Paris Brest Paris 2015

Carawaystick

So for those who don't know about the PBP,
every 4 years or so there's an Audax or long distance, self supported cycle event, from Paris to Brest and Back. Its 1200+ km, and you have to finish in 90 hours or less.

It's on now, started on Sunday afternoon, and finishes later today Thursday.

It's a third the length of the TdeF

Nameless Phil of this parish should finish before I log back in, for one boardsie, dunno who else from here is taking part.
There's 14 or so Paddies finished at the time of writing.

Kudos, or a 'Like' go nowhere near my admiration of people taking on the challenge.

stecleary

track riders by their number

view pics of them

daragh_

Nameless Phil has finished. :):):):):):):):):):)

Fantastic achievement.

on_the_nickel

As has thebouldwhacker!

Undercover Elephant

Looks like cdaly finished at 10:49. Fair play.

Lambretta

Massive achievement by the Irish Audax crew - I think there a few more to come over the line .... hopefully they all make it

ROK ON

Three of the lads who did my Inner Ring Audax did PBP.
Very proud of all of them. A great achievement.
Well done also to thebouldwhacker.
Two everests, a mile failte and a PBP.

Chapeau to the leg of ye.

wilhelm roentgen

The first Audax Ireland lads were finished in under 55 hours! Amazing

thebouldwhacker

A strong turn out from Ireland from Audax Ireland and other clubs around the country. A great event for sure with some fast times. It didn't go well for everyone but inspirational stories one and all.

pelevin

Well done all. Sounds proper epic stuff, wonderfully out of sync with the present, or whatever its reality is supposed to be.

The Ging and I

Great event with an unbelievable amount of nationalities riding. Some variety of "velos" with tandem trikes - triplets - 100 year old wooden rim jobs- recumbrents - pashley with rod brakes- swiss army bike and lastly ellipitigos which are so fugly you would moderated off the planet if you tried posting a picture.
An English guy was riding a Raleigh record (1936) that he found complete in a skip some months ago. I passed him in Dreux so I guess he finished.
There seems to be very little feedback about the event on most forums including the French ones.

cdaly_

The Ging and I wrote: »

There seems to be very little feedback about the event on most forums including the French ones.

That's 'cos we're all still asleep...

thebouldwhacker

you asked for it......

Getting to the start line was a long journey and the final few days were surreal, something which had been at the fore of my mind for so long was now here, but yet it was such a simple thing, it's just a bike ride. The alarm woke me with a kick at 02:30 anything that starts that early will naturally come with it a sense of shock to the system. With the weather forecast dissected in forensic detail, kit was selected and decisions made. The old saying 'everyone has a plan until they get a smack in the mouth' was in my mind, however I was expecting to receive a number of smacks and so the other old saying followed like a trailer, 'it's not how hard you can hit, it's about how hard you can get hit and get back up'. I was ready for fatigue and knew that while plans must change depending on circumstances goals must stand firm. This is it, leave it all out there, no point holding on to reserves for the next thing. Goal 1: don't get caught up with the adrenaline and focus on eating properly and get sleep. Goal two: don't panic (in a Douglas Adams kinda way). Except for a serious incident, in the end it'll be grand. Everything is temporary and will pass so trust the training and cycle on. Goal 3: finish empty.
I reckoned so long as I stuck to them everything else would take care of itself.

After over an hour of waiting, final registration etc I was at the start. We were being left off in groups of about 300 every half hour. I made sure I was at the very front, regardless of how the next few days would go I knew the start could be messy and I wanted none of it so either start at the very front or the very back. Trouble was I was in group Z, the last group, if I got dropped for any reason I would be La Lantern Rouge. The event is made up of three groups; Vedettes, these are the racers, most with support cars, bikes set up for full racing, no frame bags, they have an 80 hr time limit and are first off on Sunday so they have no queues or slower riders to contend with. Next is the 90 hour Touristes who leave Sunday afternoon and evening and finally the 84hr Randonneur groups which I was a part of, we were starting Monday morning, 05:30.
The three groups had representatives from every culture on the planet, every country in Europe, the Americas, the middle east , Far East, countries of the pacific, Africa... Everywhere. For example in the small apartment complex where I stayed before the event there were Phillipinos, Koreans, Germans, English, Dutch, French, Italian, Indian, Japanese and more that I didn't meet.

I had decided I would stay in the front until we got out of Paris and then re evaluate. We had a van guiding us out the dark streets so I reckoned just forget everyone else and as long as he was willing to be guide just follow him. So there I was at the start, 6 minutes to go when there was a shout from one of the officials, NO NO NO NONONONO he was shouting while looking at me. Wha? He was objecting to my reflector vest which by French law must be worn by cyclists after dark. He reckoned mine was not sufficient and so could not start...... Wha? 5:30 in the morning and this lad is shouting at me in French, pulling at my vest. I was just thinking of everything I had done to get here and now he was going to stop me for no reason ( the vest was more than sufficient)
There is no need to go into the thoughts I had however after a few words were exchanged a lady in the crowd ran over and threw me an official PBP reflector vest, regulations satisfied the nice gentleman backed off and I had to sort out my head fairly quickly as the count down was on.
Boom, we were off, motorbike and van escort saw us through a few roundabouts and traffic lights at a fast tempo, with no one calling road furniture I'm working hard to stay at the front. The conundrum was sharp in my head, how long should one hold onto a rising balloon when the sickening sound of a crash from behind me brings me back to the realisation that for now the front is the only place to be. We were clipping on between 30/40 kmph, certainly not what I had been expecting when another smash from behind focused my mind that for now nothing was more important than getting out of the city in one piece. We were travelling so fast that after only 20km we passed out the first back marker from the group ahead, the first 100km in about 3 hrs. I kept screaming at myself that the pace was too fast, I was lighting all my matches and would crumble later. But because I was in group Z this was the last fast train to Paris. A group of about 20 of us were tearing up the road about 20 kmph faster than any of us had planned but there was no where to drop back to, other than those we has passed out... Decision made, stick with the group and see what happens. What happened was 300km under 11 hours. Ouch.
I came across a few Audax Ireland riders and shared turns with one for a few hundred km until a stop at 450km when I planned to break. I had my first and only mechanical when one link in my chain started getting stuck causing my derailleur to jump every time it threaded through it. I was petrified it would cause damage but there was no fixing it. Eventually it settled into a middle gear without jumping so I made the next 50km without changing gear in case it started again. At the next control I bought a new chain and in French style it took 3 mechanics to conference about it before the mechanic replaced it for me. More time lost, over a hour, maybe more as my speed had dropped trying to nurse the bike.
At 450km my partner was going straight for Brest and though it was tempting to keep a friendly wheel I knew I must rest even if I didn't feel like it. Unfortunately I used about 2 hours here sorting myself out which could have taken half an hour, lesson learned. After 2 hours sleep and filling my belly I hit the road again, 200km to Brest. The road was quite hilly and it was exceptionally cold with a dense freezing fog. Too hilly for warm clothes, too cold for day gear, dawn was two hours away, HTFU.
After an hour or so a train passed with three big Germans acting as the engine, I was solo for most of the morning and it was hard going, this was the first group that was going at tempo so I grabbed onto their wheels and they carried me for the next 30km to the first checkpoint of the day. Here I met another Irish lad I knew and as there was a large 15km climb ahead we decided to ride together for company. We climbed modestly but descended hard, a quick ice cream break at the bottom to combat the intense heat that had evolved from the clearing fog and I said good bye to my partner, I headed to Brest as hard as I could.

Brest was going to be busy so I decided to return to the ice cream shop and take food there after the control, I was right, Brest was packed as people took refuge at the half way point... Over 600km in under 32 hrs, my pace wasn't really registering with me until now but even in my state I knew that was fast.
I turned for Paris and headed for a short break in the town before taking on the 15km return climb. I was making very good ground as there was a very slight tail wind, I had one passenger on the climb, an English lad, and all was going well. In the final few km before the top he took the front, then I saw he was riding a fixie... Oh how the mighty fall. He then started picking up the pace! We were tipping 25/30 kmph going up this substantial climb and my h.r. was well above where I wanted it to be but this was a section I had pinned as being slow and now I was regaining some lost time. Anyway it was a bit of craic, the crowds which lined the climb were roaring at us, we were flying, passing other cyclists like they weren't moving. When we got to the top I pulled along side and said ' Who are you? Chris Boardman? A track pro?' he laughed and said 'I gotta go hard on this, I'll have to descend slower than we climbed it'. With that we wished each other well, I tucked and belted down the other side, 15km of down...
All along the route locals lined the streets of towns and villages cheering, giving water or many had little stalls set up with snacks and drinks for cyclists. Most took no money, some donations but all gave great support late into the night after dark. Even in the small hours people left water and snacks outside their doors for any passing cyclist in trouble. Towns and villages were decorated with signs and cycling monuments. The whole thing was so powerful and brought a smile in the hardest of times. They are so emotional and proud of the event, for many their parents, grand parents, great grand parents would all have done similar. We were cyclists in their event, they were not there to simply cheer us on, they were there to see us, to view the struggle and effort as they would in an opera, they too were part of this global cycling monument.

I pushed on as far and as fast as I could go before taking my next break, however at around 900km I suddenly started getting sore quads and my right Achilles was swelling. That was it, time for a break. When I woke after a 20 mins nap my legs were very sore and swollen, DNF crossed my mind... I couldn't figure out what had happened, yes I was pushing hard but this was sudden, tiredness creeps up on you, fatigue effects the entire mind and body, I was eating well and taking on plenty of salt etc so it was neither of these. I got back on the bike after rubbing on some anti-inflammatory gel and could barely push the pedals. I went 500m up the road before the realisation hit me that if I hadn't injured myself then the bike must have. I jumped off and there it was, the saddle had dropped by about 3mm. Now 3mm doesn't sound a lot and it isn't on a commute but 3 mm multiplied by 900km is a lot. A mix of my weight, the hard descending over the previous day had and the saddle bag ( I reckon just over 3kg) had slowly moved the saddle down. The physical relief was immediate and while I was under a heavy cloud as both my legs were shot I was so happy because I had solved the problem and no further damage would be done. It was about 50km to the next check point, normally 90 mins, but that night it took me over 3 hours. It was another moonless night and while not a cold night, on the bike I was frozen. I was going too slow to build up any heat so I ended up wearing everything, two pairs of gloves, 5 layers on top and even my rain coat and leg warmers. I was some sight decked out in full winter war gear. When I eventually got to the control I knew I needed to fix my legs or DNF would be a reality. The cause of the injury was solved so now it was down to my body to fix itself. A healthy dose of gel on the legs and I found a wall to lay against while elevating my feet and slept for 30 min. When I woke both my legs were numb and lifeless, I shifted my weight sideways and they flopped to the ground paralysed from the alien, almost yoga, sleeping position. Immediately they filled with pins and needles as blood rushed through them. The swelling was down a bit and I could move my ankle again, result. Now to come up with a strategy. The plan was simple, with just over 300 km to Paris, it was time to go all in, I put on so much gel that if someone slapped my knee they wouldn't feel their hand for a week, I got a proper belly filling, with plenty of carbs and then the nuclear option..... my first coffee in weeks. This was going to be my get out of jail secret weapon. I had gone off coffee months ago in preparation for such a situation, only breaking the caffeine fast on a few occasions. It worked to great effect on the M2M two weeks earlier and so I got what can only be described as a soup bowl of kick ass full strength French coffee, a good whack of sugar and then.... fasten your seat belt and hold on tight!!
I was back in the game, I began passing those who had passed me the previous night. I was joining pelotons and dropping them again, looking for a fast group without any luck. It appears I was the fast group and was picking up passengers along the road. As the day went on the heat was getting more and more of a issue so much that I started using arm coolers, a trick I had read about a while ago. I put on my light arm warmers and repeatedly soaked them with water. This worked a treat as the I evaporation cooled my blood like a car radiator allowing me a pace faster than my road peers. The terrain was made up of rolling hills so I was tucking and free wheeling down until near the base when I would sprint to keep momentum to the top, again pick up speed to about 40kmph and tuck, repeat for km after km, hill after hill. It was working a treat, h.r. was staying below 130, I was passing other riders at an amazing rate and all this without overheating or expending too much energy. Suddenly I had less than 200 km to go, it was hard going at this stage as pelotons were going slower than I was so I was solo for most of the previous 200km.

The land was flat now again and just before the second last checkpoint two lads went passed me at a rate of knots. Luckily I got their wheel and we did a team TT for the final few km. While I benefited little time wise from this spurt of pace it did kick the body back into action. I checked in with the control and went over for food. I bought an expresso, a hot chocolate and a pains au chocolat, with these knocked back I didn't even sit down at this control, the time for protein was done. No more grinding, this was petrol time, 60km to go, keep nothing in reserve, empty the tank and get to Paris. More gel on the legs and just forget about the pains. It's been a long road getting here and so I got on the bike again full of sugar and caffeine.

The final section was hilly and took us through forests which were very creepy in the pitch dark. At one point I was solo and away in my own mind when I heard a noise, it was unidentifiable but most defiantly man made, I swear I would have passed Cavendish with the sprint in put in because of the fright, outside the forest I saw a bike behind me. I reckon he had his strong light off to save battery so I hadn't seen him behind me. At this stage I decided to stay with others as there was a good chance of meeting a deer or the like and I didn't feel like being taken out of it so close to the finish. The rotating light from the Eiffel Tower told us we were hitting the outskirts of Paris, my wife and her sister broke from their French holiday to meet me at the Velodrome and welcome me home about 11pm. Mission accomplished, my tank was empty. Some things could have gone better, some things could have gone worse. I could have saved a lot of time but I can only be happy with how it went, I had nothing more to give. 66.11hrs
Since finishing the results have been published: Over all 552 out of 6051 (not that it's a race or anything....) I'm very happy with that but plenty of scope for improvement if I were to ever do it again......but that's not a decision for now.

albert kidd

^^ great read..fair play man..outstanding stuff.

Mefistofelino

Well done, TBW - epic ride. How did it compare to the Mile Failte 1200 last year?

thebouldwhacker wrote: »

; Vedettes, these are the racers, most with support cars, bikes set up for full racing, no frame bags, they have an 80 hr time limit and are first off on Sunday so they have no queues or slower riders to contend with.

The German who was first home in 42:26 was apparently unsupported. He's at 5:30 on the video, making it look ridiculously easy...

Alek

Great ride and great read, thebouldwhacker!

nilhg

The Grubers just put up a gallery of images (and some explanatory text) on Strava stories, didn't see any obviously Irish in there but it's a lovely piece.

http://stories.strava.com/parisbrestparis

ROK ON

There is a journalist that I follow in twitter as he has written extensively about a subject that I am interested in. Started tweeting a few weeks ago about PBP. Apparently he is a regular Audaxer on the UK and German scene.
Amazing event.

Well done to all. I may try for this in four years. I have an itch that I need to scratch.

pelevin

I've bought a couple of very nice tops from IsadoreApparel - a cycling clothing co. owned by the Velits brothers - current Slovakian pro's - and they sent me an e-mail link to someone they had some connection with's account of taking part in the PBS race/adventure/holiday for psychos. Haven't read it yet but looks to be nicely presented anyway.
http://isadoreapparel.com/blog/33-bon-courage

OleRodrigo

Ride report from Bjorn Lenhard, first finisher:

https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=92653.msg1912980#msg1912980