PBP 2015 / Paris - Brest - Paris Audax

Know any good hotels near the start?

Better start booking travel and accom...

Might drive there from Germany and camp.

I'm not camping. There's a few hotels within 5k of the start.
I'll book one of them for Sat night and Tue + Wed, I guess.

I need more luggage space for clothing options. Should I go bikepacking route or keep it simple and just get a larger saddle bag of some sort?

Are there any 'small' bar bags that don't act like a massive air brake? I might get a larger bento box/bag as well.

Go as light as possible and just wing it. Weather should be decent. Gloves, gilet, arm warmers. Possible small folding waterproof coat. Plenty of food and water on the route.

Any time goals yet?

It's tradition to take too much stuff first time round.

(I had 4 jerseys and 3 pairs of shorts.)

I almost fucking froze to death during the 600 with that amount of kit. I'm taking more and if I carry it all and don't use it, so be it.

That's mental. I'm taking a single set of kit but I want to take more than what I had during the 600k. No idea what temps France gets to at night but it can't be too far removed from here can it?

Mid August and mostly inland so it wont be cold that's for sure.

I almost fucking froze to death during the 600 with that amount of kit.

You were not riding fast enough.

Or maybe you were riding too fast?

Little bit from column a, little from column b...

What's it likely to get down to?

Wasn't the last PBP and epic washout with loads of people packing due to trenchfoot, freezing, etc?

appx 18 deg > http://www.holiday-weather.com/brittany/averages/august < htfu pussy

Arm and leg warmers and a cape- will all fit into 1 jersey pocket. If it gets unseasonably ridiculous then I will buy something cheap and throw away en route. #Jobsagoodun

18 is lovely. It was 3 during the 600.

You can call me a pussy at the start line... :P

Problem for me was it was coldest when nothing was open in the early hours of Sunday morning in the middle of the Great English Bush.

Fuck it. I'm wearing a skinsuit and if it's cold I'm sulking off to a hotel for a week.

Wasn't the last PBP and epic washout with loads of people packing due to trenchfoot, freezing, etc?

No, that was 2007. 2011 was nicer weather. One massive thunderstorm and deluge along the way, plus a few other bouts of rain but mostly dry and warm.

Layers are required for when you fuck up your nutrition and your body can't generate enough warmth even when riding (it will, of course, start raining at this point).

With clear skies it could be down to 5 deg C maybe, which will feel colder in the wind/rain obvs.

Yeah, that all sounds like reason enough to pack more than I had for the 600. Since I didn't get in the first three waves, I'm not going to be racing it, so I'm not taking a team, I don't care how long I take, but I'd like to do it somewhat comfortably - not worrying if I'll survive the night kind of thing.

Get the Ortlieb saddle large is what I would do.

That's probably better than what I have now which is only suitable for spare tubes and some tools. Might have to rethink my rear light mounting if that's the way I go.

@hippy
the only problem with a saddle bag is accessibility.

It's one of the things I love about my frame bag, I can get to food and stuff without having to stop. And there is nothing worse than stopping for breaking momentum and concentration. And when conditions are changing you can end up stopping quite a lot to get to a rear bag.

Have a consider of something like the apidura frame bag then you can reach your food and rainjacket easily.

https://www.apidura.com/shop/?sort=frame

Good point about the stopping. Then again, having a change of kit in the saddle pack and not wanting to stop will likely make me push on rather than change kit :)

Do you find it interfering with your knees when pedaling?