I don't usually do ride reports was asked to by my club president - this is therefore a bit more geared for people who have been less exposed to Audax.. Not being a big photographer for my own sake I didn't take any so this may be a bit dry :-
Part 1
On Sunday 16th August I found myself on the start line of my 5th 1230k Paris-Brest-Paris with successful completions in 99, 03, 07 and 11. Improved fitness in the last few years, brought about by my time trial training, had seen my times drift down. My previous best completion time, in 2011, had been 79h. This time I had scheduled for a sub 72h finish. With my wave of riders going off at 18:15 I had until the same time Wednesday evening to get back and hit my target time. The overall cut-off was 90h, so if it all started to fall apart I could spend more time eating and resting and arrive back Thursday lunchtime.
The ride HQ for this edition was at the new Velodrome in St Quentin in SW Paris. The waves of riders (approx. 300 in each) started to go off from 16:00 with the fastest groups leaving first, having an 80h limit in which to finish. For those at the front this was to be a full-on race with support crews for some and no sleep. We all had timing chips on our ankles but still had to get a brevet card stamped and signed at each of the controls on the route.
My strategy was to ride through the first night and get to Carhaix (526k) Monday evening to sleep for a planned 4hrs. I was then to ride to Brest, make the turn and then ride back to Fougeres (919k) before sleeping again for another 4hrs. From there I would ride the remaining 300k straight through to the finish. This would make for a fair amount of night riding, but I had seen most of the course in daylight before anyway.
I was riding my faithful steel Condor Tempo, fitted with a 79” fixed and sturdy 36h wheels shod with Gatorskins. I had a saddlebag containing a change of kit, warm night clothes, tools and food. I planned to snack on sports bars and gels on the move, using a top-tube mounted tri-bag and eat proper food at some of the controls as and when the fancy took me. Hydration was provided by 2 * 750ml bottles and a tube of nuun tablets.
After a quick speech from the organisers in English and French, the klaxon went and we were away. The first stretches of the course were on closed roads around the edge of St Quentin (think Milton Keynes). As always there was a mix of bike handling skill in the early miles and I used the opportunity to work my way up the group as gaps formed in order to avoid any crashes and to find the stronger riders willing to work together. Eventually as we turned onto country B roads I could see the lead car 40-50 riders ahead and tucked myself in. For the next few hours I enjoyed the steady drags working with different riders, slowing down for a chat with other British riders and then pushing on. I made a mental note to keep snacking and drank both bottles in the first 100k. During this time one of my rear lights jumped off and I stopped to pick it up, with the same thing happening a few miles later. As we rode through Chateauneuf-en-Thymerais I noticed an open bar and stopped for a coffee, pee and bottle fill. At this point I also ran a zip tie round the rear lamp to stop it coming off again.
The first stop was at Mortagne-au-Perche (139k) but it wasn’t an official control. I stopped briefly at a makeshift bar in the car park and ordered a sandwich, only to be told they had no bread, so I downed a bottle of orangina. I had a quick look inside and saw a huge queue for food so hopped back on the bike and set off on the next leg. I was still carrying plenty of food so chose to have a bar or a gel every 10-15k to see me through to the first official control at Villaines (220k). It was now pretty dark and I chased red lights, working in and out of small groups and then heading off on my own. I also started to get caught by fast groups coming from the later waves of starters. Riding at a brisk pace and not stopping at Mortagne meant I rolled into Villaines at 3:30am. I filled bottles and had a breakfast of pasta, ratatouille, cheese, bread and rice pudding. On the way out I bumped into Shussanah Pillinger, the first British female finisher of RAAM. She still seemed tired from RAAM and I later heard that she had chosen to pack there. I ended up having a 30 minute break, but I was an hour up on schedule on arrival.
Next leg was a 90k ride to Fougeres. Being an hour ahead of the UK it took an age to get light. I entertained myself by chatting to other riders – Danish, American and other Brits – finding several also riding fixed. Fougeres (309k) was reached at 8am and I had successfully made it through the night without any dozy patches. I had 50 minutes in hand over schedule so knew I had to spend less time at controls. I had another sit-down meal but, as it was only 50k to the next check I planned to bounce through there quickly. After some rolling roads between Mortagne and Fougeres, the leg to Tinteniac (363k) is flat and fast, so I was there before 11am, but only 30 mins ahead of schedule. On this leg I met Keith from Leighton Buzzard who would prove to be very good company for the next 24hrs. I grabbed a quick sandwich which ended up just being bread and butter as there were no non-meat options. A banana and a bottle refill set me up and I rolled on together with Keith.
It’s on the next few legs where you start to remember how relentlessly hilly this event is. The total ascent over 1230k is 11,000m. In average terms it doesn’t seem a lot but with tired legs you really feel it. As it was now mid-afternoon there were more spectators coming out. Often families set up stalls outside their houses and offer cake, coffee and water to riders, usually for free. For them the honour of helping out a rider on this massive endeavor far outweighs the cost of some sundries. Small children hold their hands out for high five as you ride through villages. Little things make a huge difference to a tired rider and it’s a huge shame that I didn’t stop more. Maybe next time if I’m not in as much of a rush.
Loudeac (448k) was reached at 15:20, 15 mins ahead of schedule. Whilst I was steadily dropping time I still had time in hand and I had a long break planned overnight which could be shortened if necessary. Here I had another meal of pasta, bread, cheese and rice pudding. Not having time for my usual coffee stops I was using the odd caffeine tablet to keep me alert – I had been awake since breakfast the day before. On leaving Loudeac the roads get quite rolling with a few steep climbs in the mix. It was at this point only that I regretted fitting the larger gear even though I did manage to winch it up all the climbs without having to walk.
As the outbound and inbound routes are shared a lot of the time you do end up seeing riders going both ways. I looked up to see a lone rider in German strip heading serenely in the opposite direction. He looked like he was out touring so I assumed it was someone out on his own or a rider that had DNF’d. 10 minutes later a mini-peleton of about 20 riders appeared hammering hard and chasing the lone leader. I later learned that the German rider had escaped the pack and went on to finish on his own, unsupported in under 42.5hrs – an incredible achievement from a rider that only took up long distance riding in 2012. On this stretch I saw the leading UK riders, John Barkman and Howard Waller, both looking very strong on the way back.
On this stretch we were directed into a secret control at St Nicolas-du-Pelem where our cards were stamped and we grabbed a quick drink. All these diversions robbed us of time, but I felt quite relaxed. The roads continued to roll on the way to Carhaix (526k). We reached the check just before 8pm, having ridden for just under 26hrs. Being ahead of a lot of riders, but behind the fast guys the control was pretty quiet. Having had cards stamped, I decided to skip eating and head straight to bed. I walked to the dormitory and paid a few Euros for a bed. It was just after 8pm so I booked until 00:30 for a planned 4hrs sleep. I arranged with Keith to meet in the restaurant with a view to getting back on the road at 1:30am. Despite arriving at the control 30mins later than scheduled, we would be leaving 30mins ahead of scheduled for the long stretch to Brest and the turn. Happy with a good ride to that point I had a quick wash and put some extra layers on, cleaning up the nether regions and applying a layer of sudocrem. I put my ear plugs in (there were a lot of beds in the room) and drifted off for 4hrs of blissful sleep.