I elected to start the Paris Brest Paris ride in the 90 hour group,
allowing me the maximum amount of time to complete the 1200km (750
mile) course since this was my first ride at this distance. The 90
hour start is the most popular and had approximately 2500 riders. I
was concerned about an early crash with so many anxious riders on
narrow roads, but the start was actually divided up into groups of
500-600 riders staring at 15 minute intervals. My actual start time
of 10:45 PM went without a hitch from the perspective of safety, but
I had a difficult time throttling back the pace due to the excitement
of starting this long anticipated adventure and the fact that it
seemed that everyone was pouring past me. I was wearing my heart
rate monitor with the alarm set to tell me when I was over the
maximum rate that I had set, but it was difficult to hold back.
After a couple of hours the riders spread out more than I would have
thought. It was a beautiful night and I was just enjoying the ride.
As I rode through one of the small villages I came up on two riders
from South Florida, Mike and Shelton. They were just finishing a
coffee at a bar that was staying open to serve riders, something I
would rely on more and more as the ride went on. We rode together to
the first refreshment-only control at Mortagne (141 km). We spent a
little more time at the control than I would have liked because I was
minimally dressed and this was the coolest part of the night, pre-
dawn. Just as we rolled out of the control Mike flatted. Rather
than getting cold while watching him change the tire I proceeded on
my own. This was the first of four morning twilight periods that I
would enjoy.
Nothing too memorable happened during that first day. I just tried
to establish a routine in the controls and minimize wasted time. At
one of the controls, Mike caught up with me and we rode together
until about an hour before sunset. We had been moving through the
controls efficiently and I had delusions of making it to Carhaix by
early morning. Unfortunately, on the way to Loudeac I hit an energy
low and was having a difficult time staying awake on the bike. In
retrospect I think it was lack of sleep combined with low blood
sugar. I saw that there were quite a few riders sleeping on the side
of the road. I was comfortable while riding, but I knew I would
chill quickly off the bike. The problem was that I thought I would
be at Loudeac around sunset and consequently had my arm and leg
warmers in my drop bag at Loudeac. I was at the point where I was
barely controlling the bike and knew it. In fact if a car were
passing I would put a foot down to make sure I didn't veer in front
of it even though I saw it. Finally I decided to lay down to sleep
until the cold woke me up. After 15 minutes I woke up with the
shakes … no falling asleep on the bike now. I rode with periodic
uncontrolled shaking until I warmed up again. I finally rode into
Loudeac at 12:36 AM and was at a definite energy low.
Loudeac was a disaster area. There were bikes and bodies lying
around everywhere. The food line was so long I decided to sleep
first, but the line for the sleeping dorm was also very long. I
found a bench behind the bar and decided to try and sleep there. I
was able to sleep for 45 minutes before waking from the cold because
my space blanket had partially blown off. By now the cafeteria line
was shorter so I grabbed a quick meal amongst the bodies sleeping
everywhere in the cafeteria. I cleaned up with diaper wipes and
changed clothes in the courtyard area by the bench where I had slept
which made feel like I had gone to France for a bike ride and was
turning into a homeless person. I left the control at 3:11 AM to
head for Carhaix feeling amazingly fresh. In the hills I hooked up
with an Italian couple and rode some ridiculously fast descents (60+
kph). I kept telling myself that it wasn't safe, but couldn't help
it, I was having a blast. About 5AM I was riding into a small
village when I saw a rider standing over his bike on the side of the
road, resting his head on his arms which were lying across the
hoods. I asked if he was all right and he replied that he was
falling asleep on the bike. I suggested that we ride into the
village and look for a bar that might be open. Sure enough, about
100 yards into town was a collection of bikes and great cup of
coffee. From there I continued to Carhaix, arriving shortly after
sunrise.
The ride from Carhaix to Brest consisted of longer, gentle hills and
it was a beautiful morning to be riding. At around 10:30 AM I woke
up with a jerk of handlebars as I had apparently nodded off riding
down a hill. There was no warning that I was nodding off and I was
glad that I didn't fall. I immediately looked for a patch of grass
and found a perfect spot at an intersection 50 yards later. I
propped my bike up in the ditch and laid down next to it for a 30-
minute nap. Just as I laid my head down on my Camelbak pillow, I
thought I heard a rider going by say something like "I'm gonna go
back and shoot him." I thought it was a reference to putting me out
of my misery. Turns out it was a RUSA official taking pictures and
he thought it was the classic PBP pose; laying on my back with my
feet crossed, hands across my back and bike standing behind me in the
ditch. Shortly after he left I heard another rider stop and
apparently he needed to relieve himself. It sounded awfully close,
but he didn't hit me. When I continued I wasn't quite so refreshed,
but at least I wasn't nodding off either. The ride into Brest seemed
to take forever. I suspect now that I was out of fuel and that is
what contributed to the nodding off and general lack of energy. I
arrived at Brest just after one in the afternoon, had a good meal at
the control and headed back out. The ride back to Carhaix was
uneventful. At the Carhaix control I saw Mike again. He had been
riding behind a group of Spaniards that was keeping a nice consistent
pace. We left the control with this group and immediately attracted
several more riders. It appeared to me that the Spanish group was a
family and they were essentially riding Audax style. Soon we
collected a similar family group of Danes and more tag alongs. At
this point it was getting dark and I was concerned that the group was
too big at around 30 riders. The size of the group combined with the
fact that we were all at some level of fatigue seemed a recipe for a
pile up. Apparently I wasn't the only one to think this because
shortly thereafter the Spaniards dropped out of the group leaving
about twelve riders led by the Danes. This was much more palatable
and the Danes were riding very consistently. The return into Loudeac
went by very quickly, especially when compared to the ride there the
night before. Mike had a hotel room at Loudeac and offered that I
could sleep and shower there, but when we got to the room, there were
already 4 people sleeping in any available spot. As I headed back to
the control I stopped at a Greek restaurant for a Gyro. That was a
nice diversion from the control food and I was able to enjoy the
taste of it through most of the next day. Back at the control I
rested/slept around three hours in the cafeteria sitting with my head
on the table and then lying across three chairs. I then went back to
Mike's hotel for a shower and breakfast before heading out at 6:10
AM. In retrospect I wasted a lot of time at this control.
As I started out Thursday morning I couldn't help but feel I still
had a long way to go and since I couldn't ride faster, I should
minimize time off the bike. I was much more efficient at the
controls, but had 2 incidences of falling asleep on the bike in the
daylight. In each case I opted for a 30-minute power nap on the side
of the road. Between the power naps and expresso I moved along well
until the second half of the stretch from Villaines to Mortagne.
This was a déjà vu of the ride into Loudeac Tuesday night. I was
dead tired, barely able to stay awake, but I just tried to keep
moving forward. Unfortunately there was a crash along the road and
an ambulance came flying by. I didn't look at the accident partly
because I didn't want to see it and because the lights were
blinding. At some point there was a noticeable drop in temperature.
I know I talked briefly with riders in passing but can't recall any
of the conversations. I also stopped and sat on the ground beside my
bike for 5 or 10 minutes. I am not sure why I thought that was
better than lying down other than I wanted to keep moving forward and
it was cold. . That is about the extent of my memory on that
stretch. I rolled into the Mortagne control cold and exhausted at
2:52AM Friday morning. I checked in and sat at a table to sleep with
my head on my arms and my watch alarm set for 1 hour. I should have
eaten first, but wasn't hungry. When the alarm went off I still
wasn't hungry, but forced down some ham, mashed potatoes, and a
coke. I spotted Mike across the room while I was eating and thought
I would go over there when I was finished and we could ride in
together, but by the time I got finished I could not find him and
assumed he had left the control for Nogent le Roi.
It was 5:15 AM when I went back out and I had the mind set that this
was going to be an easy ride in to the finish, so I pushed the pace
in both an effort to get the ride done and in hopes of catching
Mike. As the day came to light I was still pushing pretty hard up
and down the hills and passing a lot of riders. I would be done in
no time, after all I only had 86 miles to go and I was passing
everyone. About an hour after sunrise my energy high converted into
an energy low. It was almost as if a switch had been flipped to
power saver mode. Mentally I was feeling good and my attitude was as
positive as it had been throughout the ride, so I just pedaled along
while all the riders rode past me or so it seemed.
As we crossed a flat section of farmland, I rode past a house were a
man had tables and chairs set-up with drinks and snacks. There were
no other riders there and I really wanted a cup of coffee so I turned
around on the narrow road. He was so happy to have another rider
stop and talked quickly in French. After I said that I only spoke
English he excitedly told his wife through the kitchen window. I sat
down and enjoyed my coffee and a few cookies while he continued to
talk in French and I replied in English. Best of all we were both
having a great conversation. It was great sitting there in the sun
watching PBP while this very enthusiastic Frenchman gave play-by-play
to me and his wife through the open window. I couldn't help, but
wonder how long he had been out there, as I seem to remember him from
Monday night. It made me wish I had stopped at more of the local's
stops during the ride.
I rolled into the last control on the road, Nogent le Roi, at 9:30
AM. I looked around for Mike and not finding him, I decided that I
probably wouldn't catch him. I drank coke and removed my wind vest
and warmers as it was again warming-up into a beautiful morning. I
left the control at around 10:00 AM with 35 miles to go to the
finish. Before long I saw a large group of riders behind me and
debated whether it was safe to ride in a large group of fatigued,
sleep deprived cyclists with the finish line so close. I had a lot
of time to ponder this as they were riding only slightly faster than
I was. When I was collected up I just rode near the front. This
group was in no hurry and it reminded me of a cool down after hard
Saturday morning club rides. I am guessing that there were 50 to 60
riders. We were tired, but we could smell the finish and there
wasn't going to be any racing at this point. Shortly there appeared
a motorcycle with a cameraman in tow. I assume this was for the
commemorative video. The mood was upbeat and it was fun having the
cameraman make some of the shots that you see in the pro tour
coverage like riding with the camera at foot level or standing and
shooting the group as the motorcycle slowly passed. But what really
showcased my talents (or is it slowcased) was when we went up a steep
hill right as the camera was on me. I had the feeling that I was the
rock in the stream as everyone went by me … except the cameraman. I
had to laugh to myself.
As we entered town we hit a couple more hills and I fell off the back
of the group, but I didn't mind. I was now thinking that I could
break 86 hours. This was one of those goals you invent to get you
too the finish a wee bit earlier than just waltzing in. The road
leveled a little and I realized how close we were. Soon I picked up
a small group of riders and they were really going slow. There was a
group of 6 riders on the front in matching jerseys. I wanted to pass
because I wanted to get done and to maybe present a photo-op for my
girlfriend at the finish, but at the same time I didn't want to
instigate a sprint to the line. As I thought about this dilemma,
Peter Noris, a recumbent rider and next years Central Florida RBA,
had made the decision and went around with me in tow.
I ended up coming to the traffic circle in front of the finish with a
loose group of about 15 riders. We went around ¾ of the circle to
the crowd in front of the stadium. As we approached the crowd and
the ramp over the curb there was a roar of cheering and applause,
which caused an immediate rush of emotion. I recovered and went
around the gym where my girlfriend met me with tears in her eyes.
She said she had been emotional and teary-eyed watching riders
finished since she got there over an hour before. I went inside to
check in and promptly redeemed the free drink voucher for a
celebratory beer.
We spent Saturday and Sunday in Paris sightseeing and eating. When I
weighed myself at home on Tuesday morning I was still down 7 pounds
from when I left. I would estimate that I had lost 10 to 12 pounds
during the ride.
Facts and figures:
Unofficial time: 86:05
On bike time: Appx. 61 hours
Sleep time: Just less than 6 hours
Non-sleeping time off bike: Appx. 19 hours (room for improvement)