If you are contemplating your first PBP in or any km brevet, for that matter , this is your year. Well, actually PBP is next year, but this is the year in which you can make quantum leaps in your preparation for a successful PBP. I rode my first km brevet in The next year I rode a complete series. Noshing on pizza at the finish of my first successful km brevet in , I thought: if this were I would have just met the requirements to ride PBP.
So that fall when my club put on a km brevet across the Cascade Mountains and back, I signed up for it. I learned much more riding that event. I learned that I probably could have ridden another km; I also learned how much more preparation I needed to be confident that I could complete PBP. More than anything else, riding that km event the year before PBP brought my preparation into sharp focus.
I only wished I had ridden it earlier in the year. There was work to do, but I set my sights for PBP When I finished the I had slight tingling in my fingertips and toes. When I finished the km, the outside toes on both feet were numb, likewise some fingers on both hands. The numbness lasted two months. As I said, I finished, but it was not pretty. As a result of these experiences, a couple of things became clear to me: there was a lot more to riding km than just the distance. And little problems can turn into big problems if you ride long enough.
After this experience I made some serious efforts to avoid these problems in the future. I went to a professional bike fitter which resulted in some subtle but very effective changes to my position on the bike. My handlebars came up and back some; I got new pedals and stiffer and wider shoes.
I added padding to my handle bars. I changed my strength training in the gym to include neck strengthening exercises. I think that worked.
