Originally Posted by
Carbonfiberboy
On a summer 600, my approach would be to do the 400 part mostly in daylight, sleep until just before dawn, and get 'er done before the limit. Same theory for longer rides, though that's just theory for me, having not done them, but that's how my riding buddies approach them in their old age.
I found that I made really horrible time on PBP when I woke up in the early morning and rode. My goal is to ride fast enough that I can get in more sleep and do less riding in the early morning. I actually ended up sleeping a lot, but I never really figured out the controle closing times so I would sleep for shorter periods. I saw a story about Lon Halderman showing up to PBP with the controle closing times taped to his top tube. His plan was to sleep 8 hours every night. I don't think I will ever be that fast again, but it's a goal. I certainly had some fast stretches on the way back from Brest, but I wasted most of the time I gained sleeping beside the road during the day. That is a mistake I'm not making again.