626 miles 18,685 ft of climbing
The bike:
Beta V.1
My hands were sore after the 600k so I was thinking of adding aerobars to take pressure off of my hands. In order to use aerobars I had to lose the handlebar bag. So I bought some Revelate Frame Bags to use with my Arkel rack bag.
The bike V.2:
Because of the mandatory sleep stops and the drop bag I decided to lose the aerobars, lose the arkel rack bag, revelate tank bag, and ride with only my handlebar bag. So a last second change was had before I hit the rode for Cleveland. I strapped my Frogg Toggs to my rack for the just in case. This is the set-up I used.
Gear:
Frame pump
2x tubes
watch
cycle gloves
Helmet light
GPS
tums
Ibuprofen
Tylenol
Cliff bars
Recoverers
Spare shift cable
Tool seat bag with general tools.
Butt butter
Ziploc bag for Brevet card, phone, and wallet.
Pen
reflective gear
Solar battery
phone cable
GPS cable
xtra AAA
Helmet
Spare light
Gen light
2x Rear lights
Bike shorts x2
swim trunks x2
frogg togg jacket
cycle SS jersey
sun shirt
5.10 shoes
sunglasses
night glasses
water bottles
This was a new type of ride for me. With my drop bag at every control, food provided at controls, and mandatory sleep I didn't know what to expect. Last year I completed PBP completely self supported.
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| The Start |
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| Day2 Bridge out. Crossing freeway by bike, not fun. |
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| Day3. Over halfway complete. Riding back from Cincinnati. |
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| Tall bridges in Ohio. |
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| Last morning gave some excellent views. |
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| Coming home. |
If it wasn't for my saddle sores this ride wasn't mentally of physically fatiguing. Saddle sores from my Brooks prompted me to purchase a WTB Rocket V saddle. Testing in process. Also after this ride, after two years and many thousands of miles on Schawlbe Marathons, I've put on some Gatorskins. Testing in process also, but early indications show that they are easier to pedal and I'll probably stick with them. I've also removed the rear rack of the bike.
Future for the bike:
I'm putting my STI Brifters back on. My plan is next brevet season to not use a handlebar bag, use my Revelate Tangle frame bag. Trying to get this bike a little more comfortable and less difficult to pedal long distances. Also in the plans are gravel rides where downtube shifters cause me to take my hand off the bars, I'd rather keep both hands on bars on gravel. Updates on my bike upgrades to come.
