Originally Posted by gazer

Hey there!

PBP is a completely different animal. To semi-quote another poster somewhere, PBP is a rolling party, other brevets are an adventure. Maybe a bit like RAGBRAI with stricter time limits and far longer distances.

Terrain was more difficult than our M&C 1200k and LOL 1000k last year. Headwinds maybe similar to LOL.

I'm still processing my first PBP, as it was admittedly a bit overwhelming. The shear scale of it. The unbelievable support one received by local residents along the entire route. No describing how far you were riding in what time period to shocked passers-by. Instead, those passers-by understood completely what you were up to and offered encouraging words or more. I stopped for coffee at 4am the first two nights at roadside stands and was flabbergasted by the support. The stop at Villaines-la-Juhel on the return was mind blowing.

Logistics a bit more up to the rider than M&C, but more readily available than LOL which made the combination a great preparation. Given the evening (90 hr) start and relative flexibility of where to sleep, I finished much faster than M&C. In hindsight, I could have slept more, but honestly didn't need to.

So yes, charter that boat for 2023. I'll meet you there.