Yet Another Cycling Forum
General Category => Audax => PBP => Topic started by: Exit Stage Left on 18 March, 2019, 06:56:24 pm
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Paris Brest Paris just wasn't the same after you had to pay for the beer at the Brest control. A review of material from 2007, 2011 and 2015.
In memory of Steve Hameister and others.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91vV2Tvs_1M
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In case anyone wonders how "steep" the climb through Brest is, tune in around 4:40 onwards.
Enjoyed that Damon - some bits I don't recall seeing before (plus some old classics, like the Ghost of Buck monologue :) )
The "In memory of Steve Hameister" bit was very nice :thumbsup:
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I limited it to 10 minutes, there's a lot more footage. The approach to Brest is the one used in 2011, after the dock road. It was essentially the city centre at a busy time, albeit in August, which is why most riders look aghast.
2007 used a school that's closer to the eastern edge of the city, but uses the same steep climb as the 2015/2019 approach. In 2007 I had the scattering of the ashes, followed by an encounter with a recent accident on the roundabout at the top of the hill. I didn't put that in, as there was already 'too much perspective', and the footage is poor, as I didn't want to intrude too much.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4YPCJDIjPI
I encountered Brian, the Canadian doctor who assisted at the scene, at a bar near Mamers on the return, and was assured that the patient wasn't too badly injured.
You're never very far from medical attention on PBP.
Those two incidents explain my enthusiasm for the free beer at Brest in 2007. It was also the thought of the beer that sustained me through the traffic into Brest in 2011, and why I was quite so grumpy at having to pay €1.50, as it broke the spell a bit.
The only bit of footage I took in this edit was the bit with John Muellner of Seattle Randonneurs on the bridge. Heather Swift took the 2007 and some of the 2011 footage, and David Robinson did the extreme telephoto stuff in 2011.
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Nice to see the Mayor making a brief appearance at the end, as he cycles off into the
nightmare distance.
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Those two incidents explain my enthusiasm for the free beer at Brest in 2007. It was also the thought of the beer that sustained me through the traffic into Brest in 2011, and why I was quite so grumpy at having to pay €1.50, as it broke the spell a bit.
If it makes you feel any better, I'm pretty sure I had to pay for my beer in 2007 - despite spending 40 hours being told there was a freebie waiting for me! IIRC they had "run out" of free beer. Or something (I was very near the back of the field at this point).
Despite this setback, it was in my top-10 all-time list of enjoyable beers; I rapidly dozed off next to the main steps into the restaurant, to be passed by 100s of cleated feet (and Ivo's camera) before I awoke.
(are you sure there wasn't quite a steep climb on the 2007 route as well? Probably shorter as we didn't descend down to the docks. I certainly remember the shock of meeting urban traffic.)
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Dozing off in the warm sun at Brest, sitting on a grass bank, whilst sipping my free beer was possibly my best memory of PBP 2007. Was that the only time it wasn't raining? ;)
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(are you sure there wasn't quite a steep climb on the 2007 route as well? Probably shorter as we didn't descend down to the docks. I certainly remember the shock of meeting urban traffic.)
This is the hill from 1999/2003/2007. https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@48.3974522,-4.4369986,3a,75y,303.71h,75.91t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s_oHhf-bjLglSKqAbU-Hp2g!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&authuser=0
It was used in 2015, but the school was further into Brest. In 2011 we went straight on at the foot of this hill, towards the docks.
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Another ghost at the feast, with Bill Sheldon blaming John Radford for getting him drunk the night before the start. Before that a discussion about Loudeac at St Martin.
Heather was always impressed by John Radford's magical ability to extend bar opening times.
Same clip as on the 90 hours thread.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSCzDorP7vw&feature=youtu.be