Yet Another Cycling Forum
General Category => Audax => PBP 2019 => Topic started by: York_Badger on July 21, 2019, 02:21:22 pm
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Before I start googling for every Carrefour and boulangerie along the PBP route has anyone ever produced a list of useful stopping points for provisions? Especially important are those that might be open all hours. Thanks.
S
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Hope you get some replies in this as it will be useful info - I've yet to find the first Wetherspoons that we'll pass...
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Food queues at official PBP controls take *ages* that's why I always take a stove and an air rifle with me so that I can bag food along the way.
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I have identifies the following places for possible food/shops based on 18:00 start on Sunday.
I have included the controls/food - rests stops
0 RAMBOUILLET
118 MORTAGNE-au-PERCHE
218 VILLAINES-la-JUHEL
273 Gorron
293 Le Loroux
307 FOUGERES
312 McDs/Supermarket
315 Romagne
337 Sens-de-Bretagne
352 Dinge
362 TINTENIAC
382 Medreac
388 QUEDILLAC
397 Saint-Meen-le-Grand
447 LOUDEAC
491 Saint-Nicolas-du-Pelem
524 CARHAIX-PLOUGUER
547 Huelgoat
576 Sizun
613 BREST - Lycee Kerichen
620 Guipavas
632 Landerneau
650 Sizun
698 CARHAIX-PLOUGUER
720 Rostrenen
731 Gouarec
742 Saint-Nicolas
787 LOUDEAC
848 QUEDILLAC
875 TINTENIAC
929 FOUGERES
943 Le Loroux
962 Gorron
978 Ambrieres-les-Vallees
989 Lassay-les-Chateaux
1001 Le Ribay
1019 VILLAINES-la-JUHEL
1040 Souge-le-Ganelon
1068 Courgains
1079 Mamers (Centre)
1104 MORTAGNE-au-PERCHE
1181 DREUX
1226 ARRIVE
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At many places there are informal foodstops along the route. Over the years I've made loads of waypoints in my Garmin where I'd seen and used foodspots. Some return each year (as the traditional crêpe spot in La Tannière), some don't return.
In general, don't be afraid, you'll find many along the route.
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The queues at the controls aren't so long
The route often goes through villages and towns with shops and cafes
In the middle of the night often the tabacs in villages are open at unusual hours during PBP
A few people offer roadside coffee from their houses, sometimes at late hours
Getting fed isn't a problem
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Food queues at official PBP controls take *ages* that's why I always take a stove and an air rifle with me so that I can bag food along the way.
+1 this. Fill one bidon with wine for deglazing the pan
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Provided you're omnivorous, then you'll be fine.
Aside from the controls (where often there will be a faster option to grab a bagette if you don't want a full on sit down meal):
Plenty of villages will use the ride to raise funds and will have a tent with stuff. All part of the fun at 2am is dancing and laughing with the locals (who, by that point, are way too pissed to be dealing with open flames and cooking but whatever).
Boulangeries on route - you need to get lucky as they may be picked bare, so don't rely on them; there are several not far off route.
Tabacs and so on.
Restaurants - again, maybe picked bare; but I have had some good formal dining experiences on PBP!
There are a few McDs not far off route.
But don't overplan it, make sure you've always got some bonk rations because the most rewarding and fun places to eat are those you can not predict - especially people's houses.
Many of my best food memories of PBPs are in people's gardens.
Obviously, if you are not omnivorous, then plan for your own requirements.
But so long as you have some bonk rations, you'll always find somewhere soon enough - even if it's the adventure of being led into someone's back yard for the most delicious bread and butter with jam I'd ever had in my life.
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But so long as you have some bonk rations, you'll always find somewhere soon enough - even if it's the adventure of being led into someone's back yard for the most delicious bread and butter with jam I'd ever had in my life.
:thumbsup:
Last time I was somewhere between Carhaix and Loudeac on the way back and was struggling a bit. I was invited into a house to join the family of five for dinner, a lovely coq au vin dish followed by crème brulee with a ceremonial measure of wine.
My French was only a little better than the childrens English but we chatted away.
The father said that he hoped that the meal would help me find the strength to finish.
I wasn't any faster afterwards but it was 30 minutes very well spent.
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Obviously, if you are not omnivorous, then plan for your own requirements.
That's why it'd be nice to have a list of predictable food sources near the route (supermarkets etc). You can't carry bonk rations for four days, and relying on something to just turn up if you have specific requirements is madness.
I guess a starting point would be having a backup for each control - what's the next place to get food if you turn up and there's a massive queue and nothing looks edible (to you) anyway?
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You can't carry bonk rations for four days
Most bonk rations will keep for weeks or months - if you carry an emergency gel, then those will last for years in many cases.
All depends on what you're into for bonk rations. I wouldn't carry bonk rations for PBP that I knew might be off/stale by the end.
relying on something to just turn up if you have specific requirements is madness.
Obviously, if you are not omnivorous, then plan for your own requirements.
Obviously we agree on this matter - those with requirements need to plan accordingly - depending on those requirements, France may not do what you need.
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As a not too strict vegetarian I had no real issues with the road side food offers.
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As Chris Crossland said to me and a few others the night before a qualifying event the first time we did PBP over a few concerns we had was, "Don't worry about it, everything sorts itself out", they were immortal words and spot on, everything does sort itself out. As for food and water, I planned on it as I would a 600, carry plenty of "bonk rations" just in case. But in reality on PBP, I did not need it, on the route out to Brest, I was amazed at how available it is and when I got to Brest, I had in reality "recced" almost the whole route back and decided that I may as well just eat everything I was carrying just to lighten the load and just kept a couple of gels just in case. It can be easy to get confused with a 240 or 600+ in the UK where you may go through the night and see nothing open so hence you always ensure you have food with you just in case, PBP is different I found, I never went hungry or without water, your never far from it, distance or time wise.
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In 2015, the man who did best time ever did it on the croissants & coffee on offer at the controls. Bloody good croissants they were too.
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In 2015, the man who did best time ever did it on the croissants & coffee on offer at the controls. Bloody good croissants they were too.
He was ahead of the bulge and ate all the good stuff :)
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Thanks for replies. All very helpful - sounds like everything will indeed sort itself out, and I'm looking forward to the randomness of what might be on offer along en-route! I'll just have to cycle fast enough to make sure I don't miss the last croissant.
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