That's a wrap

Good morning!

Thanks everyone for coming along to this crazy little event. It's certainly not a mass participation event, in fact it has "limited appeal". Hopefully some, or all, of you enjoyed the ride and are contemplating coming back? I'm pretty sure this is my fifth (and suspect my final) time riding the LPB ;-)

We had perfect weather conditions this year which always helps. I'm pretty sure this is the highest finish rate of any LPB.

OK so here is the finishing order as far as I know. Please let me know if there are any mistakes.

Joshua Aldridge 10.06 pm - 14 hours and 56 minutes!!!!!!
Martin Strelka    11.40 pm
Andy Beale         1.44 am
Jeff Lyall            04.43 am
Dylan Turner      12.03pm
Nick Kennedy    12.19 pm
John Lubbe         12.38 pm
Paul Lowe          1.15 pm
Andrew Laurie   2.08 pm
Jon Jarrett           2.15 pm
David Johanson  2.44 pm
Tad Mejdr           3.10 pm (Single Speed!)
Rufus Wenlock   5.20 pm
Holly Johnson    5.20 pm
Joe Nation          5.20 pm
Rohan Butt         5.20 pm
Ross Cheesman  5.36 pm
Rod Pearson       5.36 pm
Scott Emmens    5.36 pm

Olly Pearce gets a very very honourable mention, he got all the way to Dyers Pass before the sleep monster took hold of his mind and forced him to "short" course. By the looks of it he would have been third in the above list.
Rob Dawson and Richard Lindsay had a date with a tasty beverage in Akaroa so decided to ride along the Summit Road from Hill top whilst still taking ion the delete that is Purple Peak Stock Route first.
Eva Mrazikova completed her own version of the LPB.
And Peter Page was surprised by what lay beyond his personal "Wall of the East" at Purau Saddle, especially enjoying taking his bike for a walk
across the Double Fenceline.

Thanks again you guys, you make the effort of organising this stupid event worth while.

Josh - that is a phenomenal time, as were your times Martin, Olly and Andy. I'm in awe.

Cheers, Scott

Check out this site....

I was shown this site recently. I very much like what it's saying for the weekend
https://www.windy.com/-43.825/173.021?-43.983,173.202,9,m:cr6akXx

Everyone feeling ok?

With a couple of days to go.....

.....here's the forecast

Looks like it might be a damp start but with favourable light winds. It's gonna get warm on Saturday.
The wind might change in time for a push up Bossu Rd on Sunday but it looks like it will definitely be wet on Sunday.

Any questions? Flick me an email lepetitbrevet@gmail.com

Cheers, Scott

Two weeks to go!

This time in two weeks you'll be questioning your decision to sign up for Le Petit Brevet and watching the weather closely.

In the past couple of weeks I've spent a fair bit of time on the route confirming bits n bobs. I reckon it is looking pretty good.

This is the final route https://ridewithgps.com/routes/28838995, it's pretty short and low on vertical meters this year ;-)

The Double Fencline track between Pettigrews and Western Valley roads is in awesome condition currently, there are still too many fences/gates to cross, but other than that it a great route.

If it's wet the descent down the Purple Peak Stock Route can be a little sketchy, be aware! There are also a couple of rocky sections you'll want to walk your bike on on this track.

The main thing to note is the lack of water between Little Akaloa and Akaroa. It's "only" 50km but has some significant climbing in that 50km. I would suggest camelling up in Little Akaroa before pushing on (There is NO potable water in Okains Bay not even for residents by all accounts so you'll need to carry some method to treat water in Okains Bay. I am unaware of any publicly available water in Le Bons Bay). It's also pretty dry between Little River (off route) and the finish.....

I will send out the .gpx files and cue sheets to those who have registered interest over the weekend, for those still on the fence, once you decide, flick me an email.

Flick any questions to lepetitbrevet@gmail.com, cheers, Scott

Yes I know it's been a while...

Hi, sorry for the lack of communication, life has been busy - you all know how it is.

I've just spent the weekend on the Peninsular checking on a couple of additions I was hoping to add which haven't turned out to be usable.

So I have revised the map slightly and you can find the route here https://ridewithgps.com/routes/28820323
I have not checked it absolutely - so please DO NOT export this as your final .gpx file. But it will not change much from this so you can confidently use this to plan.
I will send the final .gpx file and cue sheets this week

It is slightly shorter than in the past and the total elevation is also slightly less (but I do find ridewithgps does under estimate the total elevation) so it's 270km and 7350m climbing, all to be ridden in 36 hours, easy eh?

A mate and I rode a big chunk of the first 90kms of the event on Saturday. I can tell you, if it's a hot day you will need plenty of water for the dry section between Pigeon Bay and Little River, it's only 28km but it took us nearly fours hours, with stops!
Pettigrews Rd is steep, freakin' steep but currently it has some very chunky gravel which hinders grip somewhat. Then once your truely heartbroken you begin the Double Fenceline route, a Canterbury classic. There is NO water between Pigeon Bay through to Little River.
Please note there is water available at the last house on Holmes Bay Road just before you turn right onto Pigeon Bay Road. There is a tap on the side of the garage, I spoke to the owners on Saturday and they are happy for participants to fill up here, please be respectful. I'll be "camelling up"here and filling three bottles for the next push through to Little River.

We start at 7am at Hansen Park in Opawa here:
https://www.google.co.nz/maps/place/Hansen+Park,+Opawa,+Christchurch+8023/@-43.5608603,172.658969,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x6d32275bcdf91035:0x4b31447ee2b5f26e!8m2!3d-43.5608308!4d172.6611717

I have set up a Strava "Club" for participants who are on Strava. It is not a requirement in the slightest, so if you aren't on Strava no worries. Let me know if you are and what your Strava handle is and I'll send out a Club invite.

We don't have any form of tracking for the LPB, it's completed on a "gentle persons" agreement, if you short cut the course you're only cheating yourself. Just let me know if you did so when I post finishing times we all know who completed the entire course, and who didn't.

I will flick all who have contacted me so far an email repeating this information. If you have been waiting for more info, or want to "register an interest, want any addition info etc. then please email me on lepetitbrevet@gmail.com

Cheers, Scott

2018 - New year, same suffering......

After a couple of years off from organising the LPB I've decided the time is right to bring it back. My enthusiasm is back.
17/18 November 2018
Put your big kids pants on and get ready to start climbing. There is nowhere to hide on Banks Peninsular, you're either climbing or descending - steeply!
We're going back to where it all began, with some subtle and not so subtle changes.
Heres an image of the route as it stands today, be aware this may change as I suss out some of the subtle changes.
I'll be back in touch over the next few weeks with nuggets of information. In the meantime if you're interested let me know at lepetitbrevet@gmail.com