Le Petit Brevet 2021

I first heard about Le Petit Brevet when training for my first brevet (the 2021 Great Southern Brevet in January). It had just finished and my first thought was "oh did we miss a good practice run?" Then I saw the course and realised it was way beyond my capabilities, with 9000m of ascent over two days.

The GSB was a great experience and I was hooked on the brevet concept, but with a young family it is hard to get away for 8-9 days at a time so I was on the lookout for something shorter.
It all came together for me in that the inaugural Big Finish Line Party was only 500km and three weeks before Le Petit so I could use the former (at a more relaxed pace) as training for the latter.

So Le Petit was my third brevet and very different from the previous two. Unlike those, for me it was more purely about the challenge. Enjoying it would be a bonus but I wasn't sure I could do all of it in the timeframe and expected to suffer a bit. I was also riding on my own for this one. All the same I was really looking forward to it. I had ridden much of it on training rides and never found any of it "Type 2 fun".

Of the three versions this year, the 200er would have been a great practice run event last year. The 300er was a challenge I wasn't sure I'd complete. The "Type 2 fun" 400er looked like hard work.

I woke on event day naturally due to setting my watch alarm for PM instead of AM. A bit of a rush and forgot to apply sunscreen etc but managed to get to the start line at Hansen Park just on 6am.

It all started off fairly relaxed, somewhat group riding and chatting along the flattish road to Kennedy's Bush. As soon as we hit the Crocodile single track ascent, suddenly it seemed like everyone disappeared. I was taking it easy playing the long game keeping an eye on my heart rate to keep it in a sustainable range for me. Towards the top I heard voices behind me and eventually a pair passed who it turned out were attempting the 420km course. At Summit Road we joined a group of 200er riders who had come up Rapaki.

First day goal for me was to get to Akaroa before the pubs closed and due to Covid-19 (no cruise ships and currently no Aucklanders), closing times were unpredictable. So that gave me more of a sense of urgency, otherwise I was just "racing" the course cut off of 38 hours.

I had learned from past events how important fuelling my body was but I didn't want to carry too much food or water up all those climbs. So I took a traditional brevet approach of stopping at all food stops, including Diamond Harbour and Little River both directions, the latter being a small detour.

I arrived at Pigeon Bay for a water fill stop, having passed a bunch of 200ers and wondered where the 300ers were, I presumed well ahead of me. I was feeling good. These days it takes me a couple of hours to really "warm up", but it wasn't until Pigeon Bay that I felt I had, close to four hours in.

Just before the turn off to the familiar and steep Pettigrews Road I was joined by a pair of gravel bikers who I soon left behind on said road due to their less than suitable gearing! I wondered about the 200ers grovelling up the even steeper Middle Road! (later there was an Instagram post with "middle finger to middle road").

I was passed by one 300er, Scott, who I then met waiting at the top for his wife Debbie to catch up. He kindly gave me a hand to lift my bike over the gate and I pushed on mostly alone through Double Fenceline. I munched a sandwich half way along that I'd picked up in Diamond Harbour and caught up to another gravel biker (and got well ahead on the descent—MTB country!).

I was having too much fun descending the gravel from Port Levy Saddle and nearly washed out on the big corner near where the sealed section starts. Unlike most it seems, I took the detour to Little River where I had planned to pick up food for the road as well. Not that I enjoyed the food that much. First time I can remember having appetite issues in an event. At the cafe I met Darren who I bought my bike off (third hand I think). Mark and Hana (who I'd met on BFLP) out on a training ride were there too.

I kept to the planned 40 minute stop at Little River. By then I was about 90 minutes ahead of my estimated timings, probably due to the faster speeds early in the day. Onwards to the steep gravel back road to Hilltop, in the hot sun, where they have a sign saying 4WD only, yet it is just smooth gravel. Just so steep I guess 2WDs can get into trouble. Before the hill I met the two gravel bikers I'd met near Pigeon Bay (unfortunately I forgot their names) skipping the Little River detour and filling up with water by a garage.

From the turn off to Little Akaloa through to Akaroa was new territory for me. A pair of riders down at the bay were stuck with a front disk brake not working, somehow it had leaked fluid. I couldn't do anything to help them and I doubt anyone would have gear to fix it. I guess this is why some bike packers prefer mechanical disk brakes (instead of hydraulic) as easier to repair.

This (east) side of the peninsula had poor water supply so I had some treatment tablets. Even so the Little Akaloa water tasted awful. I put some in my empty-till-now bladder as a back up. I stopped at Okains Bay (got there an hour earlier than I'd expected) to see if the store was open and a passer by in a car offered me some bottled water and coke. His mate was doing the event too and had pulled out. LPB is supposed to be self supported but I justified accepting the water as I could have got foul tasting stuff myself.

After that it was the Big Hill Road to in the golden sunset period and it was nowhere near as steep or relentless as I'd been led to believe by Alastair McDowell's write up. I was riding by myself in new country and the shadows over the peninsula were lovely. This time of day on a bike you see sheep standing around in paddocks munching grass, completely unfazed by the presence of a bicycle quietly cruising by. At the top I had been expecting to be reluctant to ride back down to sea level yet again but it was a lovely gravel descent with great atmosphere. I felt a wet spurt on the back of my leg which turned out to be sealant from a fresh hole in the centre of my rear tyre. It did its job though and I didn't feel the need to put any air in.

The ride out of Le Bons Bay was just another climb. As for the whole event, no climb really seems any harder than the other, just some are longer than others. They all seemed to have steep sections at some point where I would be in bottom gear grinding at 50rpm, 5km/hr. Undoubtedly I'd probably be going faster if I was fresher! On realising this sometimes I'd decide to give my legs and bum a break with a few minutes of shameless walking (at about 4km/hr).

The descent to Akaroa via Purple Peak Track was along a walking/cycling track with a bit of bike carrying. I got to Akaroa about 9pm, ate some hot food at one of the pubs and carried on into the night up the Le Race descent route with the moon rising in the background.

I started to get prickly pain in the top of my left calf, which I'd had during the GSB due to the seat sliding backwards. This time the seat was fine which was a bit of a worry. At least it didn't spread or cause too much of an issue.

To my dismay, half way up Long Bay Road my handlebar lights failed (later turned out to be just connection as I was using a different battery than my lights were designed for). My hazy headlamp kept me going but wasn't ideal for dodging the hundreds of possums playing on Summit Road.

I wanted to do this event in a racing style of sorts even though I was only racing the course. Other brevets we wanted to ride in daylight to see the country. Being so much climbing, weight was extra important as well. So didn't take a tent or even a sleeping bag. I thought I might curl up in some scrub but I found some very roomy, comfortable (and importantly, clean and non-smelly) public toilets off the road in Duvauchelle at midnight. I had done just around 200km and 6000m climbing by then. I was able to put my whole bike inside and lay my sleeping mat out flat. I only allowed myself four hours sleep. In hindsight I wasn't that tired so I should have just kept going (probably would have if my main lights were working). I probably got two hours sleep. Sheep seemed to be up talking to each other until 2am.

My choice of stopping point meant I had some rare flattish riding to Wainui to get the day started (not that it was day at 4am). Plenty of sheep got woken up by me riding past—apparently they do sleep. My chain had been a bit sticky towards the end last night so I'd lubed it but it wasn't helping. Eventually it jammed altogether and on closer inspection the derailleur cage had broken on one side such that the chain kept slipping off the bottom jockey wheel. Nothing for it but to put up with it the remaining 100km. It could be avoided with careful shifting, no hint of crossing the chain but inevitably I dropped it repeatedly.

My first stop today was to be Little River for a morning coffee. I knew they opened 7:30am so I was timing it quite nicely. It was a bit of a slow start though just spinning the legs quietly and taking little stops here and there to peel off layers and eat some early breakfast before the steep Bossu Road climb. Another fast descent down Reynolds Road before the chain kept slipping off the jockey wheel on the high speed sealed section before Little River. Turns out I didn't really have access to my top gears.

Picked up one of the giant chocolate yoyos from Little River cafe (it kept me going probably till Purau Saddle) and got ready to set off when Scott and Debbie arrived. They'd also stopped at Duvauchelle, but more sensibly at the campground. Scott eventually caught me up as I was faffing about on the early part of the Port Levy Saddle climb and I used him to gauge a good pace to the top. I find I sometimes get a bit lazy and go slower than I need to.

More chain dropping, up and over Purau saddle and a brief stop at Diamond Harbour for some chocolate milk, which I plonked in a feed bag to sip for the remaining climbs. By now I was shift averse due to dropping the chain so many times and wouldn't go near my top gears.

A few drips out of the sky on the familiar path (from road biking) up Gebbies and the "Bastard". Normally imposing climbs they seemed quite easy compared to most of the others (or maybe it was the chocolate milk) and I kept up a decent pace. I met Scott and Debbie at the top having stopped to put on rain gear.

Now with company to keep up with, combined with being shift averse, I stood a lot along Summit Road. It wasn't long before I was feeling pain in my groin which I suspect was from a riding position I usually only do for short bursts. I had to slow down a bit but managed to keep up until the flat middle bit of Rapaki where I had to shift for the short uphill and the chain slipped yet again and jammed. I failed to unjam it properly somehow and "ping!" a chunk of metal from the bottom of my derailleur cage completely broke away. Fortunately no more gear shifts needed!

I got to the playground at Hansen Park 2:20pm where my wife and two kids had just arrived (on bikes naturally) to greet me. All the rain had dissipated. No one else there. I headed home for a nap while they stayed at playground and watched others arrive. Not sure where I was in the field but a smaller proportion than I expected did finish according to the official recap.

For me Le Petit was more enjoyable and less challenging than I expected. Quite fortunate with the weather. Not too hot or cold and generally very calm. Being able to cycle and from home to the start and finish was really nice. I'm already looking forward to the next brevet but it may be a while away. In the meantime I'm looking forward to dot watching TTW and Tuatara.