panoramic Paris in 26 gigapixels

Almost like being there..

AHS, ALS & FAQS

Our good friend Adrian Hands, who has ALS, wrote a remarkable FAQs about his condition. Please read it here.

In Adrian's honor, we have established the Adrian Hands Society for PBP riders who completed that event in Adrian's 2003 time of 88:55 or greater. We may soon open up a new section, "Friends of the Adrian Hands Society," to allow broader participation. Stay tuned.

A nod to Gilbert Anderson of North Road Bicycles for the picture from one of the many adventures he and Adrian had together.

PBP Contrôles

A Tenderfoot's Guide to the PBP Contrôles

With the hope of being of some assistance to English speaking randonneurs attempting PBP for their first time in 2011, I am documenting the controls as I remember them—I rode PBP in 2003 and 2007, the controls were roughly the same, though the route changed. In '07, I felt that my familiarity with the layouts from '03 were helpful, and it seems fair to pass that advantage on to new riders in '11. Though it appears controls were similar in 1999, they MIGHT be entirely different in the future. Bonne Route!

Signs:

• Les étrangers — Foreigners (you and me)
• Douches — Showers (yes, guys too)
• Couchage — Sleeping (beds)
• Dortoir — Dormitory (beds)
• Sortie — Exit
• Interdite — Forbidden
• Pousser / Tirer — Push / Pull
  (You don't want to look like an idiot at the door)

---

St-Quentin-en-Yvelines at 0km & 1228km

Spelled like the prison near San Francisco, but pronounced like "Sohn Keh-Tohn in Eeve-eh-lienz" (I think), SQY is really an agglomeration of seven towns (Élancourt, Guyancourt, Magny-les-Hameaux, Montigny-le-Bretonneux, Trappes, La Verrière, Voisins-le-Bretonneux), largely contiguous they'll look like one city to you, but the locals make a distinction. Make sure you specify "en-Yvelines" as there are other St. Quentin's all over France. They say there is an ancient hamlet in Guyancourt, but mostly this is a modern "new town". Pizza Pino is underneath Hôtel Campanile. Turkish "fast food" has become common in Europe (in the U.S. too, but here they call themselves "Greek") and there are little "Gyro" joints nearby selling Donner Kebab. "Go Sport" is something like an REI or Dick's Sporting Goods. The wisdom of participating in the official but optional pre-ride supper is questionable—In '07 lots of Americans could not find the place, adding to pre-ride stress. By all means DO participate in a pre-PBP test ride to shake out your newly assembled equipment and get a feel for navigating France. Camping is at the pond (aka Tank), built in the 17th century to power the fountains at the nearby Royal Palace of Versailles.

Mortagne-au-Perche at 140km & 1084km

You'll climb up into the cobblestoned town plaza way past midnight and find an outdoor stand grilling meat, and selling sandwiches & drinks. The real stop is another kilometre down the road. Even that is not an official control, so do not try to get your control card stamped. Entering the building, the bathrooms are straight ahead, food and drink to your right, a bar first (selling beer & wine), but after that is real food—green beans (haricots verte), mashed potatos (pomme de terre), soup, yogurt and lots more. When you reclaim your bike, continue in the prior direction—do NOT go out the way you came in.
Turn left and go downhill.

Villaines-la-Juhel at 223km & 1002km

It will probably be morning when you get here—this is my favorite control. As you enter town, bike racks are straight ahead, control card processing up the steps on the right. Food, showers and beds are across the street. There is a line to buy pastries at the card processing, but the real food is across the street. Don't try to lie down in the card processing room, they'll shoo you out.

Though we pass through countless thousand-year-old French towns, most
of the controls are in larger and more modern communes. Villaines-la-Juhel is a beautiful example of the former (the only control town NOT located on a national road), and though its population barely tops three-thousand, you'd swear every single inhabitant must be volunteering or just cheering the cyclists on at the control. Villaines-la-Juhel control opens on Tuesday at 3am and doesn't close until 11pm on Thursday—that's a lot of voluntarism! They take lots of photos here and post them on their town website, so smile!

Fougères at 311km & 914km

Pronounced "Foo-zhjehers", I think. When you pull in on Tuesday afternoon, there is bike parking on your right, but ride past it and up the hill to get to the bike parking at the card processing area. There are showers up there too. Ride back down the hill and re-park your bike in the other lot, then cross the driveway for food. Don't dally, the leg to Tinteniac is short and fairly flat.

Be extra careful around Fougères, I felt motorists there to be the worst. Maybe it was evening rush.

Tinténiac at 365km & 859km

Pronounced "Tin Tohn eeYak", rhymes with Cadillac, I think. Park your bike then walk ahead. Card processing is on your left. Farther ahead is food, indoor and outdoor. Outdoor might be sandwiches and indoor plates of hot food (upstairs?).

On the edge of Tinténiac you climb up into Bécherel then dive out of town. After that, I think its relatively flat to Loudéac. The sun will probably set long before you get to Loudéac. This leg is nearly twice as long as the last one—don't let that discourage you. Somewhere near Loudéac, expect to see the fast guys heading back already.

Loudéac at 452km & 773km

Also rhymes with Cadillac, I think. Around midnight, you'll ride in through the long maze of barricades and park, or lay your bike down at this, the most crowded of controls. To your left and up the steps is card processing and food. To your right is drop bags, showers and dormitory. Need a bed? Bonne chance! Mais, il est possible. Behind you is beer and mechanics (who likely do NOT speak English). Get ready for hills tomorrow.

Carhaix at 529km & 696km

Pronounced "Car-hay", I think. You'll get here Wednesday, mid-morning, if you slept at Loudeac. I think the Carhaix control is in a school that is closed for summer. If its cool (likely) you will be forgiven for forgetting that it is summer. Ride to the back of the parking lot, stop, dismount, turn right and WALK your bike through the hedges and onto the narrow sidewalk. Some folks try to ride through the hedges, in both directions—neither can see each other and the crashes can be ugly. Card processing and food are inside. If you need a bed or shower, grab your bike, walk back to the parking lot, turn left at the road, go down about a block (or two?) and there is another building on your left.

Head to Brest, via Monts d'Arrée National Park and Roc-Trevezel (great vistas!). Avoid the road edge, I think there are little but sharp pieces of flint in this area. Also, try to hold your line and not weave, or, at least be concious of cyclists trying to pass you.

Brest at 615km

Wednesday afternoon, you cross the Albert Louppe Bridge where the Élorn River ends at the bay. Looking inland from the Louppe you see the landmark Plougastel bridge. Continuing, you skirt the bay again, turn right and climb to the control. You never get to see the actual ocean, just the bay. Card processing, showers, food, etc. are all inside. There may be more food across the street. You ride out of Brest on a different route than coming in—no Louppe bridge. You rejoin the "allez" route somewhere after Landerneau. After Roc-Trevezal, I felt like there was loads of downhill to Carhaix—you should get there before dark.

Dreux at 1161km

Dreux was not a control in 2003—Nogent la Roi was. I did not make it this far in 2007—sorry.

Secret Controls

Expect a couple secret controls. The secret controls will likely also offer food. Bonne Courage!

Bicycle Sharing in Europe

When we were in Paris last year, the Velib bike program, where bikes can be rented from dozens of locations around the city, had recently been launched. The program has been a huge success, and other cities are following suit.

In increasingly green-conscious Europe, there are said to be only two kinds of mayors: those who have a bicycle-sharing program and those who want one.

Over the past several years, the programs have sprung up and taken off in dozens of cities, on a scale no one had thought possible and in places where bicycling had never been popular.

Here's the full story.

News of a friend from Down Under

I’ve been saddened by a tragic accident halfway around the globe.

There’s a bit of a set-up, but here goes. Paris Brest Paris officials customarily schedule a mandatory bike inspection the day before the event. PBP 07 was no different, although ultimately the inspection was canceled because of rainy weather.

My wife and I were staying in Paris before PBP07, so the morning of the bike inspection I took the RER train from the city out to St. Quentin, where the ride started.

I wasn’t the only rider who did this and the PBP participants with their fully rigged randonneuring bikes were easy to spot. As we waited on the platform for the next train, I struck up a conversation with another rider. We were both equal parts of nerves and excitement. We only shared 15 minutes, a thin sliver of time, but it was enough for the first threads of friendship. When you're getting ready for a life-changing event like 1200K of cycling, friendships form easily.

He told me his name – Bjorn – but I got in my head that he was Ian. I snapped a picture of him on the platform.


Here he is. His gesture says it all. A fellow rider brimming with life and enthusiasm and confidence.

There are also a couple photos of him on the PBP photo site. His frame # is 4966.

I did not see Bjorn again, but I had his picture in my PBP folder. I had it in the back of my mind to email the photo to him so we could reconnect for a laugh or two.

Last week, an Australian rider named Ewen posted about this Research Trailer Park item. I saw the post, thanked Ewen for it, and took the opportunity to forward the picture of “Ian” and ask for help in hunting him down.

Ewen emailed back with the bad news:

This is a picture of Bjorn Blasse from Western Australia. Sadly Bjorn is in a coma in hospital after a parachuting incident a few months ago.

I was stunned. I had not expected anything like this. I’d so looked forward to surprising Bjorn with the picture and reliving our PBP adventures.

There is some information about Bjorn’s condition on the Audax Website, and Ewen has promised to keep me updated.

I also found Bjorn's Web site.

My heart goes out to Bjorn and his wife. I look forward to the day that Bjorn and I get to share another easy laugh.

PBP Photos

Thanks to friend Ed at the Daily Randonneur for this info. As you'll see, the good folks in France have been compiling photos taken during PBP07. Type in your frame number on this page and see if any photos pop up you haven't seen.

Click on the link at the bottom of that page to learn about some of the photographers who contributed to the photo database.

I found this shot of Capn Ende...I believe this is by photographer Gregg Bleakney.



Is he cursing the heavens or looking for divine intervention? The betting money says both...


I also found this great photo of JD, Glenn and Branson. I'll guess Le Roc, but maybe Branson can verify that for us.

Bikes, Bikes, Bikes

When I traveled to France in August for this year's Paris Brest Paris, bikes were on my mind. I saw them everywhere -- on the streets, on the PBP route, at work and at play, in art and in advertising. As you'll see, les vélos are a big part of the French culture.



Here's a rack of the Velib bikes, a new self-service bicycle transit system launched by the city of Paris in July. More than 10,000 bikes, equipped with baskets and generator lights, can be rented at 750 locations around the city for as little as 1 Euro a day. The program looks to be wildly successful. We saw the stylish bikes everywhere we turned.

While touring the City of Paris Museum, I spotted this painting of a track race.



What better way to announce that La Samaritaine department store is closed for renovations than with a bicycle poster. Check out the dog in the basket.



This poster was in the door of an art shop just down the street from our hotel near the Bastille. Unfortunately the exhibit ended a few days before we arrived in Paris. That cyclist is in a very unorthodox riding position. Good posture, though.


Here's my very own steed on the train to St. Quentin for bike inspection. Certain train cars are equipped with hooks to hang the bikes out of the way.


You'll see lots of shots of bikes parked outside the gynasium in St. Quentin, where PBP check-in was held. I liked the way theses bikes lined up on the railing beside the soccer field.



Ende took this shot of English rider Drew Buck's vintage bike with a "retodrive" transmission, a two-speed set-up which required Drew to pedal his bike backwards uphill! Read more about retrodrive bikes here.



Here's Drew in action. I snapped this shot of him just outside Brest. Why the onions and the unusual bike garb? Read more about "Onion Johnnies" here.


Here's Cap'n Ende lifting his bike in a victory celebration on the Brest pedestrian bridge. "Careful," I warned him, "I've read that can cause kidney stones."


I took this shot of a postal carrier's bike in St. Jean de Luz. Notice the official emblem, La Poste, on the front bag and the down tube. Does the USPS use bikes? If they do, I've never seen 'em.




I took this shot of a bank poster in St. Jean de Luz. Why does this remind me of my buddy JoeRay? Hmm... that grade looks steeper than 3%....

621 PBP Applications...and counting...

Well, well...looks like I lost that bet.

You'll recall I wagered there'd be 600 Americans heading to Paris. My friend guessed higher.

Here's a report from the RUSA Web site:

As of Wednesday July 5, the following RUSA members' PBP applications have been received and processed through the RUSA PBP registry.

621 Entries as of July 5

One Orangina coming up.

Online Poll Results: July Training Miles

The results of the online poll are in, and one thing is clear: Most riders heading to PBP have big training plans for July.

Nearly half of you, or about 46 percent, will average 201 weekly miles or more.

As a group, you'll ride 400,000 miles in July, or 643,737 kilometers, according to one calculation.

The online poll queried PBP hopefuls about their weekly training plans this month. Here’s what the 57 respondents reported:

* One in three PBP participants, or 33 percent, said they planned to ride 201-250 training miles each week in July.

* About 25 percent, or one in four riders, said they'd shoot for 151-200 weekly miles.

* About 1 in 10 riders said they'd keep the miles to a minimum -- 100 miles or less per week.

* At the upper end of the scale, 1 of every 8 respondents said they planned to average more than 250 weekly miles.

Using the low end for each category (and tossing out the 0-100 results completely), then mulitplying by the number of confirmed RUSA participants (500), I got a whopping total of 305,814 training miles in July.

When I went with the higher end of each spectrum, I got 401,146 training miles.

Impressive indeed!

During the Big Show in August, when the miles get compressed into four days rather than four weeks, those 500 riders will rack up 375,000 miles or 603,504 kilometers, assuming they all finish.

If all of the 4,300 expected participants were to finish, they'd log 3,225,000 miles, or 5,190,134 kilometers.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the survey.

The Velorution will NOT be motorized! A Q&A With Adrian Hands

The Velorution will NOT be motorized! -- Quote from Adrian Hand’s Web site, Mi Pagina de la Bicicleta

When the Velorution gets under way, when bicycles take back the Earth and cars are rarer than a rubber machine at the Vatican, we can count on Yo Adrian to be leading the troops.

Simply put, Yo A is the best cycling advocate we’ve got.

He is the former president of the North Carolina Bicycle Club and has organized several of its century rides.

He’s been an active leader of a local charity ride, the Frostbite Tour.

He's always on hand anytime bicycling is publicly promoted in the Triangle.

And have you checked out his Web site? It’s Links-O-Rama, baby: Bikes, Routes, Safety, Clubs, Randonneuring, Advocacy, Cycling Heros, Bike Camping. You want it? He’s got it.

Maybe every cycling club has a character like Adrian. If they don’t, they need one.

Adrian is the guy who will cycle anywhere, anytime, no questions asked.

Have a few extra vacation days? Book a jet to Germany, borrow a bike from a new Internet pal, and explore the river paths, or radwegs, along the Main, Rhine, Mosel and Kyll.

Bulgaria sounds like a cool place. While there, what the hey, why not do a little biking -- say a little 1200K called Sofia-Varna-Sofia.

Up for a 200K? Hmm… this ride in China sounds interesting.

Adrian is the guy who believes bikes belong everywhere.

I remember driving back into Raleigh from a beach trip. As I hit the edge of town on Hwy 64 -- one of our busiest arteries -- I saw a fixed gear in the far right lane. Yup: Yo A.

Adrian is the guy who believes carrying water on a 600K is optional. There’ll be some along the way, right?

Adrian will be part of Team Tar Heel at this year’s Paris Brest Paris. In typical fashion, he’s arriving through Belgium for a little sightseeing beforehand.

Adrian will be riding a recumbent this time around. He has nerve damage in his left hand that has made it hard for him to use the bars and brakes on a standard bike.

Following is his e-mail Q&A. I’ve left untouched his e.e. cummings’ approach to capitalization.

You've done PBP once before. What did you learn in 03 that will help you this time? lots of little things--e.g. don't leave your drop bag on the metro--but mostly that i can do it. prior to pbp, the longest rides i'd done were the 600kms, and i'd never finished one feeling like i could take a short nap and repeat. but after pbp, i felt on top of the world. i couldn't wait four years, so i went to bulgaria the next summer to ride the 1200km there.

as far as lessons learned--get some rest BEFORE the ride...we'll see. on long rides its good to have an accurately calibrated odometer--in kilometers, more important on the rides with fewer participants to follow. france is colder than nc. pick up as many french phrases as you can.

As a randonneur, you tend to take as much time as the ride allows. If you get 90 hours, you take 90 hours. Your philosophy? we call it "getting your money's worth" ;-) i think it should be a ninety hour ride. if you finish in 80, you should do another loop, maybe to belgium and back.

sridhar said it best: "it's important to finish with a certain measure of style and grace." who wants to drag themselves half-dead across the finish line? don't finish before noon on Friday, please, it's not in keeping with the l'esprit. on an epic ride, like pbp or cnc, i hate for it to end, so theres no way i'm finishong before i have to.

Your most memorable brevet, and why? did i mention i really enjoyed bulgaria? i got a kick out of doing jim wilson's brevets in gainesville beginning in january after pbp. it was neat having randonneurs from all over--well, not all over the world, but from several states--descend on this unsuspecting florida town to light out at 4am on a brevet, whiring generators, geeky lights, reflective vests, long miles and all.

You've switched over to a recumbent. Do you prefer bent over nonbent? i really like my diamond-frame fixed-gear, but i want to do pbp on the 'bent this time, so i've parked the fixie until after pbp. i got the 'bent after a physical therapist recommended it--i've been having motor nerve problems since 2005, but honestly i'd thought about touring 'bent even before--for a better view of the french countryside, though i like the respect for tradition and heritage inherent in a proper upright bike (like Velocio rode!)

What ride or adventure is on your "Gee-whiz, I gotta do that one" list? m-g-m, s-r-s, the baltic-star lake ladoga, maybe iceland. i'd like to ride bulgaria again, but it doesn't have to be the 1200km. i've been thinking about riding from varna on bulgarya's black sea coast to istanbul--that would be cool!

You never seem to get down or show your suffering on these long rides. Your secret? maybe i'm fortunate that i don't suffer much--i don't get cramps and i've a cast-iron stomach. maybe i'm too lazy to push myself to the point of severe suffering. i was born in louisiana and though i didn't grow up there, i spent a number of years there--got married twice there--and le Joie de Vivre is one aspect of the culture i choose to retain. i think it makes sense that randonneuring attracts cheerful people--the "vineger tasters"--who know how to enjoy life even when things get uncomfortable. "Laissez les bons temps rouler!"

What book(s) are you taking to Paris? books are great, but best left at home--travel light--read them before you go, then carry memories!

What's in rotation on your I-Pod? french language lessons. the language structure seems more difficult for english speakers than spanish or even german, but it's very rewarding to learn.

When's the last time you owned a car? Why'd you sell it? seven years ago--a giant ford econoline conversion van. i was embarassed to drive it to sierra club meetings! i swear i thought the salesman was joking when he said "10mpg". over an eighteen year span, i've owned a couple vw vans, a buick, a chevy, a ford, a toyota, a mazda and then i discovered i like everything about bikes much more than anything about cars.

Any questions you wish I'd asked? i wish you'd ask me to recite the bene gesserit litany on randonneuring. thus i have heard:

"I must not sleep.
Sleep is the brevet-killer.
Sleep is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fatigue.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fatigue has gone there will be nothing.
Only the brevet will remain."

What do they call French Fries in France?

If you’re heading to France in August but don’t speak a lick of French, here’s a little online help for food and drink.

1. Follow this link for electronic audio flashcards, with translations in English and French.

2. Voila...flashcards. Click on em to turn em over.

By the way, fries are called "des frites."

Bon appetit!

PBP on the Radar: Q&A with Branson Kimball

I love riding with first-year randonneurs.

It was not that long ago that I was in their shoes. I can identify with the fear in their eyes as they line up for each successively longer event.

I remember the sweet and utter joy of crossing the finish line after that first 300K or 400K, distances that once seemed hopelessly out of reach.

I was lucky enough to ride with Durham rider Branson Kimball on his very first RUSA event. We set off on my Kerr Lake Loop permanent on a freezing day back in February. I knew Branson had Paris Brest Paris on his radar -- Raleigh News & Observer reporter Joe Miller did a phenomenal article about Branson’s quest to ride in that fabled 1200K randonnée.

After riding with Branson on his first 200K, I had no doubts about his physical abilities to finish PBP. As for his mental tenacity? Well, I've since discovered that he's as stubborn as an old mule.

I watched with dismay as Branson abandoned with an unbearable leg pain just 100 miles into the pre-ride of our local 600K brevet. I headed down the course without him. An hour later, my phone rang. Branson had worked through the pain and was back in the saddle.

About 26 hours later, as we reached the final control, Branson achieved Super Randonneur status and qualified for Paris Brest Paris.

This morning I sent Branson an e-mail Q&A to get his thoughts on his first season of randonneuring. His comments are below.

Look for Branson in Paris. He’ll be the guy on that monster yellow Serotta. With the big smile on his face....

How many brevets have you done? I finished 8 brevets, not including the Lake Loop permanent in February.

What was the hardest event you did? Why? Without a doubt, it was the DC Randonneurs' Middletown 600k. 21,000+ feet of climbing and temperatures in the mid-90s with very little shade. The jaw-dropping scenery and terrific company kept it fun though.

Easiest event and why? Only in looking back does the NCBC 200k seem easy. Surely didn't at the time when Wes Johnson punched it up to 30mph on the return and left most of us behind.

What was the biggest surprise about doing the brevets? That I could ride that far! I felt that way every time the distance got a bump. Until February's permanent, I had never ridden more than 105 or 106 miles at one time.

Lowest point? Throwing in the towel on the NCBC 600k pre-ride and watching my buddy ride off with 300 miles to do solo.

Best moment? Oh man, hard to say since there are so many. Two that leap out: 1) summiting Caesar’s Head on Bethany Davison’s Spartanburg 200k; 2) getting back on the bike after a close call with abandoning on the NCBC 600k pre-ride.

Make any rookie mistakes along the way? Learning the hard way to always get your brevet card stamped first-thing at the control. As I said, I nearly abandoned on the 600K, and when I decided to continue an hour and a half later, I forgot that I never got my card stamped. A phone call to my riding partner to tell him I was back on the route clued me in. First thing Mike asked, "Did you get your card stamped?" Uhhhhh -- no. Back to the control. Cost me another hour and a half and maybe a dozen extra miles.

Any pains along the way? Just the usual -- some saddle sores and learning how to keep the feet happy by adjusting the straps often.

What do you typically eat while riding? I love Fig Newtons and orange Gatorade on the bike. A can of Starbucks Doubleshot Espresso during the night hours. A Subway veggie sandwich with extra cheese is my favorite sit-down meal on the longer brevets.

Best pre-ride meal? Best post-ride meal? My rides go so much better when I can have a Deluxe Veggie Burrito from Cosmic Cantina the night before a brevet. The only times I've had troubles are on brevets where I couldn't get that CC fix beforehand. So I'm trying to convince the owners to franchise in Brittany by August. Post-ride, I'm not nearly as finicky and love any good, cold stout and a salad.

What are your ride and training plans from now until PBP? Lots of shorter, faster rides a couple of times a week with a century on the weekends. Maybe the NCBC 1000k and BikeFest as well.

I noticed you switched bikes and are now riding a steel Serotta Why’d you settle on that bike? Yep, it's a custom steel Serotta circa 2000. My wife Loree was keen to list it on eBay if I didn't start riding it. I'd been on my old Cannondale exclusively for the last couple of years. The Cannondale was for racing and I purposefully bought it too small to keep the weight down and make it stiffer. You guys were extolling the virtues of being comfortable, posting "Comfort uber alles" and I decided the thought of riding insane distances of 130 miles or more meant bringing the Serotta out of mothballs.

Will you be back next year? Oh yeah -- I'll be back but maybe not as a rider. My wife Loree and I are adopting a child so I'll probably be volunteering with our main man Alan Johnson more so than riding. But we've met so many incredible people that I can't imagine being away completely so yes -- I'll be back in some capacity.

3 Tales of Tar Heels at PBP

If you're fairly new to randonneuring, you may not know that RUSA has twice published a PBP Yearbook with retrospectives from members who’ve participated in that celebrated event.

The 2003 edition, with 28 accounts, was compiled by two of RUSA’s most devoted volunteers: former president Bill Bryant; and Lois Springsteen, who currently processes RUSA’s brevet results.

The book was a rousing success. Here’s how one Canadian reviewer described it:

An interesting feature of this collection is how nicely the stories complement each other. Participants experienced similar sorts of things -- encounters with the "British Triple", the overcrowding at Loudeac, and droopy head syndrome ("Shermer's neck") for example, are recurring themes -- but the descriptions are always from a slightly different angle. The riders are moving at different speeds, passing through locations at different times and so their observations are out of phase with each other. It all adds up to a vivid portrait of the event that could not have been written by one person. You can think of this as a single story told from multiple points of view.

North Carolina was capably represented in the 2003 edition by three riders -- Adrian Hands, Capn John Ende and Will Martin.

Adrian and Capn’s stories are available online. Will sent me his story so I could excerpt portions here. All three accounts are instructive reads on the highs -- and the lows -- you’re likely to encounter in your own PBP adventure.



Capn John Ende

Let’s start with Capn Ende, one of the most enthusiastic under trainers I’ve ever met. Any time you ride with Ende, you can count on a little wry with your ham.

Ende's PBP 03 account proves the old Carol Burnett maxim: Comedy is tragedy plus time. Here’s how he described the 80-hour start:

The streets were closed to traffic and lined with enthusiastic spectators. The start line was wild, complete with some type of Moroccan music and kids doing crazy stunts. One girl, about eight years old, was riding a stationary bike spinning hypnotic wheels. As I watched they spoke (pun here) to me, “You are crazy, you are crazy, you are crazy”. It was awesome. It was festive.

Ende chose the 84-hour start, which departed at five a.m., hours after the 80 and 90-hour groups left.

It was an exhilarating feeling to finally be on this ride. Our peleton was huge. It was dark. It was fast. It was PBP! Exiting the suburbs, the course descended onto relatively flat farmland. This was the flattest part of the route, I would later learn. I was surprised at how quickly we were into the countryside. Weren’t we just in Paris? The first hour was fabulous, but intense. Such large packs in the dark make attentive riding mandatory.

Things went swimmingly for a while…

All in all we covered the first 100 miles in 5:50. Now I know that this is nothing to write home about but I thought that it wasn’t bad considering that I was scheduled to complete 6.5 more consecutive centuries after this. I was half an hour ahead of schedule in Mortagne, and then 20 minutes ahead of schedule at Villaines-la-Juhel. At this pace I thought that I could make La Trinite Porhoet by 10 PM, climb into bed and sleep between five to eight hours. Plans and pace are funny things. They are dynamic things. Things change. That is all you can count on.

And then la merde hit le ventilateur:

Thirty-five km out of Tinténiac on a relatively easy section it hit. Stomach cramps! What was this grumbling in my stomach? Was it the large volume of Sustained Energy that I had consumed? Was it the water that I had accepted from a kid on the side of the road? Was it mesenteric ischemia, a life-threatening condition that I thought may have been reported in ultra athletes? Hey, that’s weird, am I an ultra athlete? Every time I pedaled over 10 km/hr the cramping became so intense that it sent me doubled over to the side of the road where I would stand over my bike until the intense pain had stopped. I would continue a short way and the pattern would repeat. It ultimately took me three hours to cover the last 30 km.

Did the Capn recover? Mais, oui! But his struggles, in and out of the water closet, make an entertaining read. Check it out here on Adrian's site.


Adrian Hands

The adventures of local velorutionary leader Adrian Hands began long before the event. Here’s his account of a train ride to the start:

I rearranged my belongings into hotel stuff and PBP drop bag contents and we set out for St. Quentin. Our subway ride toward the regional rail line at St. Michel was going along smooth as silk when Sridhar noticed I was no longer carrying my drop bag. Uh-oh. Left it at the station. We double back, but no-go, it’s gone. So, it turns out I’m riding PBP sans drop bag—another good reason to pack all the really important stuff in the pannier. Hey, drop bags are for wimps anyway, right?

It would be a full year before he and his bag were reunited. Get him to tell you the story. And that was not the only bag he lost. He left a pannier in Carhaix, intending to retrieve it on the way back from Brest. Guess what…

Horror of horrors!...my pannier is not be found! I check around, to the point of annoying the staffers, at the control, read the message board, leave messages, try to buy a jacket or at least a reflective sash -- no dice. Too much time wasted. Let’s go, Allons, mes Amis!

But wait! He’s not done yet.

Miles up the road I remember the headlamp I just borrowed from Lisa is still hanging in the shower room. Arrghh! That’s two headlamps I lose before ever using either one!

Adrian suffered throughout the ride from sleep deprivation. Here’s how he describes a roadside nap:

It is getting close to the control closing time; I don’t see Sridhar or anybody else that I know, but the crowd is SO large I could’ve easily missed them. Push on. Did I eat too much? I’m feeling sleepy...hot afternoon sun...better pull over and let the plan slip. No way around it, the charming French countryside, the small farms with stone buildings that smell of ripe apples and warm hay-straw, they all whisper to you to relax. “Lie down with us in the pastures”, they say, and it is ten times more intoxicating than any silly sirens singing to Ulysses. I take a caffeine pill, set my new watch alarm for a ten minute snooze, shut the eyes and lay back in the fresh sun-baked straw. Zzzzz.... An hour and a half later I wake up to find I had set the alarm to 10:36 PM instead of AM! Oh well, if I was that out of it, I probably needed the rest. Now that I’m refreshed, I can push a bit harder.

Neither lost luggage nor lost sleep kept Adrian from the ultimate prize. Here’s the link to his full story.



Will Martin

Adrian was not the only one to suffer from sleep deprivation. Winston-Salem rider Will Martin described a similar experience, with a dash of hallucination tossed in for good measure:

About ten miles west of Carhaix, I am suddenly overwhelmed by the desire for sleep. I get off my bike at a traffic circle. I know that if I lie down, I will quickly get cold, so I try to take a short nap sitting with my back against a signpost. I can’t fall asleep and get cold anyway. I press on in the darkness in the direction of Brest, which now seems impossibly distant.

I climb a long grade, and the exertion makes my shivering go away. But as the shivering subsides, the sleepiness returns. I eat some energy food; I yell; I sing out loud, something from the Sound of Music of all things. Nothing works. I pedal on aimlessly for a while. I stop again and get an emergency space blanket out of my rear rack bag. I lie down and wrap myself up in it as best I can. I begin to think that my wife and three children are with me. We are all cold. I know it is a delusion, but I can’t make it go away. Sleep escapes me and I begin to shiver again. I have to get back on the bike and try to keep moving.

Will was in phenomenal shape for PBP 03, and he finished in under 70 hours (69:48). But his physical exertion eventually exacted a dear toll. Here’s how he described an alarming problem he had with his neck about 672 miles into his epic journey:

At some point I realized with alarm that it had become nearly impossible for me to keep my neck bent to see the road ahead. This presented some obvious safety concerns, especially in paceline riding, which requires constant attention to the small gap between your front wheel and the rear wheel immediately in front of you. I reluctantly dropped off the back of the paceline.

I reached up and felt my neck. The muscles running along my cervical spine were like steel rods. On ultra marathon rides, you expect that just about every hinge in your body will get stiff and sore, including your neck, but God almighty, this was something else altogether! It was as though there was an anvil on the back of my head when I tried to bend my neck. It required a tremendous effort that I couldn’t sustain for more than a few seconds at a time. I quickly developed a new riding style to keep my neck as straight as possible. On the climbs, I looked straight down, keeping an eye on the distance between my front wheel and the right edge of the pavement. Every so often, I bent my neck back just enough to quickly peek over the handlebars at the road ahead. On the descents, I sat up straight in the saddle, hands off the handlebars, and coasted to the bottom. In this way I struggled into the checkpoint at Mortagne…

Will also describes the magic personal connections he made at Mortagne au Perche…

Before leaving Mortagne, I had an extraordinary series of encounters with several local people. It started with the man in charge of the dorm and culminated with a baker at a boulangerie. In between, there was a beautiful woman who escorted me to the showers, a volunteer at the checkpoint infirmary who tried to treat me for sunburn when what I wanted was sun block, a little man with a mustache and a mechanical voice box who led me to the tucked-away pharmacy that had been mapped out on a scrap of paper by the infirmary volunteer, and the pharmacist who finally understood and sold me a tube of 60-strength sun block to replace the one I’d put in a blue duffle that never got delivered to the bag drop at La Villaines. I was deeply, deeply touched by their efforts to help me. By the time the baker handed over the ham and cheese baguette sandwich she’d made for me, I had tears in my eyes. There I was, pretty bad off and facing a difficult ride to the finish, but somehow I was feeling an incredible joy. It was as though the people who helped me were lit up by some special light that gave extraordinary life to their simple acts of kindness. I felt like I was catching a privileged glimpse of something, some rarely seen reality that had briefly opened up, because of, not in spite of my pain. But I had to move on and leave it to others to ponder the connection between suffering and gladness.

Ah... the magic and madness that is PBP...

Fun Things to Do in Paris before PBP

Congratulations! You’ve qualified for PBP.

Like many other cyclists, you’ll be staying in the Paris suburb of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, where the ride starts.

But remember that the City of Lights is just a short train ride away, so head on in for some sightseeing. Here are a few suggestions that won’t break the bank.

Go see the big two. Yes, the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame. These are mandatory stops for every Paris tourist. And if you need some last-minute hill work, be advised that both monuments have considerable stairs. Note: the Hunchback is long gone, retired to his bell tower in the countryside, but you can still light a candle in his memory.











Soak up the outdoor sculpture. The admission price can’t be beat.These two pieces caught my eye in 2003. The fish I get, the big head -- not so much.







Take a walk along the Seine. The river promenade is the perfect place for a stroll. Is that a boat or a botanical garden? Thank goodness there’s a ready water supply nearby.

Visit a bike shop. You know you need something, so duck on in. But first, practice this line: “Just for a minute, hon….This won’t take long, I promise.”




Browse the street art. You’ll earn valuable bonus points if you find something with the Eiffel Tower AND a bike race.



Listen to a street performer. Don’t forget to drop a Euro in le chapeau.
















Visit the Arc de Triomphe. Go ahead. Take a victory lap. Lance would approve.












Relive “The Da Vinci Code.” Yes, there it is. The pyramid that played such a pivotal role in Ron “Opie” Howard’s movie. Contrary to popular belief, it was not blown up in the filming of another movie, “Team America: World Police.”






Ride the Ferris wheel. Do it for the view. A little known fact: this is actually where Ferris Bueller spent his day off.












Skip the Louvre and head straight to the Musee d'Orsay. A truly great museum on the left bank of the Seine, housed in an old railway station, with several fantastic Van Gogh self portraits. Also, a pretty good café. Another good choice is the Picasso Museum. By the way, when you’re done with PBP, you’ll feel -- and smell -- like an old goat.




Explore the side streets of Paris. You’re sure to stumble upon a superb restaurant tucked away in a narrow back alley -- and Lord knows you need the calories. This shot was taken behind the Pantheon.




Spend a few moments checking out those funny European cars. They call this one the Smart Car. At 58 mpg, it’s looking smarter every day. Not sure where the bike rack goes, though. I understand they’ll soon be imported to the U.S.




Take a stroll down the Champs- Élysées.With a thousand of your closest friends. But stay out of the stores. This is a serious, high-rent district.

Treat your honey to a romantic, candlelight dinner. He or she deserves it for putting up with all of your kooky bike rides.