Paris Brest Paris 2023
 |
| PC: Maindru photo |
2023 Edition (this is the 20th edition of this ride)
20 August 2023 to 23 August 2023
Distance: 1,227 kilometers
Allotted time: 90 hours
Time taken: 73 hours 15 minutes
Start time: 20 August 2023, 6:04 pm
Paris Brest Paris (PBP) is a 1,200 kilometer brevet.
It is held every 4 years. It was held for the first time in 1891 in a race
format and was held in the brevet format for the first time in 1931 in which
the riders have to complete it within 90 hours with no competition. It was
being held every 5 years from 1951 till 1975 and since then it is being held
every 4 years. The 20th edition of the brevet was scheduled from 20 August 2023
to 24 August 2023.
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| Registration day PC: Suresh Subbaiah |
Why PBP 2023:
- It is the most popular randonneuring event in the world
- Having missed the 90 hour mark by 35 minutes in 2019, it was an opportunity to right the wrongs of the 2019 ride
- Experience the French love for cycling again
Equipment and Set Up:
 |
| Bike set up |
Bike: Trek Emonda ALR 5
Groupset: Shimano 105 11 speed (11-32 cassette at the
rear, 50-34 chain ring in the front)
Tires: Continental GP 5000
Lights: Cateye Volt 300 and Cateye AMPP 400 for the
front and Niterider Cherrybomb for the rear
Top Tube Bag: Phone, 2 cateye batteries, clear lens,
20,000 mah power bank, few caramel candies and 1 chamois cream pouch
Saddle Bag: Trek N Ride Canguru Bag – Tool kit, Lube,
Tire levers, puncture kit, DHB Aeron Winter Jacket, Gore Cold Weather gloves,
pump and 4 spare tubes
*The items which were kept in the drop bag instead of
carrying on the bike were - spokes, tire, brake pads; these cycle spares were
done away with since the control points were only about 80-90 kilometers apart.
* The rain jacket was also kept in the drop bag
reducing the volume of the saddle bag, although not very heavy the rain jacket
occupies a lot of space making the saddle bag big and sway more. Given that the
weather report did not forecast rain until the last day of the ride (24 August
2023), the rain jacket was kept in the drop bag in case the weather report does
not hold.
Navigation:
Primary Navigation:
The 1,219 kilometer route is marked extensively by the organizers.
The roundabouts had been marked; there were stickers on the road indicating the
direction to Brest on the onward route and towards Paris on the return route. The
markers were fixed on lights posts or holders at the roundabouts based on the
height at which the cycle light would illuminate the markers. However, given
the various kinds of cycles being used at PBP it was difficult to cater to all
the types of cycles while fixing the markers.
Secondary Navigation:
Device: Garmin Edge 520 +
 |
| Navigation unit |
The 1,219 kilometer route was divided into 14
segments. There were 14 control points, few services only controls and two
secret controls; the organizers had shared the 1,219 kilometer route and also 15
files [splitting the 1st segment as Start to Mortagne (services
control on the out bound and control on the return and Mortagne to Villaines La
Juhel) for the control to control maps. Since this was largely an out and back
route, I had decided to use the control to control route rather than the full
course. In case we got onto the return route by mistake then the full course
would not show that we were off route, so decided to load the route for the
respective sections when we reached the control. The out bound route and in
bound route files were also available and had been loaded in case one of the
segment files fails to load.
The routes had been downloaded on Garmin connect
(thanks to Raghu Nandan Nagaraja for the detailed document on how to load the
route from Open Runner to Garmin).
Weather update:
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| Not too cold, some rain, some strong winds PC: Abhishek Singh |
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| Cross winds for most of the course PC: Abhishek Singh |
The weather plays a key role in influencing the difficulty of the route. The distance and elevation are fixed; however, the weather is not constant and can enhance the difficulty level of the course. The weather forecast for the ride was cross winds, temperature during the day about 26 - 30OC, and the night time temperature in the 14 – 18oC range. Rain was forecast on 24 August 2023.
Jean from JFT cycling is our on ground weather expert.
We enquired with him about the weather when he came to collect drop bags the day before the ride and he said “No stress about the weather; it gets very
cold at Brest at night.
Total Time:
 |
| Cut-off timings printed on the Brevet Book |
The total time for the ride was 90 hours. Although the
distance was 1,219 kilometers there would be no additional time for the 19
kilometers over 1,200 kilometers.
My start time was 6:00 pm 20 August 2023 and I had to complete the ride by 12:00 pm 24 August 2023.
Plan:
4 years had passed and there was a better understanding not only of the demands of the ride, but of myself and the minimum sleep requirement to be able to ride at a steady pace. I did not want to over plan or over think for the ride and had a very basic plan. The plan for the ride was as follows:
|
Day |
Hours |
Target Distance (kilometers) |
Location |
|
1 |
24 |
435 |
Rambouillet to
Loudeac |
|
2 |
24 |
350 |
Loudeac to Loudeac |
|
3 |
24 |
324 |
Loudeac to Mortagne
Au Perche |
|
4 |
12 |
110 |
Mortagne Au Perche to
Rambouillet |
|
|
84 |
1,219 |
|
Sleep break: no sleep until I reach the 600 kilometer
mark (Brest). If I get very sleepy then take a power nap and get to Brest. On
the return the thought was to stay off the road from 1:00 am to 4:00 am as it
gets very cold during this time.
It was a basic plan and the thought was to improvise the
plan based on the progress and to try and minimize the possibility of riding on
the 4th night as much as possible. Having hallucinated on the 4th
night in the 2019 edition, I wanted to have a sufficient buffer by the time I
reached Mortagne Au Perche on the return leg. Stay well ahead of the control
point cut-offs and no stress about reaching a control, try as much as possible
to stay clear of the cut-offs.
Drop Bag Locations:
The drop bag service is not provided by ACP (PBP
organizers) and we have to engage a third party if we require the drop bag. JFT
cycling is what we had used in 2019 and it was the one which we opted for this
time also. Opted for drop bag at Loudeac which gave access to the drop bag
twice, that’s 435 kilometers on the onward route and 782 kilometers on the
return route. Although, I could access the drop bag twice, I planned to access
it only once, i.e., on the return leg and would access it on the onward leg
only if it rained, so that I could change into fresh clothes and take the rain
jacket.
Gratitude:
Tanushree, Akash and Nakul – my support system back home; keeping me motivated and emotionally perked up
Gaurav Ganapathy – taking care of the house while I was away
Mohan Subramanyam – guiding and mentoring my cycling
journey; providing the platform to ride and motivating us to get over the
finish line and not only about getting us to the start line.
Audax India Randonneurs, Raghu Vishal, Mohan
Subramanyam, Raghu Nandan Nagaraja – for supporting with the logistics for the ride and also providing
valuable inputs on the ride.
Rajkumar Khot and Pritish Abraham – rides with both of
you prepared me physically and mentally for the challenges that we would be
encountering on the ride
Pritish Abraham and Charlene Mathias – for taking
care of the logistics before and after the ride which allowed me to focus on
the ride preparation
Mohan Subramanyam, Siddalinga Swamy, Prasad and Raghu Nandan Nagaraja - for all the tips for the ride and training, whether expressed or by following your rides, truly inspiring
RR Cycles (Madivala) – For sourcing parts and getting
the cycle ready to work well during the ride. Credit for the ride goes largely
to the bike for holding up and not having any mechanical issues during the
ride, cannot express how grateful I am to Rakesh and his staff for taking care
of the bike
Biju Kunnapada (Cycling Boutique) – for the bike fit
which made life on the saddle easier
Garmin – navigation worked well. Although it was
supposed to be the secondary navigation device, it had become the primary
device and I was dependent on the device. Although, the route was marked, it was
especially helpful at night since it would take time for the cycle light to
illuminate the markers on the road, also, rather than riding in doubt when I
was isolated on the route, knowing that I was on the route was helpful to keep
the pace up
Ride Partners:
1. Rajkumar Khot – from introducing me to PBP, to riding together and then sharing the 2019 PBP disappointment and coming back for another shot at it, our paths have been similar and it’s been great to have your company through the cycling journey. From pushing me at the start to pushing me to keep the pace up on the 3rd day, it was wonderful and motivating to have you around.
2. Pritish Abraham – fortunate to have caught up with you at Tinteniac. It was another great experience to be riding with you. It was not only about the ride; however, the company on the pre-event rides also made it a super PBP 2023 experience.
3. Nakul Khadilkar – it was fantastic riding with you; enjoyed chatting with you on the ride and grateful to you for striking a conversation on the second night when I was fighting sleep to get to the Brest control, needed those 15 minutes to get out of the sleep mode
4. Bangalore Randonneurs – Each and every rider has been a motivation. It was great to see the huge contingent and seeing the group of riders largely progressing well through the ride was motivating. The rider community back home has always been motivating and has got our backs, always grateful for the support and encouragement
 |
Bangalore Randonneurs at Paris PC: Mohan Subramanyam |
Organiser/Volunteers – no ride is possible without the
organizers and the volunteers. Thanks to the organizing team for putting
together this event. The route was beautiful (greener and more scenic than the
2019 route), the climbs were unrelenting, however made this a ride to remember.
Shout out to the volunteers for making this ride possible for us. Welcoming us
with smiles and waking us up on time and ensuring that everything was done to
help us have an unforgettable experience.
Locals Enroute: Grateful to y’all for coming out of
your homes to support and encourage us and also opening your homes to us.
Cheering us on and motivating us to keeps us going as it keeps our energy
levels up. “Allez, allez”, “Bon voyage”, “Bon Courage”, these chants will
remain forever etched in my memory.
Maindru Photo: thank you for the wonderful clicks along the route.
Family and friends: family and friends have always got my back. Your support and understanding has helped immensely in the cycling journey.
Challenges at Paris Brest Paris
The distance, elevation and weather are the primary challenges at PBP and the preparation for the ride mainly focuses on preparing for the distance, practicing for the elevation and getting the right apparel for the weather. However, there are a few challenges which we consider as smaller but could have a telling impact on the ride.
1. Evening start
The evening start
implies that we would have to ride through the first night and if we do not
build a sufficient buffer by the time we reach the half way mark we would be riding on all the nights on this ride. The risk of sleep deprivation
is high and the risk of failure is high
2. Acidity
The usual food intake
times which are around 7:00 – 10:00 am for breakfast, 12:00 – 2:00 pm for lunch
and 7:00 - 10:00 pm for dinner are difficult to do at PBP. The first food
service control at PBP is at 120 kilometers, which for a rider starting at 5:30
pm (1st batch of 90 hour start) comes between 11:00pm – 1:00 am on
an average. Similarly the subsequent controls are reached at odd times and we
tend to eat when food is available and not when food is required. The risk of
acidity is high due to the irregular hours that we would be eating at and also
that we are mostly eating junk food (Coke and pastries) to get through the
ride. At PBP, more often than not we have to get to the control for food, so
riding on low nutrition is another common occurrence at PBP.
3. Road Surface
The road surface on the
PBP route is rough which results in increased rolling resistance, slower ride times and fatigue setting in earlier than what we are used
to.
4. Waiting for the start at Rambouillet
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| Line up for Bike check at the start point |
On most occasions we
arrive about an hour before the start of an event. However, at PBP we are
lining up in the queue about an hour before the start time. We arrive at the
start location about 2-3 hours prior to our start. We get consumed by the
energy and flair at the start line, that the simplest of things like filling up
our water bottles is forgotten. We start with water bottles which are not
topped up and have to make an early stop for water. Getting baked in the sun
waiting to start is another difficult aspect at the start. We are excited at
the start and ignore this, but it’s a catch 22 situation, drink water to reduce
the impact of standing in the queue, at the same time having to start with less
water and having to stop early
5. Dehydration
A thing which happens
with ease at home, we tend to ignore when we are travelling. When staying on
foreign soil and being so focused on getting the bike ready, practice rides,
site seeing we forget that we are not consuming enough water and are not hydrating
well enough. The risk: dehydrated on the ride and unable to eat on the ride.
Small challenges which could impact the ride; however if we are affected by these it’s up to us to overcome these challenges on the ride and make it past the finish line. It can be done, how much time we take to figure things out and make our way back will decide the outcome of the ride.
Last minute decisions:
1. Get away from numbers and go by feel
I did take the heart
rate monitor (HRM) and the cadence sensor, however, I decided to not use either
of them. The HRM and cadence sensors would give the numbers and I might end up being
consumed by the numbers and also if it’s not working, then fidgeting with the
garmin unit and then wasting time to make them work, so decided to get rid of
both of them and go on feel. Look at the road rather than looking at the unit
always was the motto for the ride.
The thought process
earlier was that I should carry what was required for any contingency. So rain,
mechanical issues, health issues, food, clothes, lighting all of them were
present on the bike. For this edition:
Rain – rain is forecast only on 24 August 2023, that would be during the day and with 12:00 pm being the finish time, I could take the rain in the day. Further, the cold weather jacket gave minimal protection against rain, so light showers could be handled with only the cold weather jacket. Keep the rain jacket in the drop bag and access it if the forecast does not hold.
Mechanical issues – the control points were 80-90 kilometers apart. Rather than carrying the spare tire and spokes along, I could get access to these at the control points as they are well stocked. So took the risk of not carrying the spare tire and spokes, kept them in the drop bag, in case the spokes were not available
Health issues – We would be passing through various villages and pharmacies are present, so opted to use these instead of carrying the medicines
Food – decided to eat at the controls rather than carrying ready to eat sachets. Reduces weight not only on the ride, on the flight as well as this saves about 2-3 kilograms of weight
Clothes – change clothes only at the drop bag location and not at any place on the road. Although on the road would be quicker, the used clothes would add weight and riding after the change would impact the ride, so opted to use the drop bag
Lighting – One main light and one spare light, similarly for the rear light also, one light with a spare light. Don’t over think the situation and carry loads of spare batteries and back up lights for the backup lights.
3. Food
 |
| Croissant, Pain Au Chocolate, Orange Juice Staple French Food |
Eat the food at the
controls or in the towns. Being a non-vegetarian I did not have to worry about
being limited on the food choice front. However, I would have to get used to
the bread and bun and used the days before the ride to get used to the food.
The food was predominantly sweet and if I could keep acidity at bay I was
sorted for the ride. Used caramel candies on the road to keep the energy levels up,
this worked well
Comparison:
The comparison between 2019 and 2023 based on my experience is as follows:
|
Particulars |
2023 |
2019 |
|
Route |
1,219 kilometers with elevation gain of 11,000
meters. Although the elevation gain is almost the same, this edition was definitely
hillier than the previous edition with the gradient being steeper this time
around. |
1,220 kilometers with elevation gain of 11,000 +
meters. Rolling terrain from start to finish with the gradient of the terrain
being gentle on most occasions. |
|
Scenery |
Greener than the last edition. Lot of corn fields
this time and forest areas also passed through during the day time. |
Yellow bald fields for majority of the ride. Few
sunflower fields which made a pleasant view for sore eyes. |
|
Weather |
Hotter by 4 - 5oC during the day with the
average temperature during the day hovering between 28-32OC. Night
temperature was not as cold as the previous edition with the mercury dipping
to 12oC near Brest, in the other locations it was in the 14-16oC
range. |
Day time temperatures were in the 24 - 28oC
range. Weather felt pleasant during the day. Night was extremely cold with
the mercury dipping to 8oC. Night riding was extremely difficult
on account of the cold weather. The buffer built during the day was lost
during the night. |
|
Road Surface |
The road surface was smooth for about 200-250
kilometers before the rough surface made a comeback. Cobblestones were
minimal and have been minimised which made the ride through the villages
smoother and easier. |
Rough surface through the route with cobblestones at
almost all the villages which necessitated slowing down and re-accelerating
in most of the villages. The vibration from the road resulted in fatigue and
body ache by the 900 kilometer mark. |
|
Traffic |
Increase in traffic on the route, drivers not as
patient as it was back in 2019. Still very safe to ride, however, drivers do
pass closer than they were doing in 2019. Lots of trucks on the road for about 100-150 kilometers of the route and this
required extra concentration levels to avoid being pushed off the road due to
the wind when the trucks passed by. |
Negligible traffic with truck traffic on probably
20-30 kilometers of the route. Drivers waited patiently behind the riders to
pass and kept sufficient distance while passing by. |
|
French Support |
Although the people were still out, there is a
reduction in numbers. Did feel that the support was present where it was not
required and was not available in places where it was needed (possible due to
where I was on the road at a time). |
Out in numbers at almost all the villages except on
the 3rd night of the ride. The French people braved the cold
nights and stayed out to serve and motivate the riders. |
|
Sleep Management/Hallucination |
Overall got 2:35 hours of sleep which was divided as 2:15
hours of sleep and 20 minutes of power naps. Got 1:30 hours of sleep on the 2nd
night, 45 minutes on the 3rd night and 15 minute power nap on the
4th day which helped to minimize hallucinations. |
Sleep was mainly power naps on the first 3 nights
and when I did sleep on the 4th night I slept for 5 hours when I
could afford to take only an hour at that time. Overall got about 7 hours of
sleep. |
|
Bike Set Up |
Trek Emonda ALR 5 (11 speed) with a top tube bag and saddle
bag. Carried a cold weather jacket instead of the rain jacket. 4 spare tubes
instead of 6 (4 as I was using GP 5000 tires for the first time, would have
carried only 1 if I was using Gatorskins), ready to eat sachets were avoided.
Spare tire and medications were kept in the drop bag instead of carrying them. |
Trek Alpha 1.5 (9 speed) with a handle bar bag and saddle bag.
Carried a rain jacket and not a cold weather jacket. Carried a spare tire,
medications, ready to eat sachets, 6 spare tubes. Made minimal use of the
drop bag. |
|
Tires |
Continental GP 5000 (0 punctures on the ride) |
Continental Gatorskin (1 puncture on the ride) |
|
Nutrition |
Carried only caramel candies and gave the ready to eat
sachets a miss. Tried to minimize the use of the restaurants at the control
and eat at the refreshment counters to save time. Made use of the services
only controls so that the timing of having the food was more ‘when required’
than ‘when available’ |
Relied on a combination of ready to eat (upma and poha) and food at the Controls. Ride strategy was to ride from control to control, so stops between controls was avoided as much as possible |
Ride Report:
There is a lot of time
for the start…..or is there??
6:00 am on 20th August 2023, unable to
sleep well through the night, rolling around in bed, there is still time to get
going, can try to get another short nap in. 5 minutes later, eyes are open as
the nervousness for the ride begins to build. After a further hour of rolling
around and looking out off the window to gauge the weather, a dry day the Sun
is out and keeping the fingers crossed that it remains that way through the
ride.
Although the start time is 6:00 pm, we have to check
out from the hotel at 12:00 pm, head to Trappes town for lunch and then to the
train station to catch the 2:30 pm train to Rambouillet. Schedule for the day
drawn up, however, things don’t always go to plan.
Took out the kit to wear for the start and realized
that I had inter changed the kits, the kit which was supposed to go in the drop
bag was with me and the one for the start was in the drop bag. The leg warmer
was in the drop bag; the thought of having to ride through a cold night without
the merino wool leg warmer was unnerving. Given that the weather forecast was
for a warm day and not too cold night, I hoped for a warmer night as well and
steeled up to face the cold at night.
Headed down to check out and leave, a couple of last
minute co-ordinations with the luggage transfer to the rooms, had me running up
and down the flight of stairs, got back to the bike, feeling thirsty, let me
have a sip of water……”Khataakkkkk”…..the bottle cage broke when removing the
water bottle. Damn! why is this happening, seems like things are beginning to
fall apart before the start. Decided to get a bottle cage at the start line and
in case it’s not possible to get one would carry one bottle in the back pocket
of the jersey which I planned to use in the first 120 kilometers and knew that
the water situation can be managed on 1 bottle after that.
Headed for lunch, ate lunch, packed a chicken Panini as food
for the ride, planned to eat this on the go during the ride so that I could stay
on the bike longer. Headed to the train station where most of the riders were
waiting for the train. The train arrived, a packed train which we filled up
further and then the 30 minute train travel with the nervousness and tension
for the start building up.
 |
| BR riders waiting for the train |
 |
| Mohan Sir getting a moment to himself |
 |
| Swamy probably studying the PBP route |
 |
| Prasad taking a power nap before the ride starts |
Having eaten at 1:00 pm, it was more like a top up and not a full meal that I had at the start point. Wished the other riders and headed out to join the queue for our respective groups.
Riders all around and looking at their bikes and
different set-ups kept us occupied and the nervousness for the start was
forgotten for a while. Filled up water and then got into the queue for Group I, the 6:00 pm start group. Lined up at the back of the group and got through
the bike check and card stamping and then the wait for the clock to tick to
6:00 pm.
 |
| Start point excitement |
 |
| Waiting for the countdown |
Rambouillet – Villaines La Juhel
Well begun is half done
10….9……..3….2…1….Go
The countdown is done and it’s a go. A half a
kilometer ride on a gravel track to exit Rambouillet Chateau compound was
done gingerly. The ride was a go; Raj and I got moving. We started moving
through the group and realized that starting at the back was going to cost us a
little on the effort front. In a short while we were with the fast riders of
the group. Passed a few of the Bangalore riders on the group; on one steep
climb Raj fell back a little and I was in the group with Vipin. The pace kept
increasing from 28 kmph to 32 kmph to 34 kmph. I wanted to stay in the group as
long as possible, however the increase in pace was worrying as I did not want
to burn out. Amidst the dual thoughts I lost touch with the group and before I
could focus the group was gone and along with it another group also passed by
and I was unable to react. I had ridden 20 kilometers with the group.
 |
| Vipin and me just after the start PC: Maindru photo |
Average pace was dropping and then a familiar voice
“C’mon Sir”, Raj was back and got me going. We caught up with another group
which was riding in the 28 kmph range. I was comfortable with the group
however, after riding a few minutes Raj was not happy and he accelerated. I
followed as Raj began to ride in the 30-32 kmph range. This was going to show
and soon enough we were running out of water. We had just passed Prasad and
then stopped to refill water when a French family was helping with the water
for riders. Having spent a couple of minutes it was time to get back up to
speed. I was able to ride with Raj till the 70 kilometer mark after that I
backed off the pace as Raj sped ahead.
 |
| Some motivation from Raj PC: Maindru photo |
The Sun was dipping and the light was fading. The temperature did not dip too much and I was happy that I was able to ride without feeling the cold. Stopping to don the cold weather jacket was not required. I ate a couple of caramel candies to keep the energy levels up.
As the distance to Mortagne began to reduce the
climbing increased. The pace dropped but I was still on course to reach
Mortagne before 11 pm. It was way earlier than I had thought of at the start of
the ride, however, it gave me a buffer and I wasn’t feeling very tired so it
was time to push on.
I reached Mortagne at 10:40 pm. Pritish was at the
control, and told me that the cake at the control was good, however, I did not
want to eat and only wanted to refill the water bottles. I headed to the place
where the taps were placed in the 2019 edition; however, the tap location had
been changed, went inside the building looking for water and was shown that the
tap was outside. Headed back out and filled the bottles and headed back to the
bike. In the meantime, I had seen Swamy exiting the control and Ganesh and
Naveen entering the control. It was time
to move on as I didn’t want the body to cool down.
The exit from Mortagne was a longish descent and then
the route was back to rolling. It was dark and the sight of red tail lights was
a sight. We were in wind mill territory, the red lights on the wind mill was
mistaken as cycle lights and was bracing for a climb as there were lights up in
the sky. It took some time to realize that it was wind mills.
The large groups had dissipated and it was smaller
groups now. Ganesh Kuwar from Nashik caught up and was riding with me for a
while. The clock ticked on, there was a 10-20 minute period when there were
signs of feeling sleepy, however, I was able to keep the mind active and ward
off sleep.
I pulled into the Villaines control at 2:12 am. It was
a tad over 8 hours. Having taken 12 hours for the same distance in 2019, I was
happy with the time taken and also the realization that the buffer now stood at
about 5 hours. I headed to the control to have a quick meal and then get
back on the road.
Stamping was done; I went to the refreshment stall
rather than the restaurant as I wanted to make this a quick stop. I still had
the Panini and was going to have it on the road if required. Just get a drink
and have a snack and start from the control. Picked up a croissant, pain au
raisins and headed to the seat.
Coke went into the jersey pocket and when I tried to
eat the Pain Au Raisins, I wasn’t able to eat it. It was a struggle to swallow
the first bite. Decided to get back on the road as I did not want to waste time
and at the same time having the Panini I was confident that I won’t get into a
nutrition deficit.
Villaines La Juhel – Fougeres
Cold but not cold enough
 |
| Early morning blues PC: Maindru photo |
On the way out Prasad and Akash were at the control.
They were in no hurry and on enquiry they said that Rohit had an issue with his
chain and Swamy was helping him with the chain. They were waiting for them to
come to the control and then they would continue. I wore the cold weather
jacket and started the ride. 40 minutes had lapsed by the time I headed out of
Villaines, almost 3 am and I was chiding myself for having taken too much time (time flies at the controls; its difficult to keep track of time at the control).
It was 90 kilometers to the next control and I wanted
to make it by 7 am to Fougeres. That was the target that I set when I started
off. A steady ride is what I had to do, the road surface being relatively smooth was
helping; sleep was not a problem and staying focused helped. The red lights of
cycles and the chatter of the riders passing by were helping me stay awake.
There were times when I did get isolated and was wondering that it’s too early
in the ride to be isolated, however having the Garmin device helped as I knew
that I was on route and had not gone off route.
I was feeling hungry and took out the Panini to eat.
It was again the same issue; I wasn’t able to swallow the food. This was going
to hit me; I drank water and gulped down half of the water in the bottle. It
was a sign of dehydration and I knew I had only myself to blame for this as the
water intake had been low since the time we had reached the French shores.
Drank the coke and had a couple of caramel candies to keep me going.
By day break I had brought the remaining distance down
to under 20 kilometers and was happy with the effort. Closing in on 300
kilometers and being a new day it effectively meant that the ride would start
from here, however, as I was close to Fougeres control kept the 7 am target to
get out of the control. The focus was more on the exit time from the control
and not the entry time.
I reached Fougeres control at 6:52 am and headed in to
get the book sealed and time entered.
Fougeres – Tinteniac
Do I really have to eat?
 |
| PC: Maindru photo |
I decided to get food in town and not to wait at the
Control and exited the control. These decisions usually tend to back fire and
it was no surprise that the eateries at town were not yet open. I was left to
do 60 kilometers on caramel candies and water and it was time to focus on the road and
not on the food.
The Sun was out and the mist was clearing. A climb to
get out of Fougeres and then a section of straight road with the rolling
terrain visible for a kilometer ahead was the scene. I was getting
uncomfortable with the cold weather jacket on and was waiting for an
opportunity to take it off. After about an hour was able to pull off the road
and took off the jacket, packed it and got back on the saddle. The Sun was out
so did not wear the reflective vest.
30 minutes later the mist descended again and it
became hazy. Although there was the temptation to ride to the control (which was
about 25 kilometers away) before wearing the reflective vest, had to make a
kind of forced stop to wear the reflective vest.
The misty and cool weather helped to keep the nutrition
requirements low and the caramel candies were helping to kill the hunger. Although I
was not hungry, I knew that I would have to eat at the Tinteniac control and a
slightly long stop at Tinteniac was on the cards.
I pulled into Tinteniac at 9:52 am.
Tinteniac – Loudeac
The Pack has formed
 |
| Nakul, me and Pritish in formation PC: Maindru photo |
I was feeling good at the distance covered however not having eaten was worrying. After the book was stamped, I headed to the refreshment area, again opted against going to the restaurant. I got myself a ham sandwich, juice, pain au chocolate and headed to the table.
As I sat and chewed the ham sandwich and pushed it
down the throat I saw Raj and Pritish at the refreshment stall. Hey, they were
ahead of me, how did I get ahead. I beckoned to them and got to know that they
had spent time at the Fougeres restaurant and had fallen behind. We ate quickly
and then headed out of the control. I was relieved that I had been able to eat
the sandwich and started off from Tinteniac. 80 kilometers to Loudeac and I set
a target of 2 pm to get there.
In a short while we were joined by Nakul and the 4 of
us were going to be riding together for the next 250 kilometers. It was good to
have familiar faces and it lost the feel of being on a foreign land as the Sun
was belting down and it was getting very hot. The sight of a family serving
juice and replenishing water was enough to make us stop.
 |
| One of many Families serving the hungry and thirsty riders |
After the stop we were back on a steady pace and kept
knocking off the kilometers. As we got closer to Loudeac the gradient of the
climbs were increasing, the nature of the road being long straights, we could
see the riders ahead climbing and mentally it was taxing to see that there was
a climb ahead. I would have preferred to get to Loudeac at 1:00 pm to align the
lunch time, however we were on track for a 2 pm arrival and this was going to
be well ahead of the plan. While we made slow progress on the climbs, the mind
was racing with scenarios being calculated about distance to be covered in 24
hours and I did think that 500 kilometers in 24 hours was achievable as I did
not plan to access the drop bag.
However, the last 5 kilometers to Loudeac had us
sweating a lot as the climbs kept coming and we were made to work more than we
would have wanted to. Reached Loudeac with clothes drenched with sweat, this
was new to me at PBP, however, still with the plan not to access the drop bag,
I headed to the restaurant to have lunch. Nakul meanwhile went to access the
drop bag, Pritish and Raj came to the restaurant. Then Pritish said that he
would access the drop bag and change, Raj was considering a change as well, so
decided to go for a change as well as it would keep me fresher. The additional
time being spent would cost about 20 kilometers and I hoped that it would not
come back to bite us.
Loudeac – Carhaix Plougher
Drop Bag….to access or not to access?
 |
| PC: Maindru photo |
After dilly dallying with the decision to access the
drop bag, having reached ahead of time, I decided to access the drop bag and
get into a fresh kit, I wanted to access the drop bag for the leg warmer and
the other riders taking a shower and feeling fresh had me wanting to stay on
the same level. It took time to get changed and ready to start. 1.5 hours spent
to eat, shower, change and get going.
It was close to 3:45 pm; 2 hours 15 minutes to get the
24 hour distance check done. I hoped to get to around the 490 kilometer mark by
6:00 pm and also to get started from Carhaix Plougher towards Brest when there
was day light.
Nakul and I were riding together and as we rode on
rough surfaces and passed through a couple of nice tree canopy sections we had
dropped Pritish and Raj. We decided to keep going as we would sync up with them
at the next control. The rough road had reduced the distance target to 480
kilometers by 6:00 pm.
We had the small matter of getting through a secret
control as well. Canihuel was the secret control location and the volunteers
guided us into the control. It was a stamping and water refill control for us
as we didn’t want to eat.
Just as we exited the control, Pritish and Raj were
reaching the control. Expecting them to make a quick exit, Nakul and I
continued the ride. It was 35 kilometers to the next control, making it a
control to reach by 7:45 pm. As we chatted and rode the distance coming down
was not noticed and we were in countdown territory before long.
When we reached Carhaix, we expected Raj and Pritish
to take time to reach the control. However, just as we parked the cycles we saw
that Raj and Pritish were entering the control. They had made up time and the
four of us headed into the control.
Carhaix Plougher – Brest
It’s cold……bloody cold….i’m unable to wear my cold weather gloves….
 |
| PC: Maindru photo |
19:52 pm when we reached and it was dinner time. We had
a quick meal and I took a toilet break before starting from the control. There
was a decision to be made, the Sun was setting as we stood in the parking area,
should we wear the cold weather gear or not. We were told that Brest would be
cold, however, it wasn’t cold as yet and we were slated to do some climbing
now. It was decided to start without the jacket, so only reflective was worn
and we started.
On cue, the climb started as soon as we exited the
control. Having twilight helped us to get past the kilometers a little quicker
than we would have done in the dark.
90 kilometers from Carhaix to Brest, I was hoping to
get to Brest by 1:00 am, a 3 hour stop in which I hoped for a 90 minute sleep
was what was running in my head when we started. Not that I would need a 90
minute sleep, I could make do with a 60 minute sleep as well in case of any
delays.
However, the 1:00 am arrival in Brest was going up in
smoke. I was doing well till we made it past Huelgoat and the serene lake at
the top of the hill was mesmerizing. After this the sleep began to hit, with 60
kilometers remaining to Brest the sleep had hit early and I was finding it hard
to wrap my head around the distance. It was slow progress as Raj and Nakul were
doing fine, however I was beginning to lag. The pace was not great, however we
were still climbing, which kept the body warm, in a short while we were done
with the climb and when the descent started, the cold climbed through the leg
warmers and had me in jitters. Tried to push on, however, had to call it and
said that I was stopping to wear the jacket and gloves.
Pritish and I wore the jacket. Took out the cold
weather gloves and tried as much as possible but I was unable to get my fingers
into the left hand glove. After multiple tries, I gave up and got back on the
saddle without the gloves. The clenched fist was on the handle bar to minimize
the cold weather impact on the fingers. The sleep was hitting pretty badly now,
just when the struggle was peaking Nakul said he wanted to stop to wear the jacket.
I took the opportunity to have a quick shut eye moment. Raj wanted to get going;
as soon as Nakul was ready he got us going.
Nakul struck up a conversation on tour de france with
me, while Raj was speaking to Pritish. The shut eye and the conversation with
Nakul had woken me up and I was good to get to Brest. Meanwhile, Pritish was
struggling with sleep and Raj was having a tough time keeping him awake. In the
midst of the fight with sleep, the descent was done and we were on flat roads
and then climbing again, it felt like we were riding in circles and it was
frustrating that we were going around in circles.
As we closed in on Brest we had the conversation on
how many hours sleep we would get at Brest. We were going to reach only by 2 am
and being an hour later than what we should have taken, I wanted to get going
by 5 am. Nakul and Pritish wanted a 3 hour sleep which would mean an overall
break time of 4.5 - 5 hours. Raj on the other hand did not want to rest. Not
wanting to climb to Carhaix when the Sun was out, I said 1 hour sleep and that
we would start from Brest at 5:00 am. Nakul and Pritish were not convinced with
this.
When we reached Brest it was 1:56 am. We had to walk
back towards the entrance to get the book sealed and then another walk to the sleeping
area. There was a queue and riders sleeping where there was space, we got the
bed allotted and requested for a 4:00 am wake up and went in. Nakul said that
he would start later and told us to continue. Pritish said he would join Raj
and me for the 5:00 am exit from Brest. (Note: It took 30 minutes to get the card stamped, then get to the dorm, get a bed and be shown the room.)
Brest – Carhaix Plougher
If there is a chance to do this in 72 hours, I’m going for it
 |
| Lit up Brest just before dawn |
4:00 am, on the dot the volunteer came in to wake me
up. I slept for a further 5 minutes and woke up. The volunteer came in at 4:10
am to give me a reminder, I was up by then and exiting the sleep area. Headed
to the restaurant and ate the refreshments since it was refreshments that were
available. As we exited from the restaurant, Ganesh and Naveen had reached and
were heading to sleep, Suresh was also at the control, wandering around as he
had lost his gloves.
We started from the control at 5:15 am. In a short while we were at the famous Albert Louppe bridge. Pritish and Raj did not want to stop, however, I said that I wanted a pic at the bridge and stopped for a quick pic of the Brest town which was lit. Now that the bridge pic was done, it was time to get back to riding and it was a climb back to Carhaix.
Sun rise time and the purple sky was a beautiful
sight. It was one of those moments which I could see, however, as the jacket
was on, reaching the phone and clicking a pic was not a viable option at the
time. Hopefully, it will be a memory that I will carry for some time.
Having climbed from Carhaix to Brest for the initial
30 kilometers, I was expecting a descent as we got close to Carhaix. However
the route from Brest to Carhaix was rolling, on tired legs it felt like a climb
all through. I was struggling on the climbs for a bit at which point Raj and
Pritish had ridden ahead. It took a short time for me to get back to them and
then Raj fell behind a little.
Saw volunteers ahead guiding us to go inside the
control at Pleyben. I thought that this was a services only control and was not keen on stopping;
I wanted to get to Carhaix as soon as possible. Saw Pritish heading inside and
followed him and asked him why we are stopping here, let’s keep moving. Pritish
said that he wanted to stop and wanted to eat. I followed unwillingly and to my
surprise saw that stamping was being done at the control. Pritish said that it
was written that this is a secret control. I had not seen it and was relieved
that I hadn’t missed it. After the stamping we went to the refreshment stall
and got a croissant and pain au chocolate and sat down to eat.
While we ate I was thinking of the road ahead and
realized that we were on course to exit from Loudeac before 6 pm. That would
leave us with about 440 kilometers to the finish and since there would be no
drop bag access remaining, giving us a 24 hour window for riding if sleep could
be avoided.
MC: Pritish, if there is a chance to do this in 72
hours, I’m going for it
PA: Is it possible?
MC: We’ll get to know at 6:00 pm today, if the
remaining distance is around 400 kilometers, it will be possible, but we have
to ride through the night.
PA: OK, let’s go for it
Raj, joined us in a short while and we told him about
the plan. He was keen on it too and we decided to give it a shot. Nothing to
lose here, if we get tired or feel sleepy we could take the sleep break, we had
a sufficient buffer and were well placed on the time front. At minimum try to
get to Fougeres before stopping for the sleep break was the target.
We started from the secret control with a new target
which gave the needed push to ride at a steady pace rather than just riding to
the finish. 35 kilometers to Carhaix was done relatively quickly. Since we had
eaten at the secret control, we did the stamping at Carhaix and decided to get
to the services only control at Gourec to have food. Gouarec was 30 kilometers
away and an expected arrival around 12:00 pm would align with an early lunch
time.
Mohan Sir was at Carhaix, he had quit the ride and had
decided to ride back from Carhaix without going to Brest as he wouldn’t be
reaching in time. He encouraged us to keep going and finish strong.
Carhaix Plougher – Loudeac
It’s hot, windy, saddle sore…… just get to Loudeac
 |
| PC: Maindru photo |
As we rolled towards Gouarec the road surface had
eased for a bit before we got back on the rough surface. Hunger pangs were also
beginning to bite as we slowed down a little. Had told the boys that the
Gouarec control was 20 kilometers away whereas it was 32 kilometers away, the
additional 10 kilometers was proving to be tough for us. We made it to Gouarec
and took a slightly long break. The appetite was increasing and the speed at
which we were eating was slowing down. We took close to an hour to start from
Gouarec.
We were showing signs of tiring while the heat was
putting us on a slow burn. As the heat increased the wind also changed to a
head wind. I was having a saddle sore and it wasn’t getting any better. The
thoughts were that the bib shorts although new enough had run its course and I
was looking forward to changing them at Loudeac.
The heat was making me sleepy and it was fight with
trying to keep sleep away. It was difficult to keep the focus and there were
sections when I was zoned out here. Again a 15-20 minute period to get through
and I would be fine after that. After a few minutes:
Raj: It was good that we got a downhill
MC: Downhill? Where was the downhill
Raj: We just got a 4-5 kilometer downhill
MC: I don’t remember the downhill
It was time to wake up and concentrate on the road.
Start calculating or give some kind of work to the mind so that it stays
active, don’t allow the mind to drift. The wakeup call was sufficient to get
the focus back; however the wind was not making it easy for us. Pritish was
slowing down and he came up to us and said that he was having a headache and
that he would rest for an hour at Loudeac and that he wouldn’t join Raj and me.
He told us to go ahead and he would take rest as he had sufficient buffer.
Raj did not have an additional change of clothes since
he had not opted for the drop bag service and was carrying his stuff on the
cycle. He had already changed into the set that he was carrying on the onward
ride to Brest, now it was only going to be a chamois cream rub and he said that
he would sleep while I got ready. He rode ahead to reach the control early. I
was struggling to ride, however was ahead of Pritish.
When I pulled into the parking at Loudeac, Raj had
already freshened up and was ready to nap on the bench under the tree. Pritish
came by in a minute and said he would head to the cafeteria for a nap. I went
about with toilet duties, shower and getting ready, replaced the power bank, in short all things which were required to be on the bike for the next 24 hours were done (Forgot to lube the chain).
A few minutes after us Suresh Subbaiah had reached
Loudeac too. He told me that he was having knee pain and was managing the pain
by taking paracetemol tablets. He was soldiering on and was going to have food
before he started from the control.
I picked up a few refreshments rather than having a
meal as the arrival at the next control could be timed at dinner time. Further,
we didn’t need to eat immediately and were looking good for the next couple of
hours, after which a snack would be sufficient to get us through to Tinteniac.
Loudeac - Tinteniac
Doubts begin to creep in
 |
| PC: Maindru photo |
5:00 pm when Raj and I exited from the Loudeac
control. Nakul had reached Loudeac and was going to wait for Pritish. Just as
we began our exit, Vipin reached the control. While Nakul and Suresh headed to
the restaurant area, Raj and I rode out of Loudeac.
The initial hour was about trying to get past the 800
kilometer mark. Then the realization that I had ridden only 330 kilometers in
the second 24 hours, however, factoring in that the drop bag had been accessed twice
and a sleep break it was not a bad day of riding.
With the 48 hour check done, it was a new day and it
was a 24 hour period in which I planned to complete the ride. The terrain was
rolling, the distance to Tinteniac had come down to the 60 kilometer mark. The
last 10 kilometers to Tinteniac was downhill/negative gradient which pegged the
effective kilometers at about 50 kilometers. The shower and new clothes had
helped on the saddle sore front and I was comfortable while riding.
The next hour went into calculating the remaining
distance and breaking the distance down between controls; the terrain and the
pace at which I was riding took a back seat. I was trying to do the math; in
order to finish under 3 days I had to up my pace; however, the ride was steady
and was unable to push the pace. Tiredness was creeping into the legs; the mind
was also feeling the effects.
As we got close to Tinteniac, we got into a group of
about 10-12 riders, they were quick on the downhills/flats while we were
quicker on the climbs. We would get ahead in the climbs, while they would catch
up on the descents. The final 10 kilometers being downhill we rode along with
the group and reached Tinteniac at 9:00 pm.
Tinteniac – Fougeres
I’m going to have to rest, 72 hours is not happening, have to set a new target
Raj and I were not very hungry. We got to the
refreshment stall and got ourselves a sandwich, croissants and juice. As we sat
to eat the temperature was dipping and it was getting cold. It was a signal
that we had to get going from Tinteniac quickly.
It took us 45 minutes to start from Tinteniac. We were
slowing down on the eating front and also in wearing the cold weather gear. I
was resigned to not wearing the cold weather gloves as I was unable to push my
fingers into it. However, Raj was able to set it right and made it useable. It
was good to have the gloves on.
Its only 60 kilometers to Fougeres; ride one hour and
I will be in countdown stage, so not a section to worry about. It was rolling
terrain and I was laboring to get past the climbs. The jacket was feeling heavy
and I was having a back pain. I tried to do a few stretches on the
bike to relieve the pain.
With about 20 kilometers to go, Raj rode ahead. The
fight with sleep was starting at this stage; the pace dropped and the last few
kilometers were looking to be very far off. The plan was to eat at Fougeres and
then start from there. However, a sleep break was needed, the risk of being on
the bike without resting was high and it was not a risk I was willing to take.
Having a big enough buffer and not having to fight against the clock to finish the ride,
I decided to take the break at Fougeres.
I did get isolated here, no flashing lights ahead nor
any lights behind me. Doubts creeping in if I had gone off-route checked the
map on Garmin and I was on course. The desperation to get to Fougeres and rest
for a while was building.
Reaching the Fougeres control was difficult. The route
on Garmin had ended; I was supposed to be at the control, the further I rode, I
was getting the off-course alarm. However, the arrows on the road indicated
that I was on course. It was a frustrating time, wanted to get to control early
to get rest, however, I was still on the road looking for direction arrows in
the dark. Other riders were going through the same dilemma, stopping and
checking the map was common. Followed a couple of riders, met Ganesh Kuwar
here. Took a few more minutes of riding and finally saw the volunteers, it was
a relief to get to the control.
Around 1:00 am when I pulled into the Fougeres
control. Raj had reached 5 minutes before. He had drunk black coffee and was
ready to get on the road. I wanted to eat and said that I was heading to the
restaurant.
Fougeres – Villaines La Juhel
Caffeine rush
 |
| Sun rise enroute Villaines |
Ganesh Kuwar and I had reached the Fougeres control
together. After the stamping we headed to the restaurant. We took the food that
we wanted and started eating. Raj joined us in the restaurant in 5 minutes. The
food and the break were not having the desired impact, I told Raj that I would
have to sleep for a while and that he should continue riding. Raj was awake and
was rearing to get going. I did not want to hold him back; told him to go
ahead.
Raj started while I headed to a less noisy area of the
cafeteria to catch a nap. 1:45 am, I took a caffeine tablet and slept. I woke
up by 2:15 am and decided to sleep for a further 15 minutes. Ganesh woke me up
just after 2:30 am, got going this time. I waited a while for Ganesh to get
done with rest room duties. It was very cold when we stepped out. On another
day, I would have headed back in and pulled myself under a blanket, here the
motivation levels were back up and was eager to get going.
It helped that it was a climb as we exited Fougeres.
The body was warm and the caffeine had kicked in. I was riding pain free and
tiredness had taken a back seat.
The thoughts were racing and I was very active now.
With no fears of having to fight sleep, I was riding quickly, or so it felt. I
was averaging about 20 kmph, not very quick, however the recent memory of
struggling at 17 kmph made me feel like I was flying. Further, I was getting
past other riders which gave the impression that I was riding fast.
The sky began to light up and as the sun’s rays began
to cut through the mist it was a beautiful sight. The terrain was not a worry
at this point as the sight of the misty fields with hay rolls was beautiful. It
was very tempting to click a few pics, but the rough road surface made it a
challenge to click pics.
A small section of climbing to get through and then it
was rolling to Villaines. Reached before 8:00 am, it was still misty. I took
time to park the cycle, remove the winter gear and pack it before heading in
for stamping.
It was breakfast time and it was black coffee,
croissant and pain au chocolate for breakfast. 2 kids were holding placards
with congratulatory messages for their grand dad at this control. An emotional
scene, one which was great to see, however, there was still 200 kilometers of
the ride to complete and I headed out of the control being emotionally charged.
Villanes La Juhel – Mortagne Au Perche
Enjoy the ride
 |
| Sun light cutting through the mist enroute Mortagne |
200 kilometers to go, the caffeine effect was
beginning to wear off while the black coffee drunk at Villaines was yet to take
effect. It was bright and misty, with every passing kilometer, the energy level
was dropping. I was having a few shut eye moments and riding was getting tough.
Pushed for about an hour and decided that I should get off the bike for a quick
break.
15 minutes later, a short power nap had been taken and
I was back on the saddle. Better energy levels and I was feeling better. The
Sun was out now and the mist was slowly disappearing. It was going to be about
1 - 1.5 hours of warm weather before the heat would crank up. It was a steady
ride from here as I enjoyed passing through the villages and fields.
Came across Vidal where there was a stall set up by
locals. They guided the riders to the stall like it was a control point. Not
knowing what was happening, I stopped too and then realized that it’s a stall
and not a control. As I had stopped, took the opportunity to refill water and
drink a juice. It was getting hot; although the stop was not required, it was
an opportunity to enjoy the French hospitality; paid a couple of Euros for the
refreshments and started off on the ride.
The chain lube had begun to wear off; the sound of the chain rubbing the drive train was increasing; I should have lubed the chain at Loudeac, however, not wanting to stop again, decided to do it when I stop at the control and ignored the noise.
The French people were out in numbers on this day and
there were stalls set up or tables set up outside their houses and few had got
refreshments in their vehicles and parked road side and serving riders. It was
wonderful to see at the same time it was difficult to say no to many of them.
 |
| Forest area enroute Mortagne |
I was getting sleepy around 12:00 pm and slowing down.
A French rider caught up and started a conversation. It was a nice chat for the
next 10 minutes. Spoke about his ride experience and mine and that’s all it
took to wake up. He sped ahead after that and I was back up to my pace. Did the
small climb to the Mortagne control and on the way saw the place where I had wandered
off during the 2019 PBP; there were RV’s parked in a compound and I had
mistaken them to be the support vehicles of riders and assumed that the
vehicles were at the control and turned into a residential area. My folly,
however, 2023 I was in a better shape and could only smile at what I had done.
Few minutes later, I was at the control. It was lunch
time and I headed in to have a meal. The routine of picking up the tray,
choosing the items that I want, selecting from both the hot and cold sections
and then heading to billing and then to the table. This was taking time as it
was being done in slow motion and the briskness of the first day had
disappeared.
Mentally had given up on the 72 hour target was taking
it easy. Revised target was now at 74 hours and this put me in a relaxed zone,
until I realized that 74 hours also required me to ride quickly.
Mortagne Au Perche – Dreux
Don’t forget to eat the Paris Brest Paris dessert
 |
| PC: Maindru photo |
The clock had ticked past 1:00 pm; 120 kilometers to
the finish. It would take under 7 hours if I could keep the break at Dreux
control to a short one. However, before I could think about the finish, it was
time to get past the place where I had slept during the 2019 ride. A quick pass
through the location and a few more climbs later, some flat sections through
the forest, the greenery was soothing to the eyes.
Passed a few riders, at the same time was passed by a few. Locals were out in the woods with refreshments. Having eaten at the control, it was difficult to say no to them and keep riding. The chain was now noisy; having forgotten to lube the chain at the control again, I was in the "ignore the noise, there's under 100 kilometers to the finish" mode.
When the forest
section was done, it was open fields; the wind was a strong head wind here. It
was de-motivating to be riding here. The heat was peaking and the wind was not
allowing the cycle to go ahead.
It was a straight road; the Dreux town was visible in
the distance, however, it was still small and was not getting bigger fast
enough. The cycle wasn’t moving fast enough; I was frustrated with the wind;
was on the verge of taking a break. Managed to convince myself to push for a
further 10 minutes and if the town doesn’t get close enough then take a break.
The push helped and I had made it to Dreux, next was to get to the control.
I finally reached the control which was at the end of
an endless straight. I breathed a sigh of relief when I reached the control.
5:00 pm when I reached Dreux.
Only 44 kilometers remained and it would take about 2
hours to get to the finish. I was not hungry and could have started as soon as
the stamping was done; however, the Paris Brest Paris dessert was available
here in 2019. Just for the feel of having this dessert on the PBP ride, I went
to the restaurant area. It was available, had it quickly, a coke was downed and
I was back on the road.
Dreux - Rambouillet
It’s done
 |
| PC: Maindru photo |
The route passed a few winding roads and then roads
through villages. The roads were wet from a passing shower; I had missed the
shower, the cooler temperature made riding a little easier. Saw a signboard say
15 kilometers to the finish, then 10 kilometers; it was a surreal feeling to be
riding the last 10 kilometers without any time pressure, knowing that the
finish is sealed.
Entered the Rambouillet Chateau compound and then
passed the timing mat to record the finish time where a small crowd was
cheering for the riders. I had completed the Paris Brest Paris 2023 ride and
had arrived back in 73 hours 15 minutes. Parked the cycle and got the brevet
book stamped; the brevet book was returned to me along with the PBP medal.
The energy levels at the end control were a little
low. It was probably to do with the finish time, it was 7:15 pm and the stalls
were closing. My energy levels were also down, was feeling drained from the
effort and was not ecstatic, it was just a “the ride is done, time to eat and
then go to the room” kind of feel. Headed to the food court where Raj was
waiting, he had completed 2 hours earlier. We congratulated each other, had the
food and then headed back to the room.
The Numbers
1. 2023 vs 2019
|
Year |
Distance |
Ride time |
Off Saddle time |
Total time |
Ride speed |
|
2023 |
1,219 |
57:31 |
15:45 |
73:15 |
21.19 |
|
2019 |
1,220 |
68:45 |
21:50 |
90:35 |
17.75 |
|
|
|
11:14 |
06:05 |
17:19 |
|
Quite clearly there has been an improvement in the ride speed in 2023. The smooth road surface and the weather not being very cold at night definitely helped to be faster. The tire choice of moving to GP 5000 vs the Gatorskins also playing a role here; fortunately I did not have any punctures on the ride. Also, the riding over the past 4 years with Bangalore Randonneurs and other rides with Pritish and Raj definitely helped on the fitness front and to ride quicker.
The off saddle time is pretty much the same as the food strategy was similar, which was to eat at the controls. In 2019 I had carried ready to eat which I would eat at the control, in 2023 it was about eating the food available at the control. Although the numbers say 6 hours of savings, 5 hours of that off saddle time in 2019 came in the last 12 hours. So in a 72 hour period in 2019 the off saddle time would have been almost the same as what I did in 2023.
2. Daily mileage
|
|
Distance Covered (kms) |
|
|
|
24 hour period |
2023 |
2019 |
Increase / (Decrease) |
|
1st |
480 |
420 |
60 |
|
2nd |
330 |
320 |
10 |
|
3rd |
390 |
270 |
120 |
|
Balance |
19 |
210 |
|
|
|
1,219 |
1,220 |
|
4 years ago it was a late finish by 35 minutes, a look
at the numbers had revealed that I had done pretty badly on day 3 and the ride
was lost on day 3 for me. I was very mindful of this and wanted to get a good
mileage on day 3. Having ridden quicker on day 1 and matching day 2, set myself
a target for day 3 which helped to stay focused and active.
The additional mileage of Day 1 is partly down to the
smooth road surface for the first 250 kilometers and a reduction in the cobble
stones. However, Day 3 is where the improvement comes through. There was a
feeling that I could have done a little better in the first 24 hours if I had
been quicker at a few controls, probably 20 additional kilometers could have
been done there.
|
From |
To |
Distance (kms) |
Elevation (mtrs) |
Ride Time |
Sleep Time |
Shower |
Secret Control |
Exit CP** |
Misc. |
Total Time* |
Ride Speed |
|
Rambouillet |
Villaines La Juhel |
203 |
1,814 |
7:54 |
00:00 |
00:00 |
00:00 |
00:38 |
00:15 |
08:47 |
25.70 |
|
Villaines La Juhel |
Fougeres |
90 |
748 |
3:58 |
00:00 |
00:00 |
00:00 |
00:15 |
00:04 |
04:17 |
22.69 |
|
Fougeres |
Tinteniac |
61 |
446 |
2:35 |
00:00 |
00:00 |
00:00 |
00:22 |
00:10 |
03:07 |
23.61 |
|
Tinteniac |
Loudeac |
81 |
863 |
3:48 |
00:00 |
00:35 |
00:00 |
00:58 |
00:12 |
05:33 |
21.32 |
|
Loudeac |
Carhaix Plougher |
80 |
860 |
3:48 |
00:00 |
00:00 |
00:10 |
00:52 |
00:07 |
04:57 |
21.05 |
|
Carhaix Plougher |
Brest |
89 |
915 |
4:52 |
01:35 |
00:00 |
00:00 |
01:45 |
00:15 |
08:27 |
18.29 |
|
Brest |
Carhaix Plougher |
93 |
1,310 |
4:49 |
00:00 |
00:00 |
00:26 |
00:20 |
00:03 |
05:38 |
19.31 |
|
Carhaix Plougher |
Loudeac |
85 |
1,026 |
4:12 |
00:00 |
00:50 |
00:51 |
00:21 |
00:00 |
06:14 |
20.24 |
|
Loudeac |
Tinteniac |
85 |
748 |
4:00 |
00:00 |
00:00 |
00:00 |
00:41 |
00:00 |
04:41 |
21.25 |
|
Tinteniac |
Fougeres |
61 |
487 |
3:13 |
00:45 |
00:00 |
00:00 |
01:16 |
00:00 |
05:14 |
18.96 |
|
Fougeres |
Villaines La Juhel |
90 |
955 |
4:38 |
00:00 |
00:00 |
00:00 |
00:28 |
00:06 |
05:12 |
19.42 |
|
Villaines La Juhel |
Mortagne Au Perche |
81 |
716 |
4:00 |
00:16 |
00:00 |
00:00 |
00:38 |
00:08 |
05:02 |
20.25 |
|
Mortagne Au Perche |
Dreux |
78 |
630 |
3:41 |
00:00 |
00:00 |
00:00 |
00:15 |
00:08 |
04:04 |
21.18 |
|
Dreux |
Rambouillet |
42 |
354 |
2:03 |
00:00 |
00:00 |
00:00 |
00:00 |
00:00 |
02:03 |
20.49 |
|
Total |
|
1,219 |
11,872 |
57:31 |
2:36 |
01:25 |
00:36 |
08:49 |
01:07 |
73:15 |
21.19 |
4. First half vs second half
|
|
Distance (kms) |
Elevation (mtrs) |
Time Taken (hours) |
|
First Half (Brest) |
604 |
5,646 |
32.00 |
|
Rest at Brest |
- |
- |
3.00 |
|
Second Half (Rambouillet) |
615 |
6,226 |
37.25 |
|
|
1,219 |
11,872 |
73.25 |
The return route this time was tougher with the elevation gain being higher and having a head wind in some sections on the return; the time taken reflects the same with a little bit of factoring for the fatigue setting in on the return.
5. Off saddle time
|
Control |
Location |
Number of Controls |
Time Taken |
Average Time |
|
Drop Bag |
Loudeac |
2 |
3:47 |
1:53 |
|
Sleep |
Brest, Fougeres |
2 |
5:36 |
2:48 |
|
Others |
|
9 |
6:22 |
0:42 |
|
|
|
13 |
15:45 |
1:12 |
Average off saddle time taken at and between controls for stamping and eating was 42 minutes. A tad high, however, with fatigue setting in the off-saddle times were increasing; could improve on this front. Similarly, the time spent at the Brest control where the sleep was only 90 minutes, I have taken a further 105 minutes at the control, which was towards eating, walking to the stamping station, getting to the dorm, getting a bed, coming back to the bike, this could have been done quicker or could have taken a longer sleep break which would have helped with the overall ride.
Small savings at all the controls could have made a significant difference in the ride.
Conclusion:
 |
| PC: Mohan Subramanyam |
The 20th edition of Paris Brest Paris is
done. I am happy to have completed the ride in time. This edition felt hillier
than the previous, liked the changes in the route which had been made. The ride
speed this time around allowed me to experience the forest areas in daylight
which enhanced the ride experience. The scenery enroute was green and the
fields did have a crop in them (mostly corn) rather than the bald fields 4
years ago. The weather worked in my favour and not having to ride in rain and
also the nights not being as cold as it was last time around were major factors
in the ride going well. The bike held without any issues, the body held without
any issues. The usual aches and pains of a long distance ride are there, however,
there were no surprises.
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