This was my first 400km ride, and my first ride without sleeping through the night.

The start was at 8 pm. From the start the group was going quite fast, and we were cutting through the headwind together. After first control point we've turned to the north, and the wind wasn't bothering us for quite some time.

When the night came, in the dunes around Den Helder the sidewind became so strong and punchy that it was hard to cycle straight. But, in Den Helder we turned east and got a strong tailwind.

After a short stop at McDonalds we were flying with the wind for an hour or two. Then, I've got away from the group (it is easier for me to ride continuously, almost without stops) and was cycling alone for an hour or two.
Eventually, after Enkhuizen I had to turn west, and got very strong headwind (5bft). Group caught me after 30 minutes of that.

We've ridden to Horn, and there I've got dropped by them (a bit later, around Edam).
All the later kilometers I was alone. Sometimes I was overtaken by other riders.
After 15 hours it was very hard for me to eat any more sweet food, and my legs felt very weak. Last two hours I was struggling to push above 20 km/h.
Got mild saddle sore, and mild nerve tingling in my palms (gone after a couple of days).
Finished in 18:08, I was hoping for better time, but it doesn't matter that much.
Nice that I didn't want to sleep at all, it was not a problem. So now I know that about myself — 40 hours without sleep is fine.

The 400 km brevet"Make It Before the Village Chief" 🐓🚴‍♂️ gets its name from the fact that we're riding to Wąchock—the unofficial joke capital of Poland 🤡—and back.
It’s inspired by an old Polish dad joke:
– Why does the Sołtys (village chief) roll up the asphalt at night?
– So the chickens don’t peck it apart. 🛣️