First I’d better explain that BP here stands for Brevet Populaire,
and of course BF refers here to a Bike Friday. If you aren’t familiar
with Brevet Populaires, they are shorter and sometimes slower versions of
Audax events. The best known Audax event is probably the
Paris-Brest-Paris, run every 4 years over a distance of 1200km. Audaxes
are not races, indeed there is a minimum time as well as a maximum time in
which to complete the distance. They are intended to provide riders with a
challenge in riding over longer distances, without being competitive, and
should be run over enjoyable routes. Mudguards are generally obligatory,
and riders are expected to be able to deal with any repairs required en
route themselves. The shortest Audax events are 200km, with others over
distances of 300km, 400km, 600km, and even some longer than the 1200km of
the PBP. For those who prefer something shorter, Brevet Populaires are run
over distances of 150km, 100km and 50km; be careful though if you think of
entering one of these, as some are actually very hilly and challenging –
those with ‘Grimpeur’ in the event title, or carrying AA points
are the hilly ones.
100km at an average speed of 15-30kph is not unduly challenging, even though the clock keeps running during any stops, but I’ve never attempted anything like this, and I thought it would be interesting to try one of these before deciding whether to attempt a 200km Audax. I also thought that doing a few BPs on different folders would be an interesting test of the bikes. So I duly filled in the forms for a couple of local events, the first being at Redditch on 5th June. For the first event I decided to make life as easy as possible for myself by using one of my best bikes, and, as I needed an article for this newsletter, this meant that the Pocket Rocket was the chosen machine.
As far as the bike was concerned, my only concern was that the existing 34 inch bottom gear, (a Campag Mirage group with 53/39 chainwheel and 12-23 sprockets) might be a bit high. After pondering the options – limited with Campag equipment – I decided to use a 52/42 chainset and 12-28 sprockets. I got around the lack of a 28 tooth Campag sprocket by obtaining a compatible one, plus some others required to give a suitable spread of gears, from Chris Bell at Highpath Engineering (01570 470035) - very helpful if you want something unusual in the way of gearing.
On a day ride like this one does not want to carry more luggage than necessary, but equally one needs to be prepared for weather changes, repairs etc. In principle bar bags are a good solution, but even on large-wheeled bikes I find they have a bad effect on handling, and with small wheels this is more pronounced. Panniers or rack-top bags require the rear rack, which adds quite a lot of weight. Probably a small saddle bag is the best solution, though I opted for a medium sized wedge pack and a medium sized bum bag. A very poor weather forecast meant carrying more clothing than I might have done otherwise.
The journey to the Redditch by train went very smoothly. On these local trains there are no restrictions or charges for cycles, so I did not even need to fold. The train into Birmingham arrived early, so that I caught an earlier train to Redditch than I had planned, which meant that I was in time to see some of the riders who were doing the longer 200km event start. Apparently 30 people had chosen the longer event, and exactly the same number were doing the 100km event.
Mudguards are not required on some BPs, but for this one they were compulsory. I was slightly worried that the Friday’s mudguards might not be considered to meet the requirement for “full mudguards”, but there was no inspection of any of the bikes, and in fact throughout the whole event no one commented at all on the Friday, although it was the only unconventional machine present.
In Audax and BPs people ride as individuals, but of course they naturally tend to form groups. As this was the first BP I had ridden, I was rather afraid that the pace might prove rather too fast for me. However, the group I found myself with at the start were riding at an extremely leisurely pace, which was well below the very modest speed at which I would normally ride. After about 12 miles we encountered the first real hill, and this rapidly split this group, and I rode from there to the first control in Evesham with two people at a faster, and for me, more comfortable, pace. I decided not to take any refreshment at this control stop, and so set off on my own from there, and as a result I only saw other riders very briefly for the rest of the ride. The rest of the ride passed off uneventfully, with a stop at one more control, and a couple of brief stops at information controls to note the necessary details on my card.
I completed the ride in just over the target time I had set myself of censored [as these events are not races, it’s usual not to quote times!], but I wasn’t rushing, and had I not missed the turn into the finish point I would probably have just achieved my target. The Bike Friday performed perfectly throughout the ride, and the modifications I had made to the gearing caused no difficulties, although I never used the new lowest gear, and at times I could have used at least one more high gear. However, the Camag Mirage (1997) system requires a lot more care in its use than Shimanos to persuade it to select the right gear.
I enjoyed riding in this event – the route was excellent, through lovely country, and despite the forecast the weather was quite good, with just a little very light drizzle over the last 20 miles.
Incidentally, I see from correspondence in The Yak that Friday owner Kent Peterson from the USA is planning to do the Paris-Brest-Paris this year. His reports on the qualifying events he has ridden can be found on his website at http://www.halcyon.com/peterson/rando.html.
More information on Audax UK is available at http://www.audax.uk.com, and this is also a good source of information regarding lighting.
For details of how to join the Bike Friday UK User Group, please see the User Group UK page.
Return to home page | Return to User Group UK page | Return to Newsletter page | Go to Bike Friday USA web site
Last updated: 6 June 1999
Copyright (C)1999 Ferrets Anonymous
URL: http://www.whooper.demon.co.uk/bfriday/newsh03/bpbf.html