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dadbike
I’m still not sure if PBP was enjoyable or not. I’m not even sure if it was Type Two Fun. It was an experience for sure. Thankfully we got around in time.
Gabi and I slept maybe 4 hours over the 90 hour time limit. The longest sleep we had was two hours at a control. The rest was disco naps at the side of the road/on benches/in canteens.
I think we lost considerable time due to the heat and not being efficient enough at controls. PBP is worlds apart from any UK audax we have done and maybe we were a bit naive to think that because we could get around a Scottish 600 with four hours to spare we could do the same in France. The food at the controls was not-exactly vegan friendly, so we lost a bit of time going to supermarkets.
Having said that, the atmosphere was electric throughout. No matter where we were along the route there were literally 100’s of riders around, either riding on the road or napping next to it. The French were incredible. They set up water and food stations everywhere and when you felt at your lowest, there was always someone on the roadside to cheer you on. I took some Scottish Borders Randonneurs patches to exchange with other riders but I ended up handing them out to kids in exchange for a high-five.
If I was to do it again I would definitely take gears; the descents are long and sometimes fast, and spinning at max RPM becomes really tiresome after a while.
It was great to meet some people ‘on here;’ @ElGonzo @WhitleyJay and Amy (sorry don’t know your username!).