Paris Brest Paris (PBP) 2023

Pre-registration dates

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Been keeping an eye on remaining places, hoping they don't drop off too quick

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I’m pretty sure those are the numbers after the ones reserved for the French are deducted.

How do you know out of interest? But good to know if true

Maybe I’m talking nonsense actually. I just presumed but I may well be wrong.

Checking back in after the 600 category and looks like you were correct those are the non french places

Ah, that’s good! I was a little bit worried as I only have a 400 calendar event from last year to use.

May as well ask while I’m here: what kit does everyone carry? More specifically sleeping stuff. Will I get by with a bivvy and a sleeping bag? I normally ride fairly minimally and chance it, but I think my girlfriend would like some sort of comfort.

Looking at peoples bikes and how many bags they’ve got strapped to them it seems people take everything from almost nothing to fucking everything.

I took a sleeping mat and inflatable pillow last time, so I could get my head down without booking a bed. It was very cold overnight, so sleeping outside wasn't massively practical without a bag.

If I get in this time my plan is to ride through the first night, and then get beds in controls during the day and ride through the night for the rest of it as inevitably I will end up doing that anyway.

I'm not sure if I'd bother with the mat this time as I could have done with carrying more layers, I totally underestimated how much the temp would drop and resorted to stuffing news paper in my jersey last time.

Some of the people riding with almost nothing are with clubs that have a van full of kit following them around. Others are planning to ride it so fast sleep doesn't matter. Some are planning to sleep in dorms or hotels. Some haven't got a plan.

The beds in controls seem pretty grim, and you have to have cash handy, and some of them are a long schlep from where your bike is parked, and there's always the risk they'll be full* exactly when you need them most.

I carried no sleep gear last time and grabbed naps in corridors and farm gateways, which is pretty much my plan this year, if my lowly 200 gets me a place.

(* I don't how much this happen on PBP, but certainly is on LEL)

I read the organisation recommends against bivvys and sleeping bags, because the controls have dormitories. They do say that if the dormitories are full, you can still sleep in the building, so bringing a mat sounds like a good idea.

With no PBP experience at all my initial plan is inflatable mat and sleeping bag liner. Intention would be dorms but somewhere inside the controls with the mat and bag as a back up

I didn't take sleeping kit in the past. Slept at controls, it was fine although not exactly luxurious.

The second time I did it I took a tiny cloth to use as a towel. For the showers they give you paper towels which just don't work!

In 2019 I was in the bulge and took an inflatable mat and liner. Didn't use them once. Had three sleeps, think we had to wait a little bit for one of the beds. It was chaotic, but fine. Well, fine if you're expecting cold halls with hundreds of snoring blokes in them. Like someone else said the nights were very cold (like 0°c) so sleeping outside without proper gear wasn't an option, and it felt like almost every inch of space indoors at controls was taken with sleeping randonneurs so even if I'd wanted to use the gear I'd hauled across France it would have been hard to find a space. If I ever did it again I'd sleep during the day - I did that on the Monday afternoon last time and the control we picked was empty as we rode right through the first night and well into the day before stopping.

On my first time I slept for an hour on a bench in front of a church on the second night, it was kind of cold though without any sleeping gear. On the second time I slept for an hour at the entrance of a bank, which was a weird choice thinking about it now, but felt right at the moment. The dorm at the finish was rather comfortable, at least as it was mostly empty. Beds and blankets in a big hall. I wouldn't take any sleep kit if I did it again, if I wanted to sleep in a dorm but it's full I'd ride to the next one.

I think I can count 8 sleeps for my one PBP experience. The one thing I excel at in audaxing is being able to fall asleep.
3x in the control's beds, all were fine and well organised. 1x nap on floor of control, could have done with my blow up pillow. And 4x short naps on side of the road, one of which was at night and way too cold for just the space blanket I had. Therefore only thing I'd really change is to take a pillow.

Thanks all for the detailed answers. Perhaps we’ll take a bivvy and a sleeping bag between us. I consider myself very lucky as I can fall asleep literally anywhere.

Thinking about it a bit more, a friend who has done it twice did take sleeping kit and used it. But then he also takes sleeping kit on UK 600s. He is worried about being caught without things. He also takes lots of bike spares. I'm willing to take more risks and take less stuff generally.

In conclusion I would say probably take it if you would take it on a UK 600.

Sounds like a good change of plan.

Anyone get a spot today?

90 hours with an 8pm depart for my girlfriend and me. (Actually, she got an 8:15 depart because by the time I’d registered and then registered for her, all the 8pm spots were gone.)

8pm too

Those with a 300 get on it now if you haven't already done so.

I'm in, 90 hours with a 6:30pm depart.

Still a good number of spots left, pre-registration for those with a 200 opens at 11am UK time on 11th March.

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90 hours 19:45 depart for me.
I'll probably stay in Paris a few days before and after, so will have a backpack with some stuff I'll not need on the ride. Anyone know if there's like a bag drop or something to leave stuff? Last time I stayed a night before and two nights after at Huttopia. Although pretty convenient, that was quite expensive for essentially having a place to leave a bag.

When I did it in 2015 you could leave a bag at the start and collect it at the end. Not heard anything about this time.

200's now open. The remaining spaces seemed to bump up by a few hundred just before it opened so still plenty left.

I'm in with a 7pm depart