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

Date: 18 August 2019 - 22 August 2019

Total distance: 1,232 Kilometers

Start Time: 6:48 pm 18 August 2019

Return Time:  13:25 pm 22 August 2019

With: Various riders

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

Altitude Profile:

Rambouillet - Mortagne Au Perche (Food/Refreshment Stop) - 118 kilometers

6:48 pm when I made my way past the timing mat in bright sun light. There are so many riders around and the spectators cheering us on, it's difficult to avoid the adrenaline rush. Focusing on the ride in such an environment is difficult and it is so easy to get carried away. I was away to a fast start even though the rolling terrain started just as we exited the gate from Rambouillet castle. The Austrian riders riding with loaded pannier bags and back packs caught my attention as they were riding with so much luggage and yet were accelerating like they had no load on their backs. I was riding with a group of Hyderabad riders as Mahesh had gone ahead and Galin was slightly behind. Was about 6-7 kilometers from the start when a chewing gum wrapper got stuck onto the front wheel along with a few small stones. I was forced to stop to remove the wrapper and importantly the stones. The group had disappeared even though I had taken only a few seconds to attend to the distraction. Galin had waited and the two of us got going again and tried to make up for the lost time. Passed through a couple of villages where we were cheered on by a lot of villagers which pushed us to keep going quicker than I had expected to be riding. The group had stretched out and we constantly had riders around us. After passing a couple of villages the gradient of the rolling terrain was increasing and the ride speeds were dropping. Surprisingly I saw a lot of cyclists had stopped and were busy fixing punctures, I hoped that I would not be struck by the same plight and continued to push on.

Entered another village and just as I made my way past a turn heard a lot of camera shutters, the official photographers had stationed themselves just after the turn in a blind spot and were waiting for the riders to ride by to capture us. I was taken by surprise with the sound, my first thought was that something might have gone wrong with the bike, seeing the photographers was a relief as I realised that it was the camera shutters.

I don't use a navigation device and by now it was clear that I did not need one as well as the route had been marked extensively. The thumb rule was to keep riding on the road until I see an arrow which points the direction towards Brest. In spite of a steady cross wind, the route markers were fixed firmly and there was no movement in the markers. The anxiousness of losing the route was gone and that was one hurdle out of the way.

It took about 45-60 minutes when I started noticing that I was being overtaken by riders who had started in the later batches. There were groups as well as individual riders passing by at very fast speeds. I did not try to stay with them as I was vary of burning out too quickly and wanted to have a steady ride to start with.

It was still bright as the Sun had not yet set and it was smooth sailing. The view of the plain agricultural fields with cows and horses on some farms and the sight of people cheering us on was a wonderful experience. The riders were getting stretched out and the gaps were increasing, what was  like a ball of riders at the start with very little to no gaps between riders was now like 15-20 meters between riders. Took some pressure off as I am not accustomed to riding in groups and further I did not have to worry about going into the rider in front or about the rider behind and giving hand signals.

It was a relatively fast start and I was well on course to making it to Mortagne by 11 pm. I wanted to make it to Mortagne and then make the dinner stop on two counts, one that it would save me some time rather than stopping early for dinner and then having to stop at Mortagne as well, and second being that stopping at Mortagne and eating there would mean that I would be able to ride to the control at Villaines-La-Juhel without any further stops for food, stopping early would mean that I would require another stop before Villaines-la-Juhel. It seemed to be going to plan until the Sun set.

It was around 9 pm when the Sun set and it was dark by 9:30pm. I should have stopped and worn my jacket, instead I opted to ride on in the hope that I could acclimatise myself to the cold weather. Further, I thought that since I had been riding the body would be warm and it would cool down only if I stop, since I did not plan on stopping till Mortagne, thought I would be able to sustain the ride till there. I caught up with Mahesh who was searching for his lights which had fallen when he went into one of the pot holes. He had spent close to 15 minutes searching for his lights and found it just as I caught up with him. We continued riding, however, I was feeling hungry and I had a long way to go for Mortagne. I was going through my water rather quickly as I was trying to keep the hunger at bay, which necessitated a stop for filling water. A family helped us out with the water when we reached the next village.

The restart was difficult, I was hungry and this added to me feeling colder than it actually was. The speed dropped and riding was becoming difficult. Galin caught up with us and the three of us were together. I could not push on as Mortagne was still over 20 kilometers away and asked Mahesh and Galin to stop for dinner. It was 11:30 pm when we stopped for dinner. We stopped near a church and took out the rice which we had packed at Rambouillet and had dinner. I wore the jacket before starting dinner and then wore the wind proof gloves as well before starting.

It was about a 20 minute stop for dinner before we started. It would take some time for the food to start working and I had to push through till then. Reached Longny-au-perche and saw the board stating 18 kilometers to Mortagne-au-perche which kept me going.

A look ahead would reveal a whole lot of red lights. Only cyclists were on the route and once in a while the bike marshals would pass by. Villagers had set up stalls with food and water at every village, however, I was falling behind and had to keep going without making stops since I had slowed down a lot.

It took a while, but I made it to Mortagne and was struggling with the cold weather. Mahesh and Galin were waiting for me and when I reached there were a lot of riders at Mortagne. Since we had eaten just a while ago we opted to fill the water bottles and got going.

Mortagne Au Perche - Villaines La Juhel (Control) - 99 kilometers

It did not take long for Galin and Mahesh to ride ahead. The cold weather was difficult, but now I was fighting sleep as well. I did not want to risk riding and getting into the path of the riders and opted to sleep for a while. I stopped at a village and took a quick 5 minute nap and got back on the saddle. Although the nap was only 5 minutes the total time spent at the village was about 10 minutes.

The road ahead was rolling and it was a line of red serving as route markers. It was difficult to ride and the fight against the clock had already begun. The ride was not going to plan and making up for lost time seemed impossible. I was in awe of the riders passing me as they were riding with ease and I was labouring through the kilometers. Day break was far away and getting through the first night looked like a herculean task. The start of the ride usually defines the rest of the ride and a good start gives the confidence and the required buffer to keep going. Even though I was within the time limit, not having a good start was affecting me mentally.

I needed a little inspiration/motivation and that came when I saw Mohan Subramanyam riding ahead of me. He was riding without any warm clothing and he was overtaking road bikers on his MTB. He was surprised to see that I was behind him and told me to keep going. He did show me how to stay with a group and told me to get into a group. I had woken up after seeing him ride and pushed ahead with a little more focus. The calculation had begun of distance remaining and the expected time that I would arrive. Although I did not ride with any groups and kept to myself I had picked up the pace a little and was not struggling as much as I was earlier.

I had to get through the first night and now I was only a couple of hours from the day break. I had gotten through 180 kilometers of the ride and had under 40 kilometers to the control. Simple numbers to target which made it easy to ride. I was awake by now and even though it was cold and the temperature was dipping further as I had been riding for a while now, the body was warm and I was able to sustain the pace.

The sight of the sky turning blue from black with the first light was like giving me a new lease of life. It was around 6:00 am when this happened and I was relieved that I had made it through the first night and I was still on the road. Further, I was under 5 kilometers from the first control. I entered Villaines-La-Juhel and saw a lot of bakeries and stores were open and a lot of cyclists had stopped to eat. I wanted to get the brevet card (book actually) stamped before eating and headed for the control. The volunteers guided me towards the control point and I pulled up at the control which was loaded with cycles and finding a parking place took a little time. Then the quick walk to the control to get the card stamped. I was expecting a queue for the stamping, however, there was no queue in spite of so many riders being at the control. The stamping was very efficient and the time taken to walk to the control and out of it is more than the time taken to stamp the card.

After stamping I headed towards the food counter and here there was a queue. As I stood in the queue I saw that Mahesh was looking around. I beckoned to him and when he came by I got to know that he had just reached the control. Galin had gone ahead when he had stopped and Mahesh had reached a little after me. We stood in the queue and picked up the food. The Croissant and the sweet Croissant and a Coke was what I picked up and then headed to a table where Rajaneesh, Raghavendra and Ajmal were seated. They were done with their breakfast and about to start. Ajmal opted to sleep for a while, Raghavendra and Rajaneesh headed out. Had a quick chat with Elango and Maddy as well who were about to leave from the control. Mahesh and I ate our breakfast and then headed out.

Sitting in the warmth of the control I had forgotten about the cold weather and stepping out was a reminder that even though it was day break it was still cold. I had taken an hour at the control and when I stepped out I saw that Mohan Subramanyam had had his breakfast at a cafe, stamped his brevet card and was ready to start his ride from the control.

Villaines La Juhel - Fougeres (Control) - 89 kilometers

The timing mat at Villaines was put at the exit of the control on the way to Brest and the time was recorded when we exited the control and not when we entered. The cold hitting the face as soon as we started the ride had me covering my face with the neck scarf. Even though the Sun was peeping in between the clouds it was misty and biting cold.

I was hoping for the Sun to come out of hiding and to warm me up. The jacket and thick gloves were still on. The exit from Villaines comprised of a few steep downhill's which should have been an enjoyable ride for me, however the rough road surface and the cold weather was negating the easy exit from Villaines.

It was around 8:00 am when the Sun was out and the mist/cold remained for about 30 more minutes. As the Sun began to bake the earth, the wind proof gloves were the first to come off, however, continued with the jacket as I did not want to stop. The plan was to ride from control to control and not take any breaks in between so that I could make up as much time as possible during the day and create a buffer for the night. Having struggled through the night I knew that I would lose time during the night and wanted to maximise the day time ride.

Mahesh had ridden ahead and I was riding at my pace. The initial easy terrain had made way to a steady rolling terrain. The huge groups which were witnessed yesterday was a rare sight today and it was more like 4-5 riders in a group. Rarely a huge group would come by and they would fly past in a matter of seconds. I went past Raghavendra Makam and in a short while Rajaneesh as well. 

Towns/villages came by and what was common amongst all these towns/villages were that it had a church around which the town had been built. It was like the church was the center of the town/village. The sight of cheering people continued on the route and getting water was not a problem at all, so I did not worry about the water consumption.

The wind alternated between a cross wind and a head wind. The rolling terrain continued and so did the sequence of being overtaken by riders who had started in later batches. I targeted getting to Loudeac by 7:00 pm and did not want to get bogged down by being overtaken by faster riders. Kept calculating the time to the next control and the arrival time to Loudeac.

Went past a lot of towns/villages where stalls were set up with water and refreshments being served to the riders and the ever smiling and cheering French folks were present. I did not stop as I wanted to avoid unnecessary stops and kept riding although at a steady pace.

I had reached Le Louroux I guess when I spotted Mahesh at a house. I stopped as well, had orange juice and cake and refilled water as well. Thanked the hosts and we resumed the ride. Mahesh sped ahead and I settled into my pace. It took a while but I made it into Fougeres and just as I headed into the control Amar and Rajkumar were heading out. It was 11:40 am when I reached Fougeres. 306 kilometers completed in 17 hours. Mahesh had reached 10-15 minutes earlier and had already eaten. He told me that hot water is available and that he had already got hot water for me as well. I bought a coke and then headed to the table, mixed a couple of MTR ready to eat sachets (mix of upma and poha). Took about 40 minutes to get going from the control, Raghavendra came into the control just as we exited and asked about what we had for breakfast, told him that we had MTR and started the ride.

Fougeres - Tinteniac (Control) - 54 kilometers

Mahesh was pacing me and after a while increased his pace. I was unable to stay on his wheel and was happy to settle into a steady pace. The Sun was cranking up the heat which put me in a comfortable zone.

In a short while I had caught up with Rajkumar and NM Rao. We rode for a while before I pulled away as I wanted to make the most of the favorable weather. There was no let up in the rolling terrain and there was a constant cross wind as well.

It was 2:50 pm when I reached Tinteniac. It was the same routine, find a place to park the cycle, get the brevet card stamped and then head to the food counter. I bought some pasta and coke and a sweet croissant. The first sip of coke was rather painful, I could barely send the coke down my throat. It was painful to drink as well as eat the pasta. The chest hurt badly and this was hitting me within 350 kilometers of the ride. The push to have dinner late the previous night was beginning to show up now. Tried to eat and drink as much as possible and headed back to the cycle. I had not carried my water bottles inside so I did not fill water here.

Tinteniac - Loudeac (Control) - 85 kilometers

The exit from Tinteniac was a climb. It pretty much carried on till Becherel which was the next town before the gradient let up. I had run through my water and was looking for a refill. A food stop had been arranged at Quedillac and even though I did not have to stop here, I went in to fill water and buy an apple. Met Raghu here, he was struggling with knee issues and had decided to continue riding but at a slow pace and was determined to complete the ride.

Within a few kilometers of starting from Quedillac, I came across a French rider who was riding with only one feet. He had an injury on his left knee and so had modified the bike, the left crank was fixed and he rested his leg on the pedal and was rotating only the right crank. With just one leg he was averaging almost 20 kmph, I wondered what he would have been doing if his leg was ok. This was another moment of inspiration as I pushed on from here.

It was clear that I would not get to Loudeac by 7:00 pm and my 24 hour target to get to Loudeac was not going to be met. I pushed on and wanted to limit the time loss as much as possible. Getting past the 400 kilometer mark in under 24 hours was a positive and I thought that I had not done too badly in the first 24 hours. When the clock struck 6:45 pm I had done 420 kilometers which was a decent effort considering the terrain and the difficulty of the first night. As I got closer to Loudeac, the riders in the 80 hour start were crossing me on their return to Paris. They had done about 800 kilometers already, astonishing effort and I was in awe of these riders.

The road to Loudeac was a never ending one. It felt like I am so close to the town but the control never arrived. When it finally did arrive I was relieved that I had made it. 8:18 pm when I reached which meant that I had done 450 kilometers in 25.50 hours.

The drop bag had been arranged at Loudeac, however, I did not want to use the drop bag, the plan was to stamp the brevet card, have dinner and get going from Loudeac. Prior to the ride we had been informed that Loudeac is the place where most of the riders call it quits and I wanted to get out of the place as soon as possible to avoid the negative vibes if any this time round as well. I had decided to use the drop bag facility on the way back from Brest.

Got the brevet card stamped, headed in for dinner, where it was a rather long queue. I had to have soup, apple juice (Minute Maid apple juice is without fizz; fizz drinks were ruled out on account of the chest pain), apples. The routine was to eat one apple and to carry one for the road. Met Satish Sharma at the control just as he was heading to take a quick nap.

I stepped out of the control and when I opened the door, the cold air hit the face, I wanted to turn and run back to the warmth of the control. Took a few seconds to re-focus and head out towards the cycle. Just the walk from the Control to the cycle had me cold. I wore the jacket and the gloves and headed out. The volunteers were insisting that we switch on the lights even though there was daylight.

Loudeac - Carhaix Plougher (Control) - 76 kilometers

It was 9:15 pm when I started from Loudeac. The reason for the volunteers insisting on the lights became evident in the next few minutes as it got dark in no time. The light dropped and so did the temperature as well. The stop and the cooling period at the control was making it colder than it was. I got a call from Mahesh who was about 25-30 kilometers ahead by then stating that the terrain ahead was difficult and that I should start from Loudeac as soon as possible if I hadn't already started.

The first night had a lot of riders on the road, the second night did not have so many riders on the road. I had not filled my water bottle at the control again and had to stop at a village to refill water. The village folk were wrapped in blankets as they braved the cold weather to cheer the riders and provide refreshments. Water had been taken care of and now it was about getting some kilometers on the saddle done.

It did not take long for the struggle to begin. The gradient was tough and the fight against the weather had begun. In about an hour sleep began to add to the difficulty as well. I tried to keep riding, however I was painfully slow and decided to take a quick nap before resuming. I found a place beside the road on the left side and lay down. I had thought that the number of riders on the road were less, however, put my head down to sleep and I realised that there were a lot of riders on the road. The riders kept passing by constantly and I was barely able to sleep. It served more like a rest stop which was counterproductive since I was freezing. I got back on the saddle and a few minutes later I was stopping again to rest. Same routine, however, this time I was able to catch a 10 minute nap before waking up to the chatter of cyclists passing by.

The stops were only making me cold and getting back on the saddle was tough. Even though I was wearing a merino wool base layer, a jersey, a jacket and the reflective vest, it was not sufficient layers for me as my cold resistance is very low. The night was long and daylight was not anywhere close by. I was missing the Sun a lot.

I made it to the secret control at St Nicolas which was at kilometer 488. I did not want to take too much time here, however the time off the bike and refilling the bottles had me cold again and restarting was slow. Just 33 kilometers to the control at Carhaix Plougher, however I was suffering and riding was painfully slow. It took me 2.5 hours to get to Carhaix Plougher even though I had not stopped to sleep.

I headed to the control along with a couple of MTR sachets and also bought soup, apple juice and apple. Met Siva Balaji here who had reached earlier and had slept and was getting ready to re-start his ride. Swamy and Prasad were at the control as well. I had my fill of the soup and the juice and the MTR as well and started from the control along with Swamy and Prasad.

Carhaix Plougher - Brest (Control) - 89 kilometers

The clock had ticked past 4:00 am, it was still cold, however, I had to get through 2 hours now for daylight. I started from the control and within a few minutes had lost sight of Swamy and Prasad, I had made a slow start. It was rolling terrain and there were a lot of riders around. The struggles of the night were not over as yet as I was feeling sleepy. I looked for a place to sleep but could not find any. Finally, found a side road and put the cycle down and slept on the road since the grass was wet. Heard a rider saying that it was a risky place to sleep and I was back on the saddle, rode a little and still no improvement in the ride speed which was dropping a lot. I decided that I had to stop as riding was not doing any good as I was getting into a negative space. Stopped and lay down on the parapet wall which had been built on a stream. Immediately, a rider passing by said that it was too risky, I was frustrated by this time and got down from the parapet wall and sat with my back to the wall and caught a quick 10 minute nap.

When I got back on the saddle it was 5:30 am and with only 30 minutes to get by, I was back onto speed. The climb ahead was handled relatively easily and got onto the highway. The first time I saw trucks on the route and they were going by rather quickly as opposed to cars which would wait. A few more kilometers covered quickly and I got the first view of the water. Brest is not too far is what I thought at that point.

Came across a line of Caravan's of riders at the top of the hill, they were offering refreshments to the riders. It was day break, the wind speed was up as well. Getting to the top of the hill was a good feeling and I sped downhill. Went past Swamy and Prasad on the downhill and expected the Brest bridge to arrive.

The Brest bridge was nowhere in sight, the water which was visible when on top of the hill was not visible as well. Rolling terrain had started again and I was wondering how many kilometers were remaining. Arun Kumaraswamy, who was in the 80 hour start was riding towards Paris crossed by at this point. In a short while the volunteers were guiding me to take a left to head towards Brest. Took the left and then a right and then some steep rolling terrain and finally arrived at the Brest bridge.

I stopped the cycle and took my first pic during the ride. Quickly took a few pics and got back on the bike. The blue water was beautiful and the view was fantastic as we headed into Brest. Another assumption was that the control was within a kilometer of the bridge. Unfortunately it was not and the terrain in Brest in steep rolling terrain. It was a frustrating ride from the bridge to get to the control. Again that feeling where I am so close but the control did not arrive. Finally when I saw the volunteers near the control it was a steep descent. Just the thought of having to climb back up to ride towards Paris had me thinking if only they could seal the brevet card right there instead of having to make the descent.

9:34 am when I reached Brest. Just under 39 hours to ride 610 kilometers. Headed to the control, got the card sealed and then headed to the restaurant for food. Which was soup, apples, apple juice and I got pasta as well. The pasta was difficult as the pain in the chest had still not subsided, so had the soup, juice and apples. Headed back out, got the power bank out to charge the phone and I was heading back towards Paris.

Brest - Carhaix Plougher (Control) - 84 kilometers

The return ride from Brest had started. I was feeling good that I was half way through and had a further 10 hours to get back on track before the night struggles begin. I began the ride from Brest and just as I got out of town the first thing to hit me here was the saddle sore. Over the course of the entry to the control point and the exit from the control point I had developed the saddle sore. Saddle sores are not new to me and set in around the 300 kilometer mark for me, however, setting in after 610 kilometers was a positive. I did think that it would have been good to have a change of clothes here, however, the clothes were 170 kilometers away at Loudeac.

The rolling terrain was on offer and so was a reduced number of cyclists on the road. When I did get to the part where the route towards Paris and towards Brest was common I passed by a lot of Indian riders heading towards Brest. Some had started before me and were going to be cutting it close to getting to the control in time.

Got past the climb and started the descent on a smooth road surface. A luxury which I was enjoying as I sped downhill. I had started from Brest around 10:30 am and wanted to ride till Carhaix which was 84 kilometers away and have lunch there. It was a steep task, however I hoped that I could make it in 4 hours. However, when the downhill was done, it was time to get back onto rolling terrain and the fatigue was beginning to set in.

I was not as quick as I wanted to be, however the pace was not too bad as well. I pushed on and made good use of the apple which I had carried and water and managed to keep riding. Just before Carhaix, I saw a lot of riders riding in the opposite direction, for the first time I had a doubt if I had missed an arrow and was on the wrong route since I thought that I had got past the common route between Brest and Carhaix. Surprisingly, there were no riders riding towards Carhaix. I made a brief stop to check the route on the phone, however, before I could switch on the data on the phone, a few riders went past me towards Carhaix. Route confirmed, so I got back on the saddle and rode on.

Entered Carhaix and saw a couple of bakeries and was tempted to stop and eat, however, I continued riding as I wanted to get to the control. Pushed a little and made it to the control at 3:15 pm. I had about 45 minutes to have lunch and get back on the road. I opened my bag to get the brevet card, phone and cash and head into the control.

The cash pouch was missing. I had that sinking feeling, my ride was done with if I could not find my cash pouch. I looked in the bag and it was missing. I headed to the control and got the brevet card sealed and before reporting the loss I wanted to reconfirm, so I headed back to the cycle. Removed all the contents from the bag and confirmed that I had lost my cash. I called Mahesh to enquire if he was close by and could leave some cash for me at any store, however he was 30 kilometers ahead and the idea was not feasible. I had written off the ride when I went back to the control and told the volunteer that I had lost my cash and if they could check if they had found it at Brest since I was sure that I had dropped it when I took the power bank out to charge the phone. They called Brest control and asked them to verify. I sat and waited and after about 5 minutes I saw Siva Balaji come to the control. Hope springs eternal. I went up to him and told him that I had lost my cash and requested him to lend EUR 20. He quickly did the math and gave me EUR 50 saying that I still had a long way to go. I was thankful that he had given EUR 50 and that I could resume the ride. The volunteers said that in case they find the cash at Brest they would send the cash along with the bike marshal to the Loudeac control.

I went back to the cycle and emptied two MTR sachets and used cold water to cook the upma. I did not want to go back to the control as the walk back would cost me further time, which I had lost a lot by losing my cash. Took a little longer than usual for the upma to absorb the water, the vegetables were not cooked, however, in the hunger I swallowed everything and got back on the saddle.

Carhaix Plougher - Loudeac (Control) - 89 kilometers

It took a while to come out of the disappointment of having lost the cash and re-focus on the ride. I was hopeful of managing with the EUR 50 and the stock of MTR that I had. It was a slow start, however I recovered to get back to a steady pace.

Every time the bike marshal passed by I hoped that they would stop in front of me and tell me that the cash had been found. When they didn't stop, I hoped that they would have found it and would have given the cash at Loudeac. I had to block the card as well, but did not want to do it before reaching Loudeac, "What if they found it" was the thought ringing in my head.

First target was to get to St Nicolas. I was expecting this to be a secret control again. It was a secret control, although I did not want to stop, I had to go in to get the brevet card sealed. It was a quick entry and exit, the clock was at 6:40 pm. 48 hours had been completed  and I had ridden 738 kilometers. I had ridden 420 kilometers in the first 24 hours and in the second 24 hours it had dropped to 320 kilometers. This was way slower than I should have been. However, I had demarcated the ride from Loudeac to Brest to Loudeac to be difficult and did not mind the drop in mileage as I was confident that the ride would ease out after I get to Loudeac.

Started the ride from St Nicolas to Loudeac. it was good weather, pleasant and the Sun was not red hot. 2 more hours of daylight before the night sets in; I wanted to get to Loudeac before nightfall at least. It was a steady ride and I made it to Loudeac just as the night set in. I reached at 9:30 pm. 783 kilometers completed, 440 kilometers remained. I had 39 hours for it, however, I was going to lose a little time as I wanted to freshen up before resuming.

I got the brevet card sealed and then searched for a volunteer who spoke English to enquire about the cash. When I found one, he directed me to a stall and said that the stall is for lost and found items. I enquired and was told that no cash was found at Brest. The cash was gone and what remained was 440 kilometers. I headed to the drop bag, took a quick shower at the "Shower" place organised at the control by paying EUR 4, got fresh clothes on, some vaseline for the sore butt and then headed to the restaurant to have food. Loudeac control was relatively empty as compared to the previous night when it was very crowded. Just as I headed into the restaurant, Swamy and Prasad arrived and said that they would catch up with some sleep while I had dinner. I said that I would ride with them during the night. I picked up the usual soup, apple juice, apple and carried MTR sachets. Ate my portion and then caught a quick nap before Swamy and Prasad woke up.

Loudeac - Tinteniac (Control) - 87 kilometers

I was woken up by Prasad and we got going from Loudeac. It was close to 12:00 pm I guess when we started from Loudeac. It was the same fight with the cold weather when we started. Only difference to the two previous nights was that I was riding with familiar faces. It was good to chat up about the ride and our experiences as we made slow progress through the night. There was a stop for coffee at the residence of a hospitable French couple who had kept their doors open in the middle of might. As Swamy and Prasad drank coffee, I had a quick sip of juice. We started and from here we kept taking intermittent breaks as sleep became an additional factor. We were feeling sleepy at different times and every time a person felt sleepy we would stop for a quick 10 minute nap.

On one occasion when I got up and picked up the cycle, I was still dizzy and fell, I landed awkwardly and ended up hurting my left knee. The cold weather was making it more painful than it would have been otherwise. Just a little bar tape damage, everything else working and I was able to get back on the saddle and continue riding.

The struggle through the night continued and I was slower and it felt like I was losing out on the battle with the clock. However, Swamy and Prasad had started the ride an hour before me and I was sure that as long as they made it to the control in time, I would reach in time as well. Getting through the nights was a real fight, in spite of this being the 3rd night it was not getting easier.

At one place when I stopped to get some sleep, I saw Galin Abraham coming from behind. I had seen him go ahead on the first night and had thought that he was way ahead. He said that he had 2 punctures and had lost time on account of it and said that he would continue riding. I was too sleepy to continue, told him we would start in 10 minutes and took another power nap. I was woken up by Swamy and the three of us started again.

The ride was still slow, however the positive was that the clock had ticked past 5:30 am and it was almost time for the sky to change its colour from black to blue. The first sight of the sky changing colour was such a relief. It was a new day and with it a new life was breathed into this ride. Although the pace did not improve a lot on account of biting cold, I was active again and it felt good to not feel sleepy.

It was 6:45 am when we reached Tinteniac. Got the brevet card signed and headed to the restaurant to have food. Picked up soup, apples and had MTR sachets and ate our fill. As we headed back to the cycles Mahesh called and said that he was still at Tinteniac, he had reached the earlier night around 11:00 pm and had opted to sleep at Tinteniac as it was very cold. The 4 of us started from Tinteniac around7:30 am.

Mahesh having just about woken up after a 6 hour sleep - at Tinteniac

Tinteniac - Fougeres (Control) - 54 kilometers

It was still cold and it was difficult for me to get going. I was waiting for the Sun to turn on the heat to get going. Swamy and Prasad went ahead as they were running the clock close and said that they had to push on. Mahesh tried to pace me for a while, however, I was not responding well and he rode ahead after he had dragged me for almost 20 kilometers. I was only 30 kilometers from Fougeres and getting to Fougeres with a slight delay was not a problem.

It was a steady ride and I made my way to the Fougeres control at 10:45 am. Headed in just as Swamy and Prasad were exiting the control. Mahesh was waiting at the control and I had a couple of MTR sachets and an apple juice. Galin Abraham was still at the control and was sleeping. After I was done with eating, we woke Galin up and decided to start. Galin wanted to freshen up, I went towards the bike and waited near the bike. After about 20 minutes Galin and Mahesh had not come out as yet, called Mahesh and got to know that they had already started from the control as they thought that I had started. Told them to keep going and started from the Control.

Fougeres - Villaines-la-Juhel (Control) - 89 kilometers

924 kilometers were done and I had just 230 kilometers to ride. The food that I had eaten at Fougeres was supposed to keep me going till Villaines-la-Juhel, it was an early lunch. Got back on the road and I had to make up for some lost time, so the start of the ride was pretty quick. In a short while I caught up with Prasad who was struggling with pain in his knee. He said that Swamy was behind and enquired why he was not with me. I told him that Swamy is not behind. The next few kilometers were ridden in doubt about whether to wait for Swamy or should we keep going ahead. Received a call from Mahesh around the same time enquiring where I was and fortunately heard Swamy's voice, he was with Mahesh, now that we knew that Swamy was ahead, we asked them to wait and continued the ride. We passed by villages where boards had been put up stating "just 240 kilometers remaining", "just 237 kilometers remaining" as a way of motivating the riders. We reached the place where Mahesh and Swamy had stopped, it was an apple orchard. I plucked some apples and loaded my jersey pocket.

We resumed the ride and rode steadily. Effects of the ride were showing, I was feeling sleepy and was dozing at the handle. It took a close shave to wake me up, I was heading straight onto an oncoming car, woke up in the nick of time and managed to get back on track. A wake up call and I was wide awake after this.

There were a lot of riders around and the approach towards Villaines-la-Juhel had steep climbs. We caught up with Galin here and rode in and around each other to get past the climbs. I was munching away at the apples to keep going as well, hunger pangs were biting and without the apples it would have been difficult to get past this section since the climbs were steep which required extra effort.

We reached Villaines-la-Juhel at 5:15 pm where a carnival was on. It was a festive atmosphere with a lot of people around. It felt like the finish line. We parked the cycle and went in to get the brevet cards signed. The climbs to Villaines had taken quite an effort and I could not feel my legs as I walked towards the control. It felt like only the upper body was moving and there was nothing below. Got the card signed and then headed to the restaurant to eat.

I was hungry and we took a whole lot of food at the control and went to the dining area and ate. It took about 30 minutes to eat, however, I was very relaxed as I had just over 200 kilometers remaining and had about 19 hours to do it.

The stats till now were as follows:

1st 24 hours - 420 kilometers

2nd 24 hours - 320 kilometers

3rd 24 hours - 270 kilometers

The kilometers were dropping and the 3rd 24 hour segment had been a sort of disaster with the distance covered. I had lost focus on the ride and it was only getting worse.

Villaines-la-Juhel - Mortagne au Perche (Control) - 84 kilometers

6:45 pm when we started from Villaines. This was the easiest exit and the easiest part of the ride. 15 kilometers were covered in under 30 minutes when we started from Villaines without having to put any effort. It was a combination of downhill and tail wind I guess which made this section easy. After the initial easy part it was time to get back to rolling terrain, we were passing by Sun flower fields, damp road (presumably from a shower which we had missed) and pleasant weather.

Although I knew that it was the last few hours of daylight, I was not pushing the pace and was in a relaxed zone (more than I should have been). I was not worried about the night and the struggles that it would bring. I was looking at doing a relaxed ride.

Mahesh and Galin were slightly ahead, Swamy and Prasad and I were riding together. Along with us there were a lot of riders which gave it a similar feel like the start of the ride, only difference being that the riders were still riding fast, whereas I was riding slow.

There was no end to the rolling terrain, however, it was not difficult to ride. Passed through a few empty villages and saw that the number of people cheering us on had reduced, probably because riders had already reached the finish line, whereas we were still over 100 kilometers from the finish.

The enjoyment was going to end soon and when darkness enveloped us, it was time for the struggle to start. However, it was not the case, I had worn the jacket and the wind proof gloves in advance which made life easy and there was not much of the drop in the pace since I had not been riding quickly earlier as well.

We were about 15 kilometers from Mortagne when Swamy and Prasad went ahead and I was beginning to struggle. However, in a couple of kilometers Galin and Mahesh had stopped for coffee, I stopped as well and chatting with them I was ok. I was told that we were 12 kilometers from the control when we resumed.

On the restart, Mahesh and Galin went ahead and I was slow off the blocks. After half an hour, I was almost at the control, however, took a wrong turn and ended up in a residential locality.  could not find my way out and was wandering around empty roads when I got a call from Swamy enquiring about my whereabouts. I told him that I had gone off-track and did not know how to get back. He sent the location of the control and I was able to find my way back to the control.

It was 11:50 pm and when I reached, Mahesh and Galin were ready to leave. I wanted to eat and headed in to the control. Got the brevet card stamped and then picked up the food which was pasta and apple juice. Chatted with Swamy, Prasad and Mahesh while Galin slept for a while.

Took about an hour when we were ready to start. Swamy and Prasad started, I was very sleepy and wanted to catch a quick nap, and tried to sleep as well, however with the noise level at the control being rather high I headed out to resume the ride.

Mortagne au Perche - Dreux (Control) - 77 kilometers

We started from Mortagne and the saddle sore and the pain in the knee were pretty high, probably on account of the break and would subside when the body warms up. I would have ridden for about 5 kilometers by which time Galin and Mahesh had gone ahead when I started to hallucinate.

At this point I did not know that I was riding the PBP and was thinking that I had come to watch a cycling event. I got off the cycle, put down the cycle right next to the road and put my head down. As I was hallucinating, I did not know that I had stopped and there was no plan to get up, it was not a stop for a power nap, so I did not know that I had slept. I did wake up in between and see cyclists passing by, however, it still felt like I was watching a cycle ride and that I would be taking a car to go home, so I continued to lay down and did not get up.

I was woken up by a French gentleman who had stepped out of his car and then held my hand and was taking me to his car. I thought that the cycle ride is over and it's time to get back home. It was only when he took me past his car and said that I could sleep on the other side of the road I realised that I was at PBP and that I had a ride to complete. He brought my cycle over and put it down on the other side since the place I was sleeping was dangerous. I looked at the watch, 7:15 am. There were a lot of missed calls as well which I had not heard. Swamy called to enquire where I was, I checked and I was about 65 kilometers from the Dreux control. I had to make it to Dreux by 9:01 am and riding 65 kilometers in 90 minutes was not possible.

I felt deflated and de-motivated. I decided to head to the nearest train station and take a train. Then the realisation that I did not have sufficient cash to take the train, I was left with under EUR 10 and the train option was ruled out. I had to ride to the finish and since I was going to be out of time, I decided to have a relaxed ride, at least enjoy the French countryside now.

The Sun was out, it was still cold and I packed my bag and forgot about the light and got back on the saddle. It was a slow ride with me trying to understand what had happened. In a short while I caught up with Raghavendra Makam and while chatting with him I heard that a buffer was being given to the riders. I re-confirmed if he was sure about it, he said that there is a lot of chatter on the group about it. If there was a buffer then it's worth a push to try and make it within the buffer, I decided to resume riding rather than enjoying the ride.

I increased the speed as much as I could and tried to push on. I was trying to make it to Dreux within the buffer time and as the distance kept getting shorter, I knew that I would  not make it in time. It was hard to take and I was hungry as well, it was not only a fight against the clock. The thought of food kept growing and I had to stop to take a break to fix up some ready to eat stuff (since I was not going to make it to the control in time) and then continued the ride.

As I got closer to Dreux I was struggling to generate any speed in spite of putting in significant effort. The gradient was not difficult and neither was it too windy, I could see Dreux up front, but unable to get up to speed. I stopped and checked the rear tire pressure, it was a puncture. Trying to fix the puncture would take me at least 20 minutes, I quickly pumped the tire back up to pressure and rode towards the control which was just a couple of kilometers away.

At the control I headed to the support station and asked for the tube to be replaced while I headed in to get the card signed. I had reached out of time, it was 11:11 am. Quickly grabbed a sweet croissant and headed out to check on the cycle. It was ready and the change had been done free. I thanked the volunteer and started the ride.

Dreux - Ramboiullet (Control) - 44 kilometers
44 kilometers remaining and I had 75 minutes to do it. I did try to ride quickly, however the rough road surface and the head wind was a dampener to the effort. I noticed that I was overtaking other riders consistently and did think that I was riding fast, only when I noticed their registration cards with 'S', 'X','Z' I realised that I was not fast, it was that the other riders were taking it easy since they had a lot of time. I pushed on as much as I could, the cobble stoned roads in the towns was very painful as the vibration from the road was being felt in every bone of the body. It was a painful ride to the finish. I still had around 10 kilometers to the finish when the clock struck 12:45 pm which was the end of my allotted 90 hours. By now I had gotten to know that the buffer time was only a rumour and there was no official confirmation of it. So 12:45 pm was the close and I had not made it in time.

I caught up with Rajkumar Khot with about 5-7 kilometers remaining to the finish and the two of us rode to Rambouillet to complete the ride. The timing mat captured the time as 1:25 pm giving me a total time of 90 hours 35 minutes, half an hour over time limit at the finish, however, I had missed the Dreux control by 2.25 hours.

Submitted the brevet card at the control and got the PBP medal which was being given to all those who submitted their brevet cards at the finish. It was very disappointing and I knew that I had not earned the medal and it was more like a souvenir for the ride than an actual medal.

In Conclusion

This ride will be hard to digest since I was in the game till 1,100 kilometers and lost the plot in the last 100 kilometers or so I thought, however, the ride was not lost in the last 100 kilometers it was lost long before this. There were a lot of mistakes which I made on the ride, but the one that hit me the most was that I lost focus on the 3rd day and covering just 270 kilometers in the 3rd 24 hour segment was too less, just 40 kilometers more in this segment would have had me at least finish the ride in time. I was riding with ease on the third day and during the day I felt like I was having the best day on the saddle, the numbers don't lie and I was in fact having a very bad day. Just a simple calculation of distance covered would have told me about it, however, I was too relaxed and  not focused and did not calculate. Hallucinating probably could not have been avoided, since I was against the clock the whole time on account of the slow speed in rolling terrain and did not have the luxury to have a sleep, however, I could and should have covered more distance which would have offset the impact that hallucinating had on this ride. All the small stops which I took on the 2nd and 3rd 24 hour segments will haunt me for a while.

The ride was an eye opener for me. It was a good learning experience to see so many riders and the way they ride. The different machines on display, the different set-ups, the different strategies of riders, it was very good to see it first hand and learn from these. The French people braving the conditions (whether it was heat in the day or cold at night) and helping out the riders was fantastic. The marking on the route was amazing as well, prior to the ride I could not believe it that the route could be so well marked. The route itself was superb, rolling terrain almost from start to finish was awesome.

I would take this opportunity to thank Bangalore Randonneurs since they made this very easy for us. The logistics were taken care of and so were the many suggestions which were given including about warm clothing without which I would not have survived the 1st night on this ride. The dream to complete the PBP remains unfulfilled.