A visit to Paris Brest Paris audax
Last August I visited the quadrennial Paris-Brest-Paris 1200km audax cycling event. It is the largest and most prestigous event of this type of riding with the route dating back to 1892 when it was raced by professionals. Nowadays anyone can take part, once they qualify by completing suitably certified rides over 200km, 300km, 400km and 600km within certain time limits and assuming sufficient places. On the ride itself there are a couple of start groups with most folk in the 84 hour and 90 hour groups and a small number aiming for a sub 70 hour time.
This piece is more about my visit than detailing the background and qualifications, there is loads more information on the internet for those interested.
In late 2014 I had considered entering the 2015 event but I read a bit more and heard another 5,000 people had the same idea and decided it probably wasn't for me. I did qualify though with rides in Wales, Ireland, Scotland and England and also completed a certified ride in excess of 200km in 12 successive calendar months. In 2015 I did go out and watch them at Mortagne-au-Perche and Dreux before heading up to Ypres in Belgium and back to a channel port.
This year I was busy and kept putting off booking but eventually the ride was only a few weeks away, a regular riding buddy had qualified, so I got myself organised. In my rush I gave myself a day less than I required to enjoy it. It was the busy summer holiday season so I grabbed a ferry home meaning I had about 220km to cover in about 24 hours. I wasn't confident I could do it with a nights rest due to lack of time in the saddle so in the end my time with the ride was a little rushed.
Setting off from home I had all day to make the late evening sailing out of Portsmouth so I got off the train a couple of stops early and cycled along the south coast of England across to Hayling Island taking a short ferry ride across the harbour and had time for a meal and a beer before catching the night ferry.
Their were a lot of cyclists on the boat and we were let off first. It was about 8am as I left St Malo and it was not too far to the course and I realised I might only see the quicker riders. I took the decision to ride along the coast to Mont-St-Michel and then head south to Tinteniac and then along the PBP route to Fougeres.
At the first small patisserie I stopped and bought myself petit dejeuner of pastries and coffee overlooking the sea.
Soon after I picked up some gravel tracks which I was taking steadily on my 25mm tyres but I ended up puncturing about 20 metres from the end of the section. Puncture fixed I set off again to Mont-St-Michel on quiet back roads and the odd track. Once I got into the vicinity it became very busy with, quelle surprise, tourists so I quickly moved on.
This issue with crowds is something I need to deal with. I often just ride all day without stopping very much and then think I should have stopped and looked at this or that. Of course, when I get to places I have heard about so have others, it is crowded and I move on. I do enjoy finding places to just stop for a while though and along this coast, by gravel tracks, was an abandoned church that was nice to stop by for a while,
A couple of hours after leaving Mont-St-Michel I was in Tinteniac at the PBP control. On my way in I saw a few riders riding out at a good pace. I stopped for an hour or so having lunch at the control. I thought food was for the riders only but was told it was for everyone, as long as I paid for it!
I enjoyed watching riders come and go, some meeting friends and family, riders of all nationalities mingling together. And the hard work of the volunteers.
After my break I set off to Fougeres following the route. The route is waymarked and a steady number of riders were passing me and very occasionally I passed some struggler. Passing many communities it was fabulous to watch the locals out cheering the riders and passing food and drink to the riders. I regularly felt embarrassed as locals cheered me as I passed or were offering me food, I can only imaging what it must have been to receive the cheers, particularly if you were going through a bad patch,
My stock answer to food offers was always 'non, je suis touriste, merci'. I couldn't take food intended for the riders.
I arrived in Fougeres early evening and had a dilemma. I had booked my trip home from Cherbourg for late morning the day after next. When booking I did not know when my cycling buddy, Phillip, would likely be passing through. I did a few calculations but realised that I had covered about 90 miles that day already and it was maybe 140 miles to the port. It should be doable to stay overnight and leave mid morning and be close to the port by the next day but self doubt crept in. I decided to leave then and ride some miles to reduce the distance required. I expected Phil to arrive overnight or early morning.
Somewhere outside St Hilare du Harcouet about 20 miles from Fougeres I had found myself on a converted rail track into a walking cycling route. It was getting dark and I was looking for somewhere to pull in when I saw a young woman and a dog so pushed on for a distance. Eventually I found a wooden seat under a bridge and thinking it was dark and no one would be passing decided to bed down behind the seat. My head had barely hit my mat when I was aware of a headlight coming towards me, it was a runner with a headtorch. Soon after the woman and the dog came past me and then a bit later I was aware of a very bright light passing which I thought was two bikes, next day I decided it might be just the one.
I was up at first light, quickly packed and away and a few miles down the track saw a fella at a bench enjoying breakfast with a bike beside him. Was that the fella who passed me late last night?
I pushed on through Marcilly noting some interesting local sculptor and Ducey to see the restored Chateau de Montgommery.
The rest of the day was strange and I cannot say was one of my best on the bike. I headed to Avranches where I finally found a patisserie open and enjoyed coffee and pastries.
The way out I had picked was along quiet coast roads all the way up the west coast of Normandy to Cherbourg via Cap de la Hague. I was well away from the two busy roads I could see on my maps. And the first section was fine, I hit some roadworks where I initially made a poor decision to get around them and then some steep hills to get back on route but then I ended up on a busy road that was constantly up and down. I got off it for a section but ended up on a beach with 'my route' out being up sand dunes. I back tracked to go up a narrow lane that was so steep I was reduced to walking. And back to the busy road. I continued north and had decided I would ride no longer than 9pm finding somewhere to get off the road and camp. Around 9pm I was near Les Pieux and found what I was looking for.on the road to Auderville, it was a narrow grassy track leading into a field out of sight from the road.
I erected the tarp and as I was just finishing off started to feel some rain drops. I quickly got my stuff under cover, grabbed a bar and some water and settled down for the night. It rained for a spell and again for a while in the early hours but stopped around 4am and first light.
I broke camp and headed back to the already busy road that was still rising and descending. At one point I saw a turn off and consulting the map decided it would give me a break from the traffic. All it did was climb,flatten a bit and then climb and climb some more. When I reached a junction I turned left and barreled downhill for ages ending up on the outskirts of Cherbourg. Eventually I made it the port at 9am and chatting to the driver in the next lane he tells me that further West torrential overnight rain and made driving to the port difficult, looks like I was lucky with just a couple of showers.
When I booked my return I was unable to book just a reservation on the boat, I had to have a cabin for an 11am, 4 hour sailing. I was a bit miffed but walking into the cabin and having a shower and a lie down on the bunk I was pleased I had paid out.
I can't see myself riding PBP in 2027, I will be 68, but perhaps I will do another section over to Brest.