The 8:15pm start wasn’t ideal. I would’ve preferred starting earlier to avoid riding all night when visibility is limited. But leaving in waves with hundreds of riders was cool – we could draft off each other to maintain pace. Spectators cheering loudly as we departed Rambouillet pumped me up. The gentle roads initially spread out the pack. I rode in a group of 30-40 moving fast, drafting each other. Sometimes slower groups passed then slowed, which was annoying. I wasted energy sprinting ahead at times instead of relaxing.
After 120km, finishing the first leg in 5 hours felt great. I was starving, but my only veggie option was an unappetizing sandwich. After refilling water, I found the restaurant! Relieved, I carb-loaded on pasta, yogurt, bananas and Orangina. The next 94km was pitch black countryside. My bike light only illuminated the wheels ahead. A few hours later, some awesome folks at a bike museum gave out coffee! That caffeine injection energized me to pedal through the cold night.
The next day’s heat was brutal. “Just keep pedaling” was my mantra when exhausted. Soup, carbs, yogurt and bananas at checkpoints fueled me for hours between stops. On the road, I struggled to eat in the oppressive heat.
At 9pm on Monday I reached Loudeac at 435 km. I was happy with the distance despite being a couple hours behind my original plan, mainly due to queue delays at checkpoints. I was tired, so I decided to try and sleep a couple hours. I ate then slept from 10pm to midnight. I didn’t feel like I slept much but I must have since I had strange memories of loved ones telling me I’d trained hard and should stay positive. I seemed to be subconsciously about reaching Brest on time. When I woke up, I had 170km to go – doable but I needed to stay focused.
I set off just after midnight with two planned stops. The constant rolling terrain made it hard to find a rhythm or pace. The impact was taking its toll on my knees.
I finally got to the halfway point in Brest with an hour to spare, I passed out under a tree before replenishing food. For the return to Paris, I hoped to enjoy the scenery more with extra time allotted. But the constant rolling hills wore me down. At another stop, a quick 40 minute nap revived me.
Crawling back into Loudeac, sleep was essential! I rested 3.5 hours before starting the final leg. No food at the first stop – I went 25km further, starving. The last day delivered scorching heat again. My mantra pushing through endless hills: “Just keep pedaling.” A broken spoke complicated things but got fixed quickly.
Returning to Villaines la Juhel at 10pm, massive crowds cheered loudly! Their infectious energy catapulted me forward. Hearty lentil chili sustained me for the remaining 200km through the night. Checkpoints now resembled zombie towns, riders utterly spent. A tree nap at dawn prepped me for the finish line.
Teenagers zoomed by in Paris Brest Paris jerseys, pulling me toward Rambouillet. Entering the final stretch lined with screaming fans overwhelmed me with pride. I finished in 88 hours, just under the 90 hour time limit. My moving time was 63 hours – I spent 15 hours sleeping, eating and on faffing. Physically I felt good. My average speed was about 20 km/hr. My average power was a bit low. I managed shoulder and knee issues okay. I developed painful saddle sores that I’ll need to address somehow in the future.
My training this year – building endurance, aerobic engine, managing effort by heart rate – had carried me further and faster than ever before.
This epic experience taught me invaluable lessons:
- Doing Zone 2 / Low intensity training for the majority of the year really worked!
- Patience is a virtue, don’t get carried away and burn too much energy when you don’t need to
- Eating consistently is critical in endurance events
- Mental toughness and mantras like “Just keep pedaling” push you forward
- Appreciate the support and community spirit
- Expect and adapt to the unexpected
- Sometimes it’s better to rest and recharge than push on
- Enjoy the journey itself
These lessons will help me build on this year’s training for whatever my next challenge may be. I look forward to the next adventure!
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