PBP Stories: 6 secrets to PBP success

PBP Stories #45: After finishing PBP twice and interviewing 40 riders, with a combined total of more than 200 completions and 10 DNFs, I’ve concluded that there are 6 secrets to a successful PBP:

1 – Understand your goals
2 – Every ride is a training ride
3 – Minimize time off the bike
4 – Do not underestimate the stress of logistics
5 – Things will not go according to plan
6 – Strive for Type 1 fun

Paris Brest Paris: PBP Stories and Tips
Join Peter Curley (PBP ’19, ’23) as he interviews the riders who have completed (and DNF’ed!) Paris Brest Paris, the most famous (and oldest) endurance ride in the world. Learn firsthand what to expect and how to give yourself the best chance of a successful PBP.

‼️Please subscribe, like or consider buying Peter a beer at https://buymeabeer.com/pbpstories

Paris Brest is a long-distance cycling event with a rich history. Established in 1891 as a professional race, it has evolved into the premier amateur endurance cycling event. Every four years, thousands of cyclists from around the world, attempt to finish PBP’s grueling 1,200-kilometer (745-mile) route, within the 90 hour time limit.

10 PBP Stats (2023)
Participants = 6431
Finish rate = 76%
Average age = 51
Oldest female & male = 69 & 79
Youngest female & male = 17 & 17
Female participation = 7.24%
French participation = 29.03%
Charly Miller (56:40) = 12
Adrian Hands (88:55) = 62
Club with most riders = San Francisco Randonneurs

(To share your story email petercurley@gmail.com.)

After completing two PBPs myself and interviewing more than 40 writers on this channel with a combined total of 200 completions, I’ve concluded that there are six secrets to PBP success. The first secret for PBP success before training, qualifying or writing the event is really trying to understand your goals for PBP. Once you understand that, everything else should fall into place. To understand what you’re hoping to get out of PBP, I recommend that you ask yourself these two highly consequential questions. One, ride fast or slow. Do I want to do a Charlie Miller or do I want to do an Adrien Hands? Secondly, do I want to ride alone or or am I intending to ride with others? Once you answer these questions, everything else should fall into place. Secret number two, every ride is a training ride. Prior to PBP, you should view every ride as a training ride. PBP is full of unknowns. Your job during the training period before PBP is to mitigate those unknowns, whether it’s bike setup, nutrition, sleeping, etc. You really needed to get into the mindset of asking yourself before you set out on any ride, what can I learn from this ride that will help me during PBP? Far too many people get to the start line of PBP with an attitude of just winging it. But really, there’s no excuse. The training period up to PBP should be used to dial in every aspect of your ride. Secret number three, minimize time off the bike. The vast majority of PBP riders will finish with a moving time somewhere between 50 and 60 hours. If you look at my 2023 stats, you can see that my moving time was 54 hours, yet my total time was 86 hours and 36 minutes. That’s 22 hours and 36 minutes off the bike. Nearly an entire day. Not sure where all that time went, but it really is about trying to understand and minimize that time off the bike. Being aware of your total time versus moving time is key. I’d recommend adding these metrics to your bike computer and learn how to minimize stops. Secret number four, do not underestimate the stress of logistics. This is consistently the most underestimated challenge of PBP. Many participants describe a huge weight being lifted once they get themselves and their bike to the starting line of PBP. Frankly, there’s a lot that can go wrong. Here’s three things that I really recommend that you do to reduce anxiety for PBP logistics. One, air tag your baggage. Two, arrive days early. This is key in my mind. The sooner you can arrive, the less likely you are to have problems. And then the last one is once you arrive, try to do multiple training rides on your reassembled bike. Secret number five, things will not go according to plan. This is actually guaranteed. Therefore, you should have a plan B and a plan C. Whether it’s a mechanical or a dark moment, it’s how you respond to these setbacks that will determine your success in PBP. Think through in advance how you will deal with specific challenges. Don’t expect your brain to make rational choices the deeper you get into PBP. Too many people end up dnfing PBP because they make a rash decision rather than relying on their contingency plans. The final secret, secret six is strive for type one fun. There’s this concept you may have heard about for the different types of fun in endurance sports. Type one is the best since it’s fun in the moment and also retrospectively. Type two, which is kind of the default type of fun you do in endurance sports, is maybe not so much fun in the moment, but retrospectively it’s fun. Type three really doesn’t sound like fun at all. It’s not fun in the moment and it’s not fun retrospectively. So what I’m saying is your attitude should be to strive for fun in the moment and fun retrospectively. Here’s four ways I would recommend you do that. One, have the attitude of just staying in the moment. Don’t do things like counting miles. Say to yourself, I have a thousand kilometers remaining. It just won’t help you stay in the moment. Secondly, hang out with the locals. PBP is such a uniquely special event. It’s really about the people and the culture. So, the more you can interact with the people, the easier it will be to get to type one fun. Thirdly, bring pins of your local Ronda club and hand them out as you go along. It’s the best thing in the world. I guarantee you. And then finally, dark moments will pass. You always have to remember that. Maybe you’re having type three fun, but just rest, eat, and you can get back to type one fun. Good luck. Also, if anyone would like to share their PBP story, please contact me. Thanks again.