Paris Brest Paris (1,200 Kilometer Brevet): Part I - Randonneuring Dream

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 19th edition of the brevet was scheduled for 18 August 2019 to 22 August 2019.

I was introduced to the PBP ride 4 years ago by Rajkumar Khot and ever since it's been about reading up about the event and also getting to know about the riders in India who had attempted the ride and completed it as well. It was not until 2 years from the event that things began to heat up and I decided to go for the ride. It would be my first foreign travel and what better way than to ride the PBP to commence my foreign travels.

Preparation for the Event

Hear about an event which is two years away and it seems like there is a lot of time in hand. However, with the pre-qualification criteria which had to be met, rides from November 2017 were being done keeping in mind that it would be pre-qualifiers for PBP. The Kittur 1000 km ride done in December 2017 wrapped up the pre-qualification requirement and then it was about getting some miles on the saddle through that year.

The 2018-19 Brevet season being the PBP year, it was time to get back to meeting the qualification criteria. Wrapped up the qualification within 5 days of the start by completing the fastest SR series in Bangalore.

The months ticked by quickly with rides were being done to get used to the set up that would be used at PBP. Loaded the cycle with the saddle bag and got used to riding with weight. Had issues riding with weight on my first ride, it seemed impossible to keep the cycle moving after having ridden 700 kilometers and the fatigue set in. However it got easier after the first ride and the weight did not matter too much. The focus was towards riding without using the drop bag service so that I had the luxury of stopping to freshen up when I wanted to rather than having to reach the designated spot to do it.

Bike Set Up

Long distance events in Bangalore were not missed and other events close to Bangalore, like Hyderabad, Mangalore and Trichy were opted for which were possible on the work and finance front.

Bike Maintenance

My Bike: Trek 1.5 Alpha - 9 speed Tiagra with a 12-25 cassette which was changed to the 11-32

Riding the bike a lot means that the bike parts wear out and riding in different conditions accelerates the wear of the components. Having heard of the rolling terrain at PBP, I opted to go for a 11-32 cassette and the availability of a 9 speed 11-32 cassette being difficult, it took a few  months for the part to be sourced. Fortunately, RR Cycles was able to fit the 11-32 cassette on to the cycle. The gear shifting is not as smooth since the range of the gears is large, however, it did give more options on steep climbs.

Got a service done in June 2019, 2 months before the event, and replaced the chain and hoped that this would be the final service before going for the event. I went for a 400 km and 600 km ride to test the bike and unfortunately the chain stretched which required another change just before the event. I did not have too much time on hand and did a couple of 50 km rides before heading to RR cycles to get the bike packed.

Rakesh at RR Cycles was kind enough to pack the cycle and also to lend spares like the pedal spanner, spokes, chain link free. He delivered the cycle home as well.

Apparel

Cold weather has always been a problem for me and I struggle when the temperature drops to 15 degrees in Bangalore. Getting to know that the temperature drops to 5-6 degrees at night at PBP had me shivering already. We are lucky to have Mohan Subramanyam - Bangalore Randonneurs here and with his experience of riding around the globe he suggested that we get warm clothing which comprised of getting a merino wool base layer, a rain jacket, leg warmers, wind proof gloves at a minimum to be able to withstand the cold weather. A bunch of Bangalore riders looked up the options available within our budget and settled on the DHB merino wool base layer, DHB leg warmers and wind proof gloves and a Showers Pass rain jacket. It worked out to about 25 k just on the warm clothing, however, considering that it could be used for future rides, decided to make the investment. I have to thank Siddalinga Swamy for facilitating the payment and Mohan Subramanyam for bringing the stuff on his return from America.

The only issue which I had was that I could not test the warm weather clothes on rides here since the weather here does not drop down to 5-6 degrees. It would have to be tested at PBP and that was a risk that I had to take.

Logistics

Once again have to thank Mohan Subramanyam from Bangalore Randonneurs, Siddalinga Swamy, Raghu Nandan Nagaraja and Rohit V for making this as easy as possible for us. I did not have to worry or spend time on checking the flights, where to stay, what period to book the hotel, transport from the Paris airport to the hotel, drop bag facility, etc. All of this was done by the aforementioned individuals and my job was to only make the payment or settle the dues so to say.

Flight tickets were booked for travel on 14 August 2019 night and we would arrive at Paris on 15 August 2019. Transfer from the airport to the hotel and the drop bag was arranged with JFT. Nothing to worry, we just had to show up at the airport on 14 August 2019, since everything was taken care of.

Visa

This was probably the only aspect which had me worked up as this was my first travel overseas and I did not have a travel history. I had been told that as long as the documents are in order then I needn't worry about the Visa and that it will go through. I am unmarried and self-employed, the list of documents that I submitted are as follows:

- Cover letter detailing the itinerary

Pre-requisites

- Visa application checklist

- Visa application - signed

- one photograph for the application

- Passport copy

Purpose of Travel

- Invitation letter received from ACP and the letter provided by AIR

- Flight tickets - onward and return

Travel Health Insurance

- Travel insurance

Accommodation

- Hotel bookings for the entire period of stay

Funds

- Income Tax Return Acknowledgement for 3 years

- Copy of bank statements for 6 months of all my bank accounts - current and savings accounts (attested by the bank)

- Copy of Fixed deposit certificates (attested by the bank)

- Copy of property document (Notarised)

Socio-professional situation

- Certificate of practice issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India

I have to thank Divya Tate - AIR head for facilitating the visa process by procuring the invite letter from ACP and making it easy for us to apply for the visa.

The visa was cleared and I was relieved that the amount spent on the flight tickets, hotel bookings, event registration would not go down the drain.

Lets Fly

All bases had been covered by beginning of August as far as travel was concerned and the days flew by and before we knew it, it was time to fly for the event. Rajkumar Khot came from Pune to Bangalore and the two of us headed to the airport where we synced up with the rest of the group. The group was huge as we had a lot of riders from Bangalore, Mahesh from Mysore, Galin from Kochi, Saktivel from Coimbatore on the same flight. A separate check in line was opened for us since we were all carrying cycle boxes. A photo session ensued at the airport before we got airborne.

We arrived at Paris airport and Jeff was waiting for us to drop us at Versailles where we had booked into Appart City Service Apartment. We reached around 12:00 pm, had lunch and checked in by 3:00 pm.

The first job on reaching was to assemble the cycle. It took a while, however, Raj and me managed to set up our cycles and then it was time to go for a test ride. We headed out for a ride and got the first taste of French roads, French driving, the amount of respect cyclists are given and most importantly confirmed that the cycle is working fine.

Acclimatisation Day

We had one spare day in hand and we opted to have a relaxed ride to Paris. Saw some of Paris's land marks, bought a local sim and headed back to the hotel.

Bike Check Day

Our bike check had been scheduled at 10:00 am on 17 August 2019. We had planned to ride to Rambouillet from Versailles for the bike check and had a similar plan for the next day as well.

Mohan Subramanyam, Mahesh Choudhary, Galin Abraham, Rajkumar Khot and I assembled outside the hotel around 8:00 am and started the ride. It was a cold and wet morning, our first taste of riding in the rain in France.

The cycle lanes from Versailles to Rambouillet are in pretty bad shape and riding in the rain made this 30 kilometer ride seem like we had ridden double that distance.

We arrived at Rambouillet and were guided by the volunteers to the control for the bike check. It was a long queue, however it was a fast moving queue. The issue was that it continued to rain and I was beginning to shiver standing in the queue. I did not realise the extent of the cold while riding, however, while standing in the queue it was beginning to get difficult. We took about 30 minutes to get to the bike check counters where the check was done systematically in 5 minutes and we were given the PBP water bottle and guided to the parking area. We parked our bikes and headed to collect our PBP kit.

Stood in the queue to collect the PBP kit. The kit comprised of the brevet card, reflective vest, registration numbers which we had to fix onto the cycles and helmet as well the timing chip card which had to be fixed onto the cycle and a wrist strap which we would have to wear for the entirety of the event (this was used to verify our identity at the parking area so that we take our cycle out and not take another cycle).

When we came out it was time to visit the various stalls which had been set-up. We waited for other cyclists to arrive so that we could have a photo shoot, however, this plan did not work on account of the rain because waiting in the rain for riders to arrive was not viable.

We managed to hold onto a few riders and got a photo taken with the available riders and then scrambled to get back to Versailles and into the warmth of our rooms. The rain continued and we had to ride in the rain to get back to the hotel. I struggled to ride in the rain and was tired by the time I got back to the room. I had decided to get to the start point by train rather than riding as it was rather tiring to ride, given the state of the cycle track and if it rains it would result in us being tired even before the ride started. The others also had decided to get to the start point by train and the plan to ride to the start were shelved.

The negative of riding in the rain to the start point was that the shoes were wet and Raj and I had a tough time drying them out since the rain did not stop for the entire day and continued through the night as well. We tried to dry it as much as possible with the hair dryer and then resigned to the fact that we had to wear wet shoes for the ride if we don't get a dry day tomorrow.

I prioritised carrying food packets (MTR sachets) in the saddle bag to carrying change of clothes and opted to put the change of clothes in the drop bag. This was a change to what I usually do on the rides, however, in case it did not work out, I always had the option to get the clothes into the saddle bag at 445 kilometers. The drop bag was accessible at 445 kilometers and 785 kilometers, I had decided to access it only once at 785 kilometers to save time.

We handed over the drop bags at night to Jeff which was again well co-ordinated by Mohan Subramanyam. While speaking to Jeff, we told him about the rain and he gave a very positive response, he said it's good when it rains continuously for a whole day, because the clouds will empty themselves and then there will be no rain for the next few days.

The Ride Day

We were up at the usual time and the first thing I did was to take a look outside. It was not raining, however it was still a gloomy day. I was shuddering at the thought of having to ride in the rain and on queue the clouds opened up and it started to rain again. We got about fixing up the bike with the ride numbers and then drying the shoes. 

Every 30 minutes an anxious look towards the balcony to see if the weather had changed, still raining. Packed, shifted our luggage and bike boxes to Siddalinga Swamy's room and then waited in his room till 12:00 pm.

We stepped out at 12:00 pm and rode towards the train station. Stopped to have lunch where I filled myself with a burger and fries. When we stepped out of the restaurant, it had stopped raining. This was good news. Got to the train station and saw that there were a lot of riders coming to the train station. We boarded the train and half an hour later we were at Rambouillet station. We exited the station to a bright and sunny day. The rain was gone and I hoped that it would remain like this for the next 4 days at least.

Clicked a few pics and then rode through Rambouillet. Made a quick stop at an Asian restaurant to pack rice which we planned to eat during the ride. Headed towards the start point.

We reached around 4:15 pm, the 80 hour batch had already started. We headed to the food court. Parked the cycles and headed to the cafeteria to eat. Wished luck to the other riders who were in earlier batches and I got my first taste of the Baguette. It was very hard and chewing it was very difficult. The pasta and chicken sauce was good and I was sure that this along with the juice would be available at the controls and I did not have to  worry about food on this ride.

We ate, still had time on hand, so rested for a while and then headed for the start line. It was a long queue, the volunteer was holding up the placard for my start slot, however, I was at least 100 meters behind and the queue was not moving. We were surrounded by riders with their different machines, different set-ups and watching them and the spectators cheering and clicking pics it did not feel like I was starting a brevet in the next 30 minutes. It felt more like a carnival and I was one of the participants in the joy ride.

As the clock ticked by I was sure that I would not start at 6:45 pm since the queue had hardly moved. Mohan Subramanyam wished me luck for the ride and I told him that it was too early for wishing as we would be in the line for some more time. I thought it would be at least a 15 minute delay. However, the start was done efficiently, when it was time the queue moved quickly and I was getting the brevet card sealed at 6:45 pm. It was time to start the ride and I was on the saddle pedaling to exit Rambouillet castle and get on the road to Brest.

Paris Brest Paris (1,200 Kilometer Brevet): Part II - It Ain't Over Until It's Over