Paris Brest Paris - Sleep deprivation, heat, people ... I almost didn't make it!

[@altheawhyte2328]

Wow a daring adventure of a lifetime. Congratulations 🥂

[@randosquirrel]

Thank you! 😃

[@vjurkin]

Thanks for sharing your emotions and feelings from PBP. Greetings from Lithuania

[@randosquirrel]

Glad that you enjoyed it! Thank you 🙏

[@PBPkitty]

Just found this, M, great story! Terrible about you starting to get Shermer's neck. The heat was quite a surprise to me too.

[@randosquirrel]

Hi Kitty! Thank you! Yeah luckily I was close enough to the finish, but it is definitely a concern for other long rides. This was the first time I used aerobars for so long, I am sure it has to do with it On the plus side, I had 0 wrist problems. The previous PBP I had tingling in my hand until Christmas 😅

[@randomSportie]

You had me with "I almost didn't make it" but you finish in 82hrs! I had same thought that i may not finish on time but for some reason I was 4 hrs early.. 😄.. My 2 buddies who supposed to finish in 82hrs waited for sunrise before crossing the finish line in 85hrs so they see more people at the finish line cheering to all finishers, a highlight to be reckoned with. Congrats to you for finishing strong. 7 months later, I can still remember the excitement, hardship, pain and fun of PBP.. see you in 2027. BTW, great video & im also in K group.. 🙂

[@tricoachmalc8266]

Great ride, well done 👏

[@randosquirrel]

Thank you!!

[@l139x3]

Congrats , Great achievement ! Hope to see You in 2027.

[@randosquirrel]

Thank you! 🙏 4 years to decide what to do! So many good rides to do ...

[@zachmagras]

Thank you for sharing! I hope that one day I will participate in this amazing event!

[@randosquirrel]

Glad you enjoyed the video! You should definitely participate, PBP a lot of fun.

[@terrydavidson5052]

Good story Would have to do this on my own as couldn’t put up with all the faff

[@JakeBikeAU]

Bro! Thanks for taking the effort to film your adventure! Well done from Brisbane, Australia 💪🤓

[@randosquirrel]

Thank you!!

[@elfosforo7791]

Bravo! Great ride and great video. I see we use the same front headlight. How did you find it performed during PBP?

[@randosquirrel]

Thank you! The light performed great. Good visibility, and it was easy to keep it charged with a cable attached to a battery.

[@freddixon]

Well done! Thank you for sharing your experiences.

[@grege1441]

A friend of mine did that ride in 1993 or 94. His name was Sherman Phillips. I think he did it right around the same time you did. 82 hours. His buddy that went with him, Jeffrey, if I remember right did it in 58 hours! Madness! He tried to convince me to do the qualification rides with him, but I declined. It all sounded too tough for me. I think the neck condition is called Shermer's neck, after Michael Shermer, the skeptic magazine editor/RAAM rider. Congratulations for your hard work!

[@randosquirrel]

Thank you!! 58 hours is fast! You have to be both fast on the bike and really committed to not losing any time at controls... I get too distracted lol. I heard the same about the neck condition. I was pretty surprised that it happened after just 3 days. More neck work for me to avoid this in the future.

[@robnygren923]

Well Done! Great video.

[@Tarmaccyclocross]

I’ve never seen so many masochists in one place 🤣🚴‍♂️😫

[@randosquirrel]

😂😂 yes. In many of these rides I do think "why am I doing this, exactly?" Sometimes the landscapes make it worth it and I forget the tiredness. Sometimes it's just the craziness of being around so many people doing the same crazy thing, and wanting to finish it.

[@kevinw5205]

Great video! I can't believe this was over 6 months ago already. Way to stick it out through the tough times. Sorry to hear about you losing the first version of the edit for this video :(

[@randosquirrel]

Thank you! I was totally struggling at the end. I felt so good for so much of the ride, and I lost so much time in just the last 50 miles. I hope you had a great ride!

[@kalleblomkvist4173]

how was the open bike performing?

[@randosquirrel]

It has been great! it is a very good bike for these kinds of long-distance events. It's lightweight, comfortable, I could use 32mm tires that gave some plushiness to the ride without slowing down much. The geometry is still road-like, so you can get down on the drop (or aerobars) and save some energy from drag. I have been using this bike for gravel events too: I put on a redshift stem, and a set of 650 wheels with 48mm tires, and it can handle pretty rough terrain no problem.

[@kalleblomkvist4173]

@@randosquirrel thank you! nice to hear that the bike works great for brevets!

[@noahswartz5467]

Brest had the worst food :(

[@randosquirrel]

Yup! It was a pretty big disappointment 😥 that was the point where I just decided that I would only eat out of controls whenever I could.