Paris-Brest-Paris

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Originally Posted by jobob

Looks like you folks are having good weather - I'm so glad for you!

Pictures from PBP four years ago showed nothing but heavy rain for at least the first couple of days; the bike inspection had to either be moved indoors or cancelled outright, I forget which. It sure looked grim.

Fingers are crossed that the weather keeps behaving this time around (hope I didn't jinx it)

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JINX! ;)

The weather looks like it's going to be pretty shitty. I start around 9m local time. (around 9 hours from now). I'm expecting it to begin raining before dawn, and not quit until Tuesday night or Wednesday morning at the earliest. Chance of rain in 70% tomorrow, all the way to Loudeac with thunder and lightning expected in the late afternoon into the evening. (sounds like fun, huh?) Rain will continue overnight to Tuesday. Brest (the turn around point) should see showers all day Tuesday, and the rain is expected to continue all the way back to my 2nd overnight back in Loudeac. With luck, there will be some overnight clearing Tuesday night. Still some chance of showers, mixed with sun, on Wednesday into Mortagne au Perche, where I plan to rest the 3rd night. However, looks like the sun will finally come out for good on Thursday for the ride back into Paris.

My bike is fully fendered, and I will be carrying a FULL contingent of rain gear.

In my trunk bag I have:
GORE Goretex jacket http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodGB_JALPWO.html
Vaude Drop pants (waterproof) http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodVA_05970.html
Bellwether booties
Peal Cyclone Gloves http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodPI_14241010.html
GORE goretex gloves
Ibex glove liners http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodIB_6594.html
(can you tell my hands get cold?? :rolleyes: )
Craft Moving Wing Base layer http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodCR_1900244.html
CEP compression socks http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodCP_WP40.html
Luna leg warmers http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodLU_504.html



At the start, I'm wearing:
Luna jersey: http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodLU_117508.html
Louis Garneau shorts http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodLG_1050369.html (actually, I'm wearing the 2012 bib short version of this, which is not yet out for general release to the public. I have a vendor test sample, and it's every bit as awesome as the short.)
Craft base layer http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodCR_193686.html
Smartwool socks http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodSW_10366.html
Sidi shoes
Mavic Vest - we're required to wear an European EN1150-certified reflective vest. Sadly, there's NOTHING available in women's with this certification, so I had to buy a man's vest and have it tailored to fit my hips to prevent it from riding up to my waist. :mad:

My intent ALL YEAR has been to wear cycling dresses for all of PBP. I've been training in them all summer. But with a lot of rain in the forecast for the 1st two days, I've switched to Luna silk/wool jerseys instead. Better moisture/temperature management in the rain, and less fabric hanging out to absorb all that wetness. However, my drop bags for days 3 & 4 still have dresses in them, so I *will* get to wear some pretty clothes on the last two days. Should help my mood, too. :D

Susan

Aw, crud! :(

At least you're well-prepared. And got a few nice days in beforehand.

And they know how to ride in the rain. They'll be okay!

Here's a small glimpse of what it's like starting out. Riders head out in groups of 400. Wheeee!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AahNJBsJi_8

I think this might have been the 80 hr start, which is the 'fast' group -- they intend to complete the 1230 km / 765 mi in 80 hrs or less. gahhhh

It's interesting to see the varying amounts of stuff being carried by the riders. The riders will also have drop bags waiting for them at the various controls, so they don't have to carry everything they need (thank goodness). Still, some of these folks look like they're heading out on a century ride, wow.

I suspect the 90 hr folks might, on average, carry more stuff with them. Just a guess.

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Originally Posted by salsabike

And they know how to ride in the rain.

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Especially the folks from the Pacific Northwest! ;) :D

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Originally Posted by jobob

Here's a small glimpse of what it's like starting out. Riders head out in groups of 400. Wheeee!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AahNJBsJi_8

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At least the weather looked good for the partis.

This might be Susan's group. Bonne route!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNGTOFl_z3A

ooh, I think I saw my friend Kitty go by up near the front of the group! (oops, maybe not)

Hey, was that Rob Hawks at 1:16, pulled over to say hi to someone??? (He's the RBA for the San Francisco Randonneurs) --> nope, I'm 0 for 3!

Jo, Seattle has the largest group here and then I think San Francisco is next. Lots of Davis folks too. So I wouldn't be surprised if you saw people you know!

Susan, if she goes by plan, will be rolling in 20 minutes. The SIR folks got there around 5 pm and their wave left at 8 pm. It was getting a little cooler by then and was really gorgeous. Chris loves night riding so this is a good way for him to start.

I love that other people are interested in this! It is SO cool to see this place spilling over with randos from all over the world. Love the different jerseys--Aussies, Welsh, Japanese, Bulgarian...

Good luck! I hope to one day do P-B-P myself, but until then I will live vicariously through you!

Brittany is a rainy place; it's been described like Ireland, but I've never been to Ireland so I can't compare. Thanks for the updates, Salsa and Susan.

Susan and Chris both got to Loudeac tonight around 7 pm (449 km, about 23 straight hours of riding). Not sure what her plans are, but he was going to try to get 3-4 hours sleep and then push on.

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Originally Posted by salsabike

Susan and Chris both got to Loudeac tonight around 7 pm (449 km, about 23 straight hours of riding). Not sure what her plans are, but he was going to try to get 3-4 hours sleep and then push on.

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Wow; that's an unbelievable amount of time in the saddle. Good luck to both of them as they push on. How's the weather been?

Chris said they went through a little rain, not bad. And it's not hot anymore, thankfully. So, so far, okay.

And I should amend the "23 hours" a little to say that that's 23 hours without sleep--they do make some brief stops at the controls--eat, drink, bathroom--although no longer than they have to.

That's impressive! 23 hours later and they are 1/3 of the way done (in KM).

Wow - good for them! Making good time and planning a solid rest stop. I really hope the rain continues to mostly hold off.

Good for them! 23 hours with no sleep, I can handle. 23 hours with no sleep and riding a bike, no way!:eek:

They are still on a similar time scale so far---Chris got to Brest around 11 am, Susan around 11:30 am. I got a text from him saying "Brest--time to rest a little" so my hope is that they're both sleeping right now!

Halfway done, excellent!

Salsa -

Please check in - we're hearing a disturbing rumor about a rider, and I (for one) would love to know all TE connected folks are safe....

They are safe. Everyone that I know/know of personally, they are all safe.

I wasn't going to mention it till it was over. There WAS an American rider killed the first night just outside of Loudeac. They have not released his name, said he was a 58 year old man. From the brief statements it sounds like the rider crossed the center line of the road and was hit by an oncoming truck. It was around 7:30 at night, when they'd all been riding for almost 24 hours. Maximum sleep deprivation time. I have also seen two statements that the rider may be from the DC/Virginia area. But it is really hard to know what is accurate at this point.

I will let you know more when I hear something solid, I promise.

Chris and Susan have both arrived back in Loudeac.

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Originally Posted by salsabike

They are safe. Everyone that I know/know of personally, they are all safe.

I will let you know more when I hear something solid, I promise.

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Thanks salsa. I've been scouring the interwebs since yesterday; I assume they're waiting until the next of kin have been notified before a name is released. So sad.

Thanks for letting us know they're OK, Salsa. I didn't want to hijack the thread, but was worried about the TE friends riding. Safe travels, everyone.

They both rode back to Tinteniac overnight, arrived this morning.

Does this mean they are done?

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Originally Posted by salsabike

They both rode back to Tinteniac overnight, arrived this morning.

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Originally Posted by Catrin

Does this mean they are done?

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Not yet!

Susan checked in at Fougeres just before noon local (6 a.m. USA Eastern), 921 km done. It took her 14:37 to get there from Paris on the out-lap, and I'm guessing she might be going a little slower by now. Go Susan!

http://www.paris-brest-paris.org/pbp...i_participants (plaque #6926)

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Originally Posted by OakLeaf

http://www.paris-brest-paris.org/pbp...i_participants (plaque #6926)

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Hmm. She has changed a lot... :rolleyes: There are pictures in the web site you provided.
http://www.paris-brest-paris.org/Ima...40421_wd-0.jpg

Hah!

The link actually refers to PBP 2007 - but if they didn't update the website properly (on the website for the ride my club put on this summer, despite repeated requests, we never were able to get the web guru to take five minutes to change 2009 to 2011 or even 2010 in about six places), it's likely that the picture is from last year.

Event pictures don't usually go up until a week or so after the event ... but OTOH, maybe that's what 900 km in 62 hours will do to you. :eek:

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Originally Posted by OakLeaf

Event pictures don't usually go up until a week or so after the event ... but OTOH, maybe that's what 900 km in 62 hours will do to you. :eek:

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I certainly hope that is not the case! I was already impressed that they could post pictures with rider names so fast.

Here's the route they've traveled:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=http:/...07/PBP.kml&t=h

Deana, do you know why Duane Wright abandoned? He seemed to have been doing very well.

Dunno. The very cute Dan Jensen had digestive stuff going on, and so did some others who may or may not be still rolling.

Chris and Susan are still doing fine.

Seriously wanting an update.... I supposed I could go to the website. :rolleyes:

GO SUSAN! She's almost there!!

She's in! 88 hours and 45 minutes. Yay SUSAN!!!!!!!!!!!

Woohoo Susan! You did it! Now for croissants ... :)

Wow! Congratulations. I guess a good meal, a long shower and a lot of sleep might in order?

Fantastic! Way to rock Susan!

Veronica

Awesome!!! And Chris??