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2003 PBP Page |
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Simon and Pat's Journey from
Paris to Brest and Back When I asked Simon what was the most memorable feature of PBP, he said it was "just awesome; wide-awake picturesque villages at 4 am with people lining up along the roads cheering the riders along; little old men playing their accordions roadside; water stands set up by French children; ancient church's bell towers tolling the wee hours; only 7 hours sleep (you'll note sleeplessness is a recurring them with Simon, and all the riders!), beautiful little kitchen gardens tended by older men and women gardeners with big working hands..............and the sight of a farmer cutting hay, which was the clue Simon and Pat had to a weather forecast of perfectly dry weather for the rest of PBP! In response to another question, about the difference between a 1200K event and the earlier but still lengthy 600K qualifier, Simon said "It's all about staying awake." Thursday night and Friday morning could best be described as some kind of bedlam on the roads, with riders alternately swerving and almost falling asleep. Some riders were so tired they couldn't lift their heads, and Simon described a few of them using bungie cords and coat hangers (!) to hold their heads up. Hard to imagine. Simon hit his worst moment on Friday morning, after a mere 45 minutes sleep, the last sleep of the meager 7 hours he got during the entire 90 hour time period - and how, upon waking up, he realized he was totally exhausted and had only 6 hours to get to the next checkpoint 60 miles away - certainly a do-able feat, and they did it, but at the time it looked daunting. Simon's and Pat's best times were riding through the little villages in the wee hours of the morning, and particularly on Wednesday morning when the church bells resounding from the local village churchtower coincided with a beautiful sunrise. It was at that point that Simon vowed to himself that "nothing will stop me from finishing.........unless my feet drop off!" Checkpoints, where riders had to have their cards stamped and which occurred every 50 miles or so, were an oasis of food, other riders stumbling around, a place to sleep, more riders stumbling around, bars that served wine and beer (apparently the French riders are acclimated to drinking and riding), mobile bike shops and more. With 4000 plus riders participating in this year's PBP, the lines sometimes seemed endless. Simon and Pat chose instead to stop at local cafes or pubs along the road for food whenever possible to avoid the lines. In addition, Simon had taken a sleeping pad and light bag so as not to have to wait in line for a cot at the checkpoints. He was happy he had them! Some notable riders mentioned were a fellow riding (or pushing) a scooter, a guy that finished on a tandem without a partner (wonder what happened to the stoker?), more than just a couple riders in their 60s and 70s, and the Italians and Spanish riders - "they were unbelievable and unforgettable - riding these little toothpick racing bikes; they had every piece of kit and would stop often, at every checkpoint where their bus was waiting for them; and shower, put on new duds, shave their legs, in addition to actually sitting down to eat the full-course hot meals prepared by their support cook!" Simon and Pat finished in a little over 88 hours, in my mind an incredible feat - covering 1200 kilometers (750 miles) in less than 4 days. Congratulations to them and to all the other riders that did the same. The DNF ("Did Not Finish") rate was the lowest in years, largely owing to the dedication, training, spunk, stick-to-itiveness, and unimaginable pain and sacrifice of the stalwart 2003 PBP riders, not to mention the stellar weather they all enjoyed for the entire 4 days. At the finish, Simon met a Belgian rider who had ridden PBP several times and thoroughly enjoyed it, but claimed that "he was going to do more beautiful things in the future" - such as come to France for PBP and rent a house, set up a refreshment stand along the route, and greet/feed riders throughout the event.......in other words, participate but see the event from a completely different vantage point. I can't help but think that this rider could probably only consider "sitting out" a PBP in the future because he had the accumulated experience and satisfaction from having completed the ride himself more than once in the past. Simon and Pat? Well, apparently Pat was
already talking about riding the 2004 Brevet series, even before he
finished PBP. Simon withheld comment but did mention a few things
he might do differently "the next time"......hmmmmmmm.
Any bets on whether we will see them at BMB
next year? More 2003 PBP Stories.... In addition, click here to read about Jenn Barber's PBP ride. Jenn is the RBA (Regional Brevet Administrator) for the Central New York Brevet Series and had an excellent ride from Paris to Brest and back. Read and enjoy her story! Randonneurs USA (RUSA) also has an excellent site with links to PBP information, along with clubs around the country where you can ride the qualifying brevets. It's time to start planning for PBP 2007! Bon Courage, as the French would say! A Little
background on Paris-Brest-Paris What are Brevets? For those of you that are unfamiliar with Brevets, they are a series of rides held each year in various parts of the country (and around the world) that increase in length - 200, 300, 400, and 600 km. The rides are carefully regulated: Bikes must have headlights and taillights, fenders (in some locations), and riders carry a card that is stamped at control points. Rest stops provide food and beverages and in the longer events some offer sleeping facilities. Completing all four brevets qualifies a rider to participate in the longest ride, called a randonnee, which is 1200 km long and must be completed in 90 hours or less. For more information, contact Randonneurs USA at www.rusa.org. What is a Randonneur or Randonneuse? Randonneur: A hard-riding bicycle enthusiast who is trying to complete sanctioned long-distance bicycle events inside a certain time allotment. Though some riders may be striving for a personal best, these rides are not races. Ride results are listed alphabetically, not in order of finishing time. Randonneurs are known for their friendly camaraderie. (A Randonneuse is the female equivalent of a Randonneur.) OK, so that's enough background.............. We are a growing group of randonneurs and randonneuses that just happen to own a Bilenky and be planning to ride our Bilenky in PBP this year, should we finish all the qualify brevets in the allotted time limit. We're keeping our fingers crossed. Any Bilenky PBP contender is welcome to submit their story to this site. Here's an example from last year's Boston Brevet Series, written by Janika Eckert, a 1995 Midlands owner - "The Boston 400K Brevet from a Beginner's Perspective, or Learning to Dig Deeper." Simon rides the 2003 Princeton 200K to begin his preparation I had just enough time today to catch up with Simon at the end of his lunch break at Bilenky Cycle Works - Simon is the resident frame builder at Bilenky's and commutes to work every day on the bike he built himself - here he is just before the Princeton 600K -
A
few tidbits from Simon and Pat's epic 300K brevet At one point during the ride, which attracted 40 plus riders, Simon and Pat nicked a corner of a thunderstorm in their travels, ducking under a gas station overhang for a couple minutes. Other than that, the weather was hot, muggy, and probably the biggest challenge to weary and somewhat dehydrated riders, other than the distance. Simon reported beautiful scenery throughout, while lamenting the fact that many of the potentially great views from the tops of the many great hills happened during the dark. To keep Simon and Pat awake and on their toes, though, bats came out at dusk to eat bugs off their helmet lamps! Bon
courage, guys, well done and good luck in Paris. We'll expect you to
come home with some great stories, and at least a limited French
vocabulary of basic bike terms.
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