Everyone should have a BHAG1. Mine is to ride and complete Paris-Brest-Paris, a 1200-kilometer (750 freedom units) brevet spread over 80-90 hours, depending on which wave you ride in. Obviously, I’m already training for this. My goal for the event is to have my FTP2 in the 300s, and my body weight down to 80 kilograms (you can do the freedom units conversion on this one).
As of writing the first draft of this post, there’s 548 days until the event. And it’s only held every four years.
Qualifiers
The PBP has pretty convoluted requirements, and it’s important to make sure you get everything done right. You miss one thing, you don’t ride.
- In 2026, ride at least one BRM (Brevet des Randonneurs Mondiaux) event. The longer you go, the earlier you can register for PBP. I’m currently registered for three, which I’ll detail below.
- Between November 2026 and June 30th 2027, I need to complete BRM events of the following lengths: 200km, 300km, 400km, and 600km.
Bike Plan
I intend to ride the Northern gravel bike as my ride. There’s some updates I am going to want to make to it, however:
- an extra front wheel with a generator hub; this will be a Zipp 303 Firecrest, with the same spokes, lacing pattern, and disc rotor that I have on the Northern now
- a generator-powered lighting system (headlight and taillight)
- an aerobar, with Blips so I can control my shifters from it
- upgrading the cranks to Cane Creek eeWings titanium, which will shave about a quarter-pound of weight off the bike
- a suspension seatpost; already have one of this, courtesy of my boy, Jeff, at Redshift
- more road-oriented tires than what I’m currently running (gravel), need to experiment this year
Current Ride Schedule
| Event | Distance | Date | Time Limit | Result | Notes |
| City Slickers | 200km | 4/25/2026 | 13:30 | ||
| The Heywood | 96km | 5/16/2026 | NA | Not a qualifier. | |
| Twine Ball or Bust | 300km | 7/11/2026 | 20:00 | ||
| The DAMN | 400km | 8/1/2026 | NA | Not a qualifier. | |
| Southern Tour | 600km | 8/29/2026 | 40:00 | ||
| Filthy 50 | 80km | 10/10/2026 | NA | Not a qualifier. | |
| Tour de Tucson | TBD | 11/21/2026 | NA | Not a qualifier. |
2027 Qualifier Rides
It’s going to be tight, getting the qualifiers done in-time. There’s no 600km event in Minnesota before the PBP, so I’m going to have to find something earlier in the year, and in a nearby state. Oof.
What Would Be Next?
I’m looking at London-Ediburgh-London in 2029. A 1500km slog.
