PBP: It's our Party
August 18-22 2003

It's Saturday morning, August 16, Cor Vahl and I are taking the car, full of expectations, to go to Paris. We both want to participate in Paris-Brest-Paris, the 4-yearly event for Randonneurs in which you have to cycle 1200 kilometer in 90 hours or less.
The journey goes well and after 6 hours we see the Eifel-tower and find a place at the campsite "Base de Loisirs" in St Quentin en Yvelines. Close to the start of PBP.
This Saturday we use our time to put up our tents and meet with other campers. 90% of them are cyclists or companions. All with one goal: PBP. They come from all over Europe: Germany, England, Spain, Italy, Russia etc. The participants who came to France by plane usually stay in hotels. Like f.i. almost 500 cyclists from the USA.

On Sunday the bikes get an inspection. Because we ride on through the night the lightning must be all right and you must have spare-bulbs. There also is a check for reflective clothing.
When this is OK, you can get your documents like magnetic card and booklet for stamps. I also got my ordered shirts.
After the inspection Cor and I went for a short ride in the surrounding of St Quentin.

On Monday morning a prologue was scheduled. 30 km at a modest pace through the community of St Quentin. But, before we can go, there was a huge shower at night. Too much for my old tent and before I realize what happens, my bag with clothes picks up some water, leaving all the clothes I have wet.
So, no prologue, but fixing a washing-line, wringing the water out of everything, spreading it out all over and hoping they dry in time.
In the morning it still is drizzling, but then the sun comes after midday. Turning the clothes around and around makes most of them finally dry at the end of the day.

On Monday evening we went to watch the start of the 1000 fast ones, who have to be back in 80 hours. After them the specials (recumbent, trikes and even a scooter) started. At 22.00 the first pack of 500 of the 2500 participants for the 90 hour time limit started.
We would wait till next morning for our 84 hour time-limit start.

Luckily, I slept a good deal of the night, but the alarm went off very early. Waking up at 3.30 AM, eating bread and custard. Packing up the bike and at 4.45 our card was swiped in the machine. At 5.00 our trip began.

1st day StQuentin en Yvelines - Tinteniac 420 km
The first kilometers of this stage are ridden in the dark. At first behind a pace car and when out of the suburbs of Paris in big groups. Cor and I started at the back of the group, but both managed to get to the front. The wind comes from ahead, so riding in a pack is easier than riding alone.

After around 40 km we find ourselves in the first pack of 150 people.
The pace is above 30km/h and the first hills give no problems. This becomes different when we reach the "Perche", a hilly area between km 100 and 170. My descending capacities are not enough to regain the loss I make while climbing and even before we reach the supply-point in Mortagne au Perche I have to let the group go.

I take a little break and hope to find a smaller group in which I can stay. After leaving Mortagne I find many groups, but on each hill I drop behind to find myself alone again. This works to demotivate me and my mood drops. It is getting warmer and the wind still blows in my face.
Finally I reach the first control point in Villaines la Juhel (225 km). I'm totally fed up.

I get the stamp in my book and get the card swiped. Go to the "Self" and have a meal.
I don't see Cor anywhere and think that he is already on his way to the next control. I must have lost at least an hour on him.

When I leave Villaines I'm down. It's almost 30 degrees. I cannot reach my beautiful plan of finishing in 60 hours anymore. I have to go for another 1000 km. How long can I hold this???
I hope to survive and that makes me go on. A long stage with many meters of climbing follows and I start with a moderate pace.

I join in with a small group riders, but as usual I have to let them go at the first climb. This time I notice that I'm not the only one. Someone just holds my wheel. Even after the next climb the situation stays the same. Then I hear from behind: "Is it okay that I stay on your wheel?".
I am used to ride at the head of a group and don't mind that there is someone on my wheel, so I say "Okay". At this moment I do like some company to talk to. My breakdown was of huge proportions.
After some time we ride alongside and I see that my company is an American lady. She tells me that she's sick and got stomach-acid burnings. Her plan to finish even faster than I was supposed to do, also fell to pieces. By staying on my wheel, she (Melanie) hoped to recover (not facing the everlasting wind fully). To me it worked out positively. It gave me the chance to keep my pace steady and moderate.

Together we head for the next control in Fougeres. We get our stamps and agreed on leaving together again in an hour.
Her plan was to stop for the night in Carhaix and I had the idea to see in Brest how my condition was and then decide what to do. We will see.
It is a relative short and easy stage to Tinteniac. We arrived there at the falling of dusk and when it is dark we leave again. Now heading towards Loudeac.

2nd day Loudeac - Loudeac 375 km
When we arrive in Loudeac at 03.00 AM we both are tired and have problems keeping our eyes open.
The dormitory is full and we look for a spot to sleep in the "Self". I find a corner of the room to sleep and Melanie lays herself half over a table. We sleep for about 20 minutes and wake up by the sound of her alarm clock.
We leave still in the dark for the next control in Carhaix. The sleep has gone, but the night remains fresh. We keep the speed just above 20.

In the first stages we still were able to build up an advantage on the closing times of the controls. So we do not worry about that. The stages to Carhaix and Brest go easily. The scenery after Carhaix is especially nice. Halfway is the Roc Trevezel, 350m high ,with a very long climb and decent. Just before we reach the top we see Cor coming over the top. By the time we reach that point again on our way back it will be 6 hours later.

We take our time in Brest, make some pictures on the old bridge and are halfway. We are now counting down. We are more than 4 hours ahead of the closing of the control. It is getting warm again, but our mood is coming up and we both are feeling better. I like the company of Melanie and she recovers by drinking milk and not forcing her body too much.

On the way back we take a different route to the Roc. After a climb of nearly 20 km we reach the top again and now follows the straight way to Carhaix. A bit boring, but mainly downhill. The last km's before Carhaix are climbing straight into the city.
We notice that we are able to keep in pace with the other participants while climbing.
The usual pattern of control, Self and personal care follows. It takes about an hour.

The evening follows and we leave for Loudeac. When we arrive there it is midnight and we decide to take sleeping break. It's more difficult now to find a spot, more than half of the Self
is taken up by sleeping people, some of them are even asleep on their own dinner plates.
Melanie thinks it looks like a refugee camp.

3rd day Loudeac - Mortagne au Perche 284 km
We leave for this stage in the dark to Tinteniac. We thought that it would be a short one of 55km, but it appears to be 88. It's a little damper when we notice after 40 km. Also the rather fresh temperature of 9-10 degrees is colder than we expected. But luckily there are long climbs and in the dark you cannot see how fast you are going. We stay warm enough. The descents are going well in the lovely light of the SON.

The morning sun gives new energy and after Tinteniac the real short stage follows with less meters of climbing. After 10 km we find a store in a little city and take our breakfast there in front of a church.
Our morale goes up and the last 25 km until Fougeres we ride as a team in a time-trail. Trying to overtake all the other cyclists on the road.

In the afternoon it's getting warm again and we do it slowly. Melanie tries to get some sleep in an apple-orchard, but is too afraid that an apple will drop on her head to really go to sleep.

At the next control in Villaines we suddenly see Cor again. He became ill and did see a doctor.
He is not able to eat and even the smell of the Self makes him sick. He stays shortly in the controls, drinks little bits and continues on at a quiet pace.

After Villaines it gradually becomes dark again and in the warmth of the evening we take our chance to get a nap at the side of the road.
Afterward it's getting chilly when we ride along. Again less than 10 degrees and we are getting colder too. The pace drops and we arrive a bit shivering around 2.00 AM in Mortagne au Perche.

4th day Mortagne au Perche - StQuentin en Yvelines 174 km
We take our time to come up breath again, deliberating what to do.
If we keep up this pace of around 18 km/hr, we'll get behind in time. We have to move faster.
At first the hills of the Perche are coming, they keep us warm, but in the descents we are quickly cold again. On the straights after the hills our speed is hardly 15 km/hr. This is too bad, too slow. Sleep is coming up again and we try to keep awake by asking each other questions. It works insufficiently. We are numb with cold and need the complete road to keep off the attacks of sleep. This is too dangerous, especially for others who want to overtake us.

Halfway through the stage we conclude that there is only one solution: we have to sleep.

Melanie got a lightweight silver foil-blanket and as we find a spot at a crossing with grass we spread it out and lay down in the middle of it. The sides we fold above us.
After a little while we both fall asleep and wake up after about a half hour. Our legs were not covered lying in the wet cold grass. I see on my watch that it's only 5.5 degrees.

On the bike again we are starving and our speed is 10-12 km/hr.
We are cold. But…

The morning breaks and in the first sunbeams we catch the warmth. We speed up and soon we are doing 18-20.
A cup of coffee in one of the villages from an ultra busily bartender does its work and as the sun does its work too, we want more. Our steady pace is left behind and we start to speed up.
We ride 25-30 and catch up with more and more people. Even the bigger and faster groups must be overtaken. Finally we careen with 35 to 40 over the roads between the harvested cornfields.
Everybody must be overtaken and no one can eventually follow our wheels. This is fun. This is enjoyable, It's our Party.

After more than 30 km we release the top speed and drop back into a more normal speed. We close in on a big group for the last 5 km to Nogent le Roi, the last control before the finish.
We take a big break in Nogent and speak to Cor again. He manages to do a steady pace and is confident to finish in time. He starts his last stage just after he came in.
At Nogent we see Henk Kamphuis again. At almost every control we saw him and when we tell him of our plan to do a fast last stage he joins in. He's a bit afraid for cramps, so he decides to leave earlier.

We leave Nogent and warm up for a few km. Then we start speeding again. It doesn't matter if there are hills or not. Everything is taken with 30 or more.
We catch up on Cor doing over 40 after 15 km and later on when the speed drops a bit Henk joins us.
After the hills of Gambais, we enter the first suburbs of Paris. We slow down to a normal speed to take part of the traffic and be careful with all traffic-lights. We join in a big group of Spaniards, Italians and Danes.

Finally we approach the finish. In the last 3 km we get the feeling again. We want to get rid of those others. At the traffic-lights we sneak forward and when the green comes we sprint to the next, hoping that it is still green.
As the last light becomes green we start to sprint. With a speed over 50 I reach the last roundabout. I pass the finish as number one. Melanie passes Henk in the last meters and is second. Henk third. All the others are blown away.
Our end-time is 79 hour and 36 minutes.

We congratulate each other and go together to the final control. We watch for some minutes the arrival of others and then the time comes to say goodbye.
The farewell brings about some emotion. We shared peaks and depths for 1000 km, 3 days together. Melanie became a friend for life to me. She goes to her hotel and I leave for the campsite.

It finally was, after the deception in the first 225 km, a fantastic experience.
The way back from Brest was fun and pleasure.
After we were able to let go our ambition, we could enjoy the ride.

It was our Party.

Back on the campsite Cor arrives soon. His time is a little above 80 hours. A very good result, considering that he was terribly ill halfway.

We are too tired to go home the same day, so we stay another night and leave early Saturday morning. At my home in Zwolle, Cor will be picked up by his daughter.
Cor is so full of the happenings in the past week that he cannot stop talking.

Myself, the first two days I lived in trance and was hardly reachable for others.
My physical complaints are minimal. Just a little numb feeling in my big toes and neck. Also some irritating spots on the seat post.
The fourth day after PBP I did my first ride again to work (120 km vv) on the bike.