My PBP ride by Parky

A 1200km (760 mile) cycle ride from Paris to Brest and back. 5225 cyclists came from all corners of the world to complete the route. I started with one of the 80 hour groups at 4:40pm on Sunday afternoon in the blazing heat. The first 300km (12hrs.) was like a race with groups of 100+ riders tearing along the flattish roads as we rode through the night. I had started with a couple of bottles but in the heat these were soon empty. I looked out for somewhere to re fill them and was able to, by being at the front of the group when I stopped, where by some local residents would be filling bottle from a hose. I then managed to sprint to get back on the back of the group, but now with 150 riders in front of me. It really was like riding the Tour de France. Inevitably with this amount of riders and a cross wind there was bound to be some crashes and I did see a couple. One guy climbing out of the roadside water filled ditch and another couple of riders who came down after a clash of pedals, all unhurt. In my group were some of the 70 riders from the Seattle International Randonneurs club (probably the biggest club there) resplendent in their retro blue woollen jerseys. A few were riding original 1950’s style bikes with fat 2” balloon tyres and wide fenders, but also wore carbon racing shoes!. It looked hard work but they were giving it a good go, mind you it was still early in the ride. I bumped the first control, just re-filling my bottles and because I had sweated so much I added some electrolyte to them, which I never bother with usually. This I did a few times more until I was sick of the salty taste and decided that it would probably make me sick if continued so from then on I would buy a bottle of Evian (1 euro) and a packet of energy powder from the bike mechanic (2.5 euro). This would generally be enough for an 80km stage although at night I found it difficult to drink enough. These early hours I was surviving on what I had in my saddlebag, a couple ham rolls and nutty bars. I realised that there would be ample food at the controls and it wasn’t necessary to take more than a few snacks in my back pockets. In fact the one thing that I do find I need is some hot food during the night stages, which you could get as most controls had vast catering facilities.

The second 300km (14hrs.) was ridden with smaller groups and eventually I hooked up with a bunch of British audax riders as we headed to the halfway point of Brest, the last 150km being the hilliest. As we rode the last stage into Brest we saw the first riders on their return to Paris, some in pairs, others in groups of 20. These riders were generally on stripped down racing bikes and had helpers in camper vans that followed them along the course. This is pretty much frowned on by the organising committee who do not want it to be a race but more of a personal challenge, and to which the British generally abide by. Yes I felt right at home with my carradice saddlebag even though it wasn’t very full now I had eaten all my food. As it was still early evening when we arrived in Brest, we all decided to carry on for another 80km, back to the control at Carhaix (703km). By the time we arrived at midnight it was raining quite heavily and the place was packed out with riders heading in both directions. We all eat and I managed to get a bed in the sports hall across the road for 3 hours of quality sleep. Mind you as soon as my head hit the pillow I felt someone shaking me to tell me it was time to get up, for the fastest sleep I've ever had. The group of riders I had been with, were now all split up, so I carried on either by myself of with small groups of riders. On reaching Loudeac (782km) around 9am, I stopped at a boulangerie for a filled baguette (lunch) and doughnut (breakfast).

I got some hot water to make tea (I took my own teabags) at the control and eat my large doughnut. Now I was heading away from the hills and back onto the faster smoother roads, especially now that I had a tail wind blowing me along, and it wasn't too hot. The 921km control at Fougeres had taken me almost 2 days (47hrs.) to reach and I had to decide whether I would ride the last 300km (about 15hrs.) straight or take a break at one of the controls. Only time would tell if I would be feeling tired or not. In the end the decision was made for me as I hooked up with a nice Canadian cyclist Martin Lacelle, from Ottawa, who was keen to get straight to the finish. This quite often happens with riders on a long audax when everyone has found their own speed and are pretty much going along together. Together we made good time and we flew along, which made my Achilles hurt but I was glad of the company and the time passed quickly. At Villaines-la-Juhel and 200km to go, we took on more food, Martin stocking up from the car which his wife was using to meet him every 200km. (You can’t blame him; he was new to the ideas of audaxing & self sufficiency) From here the finish was in sight and it was a case of just being able to ride through the night without feeling dozy. Simon Bennett from the VC Deal, who I had ridden with earlier in the event joined us here and together we made a merry band of brothers, fighting the fatigue of this long distance cycling event. I was beginning to get saddle sore, which I don’t normally suffer from butt (sorry) then again this was not a normal type of event. The last 2 controls were quiet and warm inside, it could have been easy to take a nap but we didn’t hang around, just filled our bottles and pockets and headed off into the night. Now up through the forest and along the flat roads around Dreux, before the final kms back into Paris and the finish at Guyancourt. I arrived back having managed to cycled 1230km in 62hr 18min. Equivalent of riding from London to Edinburgh and back, but that particular event isn’t until 2013.

For another riders perspective READ THIS from CC Basingstoke rider Colin Bezant.