Originally Posted by
samkl
I wouldn't have a problem with it and I doubt many people would notice. But why not actually participate? You won't get the full experience if you're just observing and riding along when convenient. Doing this difficult thing with thousands of people from across the world, all of whom qualified, and experiencing the controls and the hospitality of the locals--those are big parts of what makes PBP special. You'll hear the townspeople cheering, but you won't feel it, because you're not actually doing the ride.
I must be a loaner, but eating and sleeping with everyone else doesn't really interest me. For me it's about the ride experience, not really the camaraderie. That's why I've previously been happy doing 4000 km rides solo and self-supported.
Regarding the townspeople cheering, I imagine that they're doing that because people are riding 1200 km through their region in 4 days; they're not cheering for people because they did such a good job with stopping and queueing at the controls. I'll certainly feel and deserve the support as much as anyone else. I'll miss the interactions with the volunteers, but that doesn't seem like a big deal to me.
Originally Posted by
samkl
The downsides you mention (lining up at controls and at the start) aren't a big deal. Much less of a hassle than riding 1200km in 90 hours or less. And if you're regularly doing long self-supported brevet type rides, then qualifying shouldn't be such a pain either.
That's a big part of the hassle that I'm trying to avoid. Switzerland doesn't have many events. Plus, it's too late this year to find a pre-qualifying event anywhere nearby. I might tolerate it if I could skip straight to doing one 600 km ride without needing to also do the 3 shorter distances next year and an extra event this year.