PBP Photos

Resting before the start: Jimmy + Ende.

Five hours before and Im still working on the bike.

More rest before the start: Jimmy + moi.

Capn, Jimmy + me in the tunnel at the start.

Eating great soup at a town just after Loudeac.

Wes

Capn + Glenn.

Branson

Glenn

JD + Branson

Me atop Le Roc.

Me + Ende on the Brest pedestrian bridge.

Capn + ride.

Capn + hay.

Chris + Branson in town past Tinteniac.

Town Square

Capn + Pizza.

Capn fires.

Chris + JD + Branson. Glenn in background.

Me fini.

Back In

Quick note: In successfully. Bad weather. Now off to a proper vacation; full details and pix when we return.

A quick note from Paris

Greetings from a strange keyboard. After a lug and a haul from the airport we're safely holed up in the heart of Paris. The schedule so far: museums, walking tours, ferris wheel photo op, meet up with Daniel, put the bike together. Oh yeah: the food.

Lots of pix, no way currently to upload.

Ride starts Mon evening. Looks like possible rain first day, clear after.

After highs in the 100s back home, no complaints about 60 degree days.

Today: test ride, Luxembourg Gardens and we may hunt down that bastard Jim Morrison and see if he has that 20 bucks he owes me.

Salut.

Tracking PBP riders

At the time of this writing, it’s not entirely clear how rider tracking will be done. Your best bet is at the official PBP site or RUSA’s site.

You can look at the rider identification or frame plate number (mine is #4821; dossier is #6619). If you scroll down at the RUSA link above, you’ll see the frame numbers of all U.S. riders.

The ride starts Monday evening, Aug. 20, and finishes Friday, Aug. 24.

Note: As the comment indicates below, the PBP site now includes frame tracking #.

Wig OUT!

Let’s see…

I lost the 15 extra pounds I’d been carrying, like the Michelin Man, for about a year. Check.

My pre-PBP training is over, including a full brevet series, a few extra events and lots of centuries. Check.

The bike has been overhauled. Check.

Packing is under way. Check.

So, what’s left to do?

FREAK OUT, of course. Check.

Happens every time I do one of these long rides. With more than 40 brevets under my Sam Browne belt, including two 1000Ks and two 1200Ks, you’d think I’d build up a little confidence.

Nope. Circle a ride date on the calendar, any date, and I start to question everything, including my sanity.

Am I really fit enough to do this? Why didn’t I train more? Will those rain pants work? Where am I going to carry all the stuff I need to carry? What if I break a spoke? If I taco the front wheel, will my dynohub still work? Why didn’t I work out that shoe issue? Do I even know where my passport is?

On and on it goes, a little mental merry-go-round of madness.

On Sunday, I couldn’t take it anymore. I picked up the phone, called my buddy, Capn Ende.

His wife Amy answered.

She said: "Are you wigging out like my husband?"

Ahhh….a fellow tortured soul.

Suddenly, I felt better.

PBP Packing Checklist

Okay, here's my PBP checklist. I owe a big thanks to Bill Bryant for most of this. I pulled his packing list from the May issue of American Randonneur, then customized it for my own needs.

Please feel free to steal this AND please add any comments for anything I might have overlooked.

Clothing & Necessities
Shorts - 3 Pairs
Tights with chamois - 1 pair
Knee-warmers
Arm warmers
Lightweight wool socks - 3 pair
Short-sleeve jerseys - 3
Long-sleeve (L/S) wool undershirts - 2
Wind Vest
Cycling gloves - 2 pair
Long-fingered glove liners
Thin skull cap
O2 Rain jacket
Rain paints?
Shoe covers?

Cycling shoes
Helmet
Sunglasses & case (3 lenses)
Reading glasses & case
Cue sheet holder
Camelbak sans bladder (for carrying clothes, etc.)
Bento Box (for camera)
Frame Triangle (for gels)
Camera & memory stick

Rider Repairs
E-caps
Tums
Multi vitamins
Sunscreen
Toilet paper
Handi-Wipes
Emergency space-blanket
5-gram Lantisepetic packets
Folding toothbrush & small tube of toothpaste
Eye shade (for sleeping)
Ear plugs (for sleeping)


Night-Riding
Ankle bands
Sam Browne sash & belt
Helmet lamp
1 “pen” light
3 Spare bulbs for E-6 lamp
Spare AA & AAA batteries

Tool Kit
3 inner tubes
1 Park tire boot
1 Spare Tire
3 Tire tools
1 pedal wrench
1 Small frame pump
1 spare gear cable
1 Fibre-Fix spoke
2 Spokes w/ nipples
1 Alien multi-tool with hex wrenches, etc.
Spoke Wrench
Spare chain links & rivet
zip-ties
Electrical tape
Spare cleat w/ bolts

PBP Bike Maintenance

Through all of my July rides I’ve largely ignored the shape of my bike -- until this week, when I put it up on the stand and knocked off six months of road grime.

Then came the pre-PBP tune-up.

* New drivetrain. I have an estimated 5,000 miles on my chain, chainrings and cassette. The chain had so much slop in it that Ed, my LBS mechanic, was able to bend it -- sideways -- in a full circle. He installed an 11-27 rear cassette, a 50-T large chainring and a shiny Ultegra chain. Ed also put a hex wrench on the crank arms and tightened them down.

* Derailleur cables. After hearing horror stories about cables fraying and breaking inside the shift levers, I switched out both derailleur cables. I’ll ride this weekend and check for stretching and indexing issues.

* Tires & wheels. My rear tire showed signs of wear during the ride to Mount Mitchell. Last week I installed a new Michelin Pro Race. The front tire on the Schmidt wheel appears to be fine. I’m leaving that one on but will carry a spare tire just in case. I put both wheels in the truing stand and checked for loose spokes.

* Lights. I bought three new bulbs for my E6 light from Gilbert. I installed one and am carrying the other two. I’m also putting new batteries in my two taillights.

I think I’m good to go on the bike front.

Up next: the packing list.

Ten Small Things I’ll Carry on PBP (that Weigh Next to Nothing…)

1. Valve adapter. A presta-to-schraeder adapter is a carry-over from the days when I rode tubular tires. The plastic pump that came on my Raleigh International had a hard time hitting 90 pounds, so I often relied on the service station air pumps, where an adapter was needed. Air was free back then, and nearly every station had a hose. Old habits die hard, and I still carry an adapter, usually installed on the presta valve, although I can’t remember the last time I used one.

2. E-caps. My riding buddy Dean has convinced me that I often exhibit signs of mild dehydration on the longer brevets. His recommendation: take electrolyte tablets. I’ve been heeding his advice this season and it seems to be helping. I’ll continue the habit in France.

3. Skull cap. My bald melon gets chilled at night. Along with arm and leg warmers, I’ll also carry a thin skull cap tucked away in my jersey pocket.

4. Shoe cleat and bolt. Occasionally, I’ve had a cleat loosen up on my SPD pedals. I can’t imagine losing a bolt or a cleat, but you never know. I’ve seen it happen to other riders, and it’s a show-stopper.






5. Spoke wrench. I consider this an essential tool, especially on the frame I’m using, which has minimal clearance between the rear wheel and the chain stays. I’m also carrying a spare spoke or two, but if necessary I can true around a broken spoke on the drive side until I reach the next control.

6. 2-gig memory card for my camera. That gives me enough memory in my camera for lots of still pictures and a short movie or two.

7. Plastic bags. I was saved on a rainy mountain century by a trash bag I found along the Blue Ridge Parkway. It kept me warm on a five-mile descent. Lesson learned, I may pack it for France. I also carry several long, thin newspaper bags -- you know, the ones the carrier puts the paper in on rainy days. I’ve used those bags to keep my feet warm when the brevets turn wet.

8. RUSA lapel pins. I have about 20 RUSA pins that I’ll give out to the children who work the food and drink stands along the route.











9. Chain links, extra pin. I just installed a fresh drive train: big chainring, cassette and new chain. I had four or five extra links left over as well as a spare rivet. They'll be in my rear bag.

10. Lantiseptic packets. Have you seen those new 5-gram packets of Lantiseptic? Perfect for carrying on the bike. My buddy Capn Ende got a box and passed along a few.

PBP 07 Jersey Sightings

RUSA's official PBP 07 jersey has begun to show up on our local training rides. An impressive design that will stand out among the crowds at PBP.


Here's the Capn wearing his during Mountain Training Camp.


And here's a shot of Paul P on today's Yanceyville Loop.

Going for PBP #2: a Q&A with Paul Smith

Charlotte rider Paul Smith is heading to Paris this month for his second Paris Brest Paris. He successfully completed PBP in 1999; the picture shows him in the official jersey from that year.

I rode with Paul for the first time on a warm Lake Loop permanent last fall and discovered an amazing fact: he is one of four geography majors among the North Carolina randonneurs!

I asked Paul about that in an e-mail Q&A. His responses follow.

Is this your first PBP? No. I rode PBP in 1999. In 2003 I was set to go but had to cancel my trip two weeks before the event.

Why do you want to do it? I like the challenge and sense of accomplishment that an average cyclist like myself gets from completing long rides. Throw in a foreign country, nice scenery, good food and a few thousand other riders and its hard to resist.

A finish time in mind? In 1999 I had 16 minutes to spare. I'd like to have a little more cushion this time in case of a flat or some other problem in the last kilometers.

How long have you been randonneuring? My first brevet was in 1999. I've been doing long rides and an occasional self-contained tour since the early 1970's.

What got you interested in doing your very first brevet? I had been wanting to ride PBP for some time and knew you had to ride qualifiers first. My first was Richard Lawrence's Sauratown 200K. I was very fortunate to meet up with a group of 3 near the end of that ride, Woody Graham, Ann Mullins and Liz Crotty. They jokingly said that if I could finish this ride then PBP should be no problem and I believed them.

Most scenic brevet route you've ever ridden? I recently rode a 400K in Ohio through the Amish country that had wonderful scenes of American farm life. The most scenic, however, had to be a Boulder, CO ride that went from the plains up one canyon to the Peak-to-Peak highway then down another. I dnf'ed after surviving the most terrifying thunderstorm of my life.

How do you spend your 9-5 weekdays? I work at a Geographic Information Science research center at UNC Charlotte and teach in the geography department there.

Is there any good explanation as to why the N.C. randonneurs apparently have 4 GEOGRAPHY MAJORS? Maybe it’s all the time we spend working with maps and wondering what's where and why it’s there.

Does your professional life ever come in useful while you're on the bike? Eventually, every randonneur needs good map reading and wayfinding skills, so that background helps.