Paris Brest

Now this is what I am really here for :). This delightful little dessert was created to celebrate the first Paris-Brest-Paris in 1891. Now the Paris-Brest-Paris took me some 85h32m to conquer. I do not think the Paris Brest has a hope of lasting that long as I am about to devour it.

Electric atmosphere

Only ten hours before the start of the Paris Brest Paris. Passed bicycle inspection yesterday and received my Super Randonneurs medal for completing 200km/300km/400km/600km Brevet series this calendar year.

There are all kinds of bicycles and human chain driven contraptions amongst the largest parade of brooks saddles and carradice saddle bags that I have ever seen. Im keeping it simple with my Trek Madone road bike and a hydration pack.

Last night there were a few fireworks which were closely followed by a far more impressive and genuinely epic electrical storm. The thunder sounded like cannon fire. This morning the skies are calm. Hopefully there will be no more thunder & lightning over the next few days of riding.

I plan to spend the rest of the day sleeping and eating before making my way to the start.

Bonjour Paris, Hello Summer!

So long, winter and your Antarctic southerly blasts, rain, wind, hail and snow. Winter, your snow is very pretty. I love it when I am tramping, but it is most unhelpful when I am training for epic cycling events.You have made training very difficult and unrewarding. I’m about to land in summer, so see ya later winter - it shall be another year before we meet again.

Photograph taken from outside my house in Johnsonville, Wellington the day before departure.

I am feeling a touch underdone. I would have preferred to have ridden one last 400km ride in the past week. Caught in falling snow last weekend, did not make riding past evening and into the early of the morning a very good option. I believe that arriving in a more favourable climate will make everything a whole lot more pleasant. That should help the cycling performance in itself.

So with two brand new tyres and a new chain I’m off on the 1231km adventure that is the Paris-Brest-Paris Randonneur. No doubt there will be suffering along the way, since I only have three days and 18 hours to complete the distance. That said, on my bicycle all suffering is taken with a big wide grin on my face.

If you are at home in New Zealand, tightly hugging your heater no doubt, you can follow my ride in the warmth of the European summer at http://www.kiwirandonneurs.org.nz/live or http://www.audax.org.au/pbp2011/mobile.php. On Twitter follow hashtags #pbp2011 and #pbpan.

Kiwi Randonneurs custom jerseys for Paris Brest Paris 2011. A fusion of a silver-fern New Zealand national jersey, and the official logos of the Paris-Brest-Paris, slightly kiwified.

Do Gatorskin tyres have sidewalls made of cheese?

My current favoured tyre choice are Continental Grand Prix 4 Season (700x25c). Due to sourcing and pricing issues I usually buy these online from the UK. I’ve been saving my spare pair to start the Paris Brest Paris brand new so bought a set of Continental Gatorskins, also of the 700x25c sizing. The Gatorskin’s are sold on the puncture proof qualities making them ideal for commuting and winter riding.

This is the second set of Gatorskin tyres I have had very short life from. Previously I convinced myself my experience was an aberration. Now however, I am convinced that the Gatorskin tyres have sidewalls made of cheese. In both cases, I have not had a puncture through the main treadline, but riding at night in winter after rain I have found a unique ability to slice directly the sidewall as I skim past on-road debris whether it be rock or debris.

So in the space of a week I have replaced my rear tyre twice. Firstly, a loyal and faithful GP4, after over 4000 punctureless kilometres on New Zealand’s chip sealed roads this tyre had been worn through to the canvas, and less than a 100km later a sidewall failure on the replacement Gatorskin from the same company.

This led me to question why the Gatorskins have a good reputation. It would seem the results of a search for “gatorskin puncture resistance” returns a different set of results to “gatorskin sidewall failure” – the later showing that these tyres are indeed, made of a stinky, soft substance known as cheese.

Footnote: Please be aware that the manufacturer states on their website that this tyre is made of Duraskin-anti-cut fabric, and not cheese as I allege. The manufacturer should know more about their product than I.

A durable carbon black mixture, a well regarded puncture protection system and DuraSkin-anti-cut fabric turn the GatorSkin, formely known as Ultra GatorSkin, into a real long distance runner.

Going Extreme - eight laps of the pond in 2011

Shortly following last year’s Lake Taupo Enduro (2 laps), I pre-registered for 2011. I did not have to choose my category immediately so I had thought I would choose on the basis of what is left of my little legs when I return from riding 1200km in France. However, I have now received an e-mail to confirm my category before 31 July, and that would be before I leave.

Early Bird Registration

Thank you for making an Early Bird registration for the Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge2011.

As advised your Early Bird entry was a preliminary registration & now that full registrations have opened you need to complete a full online entry using a VIP code to complete the process.
…


PLEASE COMPLETE YOUR ENTRY BY 31 JULY.

On the basis that the ultra-distance cycling is helpful for the “diesel engine” staying power, but not for responding to sudden accelerations and attacks, I had ruled out the Solo (153km/1 lap) long ago. So it had to either the Enduro (313km/2 laps), the Maxi Enduro (626km/4 laps) or, the Extreme Enduro (1252km/8 laps). After much deliberation I decided to go hard and enter the Extreme Enduro, for which I have been allocated bib number 9902.

Your bib number is: 9902

I have yet to ride a 1200, but will have three months between the Paris Brest Paris and the Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge to either regret the decision or look forward to improving my time over this distance. Usually I would usually prefer more variety by not circulating around the same course.