying SR series in 1987, but had to DNF PBP with severe knee pain after damaging my bike and myself coming off on a wet descent. Since then I finished all seven PBPs but this year  I had completed three SR again so was worried about history repeating itself!
Like last time I started in the 84 hour 05:30 Group Z so I would hopefully only have to ride through the Monday and Tuesday nights. Unfortunately I started feeling tired by 22:00 on the Monday night so started on the caffeine gels that I’d hoped to save for later and despite limiting my caffeine intake for literally years they had little effect. Instead my ability to keep going through that first night owes more to the kindness of the French people offering free vegetable soup, coffee and cake to riders from tables in their gardens by the route.
I was still running myself into the ground, only stopping to control at controls and then heading straight off, eating energy bars on the move, still steadily working my way through the bulge. I didn’t want to push my luck too far so decided to briefly rest my eyes. There wasn’t much opportunity in that vicinity and it was too cold to lie down outside  so I just leaned on the back of a chevron sign on a bend and rested my head on my arms for a few seconds. The effect was immediate and I was able to up my pace all the way over the Roc to Brest.
It was 0930 when I turned at Brest after 28 hours elapsed time. I expected a tailwind after the previous day’s headwind but was disappointed to find more headwind! A definite againsterly wind whichever way I turned! I made the most of the Tuesday daylight by not stopping to eat until it got dark and for me this was Tinteneac. I was absolutely starving by this point and I picked up bean salad, potatoes, vegetable soup, coffee, Coke and water. I had to leave some of the food and put the  Coke and water in my bottle. I was now attempting a second consecutive sleepless night, but mindful of a few couchage possibilities between Fougeres and Villaines. It was another cold night and I wore my foil blanket under my Goretex jacket again. I had foolishly expected my helmet to keep my head warm enough but too much heat was being lost through the vents. All I had was my spare shorts so I took my helmet off, put the pad on top of my head, a leg over each ear and the waist band to the back. The helmet held it in place and it worked brilliantly, making the cold bearable at the price of looking even weirder than usual.
The calm, kind lady welcoming me to the free couchage at Le Ribay didn’t bat an eyelid at my strange appearance and sleep deprived state. After using the pristine bathroom I had a choice of twenty or so mattresses in a small hall, all with pillows and blankets or duvets. I was awoken by her soft voice calling my name half an hour later. At first I thought it was my lucky day but I soon realised that I had a bike ride to finish off.
By Villaines it was warm enough for me to take off my Goretex jacket and I binned my foil blanket. The wind got up and it was still a nagging headwind. Pushing into it and constant climbing was making my legs sore, just above the knees, but I had to keep going as I couldn’t face going into another night. I did relent on the way to Dreux and stopped for a lie down in the shade of some rare trees between vast fields. This eased my aching legs and ensured that I could stay awake for the rest of the ride. I had a light meal at Dreux and then pushed on the final stage to the finish. I hadn’t looked at the diversion route and only had the original route in my GPS so was relying on the arrows and at first they seemed few and far between. The diversion was longer than expected and there wasn’t much of the route left when it finished.
I had worked out that I should be on for a personal best time anyway so hadn’t been pushing too hard and just trundled up to the finish, dodging people and campervans on the final approach. I thought I’d crossed the finish line, but was directed round the cobbled courtyard to the actual finish line. Despite the tough conditions I had managed to finish in a new PB time of 61:04 at the age of 55, beating my 2015 time by 25 minutes.
After a tasty vegetarian meal in the pleasant company of a group of AUKS, I rode back to my pitch at Huttopia, still in daylight on Wednesday evening. I was surprised to find a strange woman and her young daughter there, pitching a tent and even more surprised when she knew my full name! It turned out she was Rob Gray’s Dutch girlfriend who had traveled by bus from the Netherlands as a surprise to meet him at the finish. She had a long wait as Rob had a few problems but she was excellent company for me in the meantime. The following afternoon she presented Rob with a bunch of flowers that she had brought with her from the Netherlands and he was over the moon to see her.
Legendary tale Steve!

Sent from my LLD-L31 using Tapatalk


FifeingEejit

  • Not Small
Re: yacf riders
« Reply #141 on: 27 August, 2019, 11:32:59 am »
The finish set up was a bit duff with the multiple finish locations, as previously mentioned the arch would have been fine...
That's where we sat later on.

Got round in 86:32:32, happy with that.
I know where I can save a lot of time next time...

Re: yacf riders
« Reply #142 on: 27 August, 2019, 02:23:37 pm »
The first three times I did PBP, I absolutely hated the finish. There were about 3 miles of busy new-town traffic, and local drivers were getting thoroughly pissed off. That was after a series of seemingly gratuitous hills, to avoid the worst of the approaches to St Quentin.

That ^

In 2011 ... The only good thing was the finish roundabout, which provided a bit of a spectacle.

That ^

The 2015 finish was dismal, with a narrow path into a holding area behind the velodrome.

And that ^
You're only as successful as your last 1200...

vorsprung

  • Opposites Attract
    • Audaxing
Re: yacf riders
« Reply #143 on: 27 August, 2019, 08:11:40 pm »
Vorsprung marked as finished in 90:34. Haven't bumped into him on the campsite yet to find out the story.

You didn't bump into me at the campsite..you should have been in the bar, that was the correct way to find me

Why did I take 34m too many?

1) I had a headcold when I started but it wasn't severe and I thought it was hayfever.  Didn't really figure it out until after the event.  So I consistently misjudged when to sleep and how much I should push it

2) Pulled a Ukraine rider out of a ditch on the retour before Tintenac.  Gave him a sandwich, fixed his bars straight again, apparently his really loose headset is "always like that".  This was about 30m delay I guess by the time I'd ridden along slowly with him

3) Chatted too much to various people instead of riding hard

4) Between Tintenac and Fougeres Rider behind me crashed.  It was a touch of wheels.  Blow to the head and severe concussion.  Made them sit down and wait for a bit and then called an ambulance.  To be exact a friendly local called the ambulance as they knew where they were :)  Waited for the ambulance.  Answered questions from the ambulance crew with mixture of pointing at translation cards, badly spoken french and the power of mime.  Kept telling crashed rider that they were in France, that their bags were on the ambulance, that we'd arranged for the bike to be picked up by the race orgs and that I would phone their husband.  About 1h30m delay.  Thankfully, I heard that they have no lasting damage and made their way back to Rambouillet on the train

5) Now I was in triple trouble as I wasn't going well, I was off the back and there was only 300km or so to go.  I think one person over took me on the fast section after Villianes, I was only doing 27kph into a slight headwind but the rest of the field at that point were doing even worse than me.  I didn't have another proper sleep but a few emergency cat naps and this didn't help the time

I am not especially bothered about missing the cut off.  I made the distance when a lot didn't and I was trying to make it right to the end
.

Chris S

Re: yacf riders
« Reply #144 on: 27 August, 2019, 08:23:50 pm »
I would like to think you'd get mitigation for some of those  :)

Re: yacf riders
« Reply #145 on: 27 August, 2019, 08:24:56 pm »
I worried that I wouldn't be able to start due to severe shits on Friday which culminated in a long spell passing nothing but brown dishwater. Saturday I felt better and managed to eat without loosing it all withing a couple of hrs.

As this was my first PBP and setting off with the specials at 5:15 I didn't know what to expect so stayed close to a friend and fellow velomobile rider, after 30km he siad to me "we're going too fast ease off" only I didn't feel that way, I wasn't feeling that the pace was too much, in fact I thought it was a bit slow, we eventually drifted apart and I didn't see him again until he finished in about 88 hrs.

I was constantly riding with other velomobiles and tandems, which have the same road dynamics apart from tandems climb faster. Talking of climbs, I didn't find any particularly taxing, I just geared down and spun my way up slowly, this caused a lot of yo-yoing with groups as they overtook me going up and I overtook them going down.

I carried a fair amount of food with me so at controls I just stopped for water, I didn't stop for sleep the first night. On the descent of the Roc' towards Sizun, I suffered I front wheel puncture at about 70kph, it wasn't a problem but I took some time to stop with gentle braking, so much for the sealant in the innertubes! A very messy change of both tyre and inner tube and I was off, only to be stopped soon after by the Police, apparently I had been caught at 80kph in a 50 kph zone, with my poor French and his poor English I managed to prove to him that I couldn't pay a fine, I was on(in) a bike and I couldn't go and get him money, he eventually relented taking my details from the Brevet card and said I would receive the fine in England! I have subsequently looked at my GPX files and can't find a place where I was doing that speed on the run between Sizun and the outskirts of Brest!

Soon after the stop I developed the squits again making me stop at a supermarket for the loos, I also restocked on fluids and a bit of food.

I didn't like the run into or out of Brest, but I guess It's a busy place and it was about 5pm. Riding out of Brest it soon became apparent that the head wind that had been keeping me cool on hills was now about the same speed as me climbing, i.e. no cooling breeze, I suffered really badly from overheating until the sun set and the wind died.

It was surprisingly cold during the nights and on the Monday night I was feeling it badly on the descents, the mist and strong lights of the approaching outbound riders were making me close my eyes, I became aware that I was having micro-sleeps so at about 4am I found a wooden pic-nic bench, got out my bivvy bag and somehow slept for over 2 hrs waking to violent shivers.  I had to get on my way just to try and warm up. Soon the sun came up which cheered me up. I stopped for coffee and pain au'choc' at a cafe somewhere!

By now my ability to eat had failed, nothing tempted me at controls and when I did try and eat it was like eating cardboard, alcohol free beer turned out to be the best lubricant.

At every control I would be surrounded by people taikng photographs and asking questions, while this expected (it always happens) on a tired brain it became a bit wearing and I inevitably had to border on being rude just to escape.

Eventually the hills subsided and I was on a fast run into Druex with speeds of about 40-45kph, although once into the town they dropped significantly, I was most disappointed with the control at Dreux, there was nobody to tell me where to go, where to park, where the control was, it soon became apparent why, a whole detachment of Fireman and women were there and all the volunteers bar one on the road where with them. Eventually I found the control with two ladies at the desk, they seemed most upset when I said I wanted to go straight out to Rambouillet, when I clip clopped my way back over the wooden bridge I found about 20 fireman and volunteers poking about my velomobile, they had turned my lights and were looking under the seat the cheeky feckers, I asked them to stop, then the question and answer period started again, eventually I escaped back into a very noisy town centre with lots of youths doing youth type driving/racing.

Finally I was out in the countryside, after a while I noticed I hadm't seen a sign for a while, until I eventually saw a red cross, backtracking a couple of junctions provided no clues so i went a few Km back eventually I saw an arrow, on following this again I became aware that I wasn't seeing any arrows. After a few minutes of map reading I knew I was heading in the direction of Rambouillet so I carried on, to my relief a couple more Km down the road I saw a rider and followed him until I was seeing more arrows and gained confidence that I was on the correct route.

The run from Dreux to Rambouillet was fast until hitting the cobbled section but what a relief I had made it, up through the deserted motorhome park, my car was still there then a slow climb up to the finish and the nasty cobbles through the arch and I'd finished, but only half a dozen people there. I felt slightly deflated.

Overall though very pleased with my time of 54:26 and I wasn't a physical wreck despite not being able to eat for essentially 400km, in fact I couldn't eat the finishers meal.

But, the bug has bitten, a bit late perhaps at 56 years old, but I would think I have at least one more go in me.


vorsprung

  • Opposites Attract
    • Audaxing
Re: yacf riders
« Reply #146 on: 27 August, 2019, 08:43:01 pm »
I would like to think you'd get mitigation for some of those  :)

I've applied for extra time but if I've asked the right people in the right way who knows?
The mystery of PBP will work itself out

Redlight

  • Enjoying life in the slow lane
Re: yacf riders
« Reply #147 on: 27 August, 2019, 09:15:59 pm »
I would like to think you'd get mitigation for some of those  :)

I've applied for extra time but if I've asked the right people in the right way who knows?
The mystery of PBP will work itself out

Let's hope your request is viewed sympathetically. I was following you on the tracker and wondered why your 'pace' had suddenly trailed off. On Thursday I was checking in about every 15 minutes to see if you were going to make it!

ISTR that jsabine had a similar experience, helping another rider, in 2015 and was given appropriate latitude.  Good luck.
Why should anybody steal a watch when they can steal a bicycle?

Phil W

Re: yacf riders
« Reply #148 on: 27 August, 2019, 09:22:47 pm »
Yanto good write up.

It's one thing for interested parties to ask questions but fiddling about inside your velomobile was out of order.

Re: yacf riders
« Reply #149 on: 27 August, 2019, 09:23:02 pm »
Here is my story of my first PBP completed in 46h56. In total I stopped for 2.5hrs in total (44h30 riding time), no sleep, so around 10min per control point. This plus riding in a group, getting some food/drinks from other people's support crew only at control points from a bit before Brest explain the relatively fast time.
Being French but leaving in the UK since 2017, sorry in advance for my English!
"
The start at 4pm feels like a big relief. No more waiting for bike check, unclear sign on where the start is, etc. My plan is not to have any but try to stay in a group. Pace at the start is OK, obviously everyone was a bit nervous with the cross wind. I take the opportunity in the first 2 hrs to talk to people with experience about how the control points and food/drink work. But we pass the first drink station which was not a control after 110k and I miss the drink but asks someone on the side of the road and am quickly back in action. I am now in a group of around 10 until the first control point (around 210k). It is getting dark, one German guy screams about my fixed rear light being too bright. No worries I have another one less bright, but ask him to be a bit polite, your are way too nervous Sir! We reach the first official control point. Nice atmosphere with the speaker, a lot of people cheering despite the night! I grab an apple pie and water and leave. I am then riding with a guy from the B group who left 15min after me, he is pretty excited to catch the front... I find out his name is Michel Mingant and it is his 9th PBP at 60! He is super strong. After a bit we are now with a group of 15 from A-B-C group and notice I am the only one with a big saddle bag, they all have outside support at control points. I lose time at every control points but try to stay with them. control 2: water and 2 croissants (I like croissant but as energy supply not so much...). Control 3: water and I buy some Overstims bars which took for every and were much more expensive than the 1E croissant. oh well.... I also have some stock but they get empty I still feel I need more food to continue at this pace! We get close to Loudeac km445 and tell the guys I will have to stop longer next, but one guy Denis Moran offers his team to support me as well since one of his teammate had to abandon earlier. A process is put in place with our group of around 10: 5 min stops at control, re-group at the town exit (all had support teams at controls) and keep going. We reach Brest after 21.5 hrs riding through the first night, the pace is still excellent. The experienced riders are really nice and help me a lot. Denis' support team is so nice with me at the control points, I feel bad to eat their food but they tell me not to worry. On the way back the pace slows down despite slightly better wind conditions, everybody starts to feel tired as we get in the 2nd night with no sleep. We start to see waves of riders on their way to Brest. I feel bad for them! Some congratulate us, some wonder why we are coming the opposite way :-). I see riders in the fields catching some sleep. Some facing major mechanical with almost the entire bike in pieces! I still do some work upfront but am definitively not the strongest in the group. We stop a bit longer at controls but still around 15-20min max. It gets cold and I only have a thin wind jacket while others put let warmers, hats, winter jacket, etc. Well I trained in the UK so think I will be OK and it reminds me of the 400 BRM Paddington express night which was also very cold, but this is night 2. Everybody is struggling but we keep going, we catch some riders who struggle to stay with the group. We get to one ride that I meet and discover a fellow AUK rider Zigzag. He rides very strong but he feels he is falling asleep. To be safe with us, he rides in the back but unfortunately eventually had to stop for a sleep. The control point routine continues. It is down to 5c that night. I start to struggle, and despite talking to my "companions", I do not feel great. I do more work upfront, being "in charge" of checking the signs and pedaling a bit harder keeps me better awake. I can tell some still want to catch the first riders, I would not care less and happy with the planned ETA, anyway everybody is getting tired. The sun finally comes out but takes so long to warm us up. Surprisingly at around 150-200km to go our group face issues, around 5 have various problems (a few are falling sleep, one is facing neck issue and almost hit a truck coming the opposite way, Michel is unfortunately not straight on his bike anymore and struggles to keep it upright, 2 crashes at a stop but no damage, etc.), we are really struggling on the leg to Dreux and have to stop several times or slowdown to keep the group together. We split at the Dreux control point and the 5 of us continue to the end. 40k to go! 3 have a lot of power left and push at 35-40k/hr, I can follow but not get upfront anymore! We know around 3 riders are ahead by 2hrs, we just ride to finish. I pass the finish line after 46h56, I let my team mates finish first as a Rookie Gentleman. A French journalist wants to interview me, well tough for me to say anything smart especially after 2 nights with no sleep! A small video got published by France 3 :-). Now the family duty calls, son wants to be with dad! He is used to watching me doing some Cx races, but not leave for events that long! Time to go home. What an incredible experience! Denis Moran's help and support team at controls made the difference to reach this time. On top of my repair kit and food which all got eaten on the way to Brest, I still carried around 1kg for nothing (spare bib, tooth brush/paste, a lot of battery packs, spare brake pads, etc.), but should have put some leg warmers in the bag!
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It is nice reading your stories and there are some many ways to ride PBP that I understand why people do it every 4 years!
Claude