walkerr Posted February 5, 2015 Author Posted February 5, 2015 an interesting article for you guys www.bikequarterly.com/BQPBPEquipsurvey.pdf Peter ... and this quote is for you: We also found that riders who were accompanied by their familiesin France had a much higher DNF rate Definitely the right call on your part to have the family go sightsee and not accompany you.
Grantc Posted February 5, 2015 Posted February 5, 2015 Towards the end it sums up my greatest fear of a DNF - 56% due to illness, and 25% of those due to digestion. I've heard reported that something like 40% of participants have suffered some level of gastric issue on PBP, most due to slightly iffy water sources. Not really sure of the accuracy of that figure, but those stats do add weight to it. I'm someone who suffers gastric issues badly, and once they hit I really struggle to function. Even on our local Audaxes, out of 50 or so riders overall on the 2014 - we'd had 2 who had gastric issues, and one for whom it sadly meant a DNF. Our only other DNF for the 2014 rides was a mechanical. Definitely an area of concernRobI am one of those who DNF'd at 2011 (finisher for 2007 though ).My big mistake was over eating (read - trying to get properly fueled up) at the dinner provided by the organisers before the start. I was nauseous from kilometer #1. Progressively got worse the further I went. Eventually even water wouldn't stay down. Missed cut off at Brest.Lesson learnt - don't do anything different on race day (like eat a big meal before the start).
walkerr Posted February 5, 2015 Author Posted February 5, 2015 RobI am one of those who DNF'd at 2011 (finisher for 2007 though ).My big mistake was over eating (read - trying to get properly fueled up) at the dinner provided by the organisers before the start. I was nauseous from kilometer #1. Progressively got worse the further I went. Eventually even water wouldn't stay down. Missed cut off at Brest.Lesson learnt - don't do anything different on race day (like eat a big meal before the start). I had a buddy on LEL who also started on day #1 with bad gastric issues. Somehow he managed to keep going until they cleared up. Also Peter on our 400 qualifier managed to ride through a really nasty gastric issue around the 230km mark to finish. I'm doubtful if I would have been able to do either of those TBH - most gastric stuff just knocks me flat. Will definitely take as many precautions as I can food and drink wise on PBP (assuming I get an entry place of course) ... but it's still probably my greatest worry.
PeterM Posted February 6, 2015 Posted February 6, 2015 Peter ... and this quote is for you: We also found that riders who were accompanied by their familiesin France had a much higher DNF rate Definitely the right call on your part to have the family go sightsee and not accompany you. Initially I thought having the max available support is the way to go. But after the BRM400 I realised that this just creates a tempting “soft option out”. Plus the event support is anyway fairly good and extensive.
walkerr Posted February 6, 2015 Author Posted February 6, 2015 Plus the event support is anyway fairly good and extensive. Yep - a bag drop at Loudeac is pretty much the only thing extra I'm hoping to be able to organize.
walkerr Posted March 11, 2015 Author Posted March 11, 2015 Details for the West Coast 400km are now up on the Audax site: http://audaxsa.co.za/wc400-21-mar-2015/ Plus a report from last month's 300: http://audaxsa.co.za/cape-300km-stellenbosch/ Looks like we're going to have a bumper crop of local riders qualified for the 18th edition of PBP at this rate.
Dicky DQ Posted March 11, 2015 Posted March 11, 2015 Nah, a few of us are just doing the rides for fun. But it is nice to see the numbers growing. We keep trying to entice more to join, but the are scared, very scare of the distance. Why I do not know.
walkerr Posted March 11, 2015 Author Posted March 11, 2015 Nah, a few of us are just doing the rides for fun. Fun is definitely the primary factor for me!
Underachiever Posted March 11, 2015 Posted March 11, 2015 I see a fellow WP cyclist from the 80's is riding the CT Audax events - Wimpie vd Merwe. See he is putting in monster miles - perhaps PBP is on his to do list?
Underachiever Posted March 11, 2015 Posted March 11, 2015 Mmm, also met Chris van Zyl in Bellville over Xmas. Seems he's a long distance legend - nice guy!!! Good luck to ya'll
walkerr Posted March 11, 2015 Author Posted March 11, 2015 Thanks. Got a great bunch now joining for rides - everything from the speedsters like Chris and Wimpie, through to the full-value riders like me
Slowbee Posted March 12, 2015 Posted March 12, 2015 How do I get on the mailing list ? And as an aside, what lights do you guys use ? Do you carry spare batteries ?
Grantc Posted March 12, 2015 Posted March 12, 2015 Yep - a bag drop at Loudeac is pretty much the only thing extra I'm hoping to be able to organize.Rob, that was how we did it in 2007, but with all the rain Loudeac was a real madhouse with everyone trying to get dry, eat and sleep. It was so bad we stood in a queue for aboy 1 1/2 hrs waiting to get a bed. The only good thing about it was that we could access a bag every 400km or soIn 2011 we did a bag drop with Eddie who was at Carhaix - only used that on the outward leg. We changed our sleeping strategy dramatically - 1st stop was at Villaines-la-Juhel . We got in there just after 3:30 (we had a 6pm start) and had 2hr kip - being early in the race we had our choice of beds, and then onwards to Carhaix. Plan was to have our 3rd stop at Tinteniac. Unfortunately I missed the cut-off at Carhaix but the guy I was riding with stuck to the plan, and was happy with the sleeping plan
walkerr Posted March 12, 2015 Author Posted March 12, 2015 How do I get on the mailing list ? And as an aside, what lights do you guys use ? Do you carry spare batteries ? Drop me a PM with your email and I'll add you. You've identified the main issue with lights - battery life. The 200s and 300s it's not an issue. The 400s and 600s can involve long night stretches. There are various options: dynamo hub with light Very popular with Audax, but needs a custom wheel. This was my primary light on LEL, but I now use it as my backup light rechargeable with long battery life Problem is most are made to be bright for MTB, and hence with shorter life. I use this model now as my primary and has a long life in on the low setting, I only tend to flip to high for fast descents: http://www.extremelights.co.za/product/extreme-1400-new-cree-xm-l2-improved/ I've done a dusk 'til dawn leg on that light alone, and it had plenty of power left. Don't hang around though - I've heard a rumour it may be discontinued! Buddy bought one at Argus Expo though, and they still seemed to have plenty. Bright light with replaceable batteries Only one I have used is the Lezyne Super Drive XL. Nice and bright, and around a 4hr life per battery on medium. For a long ride though, you'll need a couple of spares. This was my backup light on LEL, and it served me well - still use it on regular bike for rides that start early with just an hour or two of dark riding
walkerr Posted March 12, 2015 Author Posted March 12, 2015 Rob, that was how we did it in 2007, but with all the rain Loudeac was a real madhouse with everyone trying to get dry, eat and sleep. It was so bad we stood in a queue for aboy 1 1/2 hrs waiting to get a bed. The only good thing about it was that we could access a bag every 400km or soIn 2011 we did a bag drop with Eddie who was at Carhaix - only used that on the outward leg. We changed our sleeping strategy dramatically - 1st stop was at Villaines-la-Juhel . We got in there just after 3:30 (we had a 6pm start) and had 2hr kip - being early in the race we had our choice of beds, and then onwards to Carhaix. Plan was to have our 3rd stop at Tinteniac. Unfortunately I missed the cut-off at Carhaix but the guy I was riding with stuck to the plan, and was happy with the sleeping plan Have booked a bag-drop at Loudeac. I have a secret plan to avoid the mad rush - whether it works or not, who knows. I'll cross fingers and hope, and if it turns to k@k will just change my shorts, top up with spares or whatever, and ride on. Edit - did contemplate various plans, but TBH I've found I can survive on very little sleep for days as long as I can get food regularly. I spent a total of about 13hrs lying down on LEL, only around 8 of which did I actually manage to sleep. Didn't feel great, but survived. So worst case, I'll just grab a couple of catnaps on way around. Simplicity of 1 bag drop was too attractive to pass up.
Slowbee Posted March 12, 2015 Posted March 12, 2015 Spoke to the extreme lights guys at the expo, does the dynamo not weight alot and affect rolling resistance or am I over complicating things ?
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