PBP 2015, balancing on the limit
By Ivo Miesen
From yack.co.uk forum page
“My long write-up with photos”
[The photos are gone. EF]
It has gronw into a tradition for me, every four years I travel to St Quentin-en-Yvellines, the Paris suburb where Paris-Brest-Paris starts nowadays. This year I attended m 6th PBP.
There was a break in the tradition however, after 5 starts in a sports complex the start now is in the brandnew velodrome of Paris. A prime example of a single use building, built for track cycling. As usual the day before the start was dedicated to the bike check. I joined up with my teammate Lars the evening before. Together we stayed at a F1 hotel in the Parisian suburg of Plaisir. In the early afternoon we cycled from our hotel to the velodrome, well on time for our bike check slot. While we near the velodrome we hear that there are long lines. But not for us, we're well ahead of time.
There was a reason for being early. As usual the bike check was used by many groups, clubs and delegations to have a photoshoot. Being a member of a few means that I have to attend a few. First on my list was the Societé Adrian Hands, named after a US randonneur who passed away a few years ago. His website always has been a handy tool for lot's of information about cycling. The Societé Adrian Hands is only open for those PBP riders who were slower as 88h55, as I was in 2003. This is the full value riders club.
After our fotosession we join the waiting riders. The hear say was untrue, the bikecheck is fast and effective. It does help though that our bikes are designed for this purpose. No worries for the volunteers. Lights are working and are fixed solidly to our bikes. No movement in the luggage either. Some adapted racers are completely different. Most bike check volunteers immediately see if a bike can be passed with just a glance or that it's going to be a real check because a lot of problems are to be expected. After the check we get our PBP bottles.
Most riders then have to hunt for a spot at one of the barriers to park their bikes. No problems for us, we both have a kickstand on the bike. Out of habit we lock our bikes. That was a good habit, later we learn that the bike from a Danish rider was stolen from the bikepark. The other procedures are inside the velodrome. Before we reach the official tables we pass a lot of stands of various randonneurorganisations. Danial is one of the people manning the LEL stand. I use to be here a lot, sometimes overdoing it. This time I don't have to volunteer.
Nearby is the stand of the Chines randonneurs. We both know that one of their main organisers is an esperantist but we never met him. Now it's the time. Hans Ngo is as enthousiastic in real life as he is online. Now there's only one esperantist we haven't met yet, a rider from Seattle.
The rest of the procedure is done effectively. There are some stands after the procedures but I'm missing the old riders village which was a major meeting point last time. Still I meet a lot of old friends.
We both hand over a bag to Jan. Jan does the support for one of the oldest Dutch riders but also provides a bagdrop for a few other riders. That's all I need. Twice access to my dropbag for a fresh set of clothes is enough. Our French clubmate Cyrille sends us his info by SMS so Jan can complete the forms. There's a good mobile reception in the velodrome.
After the procedures are finished we head outside. Lars has to attend the German fotoshoot. I spend my time admirign beautiful bikes and meeting old friends. And of course some bike maintainance. The headset of my bike loosened yesterday. The young mechanic doesn't know what to do with my headset, a mid 80-ies Shimano headset. He calls his father. For his father it's a piece of cake, he had one of these when he was young he tells his son. A small group of riders from Voronezh is also waiting for asisstance. One of them recognises me from VOL. I assist with translations before we had to the main area before the velodrome.
Finally Cyrille is also ready and we can make our teamphoto.
Uiteindelijk is Cyrille ook klaar en kunnen we onze teamfoto maken.
Cyrille heads home to finalise his preparations. We return to our hotel. By now the hotel is teaming with PBP riders, the nearby pizzeria is crammed. We join the pizzeriacrowd for dinner. Lars orders a double portion, he wants to add a bit to his reserves.
In the early morning a large band of randonneurs ravage the Formula 1 hotel breakfast. Usually families travelling to their holiday destinations and workers who have to work away from home stay here. Randonneurs clearly have another level of appetite. The owner is very busy arranging enough bread. But despite his work those who arrive late have no bread. Among them is Lars. Luckily he still has his own stocks so he has no lack of breakfast.
The riders who start on mondaymorning head for the velodrome and their bikecheck. We return to our room, we still have to pack our stuff. I took some extra handy stuff for Lars to use. Yesterday I already provided him wit a set of back up lights, today I give him extra reflection stuff and some little handy things. During the past weeks I prepared a special GPS track together with Cyrille so we know a lot of interesting info which can be useful on the road. Information like public toilet and the expected locations of inofficial feeding places.
Check out is at noon. Half an hour earlier we carry our bikes and panniers downstairs. The hotelowner kindly keeps the panniers we don't need in his storage room. A few other riders also use his services. Frank's trackpump is borrowed by a lot of riders to top off thier tyres. Finally Frank locks it away in his car as we all head out to the velodrome.
It's only 8km to the start. When we cross the large park Lars immediately spots food and stocks up his vitamins. He has already learned the PBP rule, whenever you spot something edible, eat it.
At the velodrome the Dutch delegation assembles for the Dutch fotoshoot. It takes a while before everyone is there but finally we can make the official group photo.
We linger about a bit. There's still some time to kill before we have to eat again. Our plan is to eat around 15h, and admire the fast riders who start at 16h. So there's still some time to meet up with old friends. Some of them with a impressive palmares. Richard Leon starts his 11th PBP. Mikko finished the Transcontinental Race and now starts PBP with the vedettes. He hasn't been home between the Transcontinental and PBP. The traces of the Transcontinental race are still visible on his shirt.
We head out to the centre of St. Quentin-en-Yvellines and check where we'd like to eat. When we pass the Campanile hotel we spot one of the US randonneuses who replaces her tyre. The old one is gone. Luckily Alex Singer had a spare 650B tyre for her, a not so usual tyre to have on stock.
The futuristic towncentre is completely invaded by PBP riders. All restaurants are full of them, the few locals in regular clothes feel completely out of place. We find a nice Italian restaurant with good pasta.
Half an hour before the vedette start we take our bikes and find a nice spot about a kilometer out from the start. We're right on time, it doesn't take long for them to arrive. The first riders nearly crash into a car, the cardriver is totally unaware of the approaching pack and keeps lingering at a traffic light despite the frantic efforts of the marshalls to get her out of the way. Luckily they manage to do that before any accidents happen.
The B group dashes of the line at a wild pace, a lot faster as the A group. Richard predicted this already. He had seen that the most known fast riders are in the B group and not in the A group. It's quite clear why, they missed their seeding. Most of the fast riders are no real randonneurs. They usually ride cyclosportifs and every four years they do a few brevets and PBP. They absolutely don't follow the new rules and proceedings.
And that's what changed, the rules. In the preveious editions it was a free for all at the start. Your queueing tactics decided in which start group you would start. This time it as a lot more civilised. The ones who did the longest brevets in 2014 had first choice. So by the time the fast riders who hadn't been keeping track of the news could choose their startgroup the first group was already full. Tough luck, one should stay informed.
After the B group passed we had back to the citycentre and find a nice spot on the centre of the roundabout. While entering the roundabout the riders have to negotiate a sleeping policeman. A few riders try to evade it at the last moment which leads to a few near misses. Some riders see their kit flying in all directions. Not all thoughbread racers are suited for a light load. A lady on a tasty randonneuse shows that it is possible, securely mounted luggage on a nice bike propelled by fast legs.
When the D group has passed we move closer to the velodrome. Our clubmate Roze is already on the bridge. A few SMS's later we find her. On the bridge we see the nicest startgroup, the specials. The weirdest bikes are assembled here. The best ones are two Italians on pre-war bikes, and not pre WW II, no before the Great War.
Now it's our time to line up for the start. Our start is 45 minuts after the specials, our holding pen has opened already. Before we may enter the holding pen there's a short check. Lars has his scanninchip on hsi wrongleg so he has to wait and change it. We meet up again in the holding pen. Lot's of known faces here.
But still something is lacking. In the old stadium you had to enter the stadium via tunnel this gave the right feeling, the feeling of a gladiator not knowing if he would survive or not. A few minutes before 18h we're invited to head to the starting grid. A few speeches later we can count down and head out, finally, 4 years after the last one.
Slowly we head out for the first kilometers. The spectators line the road. Especially on the bridge over the motorway it gives a real Tour de France feeling. Except that we don't speed through it. I take my time for the roundabout. 2-3 corners later we reach the wide 4 lane boulevard. Two lanes of it are closed off for us. Now I release the adrenaline and start overtaking many riders. I'm still in the streets of St Quentin en Yvellines when I meet the remainin posssible esperantist, Graham. He recognises my esperanto shirt. He doesn't speak it though, only his brother does.
A while later I spot Leo up the road. Leo has the same strong and weak points as I have. Fast descending and slow climbing. So a good wheel to follow for me. It doesn't take long before I reach him. He isn't riding his usual speed though, I lose him soon.
Slowly we leave the urban area's and reach the countryside. After 15k of fast riding I decide to take it a bit easier. I've already gained a nice advantage on the timeschedule, just by riding fast for the first half hour. Now there are nice pelotons to join. The early startslot makes the first part a lot easier. Everyone can now spot the furniture and now everyone dares to descend fast. That was different with the old start in the darkness.
I spot the first Breton flag even before the Rambouillet forest. They are a long way from home. And way to soon I overtake riders from earlier startgroups. Especially Wobbly on his Pashley. He had a mechanical 10k from the start. It'll be a tough challenge to finish PBP when he's already behind schedule now.
In the forest the light and fast brigade has runs into it's first troubles. At the end of a fast descend a few Italians have to turn around. They've lost part of their kit at the first speedbumps. The bikecheck hasn't been thorough enough for them.
In Nogent-le-Roi I stop for some photo's and cola. Only here the first riders of the K group overtake me, long after I've overtaken the first riders of the H and F groups. As long as I overtake more riders of earlier groups as that riders of later groups overtake me, I'm riding fast enough.
Not long after Nogent a small paceline overtakes me, a paceline headed by a several Croat riders. I jump in and talk ith one of the Croatian riders. He tells me that there are now brevets in Lipik, only 4km away from Pakrac where I was a volunteer for a peace NGO during a few weeks in '94. I immediately decide to try to ride one of the Lipik brevets next year. That's the superb part of PBP, constantly meeting like minded people from all over the world.
Only now daylight is fading. Slowly I reach my first scheduled stop, the Café des Sports after 81km. The first stage of 220km is a tad long to ride without any stops. The Café des Sports has a nearly ideal location. Especially since it's about time to dress up for the night and switch on my lights. The Café speeded up the proceedings. They sell baguettes and cans of coke and other drinks in front of the café. I buy a can of coke and a baguette brie.
I join a table with several riders from Lviv. A Russian rider from Volgograd joins us. No hard feelings between the riders whatever their politicians might think.
I take it easey when I head out again. This is my usual tactic. It's only 35km to the hills of the Perche. I want to reach that part of the ride with well rested legs. In Longny-au-Perche we circle the village square again and turn right, straight up the first real hill. I shift to bottom gear in the corner. Many riders don't know this climb and I hear a lot of crunching of gears.
Usually the Perche throws me bak a lot. But not this time. Without any problems we reach the Mortange contol. I glance inside and see an enormous queue waiting for the restaurant. I don't want to spend time waiting so I only use the toilets. A lot of riders fill their bottles here, I prefer to use the outside options. Behind the outdoor bar is a specially designed place for filling the bottles. A lot less chance for tummy bugs here. I eat a few rolls which I have in my rackpack and continue.
The Mortagne control is on top of a hill. So we head out in a descent. I have no issues during this first night. There are a lot of riders which do have problems though. A lot of riders are sleeping on the verge. A lot of villages are specially decorated for PBP. That's a nice change from the pitch black countryside.
I decide on an intermediate stop in St Paul le Gaulthier. I know that the next controle in Villaines can really eat away a lot of time. I prefer to stop a outside of the controls and eat there, the café in St Paul is ideal. A lot of Bulgarian and Russian riders assemble here, although, Bulgarians.... One of the Bulgarians is in fact British.
A few hundred metres before the Villaines control the supermarket and bakery are open. I restock my supplies and continue to the control. The whole street is fenced off for PBP. To the right the town hall with all the contorle facilities, to the left all other amenities as restaurant, mechanic and sleeping facilities. I dash through the control. If you know your way around you can get in and out of this control in 10 minutes. When you use all facilities it'll take an hour easily, especially when you're right in the middle of the bulge. With the combination of a fast control and a caféstop I can gain 15-20 minutes per control.
When I exit the control I see the silent witness of a DNF.
It's unusual for me to leave Villaines in the dark. I've started 3 hours earlier as usual. Especially for today's leg this will make a huge difference. I try to reach Carhaix before darkness. The sleeping facilities at the Loudéac control are usually totally overrun, the same was the case for the St. Nicolas de Pélem overflow sleepstop. I've managed to plod on to Carhaix before sleeping. But when starting at 21h this is a major risk. Now it's perfectly feasible. I continue into the morning twilight without a delay.
It takes a long time for the sun to remove the morning fog. In the fog I see a lot of riders who are suffering already. It'l be difficult for them to finish. The Breton climate is an extra obstacle. In the fog I meet the Beatriz, one of the very few women attempting PBP on fixed, in fact only two have managed to finish PBP on fixed, Beatriz could be number 3. She certainly manages to handle the usual fixie-problem, she unclips at 30/35km/h and freewheels downhill. Luckily she has good brakes on her bike.
In Le Ribay there's an additional feeding station, a tent at a busy crossroads. It's right on time for me. I stop and enjoy a nice breakfast of french fries and tea.
One of my favourite sections of PBP starts now. A nice mixture of medieval towns small towns and rolling countryside. Not surprisingly also one of the sections with the highest density of unofficial feeding stations. The locals really enjoy the ride and are very supportive.
It's a pleasant surprise for a lot of the new riders. For some of them one of the few pleasant suprises. The climate is a shock for many, especially Asian riders. Many of them wear way too much clothes, those used to the climate are already in short sleaves while some other riders wear wintergloves, longs and a wooly hat.
One of the notable small towns is Ambrières. At the scenic bridge a giant bike adorns the town. A lot of riders stop here for a photo. I don't stop this time, not even for the supermarket, my stocks are still enough. I continue with my Willesden mate Ray and Drew Buck. This time Drew Buck rides a 1930s skip bike. Quite new for him, he took part with turn of the century bikes a few times already.
A few kilometers further on I bump into Karl. He's at the roadside mending a puncture. He broke his pump so I lend him mine. WE continue on for a while. Karl runs a legendary brevet series in Bavaria. His rhytm doesn't match mine so we part ways. I prefer to ride my own rhytm and only ride with someone when the speed matches.
There are way too much feeding stations on this stretch to visit all of them. I limit myself to a few photo's while passing them. I want to reach Fougères without delays.
In Fougères Ia bump the controle as well. I have something else to do here. In St Quentin-en-Yvellines the railway station didn't sell any TGV tickets on Sunday and I still need a ticket home. Lars SMS'ed me that there's a railway station booth right at the side of the route, this despite the Loudéac railway station hardly having any services. I reach it just before their lunchbreak and buy my ticket for the Paris-Lille TGV. There are only a few TGV's which carry bikes so I have to buy it early.
After the shopping stop I leave town. At the edge of town I spot a bakery with baguettes. I stop and enjoy my lunch on the gras. Karl has the same idea and stops when he passes me.
The Fougères-Tinteniac stretch is an easy one as well. Not much happening here except from memeting a few friends. Towards the end of this stretch I meet Jukka. We team up for a longer stretch. Together we reach Tinteniac. I show Jukka how you can bump the cntrol. He follows my tactic and we leave Tinteniac together. On previous occasions I lost an hour at this control. I don't want to repeat this. After Tintenia we climb the long slope. At the crossroads near the top is a pub where I packed in 1999 with stomach problems. Luckily I can continue without stopping this time. In the centre we stop at the supermarket, as scheduled. We buy some food and drinks and eat outside the shop. Another 20 miutes gained. 3 controls like this and you win an hour of sleeping time. An hour best spent at your favourite sleeping time, for me that is the end of the night.
On the next strecth I see a lonely rider speeding ahead. A surprising view. Only a while later I see a sizeable bunchin pursuit. Björn escaped before Brest and managed to stay out of reach until the finish. This although he has no asistance. This is a legendary performance.
One of the faster Dutch riders overtakes me suprisingly. Jan had been a bit ill and slept at Tinteniac. He's back up to speed so I can only ride with him for a short while. I opt for a short stop at a feeding station in St. Meen. They are more interested in the 'real' foreign riders. As someone with a reasonable command of French and living in a former French département I'm not foreign enough. They are surprised though when I tell them that last time I slept in their village in the Hotel Credit Agricole, in front of the ATM. They can hardly believe that someone does something like that.
When I continue I meet Jukka again. I can team up with him, he has a human speed.
I reach Loudéac together with Jukka. At the side of the street leading to the control Jan's car is parked. The car with our drop bag. Not that it is a huge bag, a 10 liter backpack is enough for me. I change clothes and replenish my food and drinking powder supplies. I eat a few rolls from my rackpack and continue to the controll. Again we stop only for controlling. We immediately leave Loudéac, and head off into the night.
I fear the next stretch. In 1995 I missed an arrow and had a 30k detour. During the very wet 2007 edition I missed an arrow at the return and lost all my remaining sleeping time. Also this time it's a difficult stretch for me. Jukka waits on top of the first hills but I tell him to continue. Everyone suffers alone here. I can't even go full speed at the descents. There's too much returning traffic now. I can't ride on the left lane lights ablaze.
In St. Martin des Prées this ordeal is over. This villag is another legendary one. But it's only legend now. Sonia stopped her restaurant 4 years ago, now the heart is taken away from the festivities. It now is especially a village partyfor the local and less for the riders. Still I stop to eat some pasta. But I don't enjoy it. I can hardly eat and I'm freezing, very unusual for me. I use the toilets and take some warmer clothes from my rackpack. On the next stretch I stop twice for tea but I don't feel very well. My shoulderinjury starts again. Probably I'm dressed too warm. This is one of the few times that I use the official gilet, a suffocating design.
Only when I reach St. Nicolas de Pelem my body funcitons again. I didn't plan to stop her but the marshalls direct me inside, it's a secret control this time. Against my usual habits I sit down. At the secret control I meet Cyrille and Wobbly. Wobbly is considering packing and asks if I know a good train connection to the ferry. Luckily Cyrille is there, he knows a lot of French railroads. For the ferry harbour he advises retracing to Dingé and taking the train north there.
Cyrille isn't feeling well either. He considers packing because he fears running out of time. That despite him starting an hour later as I did. I advise him to continue. The best railwaystation to return to Paris is in Brest anyway so he can cycle there. If the controllers hand him his card back he can continue because he's still in the race. Only when the controllers take your card away you're out. In all other occasions it's best to continue.
I absolutely don't consider packing. After recovering I continue. There was no doctor in St Nicolas to check my shoulder so it's an extra reason to continue to Carhaix. A few kilometers up the road I see a lot of marshalls in Maël-Carhaix. It's a secret control for the retur. I ask if there's a doctor there but that is not the case. I continue to the local bakery behind the church. This is one of my planned stops. I know it from last time. While I'm drinking my tea I'm invited to sleep there. I don't waste as second and accpet the offer. It's only 10km to Carhaix and I'm a lot earlier as usual. There's a fair chance that all the beds in Carhaix are already taken. I ask to be awoken after 45 minutes.
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Right on time the light is switched on. I'm wide awake and leave my cot. But outside it looks completely different now. Yesterday morning there was only a light fog but this is heavy fog, I can hardly see anything. Carefully I rejoin the road. Luckily a lot of riders are out on the road now, especially riders who stopped in St Nicolas for sleep. I can follow the long line of taillights barely penetrating through the fog. At least I know where the road is so I can reach the control in Carhaix in relative safety.
It's quiet in Carhaix. Those who have slept are gone, the main bunch sleeping in Loudéac hasn't arrived yet. According to some calculations there were 1000 riders at the Loudéac control that night. At the meical post I ask the doctor to check my shoulder. I explain him the history of the inury, an old proffessional injury from my previous job. His conclusion is simple and comforting. I can't destory more by continuing, I may ignore the pain. If I want to I can use extra painkillers. He even gives some to me. I don't plan on using them.
In Carhaix I use the restaurant for the first time this PBP. Luckily it's not full. Half the people are asleep, sometimes with improvised protection against the cold. I feel a lot more comfortable now. My shoulder should hold out an I reached the Carhaix area without sleep. Each time I reached Carhaix without sleeping I managed to finish PBP.
Despite using a lot of time at the control I'm still within the timelimts when I leave the control. It's light again when I'm back on the road. The first part to Huelgoat is one of the nicer parts of the ride. But this time I can't enjoy it, I'm still sleepy. I opt for a short sleepstop to prevent falling asleep on the bike. I take my mountaineering emergency sleeping bag and find a soft spot.
15 minutes later I awake and feel fresh again. I roll up the sleeping bag and take my bike. A long line of riders is visible, the main bunch of those who slept in Loudéac caught up with me. Within a few minutes I meet Dawn who rides a nice speed. WE continue on together. Just before we reacht he main road I stop to top off my bottles. I know that the service station has a tap on the outside. Dawn continues.
At the crossroads with the mainroad I stop again. It's warm now. I can continue in shirt, all the warm gear moves to the rackpack. From this point on it's a long climb to the transmitter tower which marks the highest point of PBP. The wide road isn't too steep and it's anice climb. I meet a lot of other riders on the climb and admire some of the faster specials. One rider even equipped his bike with a full streamline fairing.
I reach the summit of the Roc Trévézel without difficulties. Now it's a long descent to Sizun. Sizun is a major crossroads at PBP. The routes in and out of Brest are different, they meet up near Sizun. The small town is dominated by randonneurs. Everywhere there are bikes, all café's are filled with them. The supermarket is rapidly running out of stocks. I resupply at the supermarket and continue. I know I'm not there yet, there are still some nasty climbs before I'm in Brest. This time I can climb easily, sometimes I even drop others, a complete contrast to 2007 when I was dropped by about everyone and slowly reached the timelimit.
Together with a Seattle rider I descend to Brest As usual we can see the bridge from far away. Nearly everyone stops here for a photo. This feels like the turnaround, not the control. After passing the bridge the usual climb to the control follows. This time we're back at the old control. I prefer this one, last year's one was not as good. Still I don't intend to stay long here, there are better places to eat in Brest.
While leaving he town I pass a pizzeria. This is a good spot to eat. A lot of randonneurs are here allready. I join them and order a pizza. But this pizzeria takes more time as usual, twice as much as a usual foodstop. Slowly my timereserve disappears. But I don't panic. For the return you get a lot more time as for the way out.
Leaving Brest means climbing. And descending of course. During the long descent I feel sleepy. I spot a nice shady meadown and sleep another 15 minutes.
A 15 minutes sleepstop really helps. I feel fit again and immediately can join a small group. Cyrille is in this group as well. He's suprised that I'm still completely clam although according to his calculations I'm out of time. I'm not worried, the next timecheck is in Carhaix, only then I should be in time again.
The descend to the river is fast and furious. My old Koga gives me a lot of confidence and I reach a max of nearly 69km/h. At the other side of the river I meet Dawn again. We're riding the same speed again so we team up another time.
In Sizun we restock again at the supermarket. There's still a steady flow of riders descending the Roc Trévézel. Mainly 84 hour riders who started on Monday morning, 10 hours after I started. But also a few riders in trouble. I'm already on the timelimt, they are way over it. Even after we've passed the Roc Trévézel there are still riders heading to Brest.
Surprisingly Mark and Jess are quite far ahead on their tandem trike. Usualy Mark is huggin the timelimt, when Mark overtakes you, you're in trouble But this time he has a comfortable margin.
At the top of the Roc it's time to dress a bit warmer so we stop. During the descent of the Roc I meet the only French driver who overtakes like a madman. That's a good score on 1200km. The stringent laws on overtaking bikes in France really work.
When we reach Dawn I propose to bump the control and have a rest at the secret control 10km further up the road. But Cawn prefers to eat in Carhaix. I continue alone. In Maël I don't stop at the bakery this time but continue to the secret control. A lot of riders are eating here. I want to order food but there are only meatdishes. So I limit myself to a cup of tea.
Faster as expected I continue. I don't mind it that much, there'll be plenty of foodstops on this stretch. I join the small groups into the evening twilight.
When I reach St Martin des Prées it's dark. This time I only stop for a short itme. They have large bottles of Breton cola, I like this one so I buy a large bottle 15 minutes later I continue. The hills are less hard form this side. There's no more outbound traffic so I can go full speed at the descents.
I continue to Loudéac with a small group mainly consisting of 84 riders, the fast ones who sleep a lot. I enjoy this fast bit and I need it. I don't have a lot of time in hand. I'm going flat out in the descent to Loudéac. On the last bit into town I drop all the 84 hour riders. They have to throw the anchor at each traffic bump, otherwise their clip on lights will desintegrate. I've bolted my lights firmly to my front rack so I can jump the traffic bumps. Marginal gains do help at PBP. I arrive in Loudéac with 7 minutes in hand.
I continue to Jan's car. I really look forward to a fresh pair of shorts. I don't really gain any time with this assistance. But I gain a lot of comfort. And this gain of comfort cn be the difference between finishing and packing. It's time well spent. Monique uses this time differently. She sleeps in the car. Jan tells me that Jaap had to pack his body couldn'cope. He can't shift his gears anymore. I sympathise with him. These issues two months before the start forced me to use another shifting system. I don't use my usual Bioracer with Ergopower shifting but my old 1987 Koga Miyata with bar end shifters. They are more versatile and being forced to change your handposition does help to prevent issues.
I continue after this stop. The part fro Loudéac to Tinteniac is really nice. But I know that I'll have to sleep somewhere, I can't reach Tinteniac without sleeping. The first part is fast. I can join a lot of faster rides. Some riders are mentally quite down. I try to cheer one of them up but I don't know if my efforts are succesful.
A bit later I have to be assisted. Other riders talk to me so I stay awake. I'm nearly falling asleep. I manage to reach Quedillac without any accidents, no ATM sleeping for me this time. In Quedillac there's a nice amount of riders. A good vibe without being overrun. I guess that most riders are sleeping in Loudéac. Outside the control building a few riders are sleeping around the fire.
I find al sleeping spot inside. The cots seem to be in use but around the sleeping hall there are a lot of sleeping mats. I find a comfortable spot and sleep immediately.
I'm still very sleepy when I awake. There's still some time so I decide to sleep a little bit more and this is enough. I ut on another layer and take my bike again. The remaining stretch to the control is rather fast, as usual I enjoy the long descent to Tinteniac.
I manage to gain enough time to arrive in Tinteniac with 15 minutes in hand. So I resupplied at the car, slept and I still gained an extra 8 minutes. Time for a reward. I treat myself to a nice breakfast at the self and a shower. My first shower since the start.
I'm constantly meeting people on th enext stretch. I'm leaving Tinteniac in a mixed Russian/Ukrainian group with Tanja from St. Petersburg and a rider from Lviv. Tanja is quite fast, she already gained 11 hours on me. The next rider to team up with is Steve. I have a long chat with him about various cycling subjects. I do keep to the left of him though, the last thing he can use is getting hit by another vehicle. An hour later I let Steve set his own pace, he is a bit too fast for me.
I reach Fougères together with Dawn (not the same one as on the Roc Trévézel). She has a beautiful Rambouillet, a nice steel bike. I tell her where the exact control is located. Those who park at the beginning have a long walk to the control proper. We ride to the back of the site and park ride in front of it. There's even a small bar there. I don't stay very long, only a few minutes to admire the bike and take a few photo's.
I know that here are a lot of feeding stations on this stretch, including a very famous one. The one I liked last time, in Le Louroux, is not available now. So I opt for the classic stop iN La Tannière. You can't miss this one, a whole flock of riders stop on both sides of the road. Paul's crêpes are very popular. A few riders sleep here. Everyone is capable to sleep everywhere. When I see Dawn appraoching I flag her down. She stops and immediately enjoys the place.
I join a group of US riders for the next bit. I'm riding fast. This is a nice stretch to ride. I've now passed the place where I packed in 2007. So all signs are ok, I'm quit sure that I'll make it this time. I know that there are no difficult parts of the ride until I'm in the Perche again.
For a lot of riders it's not that positive. I see many riders sleeping in the verge, they need their siesta. In Ambrières I leave this small group. I want to use the public toilet here. Around the corner is a feeding station so I drink tea there.
Again I opt for the feeding station at Le Ribay. I can eat fast here in stark contrast to the Villaines restaurant. Especially since I'm in the middle of the bulge again. Dawn joins me here, she got the trick and enjoys the meal. Natalja from the Legion Uchta club neads a bit more explanation before she also gets that it can save a lot of time. After another portion of french fries I continue to Villaines. I park my bike at the exit of the control area. It helps to have a kick-stand on the bike. I dash through the control building and continue to the supermarket. I stock up for the night.
The next bit is the last bit I really fear, the Perche.
It's an easy start of the next stage, long gently rolling quiet main roads. And a lot of nice groups. This is easy riding, I can gain a lot of time. In the late afternoon. And not only lot's of big groups, also a lot of marshall cars. I assist one of them who had to give a time penalty to a rider who was swerving all over the road. The problem point was that the controllers only spoke French and the rider's English was limited. Finally the message ges through. I also discuss with the controllers the issue of the official gilets. These are very hot and sufocating. The heat can lead riders to fall asleep and swerve all over the road. A few weeks before the strat I bought an ultra light reflection jacket (more a sleeveless shirt) at my local Decathlon. It does the job and doesn't overheat.
A while later the feared situation happens. Another controlcar passes and the controller orders everyone to dress up in reflective jackets. This although the sun is still shining and we have at least an hour of daylight left. The French law doesn't stipulate this. I opt for not debating it with the controllers, especially when they are inside their car way up the road. I don my ultralight reflective gilet and ride on, checking carefully that no one around me falls alseep.
An hour later it finally gets dark. At that moment I'm riding along a typical straight as an arrow French road in a swift moving Swedish paceline. But I have to stop, it's time to switch on my lights. A kilometer further up the road a control car is checking if veryone has his lights switched on.
After the check we turn left and leave the long straight road. Not much later another feeding station lines the road. A German participant constructed an interesting relief for his neck muscles from inner tubes and an empty botle. A typical case of Shermer's neck, not uncommon on PBP. One of the possible causes is a kangaroo pouch for your brevet card, passport and cash. I prefer to keep everything elsewhere and not risk this problem.
.
There are large groups of 84 riders around here. Most of them want to reach Mortagne in the early night and sleep there. For me there won't be such a luxury as a night of sleep, I have to be in Dreuxh at 7h14, at least according to the schedule.
The road is straight as an arrow again but suddently everyone veers left, away from the track. I stop, take my flashlight and check the verges, no arrows in the ditch. So I follow the crowd. A few kilometers further on I pass an open supermarket. I know this one, I stopped here last time. And I remember that there are two tracks for this stretch. The supermarket doesn't only sell standard food, they also have microwave pasta and a microwave. I opt for a pasta. I'm hungry again, probably I haven't eaten enough during daytime.
I leave this village in a larger group. It's easy sailing to Mortagne, a lot easier as usual. Finally I climb at the same speed as the others, better as during all the rest of PPB. I arrive in Mortagne with 40 minutes in hand. This time the restaurant is quite empty. I order a plate of omelette and pasta and sit down.
My fate changes when I rejoin the road. It started to rain. Now there's even more chance of overheating. I done my waterproofs and gilet and continue. Most of the 84 hour ridiers are gone now, they are sleeping. The road is filled with 90 hour riders most of them nearly out of time. Everyone suffers in silence. Ocasionally I have to stop for a catnap on the handlebars. Services are very scant here, I desperately need a stall with tea but none of them at the roadside now. Only in Senonches, when I've already left the Perche there's a feeding place. And a good one, including a large awning and chairs. I sit down and fall asleep.
It just takes me 15 minutes to wake up again. OK, not wide awake but sufficiently to carry on. I eat a bit and mount my bike again, back into the rain. We're slowly leaving the hills of the Perche, now it's the time to crank up the speed. There are more people around here, some villages are even large enough for one way streets. In one of them I miss an arrow but a sidestreet later and I'm back on the route. This is my only navigational error during this PBP. Everything is clearly signposted, the GPS adds it's bit in keeping me on the track. I know in advance when to check for arrows.
In one of the many villages I stop for another catnap. I can't ride safely so a catnap is a good solution. A nearly finished busshelter gives me enough protection from the rain. Another 15 minutes of sleep later I'm back on the road again, fresh enough to continue to Paris.
Slowly larger groups are growing. Mostly the stragglers of the all night riding brigade and a few riders who slept early in Mortagne and closed up on us. And we really need these groups. It's flat highlands here, protection from the wind is needed. Together with a few US riders I descend to Dreux. We easily find the control. I'm technically out of time but only 13 minutes. No controller asks any questions about it, no one cares. Everyone knows that we just finished the last hard bit of PBP and from now on we can gain time. And even if someone would have mentioned the 13 minutes, I've de doctor's visit marked in my brevet card and I can add the translation work for the control car.
It's only the 2nd time that PBP visits Dreux. This means less inofficial feeding stations around Dreux, the tradition still has to grow. So I decide on a copious breakfast in the canteen. After we all finished our food we try to re-formate our group. But we manage to get split up on the climb out of Dreux. It's not a big deal, there are enough groups around now. We're joined by the riders we decided to sleep long and late in Dreux.
My legs are strong again now. It's rolling pasture land between Dreux and Paris, a light tailwind helps, I start eating away from my backlog. At the start of a nice descent I'm in a fast German group. I shift up and speed downhill together with them. We keep the speed up for a while, until the Côte de Gambais. I know this one, we're back on the old route. I know it's a hard one so I take it easy. Halfway I dismount and change to the 24 inch gear,
I don't want to risk my shoulde rin the final stage of PBP.
At the top of the hill there's the usual crowd again, including the spectator who's always here, joined by his big cowbell. Rain or shine, they are there to cheer us up and give us the energy for the final stretch. We are back again, back on the roads well trodden by PBP, back in the villages where the locals know us and know what we need.
I'm back inside the timelimit, even after walking part of the Côte de Gambais. A succesful finish is possible again. Slowly we near Paris, the age old villages are replaced by futurustic suburbs. A few kilometers before the finish we leave the sububs and enter the large park. We're nearly there. A few riders who've already finished are heading to their hotels and homes. We enter the velodrome via the park entry. A deception. Gone is the entry into St-Quentin-en-Yvellnes whcih we enjoyed during the previous events, gone are the crowds lining the street, gone are the highrisers where you could admire yourself and your mates in the big mirror like windows. Gone is the roundabout where hundreds of spectators would cheer you on while you mounted the final ramp.
Now it's a simple alleyway and the stony parking lot of the velodrome. I pass the electronic finish and park my bike in the bikepark. When I enter the velodrome there's the usual line. I don't mind. I've already passed the electronic finish and still have more than 30 minutes in hand. The line is not that long. Within 10 minutes I reach the official controller who congratulates me. I hand over my control card. PBP is finished, 6 participations, 4 finishes and 2 DNF's.
Inside I try to reach Rose. She mesaged before that she would be at the finish. But there's no reception in the velodrome. I do see Lars, Cyrille is still on his way. The next deception is about to follow, the food. We were promised food at the finish. I join a long line. After quite some time I reach the head of the queue. Then I hear that they only have pre-packaged meals with chicken, no option for me as a vegetarian. I turn away.
Cyrille has already finished. Together we find a table in the velodrome, Rose has finally joined us. But she leaves us so she can fetch some food from the supermarket. I'm glad she's doing it, I'm too tired to go there. After I've finished the food she got e I sit down in a corner and fall asleep. When I see the photo's which were taken by an unknown hand, I see that I slept next to the beerbarrels. I couldn't care at that moment.
.
Only hours after our finish Lars and I leave the velodrome and cycle to our hotel, very, very slowly. Nearly everyone finished but still there are stragglers trickling in. I hope that those who finished but outside of their timelimits will be mentioned in the restults as finished out of time. An out of time finish is a lot better as a DNF.
Nearly everyone is safely back at the hotel. Despite our tiredness we enjoy the evening at the pizzeria. The owner is having another excellent evening.
Most riders leave in the next two days. I take my bike again and retrace the first bit. I want to enjoy the scenic villages I raced through on Sunday evening. That's another stunning part of PBP, the French landscape.
I give the classic sight of Paris, the Eiffel Tower only a glance when I ride to the northern railway station on Sunday.