Our PBP Experience

[Don Hamilton]

After reading Peters great write-up on his PBP experience, I felt I must
put my write-up out here on RANDON. This is an article that I wrote shortly
after returning from France, which was published in the monthly newsletter
of Columbus Outdoor Pursuits. This club, which we are members, has a large
number of various types of outdoor activities including bicycling, hiking,
boating, rock climbing, etc. Since there are only a few members who even
know about this type of riding, I had written an article in a previous
issue explaining what a randonneur ride was all about and talked about our
two years of qualifying prior to PBP. Phyllis and I ride a custom built
tandem and because most of the brevets that we rode had anywhere from 10 to
20 riders, we were usually riding by ourselves with most of the riders
somewhere behind us. We were glad to be doing this on our tandem because we
were able to keep the other partner up both mentally and physically, make
sure each other was eating and drinking enough (several of our qualifying
brevets were held in 90+ F temps), and to always have someone to talk to.
We were really looking forward to riding a brevet where we would see and
ride with others. PBP 1999 was our first but will not be our last.

Hope you enjoy our American perspective....

Paris-Brest-Paris
Don and Phyllis Hamilton

Two months ago Phyllis and I did an article that told you about our two
year qualifying effort for participation in Paris-Brest-Paris (PBP) which
is a 1200 kilometer brevet that happens once every four years in France. In
this article we want to describe some of our experiences on the ride and
try to convey to you what it is like doing the worlds premiere randonnee.

As we said two months ago, in order to participate in PBP we first had to
ride two sets of brevets (as of this year the rule was changed where you
now only need to do one set). A set of brevets is 200K, 300K, 400K, and
600K rides in one year. Doing the two years of brevets taught us many
lessons about what it takes to do brevet riding and be successful at riding
long distances. Once we were qualified we rested for the month of June
before starting back into a series of mostly centuries and 150 mile rides.
The off time (no we didn't stop riding, just rode shorter rides) gave us a
chance to get a mental break from the focus that we had made towards the
series. By the time we left for Paris we felt we were ready for a 1200K
ride.

PBP actually never goes into Paris. The ride starts and finishes in a
southwest suburb called Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines. This is one of the newer
suburbs on the outskirts of Paris. After a day of jet lag recovery and then
a day touring Paris (trains, the metro, and walking) we went through the
required bike and equipment check on Sunday August 22nd. We then spent the
rest of the day riding over to see the Palace of Versailles before doing
the first 35K of the PBP route. This was an experience just understanding
how the French identify roads and directions. There are suppose to be
arrows mounted at intersections to show us the route, but on Sunday
afternoon there were none to be found (probably for good reasons). Unlike
what we are used to, there were no painted arrows on the road surfaces,
they will only have arrows mounted at turns (placed on posts, trees,
fences, etc). In France as in other European countries, roads will change
names and numbers, even several times in one city or town. This just adds
to the chance of getting lost. I was concerned, but as we found out once
PBP started, the route was marked well and the only navigation challenge
was sometimes at night.

On Monday we participated in the Prologue which was a fun 30K ride around
the suburbs and countryside lead by a police escort. This was done in
groups of about 200 bikes and was really a parade and a chance for all the
riders to ride together and show off their clubs or country jerseys. The
country with probably the largest turnout for the Prologue were the Danes
all dressed up in their beautiful red jerseys with the white cross. Phyllis
and I wore our RUSA jerseys (Randonneur USA). That afternoon we again rode
a short part of the beginning of the route before heading back to the hotel
to organize things for the ride.

Starting times for PBP were based upon the maximum length of time you felt
you could finish the ride. On Monday night at 8:00pm the 80 hour group
which were mostly racers started. Following them at 10:00pm was the start
for the 90 hour group and this was broken into several groups which were
started 15 minutes apart. Just preceding the 90 hour 10:00pm start was the
90 hour start for tandems, recombents, and other non-standard bikes at
9:45pm. We chose to start with the 84 hour group which for tandems was at
4:45am on Tuesday morning. We were then followed by the 5:00am start for
the standard single bikes 84 hour group. We felt that we would have no
problem doing the 84 hour start plus we would not be riding the first 8
hours or so of the ride at night. We were in bed Monday evening at 8:00pm
so we never saw the 80 or 90 hour starts.

We arrived at the start Tuesday morning and after checking in at the
control waited for our start. Soon after 4:30 we were let out to the
starting line and after some speeches in French, a horn sounded and we were
off. There was a pack of about 25 bikes, mostly tandems, which were lead
thru the quiet city streets with both a motorcycle and van with flashing
yellow lights. However soon the whole pack came to a stop when the lead car
decided we were lost and off course. Some lady in the van got out waving a
map and saying stuff in French. Several tandems then took off down a street
and the entire pack followed assuming they knew where they were going. Soon
we saw that we were back on course and once the lead car and motorcycle
caught up, the lead pack continued out into the dark countryside. We slowly
dropped off the lead pack with several other tandems and set a more
reasonable pace knowing that we had a long way to go. Our group of four
tandems cruised together as dawn slowly approached. We stayed together
riding along on gently rolling roads past farms and through small towns.
Shortly after dawn we found ourselves riding through the 'Foret De
Rambouillet' which had beautiful tall trees and ferns covering the forest
floor.

At around the 100 kilometer mark, someone in our group looked back behind
us to see a large peloton of single bikes approaching that was the lead
group from the 5:00am single bike start. It didn't take long for them to
swallow us into their pack. For the next 25K we road in the peloton which
was made up of somewhere between 150 and 200 bikes using up all the road
width and cruising at 35-40 KPH. This was definitely a big rush to be in
this large of a group, going at these speeds. I was very careful to stay on
the edge of the pack so if there was a problem I had an out - even if it
was into the grass along the side of the road. Cars that came towards us
actually pulled off the road to let the peloton go by. We finally dropped
out of the group when Phyllis needed to stop at a cornfield. We were about
15K from Mortagne au Perche (au Perche in French means 'on the hill'),
which was only a feeding and water stop but on our return would be a
control. We had now gotten into some real hills with some long grinding but
not steep climbs. We also noticed that the distance from the start to
Mortagne au Perche was about 20K longer than was on the cue sheet. Was this
going to be a longer ride than advertised ? (yes).

After a short stop to refill on water (and mix some more Revenge energy
drink) we continued heading west enjoying a blue sky sunny morning and some
beautiful rolling farmlands. We rode along just falling in love with the
French countryside and soon started to experience what makes PBP such a
special ride. As we went thru many of the towns we were greeted by the
French people standing along the road, looking out their open windows, or
just sitting in their yards applauding practically every bike that passed
by. Sometimes they would shout out "alleez, alleez" (pronounced 'allee')
which means go go, and also the phrase that brought us misty eyes and many
goosebumps, "Bon courage" (pronounced 'bohn curahge') which means "have
courage". With this type of encouragement, support, and appreciation from
the local people it is easy to see why this is one of the greatest bike
rides in the world. In addition in several towns that we went through, the
locals had gotten out their old bikes and decorated them with flowers,
ribbons, and sometime lights. They had handmade signs along the road
offering food, water, and help, The kids were standing on the edge of the
roads waiting to give the cyclists high fives as the bikes road by. The
French love the sport of cycling and it really showed.

We continued past Mamers and onto a very long straight road (D310) that had
several of those long grinding climbs. We could see off in the distance
that the road eventually went into a town (Fresnay-a-Sarthe) that had a
beautiful huge church in the center. This was common where almost every
town, big or small had at least one church whose steeple could be seen as
we approached. We got to the first outbound checkpoint at Villaines la
Juhel where, as we approached the checkpoint, we saw that the streets were
lined on both sides with applauding people. It really made us feel great
and inspired - that these people were here to see all the cyclists and
encourage them to keep going. Of course at this point we had only ridden
about 240K with plenty more to go. After a lunch of chicken and mashed
potatoes we continued on. The day was getting warmer (my computer showed
86F during the mid-afternoon) and this was going to have an effect on
slowing many riders. We were not worried though since we had trained and
qualified in the heat. Heading towards Fougeres we rode with two riders -
John and Dick - from British Columbia who were strong and not bothered with
the hills. They would pull away from us on some of the climbs but we would
catch them on the other side and stay with them in the nice rollers. We
passed the first photo spot on a nice climb up the side of a ridge. The
photo spot is where they take your picture, which can then be purchased at
the end of the ride.

We entered Fougeres at around 330K and had a nice quick stop at the
checkpoint with some semi cold pop and a snack. We found in France that
nothing is served ice cold, just kind of cold. There doesn't seem to be any
ice machines anywhere in the country. It is rare to be able to stop
somewhere and buy a really cold pop. Leaving the checkpoint we noticed that
this was a decent sized town with a beautiful castle in the middle of town.
We continued to head west and got into some easier riding terrain with just
an occasional climb. We rode again with the two Canadians and also picked
up Steve who was riding a Bike Friday. We were also starting to pass riders
who had started with the 90 hour - people who had been out on the road for
over 6 hours longer than we had. Riding onward, watching the sun get lower
in the sky we got to the next control at Tinteniac which was at the 385K
point of the ride. There we saw Dave Buzzee and Bill McMurry (both COP
members and 90 hour starters) who were getting ready to leave. We chatted
with them, Sherry Reed, and Don (Dave's brother) and then headed into the
control keeping our stop short.

Leaving Tinteniac we were now riding at our favorite time of the day,
sunset and early evening, when the temps cool off and you feel
re-energized. Riding by lights the PBP experience became something
different. We now found ourselves riding alone and passing large groups of
riders. At night it seems large packs of bikes (they call them 'pods') form
together and we were going from pod to pod. I guess the riders feel safer
in these 'pods' of bikes even though there were no cars on the roads. After
passing the night photo spot (couldn't see very well after the flashes) we
found ourselves in fast group of riders who were from Austria, Belgium, and
Holland. I don't know what kind he had but the rider from Austria had a
front light that when he turned it on full power, it was as bright as a
motorcycle headlight. About 22:30 (10:30pm) the lead pack of three bikes
passed us heading back towards Paris. They were followed about 10 minutes
later by a chase group of about 30 bikes. We had no idea if Scott Dickson
was in either group. It was now getting late and we were both tired when we
saw the lights of Loudeac off in the distance, the next checkpoint and our
first sleep stop. We got into the checkpoint at 23:55 (11:55pm) after
having ridden 465K (almost 290 miles) since leaving the start at 4:45am. We
ate a nice dinner of chicken and more mashed potatoes watching people
falling asleep in the cafeteria while they were trying to eat. Outside we
saw riders sleeping in the shadows wrapped in their silver space blankets.
Heading up the hill we found our hotel and a nice soft bed for our upcoming
four hour nap. We were both in bed at 1:20 and soon asleep.

Up at 5:30 with a shower and pasta breakfast, we were soon (6:30) heading
off towards Brest. As dawn approached on our second morning, it was cloudy
with sounds of thunder off in the distance. We were now back in some hills
with the same long but not steep climbs. As we rode through one of many
small towns we came to a quick stop because of the marvelous aroma coming
from a small boulangerie (bakery). We picked up and enjoyed some of the
best apple danish we have ever had. We had been riding kind of sluggishly
but seemed to pick it up after our fresh morning snack. Just before a
secret checkpoint in Corlay it started to rain lightly. We put our jackets
on just long enough to go through the checkpoint and out of town when it
stopped raining. That 10 minute shower was to be the only rain for the
entire ride.

On into Carhaix for the next checkpoint at about the 540K point of the
ride. We stopped long enough to refill on liquids and pick up a couple
jambon on baguette (ham on french bread) sandwiches for the road. Every
checkpoint has a place to get sandwiches and drinks (they call it the bar)
and also another place to get a full size hot meal - the restaurant. They
always had large bottles of eau minerale (mineral water) plus beer and wine
- was this a bike ride or a party? We saw several riders partaking in the
vin and biere (I have pictures to prove it). Leaving Carhaix we rode
through some beautiful forests with more gentle climbs and descents. Soon
we got onto the D764 and started up the longest climb of the ride - up and
over Roc Trevezel whose ridge top was bare and treeless. There were
beautiful views from the top, which was then followed by a 10K downhill run
to the bottom - gee we get to ride back up this hill later on. The route
then took us onto some backroads that resembled Fairfield county with a lot
of short ups and downs, twists and turns. By now the sun had broken through
the clouds and it was turning into another beautiful day. We were riding
along with a large number of bikes, a lot who were 90 hour starters.

Soon we found ourselves on a long downhill and looking ahead we could see
what was a beautiful suspension bridge and something we had longed to see,
the ocean. Yes we had made it to Brest, and as we rode across the old
bridge (next to the new suspension bridge) we both had tears in our eyes
knowing we were here. We were actually seeing a large bay and enjoyed
smelling the salt air - a nice change from some of the other odors of the
ride. We climbed up a long hill into Brest and pulled into the halfway
checkpoint for some hugs followed by some beverage, soup, and sandwiches.
After talking with Sherry Reed who was waiting for Dave to arrive, we
headed east back towards Paris and the last half of our ride. As we rode
along the river and then up into the hills (this part of the ride was on
different roads then how we entered Brest) we started to notice the
sunshine had brought some cooler temperatures and - a tail wind !! Frank
Seebode who has ridden PBP twice said to pray for warm weather to Brest and
cooler on the way back, because warm usually means an east wind and cool
means a west wind. We didn't have much tail (or head) wind on the way out
but we ended up having for the most part a tail wind all the way back to
Paris - a 390 mile tail wind !!

We joined up with a tandem, Jim and Jamie who were from Sacramento
California. We ended up riding the next 100 miles or so with them and it
really picked up the spirits of all four riders. We were having a lot of
fun riding in the rolling hills with the tail wind and a sky full of puffy
white clouds. Up over Roc Trevezel (not to bad with the tail wind) and
onward towards the Carhaix checkpoint where we all stopped to get a nice
hot dinner (more chicken and mashed potatoes) and some nice off time from
the bike. We were now at about the 710K mark of the ride and feeling quite
good. One interesting thing about the 'toilets' at Carhaix - they were
nothing more than a fancy hole in the floor where you had to squat and do
your thing hoping your 'aim' was good. Yes we were in a French country
town. Soon after leaving the control we picked up a friend of Jim and Jamie
(Jim) and later we caught two friends of ours Mike Herbst from near
Cleveland and Bob Casciato from Pennsylvania. We had ridden most of the
Ohio series with Mike and the 600K with Bob. We all rode together into dusk
enjoying a beautiful sunset over the farmlands and hoping Loudeac was
getting close. Finally at 10:20 we pulled into the checkpoint with 330K
(205 miles) for the day and 795K (494 miles) for the ride. After another
nice hot meal, we headed back to the hotel and to bed around midnight for
another four hour nap.

Up at 4:15am and after another quick breakfast at the hotel, we were
rolling east from Loudeac (5:15) on some very quiet and dark roads. There
were other bikes on the road but not as many as we thought we would see. At
this point of the ride we had no idea if the bulk of the riders (84 and 90
hour starters) were ahead or behind us. Our third dawn of the ride broke in
the east with beautiful colors in a partly cloudy sky. Watching the sun
rise and paint the clouds with color on a quiet and peaceful morning is one
of the joys of early morning riding. We were back riding on gentler roads
and soon pulled into the other secret checkpoint at Quedillac. After doing
another quick stop we continued on into the next known checkpoint at
Tinteniac. Here we had a longer stop to get some hot breakfast food at the
restaurant. The omelet that I had was good but I tasted it for the next few
hours. After talking to Jim and Jamie who had just pulled in, we headed off
enjoying the tail wind and another beautiful day. We found ourselves riding
at a nice comfortable pace occasionally joining groups of bikes and having
small conversations (if they spoke English) before heading down the road to
meet other riders.

We got to Fougeres and once again got some hot food for lunch. It was here
that we noticed an increasing number of riders having biere and vin. I
guess at this point, some riders would try anything to reduce the pain.
Speaking of pain, something that we used on PBP was Bag Balm. We found it
kept our shorts in place, which reduced the chance of chaffing on our
butts. Yes they were sore but the Bag Balm really helped prevent any major
problems. Leaving town to again a round of applause from the people, we
headed east and shortly caught up again with Mike and Bob. We ended up
riding the rest of the ride with them. Along the route we tagged up with a
strong young rider from Spain, who rode with us all the way to the next
checkpoint. He was able to keep up with us especially in the rollers, and
soon pulling alongside, we struck up a conversation with him. His name was
Miguel and he spoke broken English which allowed us to learn a lot about
each other. This was a fine example of some of the fun of an international
ride like PBP. Getting into Villaines la Juhel we stopped at Bob's support
vehicle (Matt and Dana) and had some tuna sandwiches on French bread. In
the morning we had put our rear pannier on the bike with additional
clothes, batteries, and supplies since we didn't know where or if we would
be stopping for sleep. Before leaving Villaines la Juhel, we left it with
Matt and Dana and would pick it back up at the next checkpoint.

It was now middle afternoon and we continued to cruise still enjoying the
sunshine and tailwind. On one of the long up hills a small truck with
bicycle stickers pulled along side and started shooting pictures of us. He
continued to stay along side taking more pictures as we continued to power
up the hill. Later down the road I stopped and found he was shooting for a
French cycling magazine (Cyclio Passion). There is going to be a large
spread on PBP in their October issue so I will have to try to find a source
to see if we made the magazine. We now started getting into some longer
climbs as we approached Mortagne au Perche pulling into town (at about
1110K) as the sun was starting to set. As we stopped we found out that
Phyllis had made the local paper. On Tuesday when we passed through
Mortagne au Perche a photographer took Phyllis' picture and it was part of
a spread in their paper on PBP (we bought three copies). Mike, Bob, Phyllis
and I all had a nice long hot dinner and discussed if we were going to ride
further or sleep. After a long talk we decided to keep going and see how
far we could go, knowing that we could sleep at the next (last) checkpoint
if we had to.

For the first 20K after the checkpoint we had several long grinding climbs
which were followed by long quick descents. These can be fun even in the
dark at 11pm (thanks to strong lighting). We were also riding with a very
bright and full moon, which helped us see our way. There was one place at
the bottom of a hill where the road was under repair and there were several
people with flashing lights and bright yellow crosses warning you to slow
down. Later we road by a peaceful lake lined with trees and the full moon
glimmering on the water, a beautiful sight to see at midnight. We were now
leaving the hills and enjoying some flat riding past open fields. We could
see the lights of several far away cities off in the distance and several
times the moon was so bright we turned off our headlights. At one point we
all stopped in a small town to do a map check and there was a group of
locals there to cheer us on. They even helped Phyllis put on her jacket.
Later at about 2am we passed what I guess was a farmer sitting alongside
the road with a handmade cardboard sign and a flashlight offering the
riders help and encouragement - how can you not feel humbled by the French
people. Approaching Nogent le Roi which was the last checkpoint, we all
decided that we needed to stop and get some sleep. It was 2:15am and we had
been riding since 5:15am so the 405K (252 miles) was enough for our third
day. We slept on mats in a lighted gym but it really didn't matter, we all
fell asleep.

I was back up after about 1 1/2 hours of sleep, and soon Phyllis and I
enjoyed a breakfast of boiled potatoes and chocolat chaud (pronounced 'shoh
koh lah shoh' - hot chocolate). We were back on the bike at 6:15 knowing we
had only 65K (40 miles) left to ride. Everyone was kind of quiet especially
as the sky lightened in the east knowing this grand experience was about to
end. Once we got back onto some of the roads that we had trained on we knew
where we were. However we didn't know that they had changed the return
route and following the arrows, we ended up taking the scenic roundabout
way through town back to the gym (starting point). As we approached the
final few turns we all four did some hand slaps and wiped away the tears as
the crowd applauded our return (9:15am). Once we came to a stop and walked
the tandem over to the gym, my stoker and I shared a great big hug, a few
kisses, and some more tears for a job well done. After pictures and talking
we realized that we still had to clock in at the checkpoint - so our
official time was 76 hours 43 minutes. My computer showed total distance
was 1265K (786 miles). I don't know what on the bike riding time was (I
didn't look) or average speed (my computer showed 'E' - probably couldn't
calculate for that length of time). After some more socializing and buying
some shirts, we got the pleasure of getting back on the tandem and riding
five more kilometers back to our hotel, showers, and a bed. After a day or
so of rest we rewarded ourselves by driving a car (no biking) around the
French Alps and spending some time in quiet sidewalk cafes, looking at the
mountains, and drinking some local vin !

Some after thoughts. All five riders from the Central Ohio area, Scott
Dickson, Dave Buzzee, Bill McMurry, Phyllis and I finished the ride. Scott
was attempting to win PBP for the fourth time but the French riders had the
deck stacked against him. Dave and Bill both finished Friday afternoon,
Bills first PBP and Dave's first completion of PBP. In addition another COP
member, Todd Williams from the Cincinnati area completed the ride in 58
hours. We were very pleased with our ride. We felt that we had trained well
and thanks to the tough qualifying brevets we were ready both mentally and
physically. Was it worth all the hard work (and money) ? Yes, no question
about it. Lisa Antolino who has ridden PBP told us that this would be the
greatest bike ride we would ever do and she was right. To think that the
French people would be up at all hours of the day and night just to do
their part in helping the 3600 cyclists make their way to Brest and back
was something to experience. To see all the helpful people at the controls
and food lines doing their part for our pleasure. To meet riders from all
over the world who love the sport of cycling and all with a common goal, to
finish the ride and have fun doing it. We found that sometimes we couldn't
communicate with some of the people and riders, however a smile, applause,
and hand wave translates the same in any language. Going into these past
two years we expected to only do PBP once. However we already know that we
will return for the fifteenth Paris-Brest-Paris in 2003.

[Bill Bryant]

Don (and Phyllis)--
Great ride at PBP, and a thoroughly enjoyable ride report; thanks for
sharing it with us.
Bill Bryant

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