thebulls

Have you ridden a 400km in "PBP weather" (i.e. temperature range from high 30's to high 80's with and without rain)? If so, make a pile of everything you took. Next, take the food and consumables and add two more piles of the same so that you have enough for 1200km (don't forget you'll need triple the chamois butter, triple the sunstuff, batteries, etc). If you have "normal size" tires then you may be able to risk carrying only two tubes, figuring you can get spares at controls; but if you use 650B or other unusual sizes then you probably want to double the number of tubes you usually carry. If you usually don't carry a spare tire, you might want to consider carrying one if you have no drop bags. Next, make a pile of the spare clothes that you'll need to carry. For me, that would be three pairs of shorts, three pairs of socks, and three pairs of gloves. I wore the same wool short-sleeve jersey through the final three days of PBP, both times I've ridden it, so one jersey is enough for me.

When I make a "virtual pile" of all that stuff (in my gear-weight spreadsheet) then it adds over ten pounds, plus a great deal of bulky stuff that has to be carried somehow. The "somehow" might involve panniers on a low-rider front rack, which of course adds another couple of pounds.

For me, the small cost of a drop bag is worth it to avoid the extra weight. And I don't see how it reduces flexibility to have a drop bag at Loudeac. Basically, you get there at the end of the first day of riding and recharge for what you need to ride to Brest and back. Then when you get to Loudeac again, you recharge for what you need to get to the end. The biggest time-waste was standing in line for a bathroom so I could change into my clean shorts. I guess if you carried everything, you'd just change in the woods and save a little time.

Nick