Paris-Brest-Paris (1200 KM/745 mi.) Aug 21-25, 2011 Part Duex

Lee Million departing to start Paris-Brest_Paris

The first wave of riders is the most competitive and is essentially ridden as an ultra-endurance race. Although full of strong riders, this group has also been likened to a Cat 6 pack to describe the high sketch factor (yes, lower than cat 5). There was an abundance of aggressive riding and poor bike handling. Imagine riding in a peloton of 400 riders all vying to get near the front. There was a strong head crosswind as we rolled through the flat valley section on our way to Brittany. Echelons formed that went all the way across the whole road often times forcing oncoming traffic to pull over and give way. There were a lot of crossed wheels and plenty of opportunity to tangle and crash. I saw several crashes; at least two that involved riders without helmets! I rode defensively but also had plenty of time to meet and chat with many international riders in that huge pack. It took me about two hours to work my way to the front where I observed very poor rotation. Many riders would work up near the front but never actually pull through to take even a short pull. Even the presence of a video camera crew with the moto escort was not enough to entice folks to ride up front. The pace was not all that high so I figured I may as well get my DBC jersey some airtime.

The run up to the first feed zone (at 140k) was very chaotic. I saw several riders crash into each other as they fought for position to get to their support crews. I had to let the pack go as I stopped to refill bottles. Most if not all of the riders up front simply grabbed bags of food and new bottles from personal support crews and kept rolling. Several of us formed a chase group that kept a decent pace but were not really all that interested in chasing back on to the front pack. I rolled into the next control about 15 minutes behind. 

As with 2007, the general support of the French at the controls was incredible. Locals lined the roads and cheered; volunteers rushed to make sure we found what we needed as quickly as possible.  I rode through the first night and was on track to arrive at Brest in 24 hours or less. After the first full night of riding I bonked from violating one of the standard rules of ultra-endurance: eat constantly. I arrived in Loudéac in terrible spirits but was pleasantly surprised to see Dan Shadoan helping sort drop bags! Dan congratulated me on my fast pace but I could tell from the look on his face that I didn’t look well. It took me several hours to recover and it also started to rain with worsening conditions forecasted for the next 24 hours. The ride from there to Brest was a blur but I felt much stronger on the inbound. 

Rather than ride through the second night I took a nap for about an hour (and wandered aimlessly for a total of 5 hours) at Carhaix, the first control on the way back to Paris. The scene there was surreal. The dorms were sold out and many riders were sprawled on whatever available space they could find, including the bathroom hallway. I later realized that I had run right smack into the bulk of the 90 hour group on their way to Brest.

The whole town of Villaines cheers on the PBP riders as the arrive and leave.

Lauren and my sister, Fe, were on their own tour of Brittany but met me at 5 of the controls. I stayed at the controls an average of two hours when we met and about 40 minutes when I was on my own. At our last meeting, in Villaines, my sister calculated that I had 80 hours in the bag and asked me to slow down or hang out at controls longer so they could have more time to tour, visit more cafes and enjoy their trip before they were to meet me again. I was feeling great and told them to go ahead and do their own trip and just meet me at the finish. My total elapsed time was 66:36 with total riding time of 47 hours and almost 20 hours of down time. I improved my previous time by over 22 hours. After I finished, one of the riders I met on the ride came up to greet and congratulate me on my ride. I have no idea how he recognized me but I like to think that the Davis Bike Club jersey that got some airtime at the front of the pack in the early going had something to do with it. Four riders had rolled in together at 44:14 as the first finishers, almost a full day before I did. One of the first finishers shared great stories of his ride. I was amazed to hear that they never really lingered at any of the controls. They got their cards signed, refilled bottles and ate on the bike. He reported that they were in and out of controls within 5 minutes or so. Someone tried to call a truce at Brest but was largely ignored. Their longest stop was about 10 minutes at Brest and another before the 2nd night to change clothes.

Top finisher, Marc Vedrinelle, greets and congratulates Peter Morrissey and Lee Millon after completing PBP

I accomplished my goal of experiencing and surviving the 80 hour start. I also reconnected with friends and made more along the way. Most importantly we had a great time. Lauren had attended l’Université de Bordeaux years ago and France is dear to her heart. I know that she would not mind going back for another edition of PBP. Some of you have expressed interest in this event. Well, you have four years to get your ducks in a row. I am already scheming for 2015. 

Just remember it is not a race (nudge, nudge, wink, wink) : ). 

Interesting link: Virtual ride/race by tracking riders. Try Fold Display.

http://pbpresults.bikeaholics.org/pbp2011/histogram

 

I started the ride with Peter Morrissey but got separated and did not meet up again until about 800k. Got separated again and finally reconnected to finish together. Fun to follow and track frame numbers 1478, 1468 and 4.