My long write-up with photo's:
PBP 2015, balancing on the limit.
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.
