# Paris Brest Paris 2015



## User (18 Aug 2015)




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## ianrauk (18 Aug 2015)

Tim (Trickedem)







Frank (Frank9755)





Martin (mmmartin)





Olaf (Redfalo)





Rimas (Zigzag)





David (DCLane)





Dave Crampton





Steve Abraham





Ian H


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## MrGrumpy (18 Aug 2015)

Dave Crampton is another currently enroute. He Posted a wee while back 618km in a smidge under 40hrs, heading back to Paris


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## ianrauk (18 Aug 2015)

MrGrumpy said:


> Dave Crampton is another currently enroute. He Posted a wee while back 618km in a smidge under 40hrs, heading back to Paris




Whats his CC name? I'll add it to the above.


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## MrGrumpy (18 Aug 2015)

@Dave Crampton


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## ianrauk (18 Aug 2015)

MrGrumpy said:


> @Dave Crampton




Added to the above.


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## ianrauk (18 Aug 2015)

Added Steve Abraham


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## jefmcg (18 Aug 2015)

Bit worried about @mmmmartin, we DNFd WCW together. Hadn't realised until yesterday he'd qualified. Happiness followed by worry. Hopefully it's a glitch. I realise Tinteniac is broken, but he should have long since got to Loudeac.


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## ianrauk (18 Aug 2015)

@Ian H too.
But don't know his name to check the register

Found it and added to the above


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## GrumpyGregry (18 Aug 2015)

Rimas remains as scary as ever....


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## PMarkey (18 Aug 2015)

Kevin Merisson (@tubbycyclist) is going well and left Brest this morning .






Paul


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## theclaud (18 Aug 2015)

Hope he's OK!


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## ianrauk (18 Aug 2015)

@zigzag 's finishing graph
Amazing.


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## theclaud (18 Aug 2015)

ianrauk said:


> @zigzag 's finishing graph
> Amazing.
> 
> View attachment 100597



Piece of piss.


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## jefmcg (18 Aug 2015)

I enjoyed watching this video from the other place.

It's all the non-standard bikes departing, including but not limited to les vélocouchés and at least one triple.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Htz15C2NmU


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## velovoice (18 Aug 2015)

This yesterday afternoon on @mmmmartin :


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## mmmmartin (19 Aug 2015)

Er, hello. Just found this thread. Thanks for your concern.
Am fine, no problems. Currently on the ferry from Caen.
Was terribly slow, couldn't get the legs to move the bike at all. Very much slower than on the Brussels Paris Brussels 600 and that was only six weeks ago. Something wrong with my body, it usually does what it's told but I tried everything, even had a 20 sleep in a chair at the first food stop, and that was only on the first night when hardly anyone sleeps. Then had a meal at a restaurant but to no avail. Had a chat to Frank at one point (he slowed as he passed me) and we went through everything we could think of, I'd been eating a lot, drinking enough to keep the widdle a nice light colour, etc etc. 
Hey ho.
I tried to get a good night's sleep, nearly six hours on the door of the gym which was excellent, at Fougeres and had a think about struggling on this morning, but I'd have had to do 60mph to reach the next control in time and it was pretty obvious I'd have reached Brest when it had completely shut down.
The tracker shows my speed even to the first control was below the 15kph audax minimum. Amazingly much slower than six weeks ago, not sure why. Was rested, weather perfect, didn't even get a puncture.
There are some pix of me smiling here
http://t.co/BLM950LUTZ
Must say, the route is really dull but the frenchies were brilliant. They stand by the road all night and clap as you pass, and hand out water. Groups of children hand out coffee. Villages are festooned with old bikes painted in bright colours. This all helps, and they know how hard this sort of thing is.
Once, in the depths of the night in some random village, a random old man with a beard was standing, waiting, by the side of the road. As I passed he said: "bon courage, mon brave."
Wonderful people.


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## Trickedem (19 Aug 2015)

I'm just leaving Loudeac after 90 mins of fitful sleep. I have a few mins in hand. Feeling more like sticking than quitting now!


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## mmmmartin (19 Aug 2015)

Trickedem said:


> I'm just leaving Loudeac after 90 mins of fitful sleep. I have a few mins in hand. Feeling more like sticking than quitting now!


Great stuff tim. We're awake following you.


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## Trickedem (19 Aug 2015)

Had a chance meeting with Frank and we rode together for a while. Nice dawn this morning. Im just setting off from Tinteniac


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## GrumpyGregry (19 Aug 2015)

'kin heroes. Every one.


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## ianrauk (19 Aug 2015)

Tim





Frank





Martin (DNF)





Olaf





Rimas (Finished)





David





Dave C





Steve Abraham





Ian





Kevin


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## DCLane (20 Aug 2015)

Thanks all. I finished yesterday at 13.39 in 68:54 which I'm happy with.

All OK apart from being left in bed at Brest for 6 hours when no-one woke me and needing a sleep in a field at 1100k.

The Ridgeback Platinum performed brilliantly even with lots of kit and a 53:39 front. Loads of supported Vedettes with motorhomes - I'd suggest most of them had minimal kit. The first 300k came up in under 12 hours!

TT'd the last 15 miles which was a bad idea!


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## mmmmartin (20 Aug 2015)

Olaf would seem to have taken a break at mortagne, sensible as he has the time. Looks like he's going to make it. I'm delighted for him.

Tim has posted on Faceache an hour ago that at 6.30am the crowds are cheering him on with 30 miles to go. I never doubted for one moment that he would make it. He did LEL in a good time and that's harder than PBP.


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## Booyaa (20 Aug 2015)

DCLane said:


> Thanks all. I finished yesterday at 13.39 in 68:54 which I'm happy with.
> 
> All OK apart from being left in bed at Brest for 6 hours when no-one woke me and needing a sleep in a field at 1100k.
> 
> ...


Great effort, congratulations. Well deserved rest time I think now!


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## mmmmartin (20 Aug 2015)

Olaf is in 

*sobs*


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## mmmmartin (20 Aug 2015)

And so is tim.


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## mmmmartin (20 Aug 2015)

And frank.


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## PMarkey (20 Aug 2015)

Kevin has finished


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## GrumpyGregry (20 Aug 2015)

Whoot!


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## ianrauk (20 Aug 2015)

Tim 






Frank





Olaf





Rimas





David L





David C





Steve Abraham





Ian H


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## arallsopp (20 Aug 2015)

ianrauk said:


> Tim, Frank, Olaf, Rimas, David L, David C, Steve Abraham,
> Ian H


Well done for pulling that together, and to the riders a huge chapeau. And I mean properly huge. Royal wedding / Ascot levels of silliness. Astounding.


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## mmmmartin (20 Aug 2015)

Once upon a time, I was Young And Hopeful..........



Spoiler


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## ianrauk (20 Aug 2015)

Steve Abraham has finished


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## mistral (20 Aug 2015)

Fantastic achievement from all concerned 

(and that includes mmmmartin too)


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## martint235 (20 Aug 2015)

Absolute nutters the lot of you!!!! Incredible achievement and chapeau to all who finished and a huge well done to all those who managed to qualify and make it to the start in the first place!!


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## zigzag (21 Aug 2015)

many thanks for the kind words of support and encouragement. this time i decided to race it and had a totally different experience than four years ago. it was super tough at times, but managed to get myself together and push right through to the finish without sleep. massive well done to all who took part, achieved (or attempted to) their goals - everyone's ride is a unique story. i'll write more when i get to it - there were some interesting moments at the sharp end!


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## zigzag (21 Aug 2015)

[QUOTE 3865240, member: 9609"]Amazing achievement - I'm seriously impressed!
did you take any rest periods ?[/QUOTE]

thank you! we took a longer break (almost an hour) at brest, where i had a sit down meal, brushed my teeth, had a leg massage, bike tyres pumped up..
all other stops were very brief. it's amazing how far the body can go when the mind tells it to.


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## w00hoo_kent (21 Aug 2015)

zigzag said:


> thank you! we took a longer break (almost an hour) at brest, where i had a sit down meal, brushed my teeth, had a leg massage, bike tyres pumped up..
> all other stops were very brief. it's amazing how far the body can go when the mind tells it to.


Really interested to hear about the mental side and effects of sleep deprivation. A minor reason for me stopping the motorbike version of this stuff was the temptation to push yourself dangerously into too fatigued, I guess you don't need to 'wake up' doing 70mph 6ft from a car bumper too many times for that though.

Amazing feats, all of you.


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## goody (21 Aug 2015)

Marcusjb deserves a mention in this thread not sure how he got on but he was riding fixed I think. 
It was my first time, really enjoyed it just planned to finish then about half way round someone mentioned a 72 hour finish was possible so had to really push towards the end. I think that helped keep me focused. Strava says 53hrs moving and 18.5 faffing! Really want to have a go on a recumbent or one of those soap box wacky racers they look so fast downhill! Thought I might have taken too much clothing but ended up wearing all of it at the same time on the bit in and out of Brest didn't expect it to be that cold!


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## frank9755 (22 Aug 2015)

Thanks everyone for the interest in our adventure!
I'll write something about my ride when I've got my thoughts together.

^ I met Marcusjb a couple of times on the way back and he was having a great time. He ended up helping a rider on a Brompton to get back in time. 

^^ The mental side is the most part of it. People react in very different ways. The effort of cycling keeps you awake so you can push on much more than with a motor vehicle (and the risk is to yourself, not to others). 

I cope quite well and can keep going for long periods without sleeping. However, I do get voices in my head, and hallucinations. Often they are quite amusing. My favourite ones this time were:
- on the climb through the Huelgoat forest after Carhaix, I 'saw' a rider in a white jersey standing having a pee at the side of the road. I thought 'that's a funny jersey, with the number 50 in the middle of his back, with a red circle round it'. Then I realised it was a speed limit sign!
- an aural hallucination (not had one of these before) - just before Dreux I was going up a small hill and heard a car in the distance behind me. There was a crow in the trees to my right and I heard it cawing, saying 'Car-up, Car-up!'


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## Hill Wimp (22 Aug 2015)

Congratulations to you all. I have enjoyed checking into the thread to see how ìt was all going for you on this awesome challenge and look forward to your write ups.


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## DCLane (22 Aug 2015)

My brief write up from Paris-Brest-Paris audax which I've realised was on YACF and Facebook but not here:; 1230km / 765 miles of French hills: https://www.strava.com/activities/373638879

The locals were great; riding through a dark, deserted village at 3am you'd hear "bon courage" called out.

Excellent registration. The mechanics looked at my bike and decided the creaking it had was due to the rear wheel. Their comment "not a problem, just annoying". I could do annoying.

The Sunday had crowds along the streets out of the velodrome. It was odd that they wouldn't let anyone into the compound with a bike after lunch, although bikes including mine were already there. Looking around there were a few British riders with kit and lots of others without any. I'd guess that about 75% of the Vedettes (fast riders under 80 hours time limit) had support teams.

Day 1 - mad start with the group D vedettes at 16:45; crazy Italians and French. First 300k done sub 12 hours after I decided to go slower at 120k.

Day 2 - a good day despite lots of hills and a 53:39 front ring. I made it into Brest for a short sleep just in the daylight.

Day 3 - woke after 6 hours realising the control never woke me! After that it was a day of keeping going after a series of early morning fast descents into the mist out of Brest. The controls were cleared quickly as I tried to spend only 5-15 minutes in each. As I'd already slept too much I rode through the night with a Croatian rider who had no lights. He'd been going downhill at 60km/h guided by starlight.

Between 250 and 1050k I kept being passed by a mad group of Swedish riders who were riding on beer power; weaving in and out whilst drunk. After a day and a half I pointed out that I was always ahead of them; they had a short discussion and decided the solution was more beer. I didn't see them after this so either it worked and they passed me whilst I was asleep in the field or they ended up in a ditch somewhere.

Day 4 - a short sleep in a field before Dreux after I started seeing things (blue flying chickens) and I picked up another D group rider I'd started with then time-trialled the last 15 miles.

I finished in 68 hours and 54 minutes, 3 hours earlier than my 'hoped for' time so I'm pleased as a first-timer. And my home-built Ridgeback Platinum worked perfectly for the entire ride.

The next one of these is in 2019 or the 1400km London-Edinburgh-London in 2017. Registration opens for that in September.


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## srw (22 Aug 2015)

@mmmmartin, treat yourself to one of these.





@all you other nutters, have a couple, but flip the second one round. And if any of you are going to be on Sunday night's ferry back to Newhaven, see you there.


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## StuAff (22 Aug 2015)

goody said:


> Marcusjb deserves a mention in this thread not sure how he got on but he was riding fixed I think.
> It was my first time, really enjoyed it just planned to finish then about half way round someone mentioned a 72 hour finish was possible so had to really push towards the end. I think that helped keep me focused. Strava says 53hrs moving and 18.5 faffing! *Really want to have a go on a recumbent or one of those soap box wacky racers they look so fast downhill! *Thought I might have taken too much clothing but ended up wearing all of it at the same time on the bit in and out of Brest didn't expect it to be that cold!


Velomobiles do not _look_ fast downhill. They _are_ very fast downhill.  Quite a few of them finished in under 60 hours.


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## redfalo (23 Aug 2015)

Thanks for your support! It was an amazing experince. I'm now on Eurostar for a week of Bromptoneering in ... France. Will report back afterwards.


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## DCLane (23 Aug 2015)

[QUOTE 3868263, member: 9609"]how much ascent was on the PBP ?[/QUOTE]

My Strava report had 10,000 metres: https://www.strava.com/activities/373638879


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## zigzag (24 Aug 2015)

yes, somewhere between 10,000-11,000 meters, depending how it is measured. plenty of hills although there aren't any steep ones, i rode it with 52/42 and 12-27 gears.


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## srw (24 Aug 2015)

srw said:


> @all you other nutters, have a couple, but flip the second one round. And if any of you are going to be on Sunday night's ferry back to Newhaven, see you there.


There were three or four people on the ferry in cycling kit, carrying that "I've ridden over 1200km in the last week and I'm very tired" staring-into-space look. I saw one machine at Dieppe with the tell-tale labels, but at Newhaven we were just about the last off so I didn't get to see them again.


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## marcusjb (24 Aug 2015)

goody said:


> Marcusjb deserves a mention in this thread not sure how he got on but he was riding fixed I think.



Second PBP for me, so doing things differently and did it on fixed - it's a fantastic parcours for fixed with nothing too steep at all (but it is relentless with the up and down and the downs can take their toll on a fixed rider's body).

I was determined to enjoy everything I hadn't in 2011, so was taking it very steady (I also didn't want to finish in under 86 hours as my wife was due at the finish) - I had a total laugh and got to lounge around the controls chatting and enjoyed just about every roadside stall on the way. Made new friends, strengthened older friendships.

It was a blast.


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## Ian H (24 Aug 2015)

Thanks for putting this together. There were several of us on fixed. Well done to everyone who finished and to all those who tried their best but didn't quite make it. I arrived home this afternoon, making around 1,700km in total.


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## redfalo (24 Aug 2015)

[QUOTE 3868263, member: 9609"]how much ascent was on the PBP ?[/QUOTE]
not too much, about 10000 meters in total. felt like more though


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## PpPete (25 Aug 2015)

I thought it felt like less !
I only used the granny ring twice - which is pretty astonishing for me. Once on the three-step climb to Merleac on the D53 (between Loudeac and Carhaix) after a timely warning from a French rider "pour la prochaine cote, mettre tout a gauche". The second time on the climb though the forest about 25km from the end (after Gambaiseul ?) Could have honked up both in the middle ring, but preferred to spin. Everything else was spinning in the middle ring.


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## redfalo (25 Aug 2015)

PpPete said:


> I thought it felt like less !
> I only used the granny ring twice - which is pretty astonishing for me. Once on the three-step climb to Merleac on the D53 (between Loudeac and Carhaix) after a timely warning from a French rider "pour la prochaine cote, mettre tout a gauche". The second time on the climb though the forest about 25km from the end (after Gambaiseul ?) Could have honked up both in the middle ring, but preferred to spin. Everything else was spinning in the middle ring.


i did not bring a granny ring and did not
miss it :-) each climb in itself was very doable, but taken togehter, and multiplied with the overall distance, it was not too easy


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## velovoice (25 Aug 2015)

marcusjb said:


> Second PBP for me, so doing things differently and did it on fixed - it's a fantastic parcours for fixed with nothing too steep at all (but it is relentless with the up and down and the downs can take their toll on a fixed rider's body).
> 
> I was determined to enjoy everything I hadn't in 2011, so was taking it very steady (I also didn't want to finish in under 86 hours as my wife was due at the finish) - I had a total laugh and got to lounge around the controls chatting and enjoyed just about every roadside stall on the way. Made new friends, strengthened older friendships.
> 
> It was a blast.


Loved your write-up over on your blog!!


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## ianrauk (25 Aug 2015)

agreed @velovoice , great reading @marcusjb ,The bread and butter thing is brilliant. Something so simple during something so huge.


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## jo from the other place (1 Sep 2015)

In the next week or so, I will be releasing an interactive visualization of the PBP results that will allow you to see any rider's performance relative to the cutoff times and other riders. It is based on the approach I took to visualizing the London-Edinburgh-London in 2013 (http://www.gicentre.net/blog/2013/10/31/lel). This time I've separated those registered for the 80h, 84h and 90h time limits. There remain some problems with the data as supplied by ACP, but the graphics are still informative. Here are a few preview images:

















(Thanks to Axel Koenig for assembling the data from the ACP pages)


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## jo from the other place (1 Sep 2015)

And here's the animation of the riders over time and distance...


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## DCLane (2 Sep 2015)

arallsopp said:


> Well done for pulling that together, and to the riders a huge chapeau. And I mean properly huge. Royal wedding / Ascot levels of silliness. Astounding.


 
I've just caught up with this. In my case your book triggered it


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## Fubar (2 Sep 2015)

marcusjb said:


> Second PBP for me, so doing things differently and did it on fixed - it's a fantastic parcours for fixed with nothing too steep at all (but it is relentless with the up and down and the downs can take their toll on a fixed rider's body).
> 
> I was determined to enjoy everything I hadn't in 2011, so was taking it very steady (I also didn't want to finish in under 86 hours as my wife was due at the finish) - I had a total laugh and got to lounge around the controls chatting and enjoyed just about every roadside stall on the way. Made new friends, strengthened older friendships.
> 
> It was a blast.



Just finished reading your blog, loved it! Well done for helping each other, quite emotional stuff I'm sure.


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## ianrauk (2 Sep 2015)

A nice blog read about PBP from Ian H *HERE*


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## Ian H (2 Sep 2015)

Thank-you.


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## Simpleton (3 Sep 2015)

Well done to all those who became anciens/ancienne (some for a xth time). Roll on the MI 1600....


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## jefmcg (3 Sep 2015)

Simpleton said:


> Roll on the MI 1600


I have no idea what that is, and professor google doesn't seem to either. What is the MI1600?


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## Pale Rider (3 Sep 2015)

jefmcg said:


> I have no idea what that is, and professor google doesn't seem to either. What is the MI1600?



There is/was a 1,600km Mille Miglia audax in Italy.

https://willesdentest.wordpress.com/2007/07/27/mille-miglia-audax/


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## jefmcg (3 Sep 2015)

Pale Rider said:


> There is/was a 1,600km Mille Miglia audax in Italy.



Thanks. I've heard of it. Still can't find it anywhere referred to as MI 1600. Mind you, I can't find any other abbreviation. Even the full name is more likely to lead to a car race than an Audax.


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## tonyg52 (3 Sep 2015)

http://www.1001migliaitalia.it/1001_miglia_2016/default.htm


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## Pale Rider (3 Sep 2015)

tonyg52 said:


> http://www.1001migliaitalia.it/1001_miglia_2016/default.htm



I see it's in Agosto next year - wherever that is.


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## jefmcg (3 Sep 2015)

Pale Rider said:


> I see it's in Agosto next year - wherever that is.


Isn't that just between <google translate> luglio and Settembre? That would put it in Umbria, I think


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## jefmcg (3 Sep 2015)

More seriously (or less seriously, I'm not sure which)... that looks really lumpy and scary!


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## marcusjb (3 Sep 2015)

16000m of ascent in the 1600km - on paper, no hillier than PBP. However, note the first 400km - pan flat! According to many, that will be your fastest 400km ever if you can work in groups. 

I fancy it, I don't fancy the heat (though the last running was exceptionally hot and would hopefully not be repeated). Not going to work next year because of other plans, but sometime.


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## redfalo (26 Nov 2015)

FWIW, here's my ride report on PBP http://cycling-intelligence.com/2015/11/25/87-very-special-hours-my-pbp-2015/


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## Dogtrousers (26 Nov 2015)

redfalo said:


> FWIW, here's my ride report on PBP http://cycling-intelligence.com/2015/11/25/87-very-special-hours-my-pbp-2015/


I liked this bit, it's almost Beckettian:

_covering distance means physical effort but the time will pass anyway. _

Macbeth had similar thoughts: _Come what come may, Time and the hour runs through the roughest day. _


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