Pbp 2023
 

Well it looks like the website has started to be updated!

https://www.paris-brest-paris.org/en/home/

Looks like you can still access the same ACP account from 2019 if you sign in. Not much else seems to be updated yet, lots of 404 errors. At least the countdown works!

I'd book hotels if not already booked

Already got a place booked, there were a few flats in Rambouillet on airbnb when I was looking last weekend.

I was reading on a French forum that there is to be no pre-ride bike inspection in 2023; however, bikes are subject to random inspections during the ride.

Has anyone else seen that written officially?

If true, it might change my lodging plans to Paris from a somewhat lousy motel in the start area

I heard the same thing about a lack of bike inspections, I think it was in an acp email someone posted, somewhere. When I get home I'll try and find a source. The bike inspection was a schemozzle anyway, stood in the rain for hours.

Here's the post I saw with some talk of the route changes but I've not seen anything really firm about that either. It looks like the rules page on the PBP site has started to be updated, the dates for pre-registration are posted.

I need to get on those reservations for accommodations... wife and I are still nailing down who all will be coming with us. :)

That's interesting. I can see advantages to checking the bikes (secret control?) as they are being ridden on the course, as opposed to what you showed the organizers the day ahead or whatever it was. Especially lights -- in 2015, I noticed a few riders with weak or downturned taillights that weren't doing anything for visibility. Perhaps checking the bikes as they come through might make it easier for everyone, too. My only concerns would be the delay if there is a big group to get through, and how to resolve misunderstandings if they come up partway through the ride. Another reason to work on my French now!

In 2019 I saw more than a couple riders without rear lights, or dim/flashing lights, no vests, etc. Maybe they'll have the motorcycle people pulling delinquent riders during the ride. I don't think they'll be checking everyone at a checkpoint, it would waste too much time and I'm not sure how they'd account for the time delays if they forced a big group of riders through a check. I guess we'll see what they figure out.

My rear tail light battery (Lithium) was good at Loudeac in 2019 but it got cold out and it was very dim somewhere further afield, actually, it was Fougeres. A German fellow rightfully yelled at me. It was a bit harsh but I deserved it. So, I stopped and put new batteries in

At the inspection in 2019, I presented a spiffy recumbent and the big old grouch was failing me because it did not have a chain ring guard. The recumbents and velomobiles had a special inspection place. Unfortunately, I waiting in the rain with upwrongs until I got to the message.

So, I read the rules to the good chap. A guard is recommended. We go back and forth. He tells me they were required at the World sandal wearing championship in Southern France a week prior. Yes, I know that. I know two riders who raced. I explained I tried to buy one but there were none in the USA. He says, I could have used cardboard. I need respect for the riders ahead of me. Now, I am pissed. So, I say. "They will all be on my wheel or dropped". It gets a little heated. An older and very lean and obviously fit Frenchmen comes over. I explained nicely that once we get out a couple hours, it is a solo effort. The big dude jumps in, the Elder waves him away. And, voila! I get approved. What stress. Imagine that on the road.

What's your thinking about this? The nice thing about Ramboullet is that you can stay anywhere with train service and get there pretty easily. And I like trains.

I thought they were going to fail me because I made a decaleur and didn't put caps on the ends. I'll admit it was shambolic, but it was a last minute thing. I have never fixed it, and never stabbed myself with them. And there is no possible way to hurt someone with them absent their head being slammed into my handlebars. Seems like in that case, they would have bigger problems than my bag mount.

Well, a few things. I would like to sleep as much as possible before the start. My son, GF, and wife want to go this time. I think they would like Paris better. It is only 34 minutes by train from Montparnasse to Rambouillett on the direct line. It there were to be an inspection on Saturday, back and forth from Paris on both Saturday and Sunday would be take a lot of energy from a nearly 65 year old bag of bones. In 2019, I opted for the fancy room overlooking the front of the hotel at the Mercure. Certain groups partied deep into the night, groups with very low finish rates. I could not sleep with all the noise. Basically, my thinking is to maximize sleep and rest and if my family comes with me this time, giving them the best place to have fun while I snooze. No inspection on Saturday opens some possibilities over the tiny budget hotel Ibis by the N12. Maybe an Airbnb> dunno. But lack of inspection on Saturday changes my thinking given it is likely 3 others will be with me on vacation.

Even the trip there from San Quentin by train the day before wasn't too bad last time. Except I got a flat on the Chateau grounds.
Problem with San Quentin is all the local boulangeries are closed for summer vacation, have to go to one of the commercial places and it's just not the same. But it's not bad to get from there to paris. We stayed in a airbnb on the outskirts

San Quentin isn't as cute but the Velodrome start and finish has an appeal over Pave and confusion where to go at the sheep farm although it doesn't matter.

The Pave ruined one of my tail lights on a training ride and I swear it trashed the PBP supplied tracker. On a bent, there is no give. Both me and a friendly velomobile rider from Mass had trackers that did not work. What are the odds? Vibration to a bent on real Pave is brutal. Sharp turns on wet pave with no signs after 1210k is comical on a bent with 55 inch wheelbase. Oh LaLa.

For sure, securing food on a Sunday is task critical. Rambo was picked clean early Sunday. I stopped at three Patisseries in 2019 and one pure artisan boulangerie. It was a relaxed ride. A year seems like a long ways away but it really isn't. If I want to do a fast time for me at least, I think I need to have support unlike my past PBPs. Having family members support me might be counterproductive because they could encourage you to quit or at least in my theory. I am pretty sure I could do sub 56:39 with support of experienced supporters. Doing it unsupported? Doubtful. In any case, finishing under the limit would be a huge accomplishment, especially looking at the DNF rates for old farts

I didn't think about food in Rambouillet, I suppose you could take a train to San Quentin. If I make it next year, I'm definitely getting a train pass. The pave in rambouillet was bad, especially in town in the rain. Lots of hills too, which is a bad thing when you get lost.

I thought the tracker was purely passive, but I suppose you could break it somehow. It was a pretty big disappointment. I hated the pickup system between the awful noise and the speed bumps you had to get past. I feel like if I wasn't wearing a helmet, my hair would have been standing on end. It would be nice if it told you if it recognized you or not. I also didn't like how big the plate had to be. I don't know where they got that tracker, must have been at an electronics surplus house. The one in 2011 was just a little vial. I have heard of people that had trouble with it, but it registered at every stop for me.

From what I heard it was an issue with positioning on non-upright bikes (mostly from the aforementioned velomobile rider). Not breaking them but just not picking them up.

That's an interesting theory, but there were two antennas on either side of the path and it seems like a 'bent wouldn't be more likely to block the signal than an upright. But hopefully they have a better system this time. And by better, I mean one that looks better on my bike. I swear I'll get it painted some day.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...78e8b40e6e.jpg

I scored an airbnb in Loudéac, it's a km past the control on the outbound leg and only 100m off the 2019 route, so hopefully there's not massive changes in the route, but it should work out well for me, it did in 2019 when I had one a bit farther away from the control... I arrived at Loudéac right in the middle of the bulge. I'm planning to be fitter and/or faster to Loudéac in 2023 so I'm still trying to figure out what start time to pick, last time I had over 6 hours of stopped time before I got to Loudéac, definitely cutting that down as much as possible. I was thinking of starting much later in the evening and hopefully arriving in Loudéac in the early evening so I can eat a nice meal and get a good night's sleep.

I've been waffling about doing the 84h start but to get to Loudéac in the evening I'd really have to beat my best time on a 400K and keep it up for another couple of hours...

I'm starting to get nervous about the whole thing. Just read on the randon list that all of the hotels in Rambouillet are booked up! :eek: Seems like we were able to make our reservations about two or three months out in 2015, after I'd successfully done my SR series.

That, and there's still a lot of chatter on the FB groups about what the minimum ride distance for pre-registration will need to be. 300k? 600k? 1000k? Between family commitments and mishaps this year, I doubt anything more than September's 400k is in the cards for me. It would royally suck to have gone through all the trouble, and then find out I won't have a spot on the ride. :(

In the summer Bicycle Quarterly, there's an interview with Jean-Gualbert Faburel, one of the event organizers who says they're hoping to increase the registration limit to 8,000 for 2023. That's going to put even more pressure on Rambouillet's hotel and AirBnB inventory. I've tried booking a couple of AirBnBs in Rambouillet and SQY, my impression is that most of the AirBnB inventory isn't online yet for next August - the few I tried to book cancelled the reservation with messages that they weren't accepting bookings yet. Grabbed a spot in Versailles just to be safe, but may keep looking for something closer.

Paris and Versailles are both express train rides to Rambouillet. (18 mins and 31 mins from Paris)

There are few hotels in Rambouillet unlike prior locations. Eliminating the inspection helps logistically.

In 2019, a limited number of 200k riders got to pre-register and then anyone could enter IIRC, provided they did the SR in 2019. All 300k riders were able to pre-register in 2019. It is hard to believe 400k would not be sufficient in 2023 given the additional spots. I attempt to do a 1000k soon in order to get into the A wave if lucky. I reckon I'd be the oldest one in there.

Booking dot com reservations can usually be cancelled without cost. That is how I booked just in case I don't make it.

I stayed in St.Quentin in 2019, it was pretty easy to get trains back and forth, and not impossible to ride the distance if feeling strong.

If doing the 84H start at 5 am Monday, trains won't be an option. I believe the first train leaves Versaille at 5:42 am.

I parked a car on the sheep farm grounds. Although I could not figure out where I was supposed to park during the event, the car was still there in a line of other cars as I left it and not ticketed. I did park across the street in a lot at the Mercure after the event exactly where the hotel manager told me to park and it was towed. A big fine, a big towing fee, two walks to the police station, and a 2 mile walk to the tow truck company. So, if someone gets a rental....be careful. I think driving to the start (rental or taxi) from an outlying town is the only real option at 4 am for a 5 am 84H rider.

St Quentin to the farm is 31 km. I suppose an 84H rider could also ride there leaving at 3 am. My body is still on 9pm time at 3 am. I know everyone loves Rambouillet but I don't get it. No infrastructure for 8.000 riders. Count me as one oddball who misses the Velodrome and all the small towns leading out.

I agree that starting at SQ was better, but it required more support to shut down the roads. I think they are still getting the boost from the riders staying there and don't have to do the ride, so it's a win for them.

OTOH, I was short on time in 2011 and the San Quentin traffic lights out by the train tracks were frustrating. I was sprinting as hard as I could and didn't make any of them.

I only mentioned the riding out thing, because there was a heap of riders at the hotel I stayed at doing that exact thing. Many were Brits so they didn't have the time-change issue to deal with. They all rode to the bike check and back as well.