Contact: Mark Wooldridge
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Forgive me if I begin this by using the traditional start to a bad novel:
It was a dark and stormy night as we left the starting line in St Quentin en Yvelines. Paris-Brest-Paris 2007 was a different ride from my previous attempts--this time we had rain, rain, and more rain. If you want more details about PBP in general you can check the RUSA website Paris-Brest-Paris. I also have sunnier descriptions of my PBP rides in 1999 (Paris-Brest-Paris 1999) and 2003 (Paris-Brest-Paris 2003). The ride starts in the outskirts of Paris and proceeds onward to Brest, following a largely out-and-back course. A very nice Google Map of PBP was prepared by Adrian Hands at this link.
In preparation for PBP this year I rode a brevet series with the Houston Randonneurs. I also started an R12 series (a 200k or longer for 12 consecutive months) in September, aiming for the final ride to be PBP. The consistent long distance rides in the fall, winter, and spring served me fairly well, allowing more focus on intensity in the late spring and summer. I rode with Northwest Cycling on Saturdays and Southwest Cycling on Sundays when I wasn't doing brevets, which required me to work hard just to stay in the groups. It also kept me sharp on riding in large groups, necessary to be comfortable in the sometimes substantial packs at PBP.
My wife and I toured in Belgium and Normandy for a week and a half prior to PBP. We first travelled to Bruges in Belgium, staying in a B&B. This was our second trip to Bruges, which has a medievel center that was preserved largely intact. They were having a music festival in town that attracted thousands of people and a bunch of interesting bands. The theme this year was dancing, with some of the venues trying to teach specific dances and others providing music that catered to specific types of dances. Bruges is the background for a movie named "In Bruges" that is in limited release now (February 2008). My wife and I agreed that the movie is very funny, provides some excellent views of Bruges, and is extremely violent.
I did some riding near Bruges just to make sure the bike survived the flight from the US and to stretch my legs. I plotted out a nice route north to the coast of the North Atlantic. I managed to follow my planned course for about 200 yards before I got lost in the maze of one-way streets and road construction; after that I relied on my sense of direction and road signs. I did manage to ride to Oostende, but I did it differently from my plan. Because it was Sunday morning I saw several organized club rides taking place, with most of the riders in team kit.
We then traveled back through Paris and out to Normandy. We stayed in Bayeux in a small B&B, and traveled on day trips from there. One of the highlights of our trip was a guided tour of the Normandy Beaches in the American zone. Battlebus Tours put on a nice day trip in a mini-van with six people, giving a good overall look at the American beaches. We also enjoyed taking the train to Caen to see the World War II museum. Although focused on WWII, the museum includes exhibits from WWI through the Cold War. The collection is large and includese a wide range of exhibits; seeing actual pieces of Gary Powers' U-2 spyplane was fascinating and unexpected.
A truly memorable moment occurred in the B&B dining room, where the owner's dog casually walked up to me and peed on my foot as I stood beside the breakfast table. In another incident we found that service in this B&B was complete, and apparently included a somewhat intrusive drying service. We rinsed out a few clothing items and spread them on our suitcases to dry one afternoon. When we got back late that evening the clothing was mysteriously gone. Inquiring the next morning, we found that the maid had hung the clothes out to dry in the garden. Of course, they kept some of our underthings for an extra day, only producing them after a very specific (and embarrassing) inquiry.
All of our trips in Europe were by train, which we enjoyed very much. The only hitch with taking the train was my bike case and bike gear. Climbing up and down staircases, going down long halls, and squeezing through turnstyles was a trying experience with a 50 lb bike case and a 50 lb wheeled suitcase full of bike crap. On the trains my bike case didn't fit in the luggage racks and I had to stash it as best I could. The conductors were nice, though, and other than one comment that I wasn't supposed to have a bike on the TGV I managed to get by without incident. On a couple of the "milk train" legs I sat on the bike case in the entryway to the car so I could keep it out of the way and upright, while on others I put it in an unused seating area. On the trip from Paris out to Normandy we happened to take a train designated for bicycle travel, so I was able to travel "legally" and put it in an area reserved for bicycles. Of course, the racks were designed for assembled bicycles instead of large plastic cases so I just sort of wedged it in place.
At the B&B's the owners let me store the bike in a locked garage (Bruges) and in a corner of the front hallway (Bayeux). I did get a question from one of the proprietors about whether all Americans carried their bikes in cases (he was clearly very puzzled about why I didn't just carry an assembled bike). Next time I resolve to leave my bike and gear in Paris at a hotel and travel with a very light backpack if we do any "pre-PBP" train touring.
After a very enjoyable time wandering around Europe, we finally returned to Paris. Ruby stayed one night and then had to return to Houston via a somewhat delayed flight. I went from the airport back to our hotel in central Paris, and then went out to St Quentin en Yvelines via the RER. I had no problem taking my bike on the RER, although I had to navigate the Paris streets by general direction and landmarks (i.e., the Eiffel Tower should be on my right....) after I failed miserably at following my printed out directions and map showing the way to the station. Although a Metro station was very close to the hotel bicycles are not allowed on those trains; instead I rode to the nearest RER station.
While PBP was taking place I left my bike case and luggage at the hotel in Paris. I had pre-arranged this while we were making our hotel reservations and brought a copy of their email that agreed to the storage. Although they had no record of such an arrangement they didn't protest too much, and let me leave my bags in a locked basement.
Sunday morning I woke up early to see light rain falling, a harbinger of wetness to come. I got to the train station about 30 minutes early, where I waited with two of the PBP bike inspectors. We talked about my bike and PBP; I should have paid more attention when one of the inspectors commented on my lack of fenders. Both the inspectors and I were surprised when we got to the Gymnasium and the bicycle inspection had been cancelled. The rumored cause was the rain and a lack of tents in which to perform the inspections.
RUSA and Des Peres Travel again organized a bag dropoff program. Riders could drop off two small bags that would be stationed along the course. We could access one bag at Loudeac and one bag at Villaines la Juhel. I met most of the Houston Randonneurs and some of the Dallas Lone Star Randonneurs at the bag pickup point in St Quentin en Yvelines on Monday afternoon, and had a nice meal with them as we waited for the start at 9:30 pm. The weather was really nice right up to the actual start time.
I once again took the 90-hr start, beginning at 9:30 pm in the first group. Bob Riggs and I stayed together in the start queue as we navigated the shifting lines at the somewhat impromptu bike inspection. Yes, there was a bike inspection after all: they checked our bikes and gear in the line at the start. I made it through the inspection just fine, although the inspector didn't like that I had my spare headlamp in my bag rather than mounted on the handlebars--no idea why, it seems to me that if I crashed my spare light would be more likely to survive intact in the bag.
After some discussion Bob and I donned our rain jackets while still in the starting queue, a wise decision in retrospect since the rain started just as the ride started. We rode together for 50 or 60 miles, although we eventually separated in the hills before Mortagne au Perche. Unbeknownst to us some of the other Houston riders were very close to us but never quite linked up. I met Tom Milton, the owner of Selle Anatomica, in the light rain before Villaines la Juhel where we discussed his bike saddles. Although I don't ride on one of them quite a few of the Texas riders have found them to be very comfortable.
At the Mortagne au Perche food stop I saw Mike Butler. He looked very rough, with torn clothes and large strawberries on his shoulder and hip from a crash. He had crashed on a descent in the rain, but was going to continue on to Villaines la Juhel where there was supposed to be a doctor in the first aid area. Although we did not run into each other again on the ride, I found out later that he managed to cover about 500 more miles before the effects of the crash caused him to drop out due to time.
In retrospect the first half of PBP seems to be largely devoid of details; I suppose they were washed out by the rain. Rain was fairly continuous for the first 36 hours and continued intermittently until the last day. All of my clothes were soaked through or damp, although I stayed relatively warm. I didn't get chilled except right after the control points. As I started each section I would get cold until the body heat from riding overcame the chilly wind.
I made it to Loudeac at around 10 pm on Tuesday. It was a little early to sleep, although the prospect of heading out into the rain and darkness was not inviting. I ate a quick meal then went to the sleep area. After a 5 minute wait I was led to a mattress where I quickly stripped off my jackets and shoes and lay down to sleep. For some reason it seemed important to dry off my clothes so I hugged my damp lightweight jacket and tights to my body as I slept. Sure enough they dried out nicely and felt very good when I put them back on after three hours of sleep. I grabbed another quick meal at the cafeteria and headed back out at 3 am. My total time off the bike was around 5 hours, but the long stop seemed to be worth it.
Not as many riders were on the road in the wee hours, although I was never alone on a section of roadway. I made it to Brest around 10 am on Wednesday, riding the last stretches into a headwind and clearing sky. I stripped off warmer clothing in Brest, although I did keep my tights on. The sunshine felt really nice for a couple of hours, although it started clouding back up later in the evening.
I made it back to Loudeac around 10 pm, and again decided to get some a shower and some sleep. After eating I made my way toward the sleep area, getting there at about 11 pm. On the way to the dormitory I ran into Gary Smith's wife, Cathy. What a trooper! Cathy was driving support for Gary and was actually cleaning his bike in the darkness by the RUSA bag drop while Gary slept. I don't know what he did to deserve this kind of treatment but I was greatly impressed by her diligent help.
After a quick shower and a five minute wait I once again lay down for some sleep. I had debated stopping at this early hour but my decision was vindicated when I heard loud thunder and heavy rain on the roof. After a brief thought about the riders caught out on the road in the storm I quickly fell asleep. After three hours of sleep I grabbed another meal and headed out into the now dry night air. My total stop was again around 5 hours, but it really helped me recover.
I kept up my habit of eating a fairly substantial meal at each control until I got to Fougere. The line at the cafeteria was pretty long so I decided to skip it and eat at a cafe or store on the way out of town. Of course, the route out of the control at Fougere was very steep and wound around a lot so by the time I finally stopped I was very hungry and not feeling well. I picked out a bar to stop at, choosing it mainly by the presence of a couple of PBP bikes leaned up against the wall. As I opened the door there was a step down that I missed, leading me to stumble and almost fall. Several people jumped up to help me, and directed me to a bakery just down the street that served food (the bar only served drinks). At the bakery I joined several other riders as we wolfed down sandwiches and pastries whilst dripping all over the floor of the nice shop. The proprietor was very pleasant and helped us with our food selections even though none of us spoke french, she spoke little english, and we were dripping all over her floor.
Intermittent rain again marked this part of the ride. I stopped at a couple of roadside stands operated alongside the road by volunteers. Local support was fabulous, with people standing out in the rain even at night to cheer and clap as riders went past. I rode part of this section with Andrew (Anthony? can't remember!) and his girlfriend. She was an ultra racer who hadn't eaten for a day or two due to stomach upset--she was somehow surviving on sweet tea. Eventually we took shelter in the doorway to some sort of barn for a short nap--not much sleep was had, but we sort of dozed off for a bit. We separated at the next control, but the company was nice and really helped me get through the night. I was glad to run into them in St Quentin en Yvelines and found that they did finish on time. They were truly tough-minded: even after a difficult PBP they were headed off to do a bike tour.
I eventually made it to Villaines la Juhel, riding fairly comfortably to the control. After changing clothes at the bag drop I started on in the late afternoon. I had plans to ride on to the last control where I could sleep for a few hours and finish about mid-morning on Friday. As usual my thinking wasn't entirely straight by this stage of the ride, but there seemed little point in finishing at a time when the RER wasn't running. Given my earlier problems with navigating in Paris I had no confidence whatsoever about riding back to central Paris by following my printed out map from St Quentin. It would be much easier to simply hop on a train and hope it went the right way--at least I could doze off in a warm spot even if I chose wrong.
My somewhat muddled planning quickly became moot, however, as my feet intruded on my planned progress. Hot spots under the balls of my feet quickly built to significant pain and discomfort. I stopped on the side of the road and tried to diagnose the problem. At first I thought that it was simply due to the long ride and tried to simply move my cleats back to shift the pressure point. After a long time struggling with doing this I discovered little difference in comfort, however.
Finally, I pulled out my cell phone and called my wife back home in Sugar Land. After talking briefly about the problem Ruby started looking on Google for potential causes. We finally settled on Trench foot (immersion foot) as the probable cause given the circumstances of having wet feet for three days and the symptoms of burning pain and fish-belly-white wrinkled skin. After several hours of drying and rubbing them my feet finally started feeling better.
The result of losing 5 or 6 hours dealing with my foot issues, though, was that I didn't get much sleep on Thursday night. I did snatch about 30 minutes of sleep on a park bench, but covering up with a space blanket in the rain wasn't the best way to catch some rest.
Friday morning revealed pleasant weather, allowing a nice cruise back into Paris. Everyone seemed fairly quiet and ready to finish as we re-entered the Ramboullet Forest and negotiated the small towns on the approach to St Quentin en Yvelines. I finished at about 1 pm, experiencing the same sense of anticlimax that I experienced in previous PBP rides as I turned in my stamped booklet and they scanned my card. The ride is the peak; finishing is just the end. That sounds really melodramatic and philosophical, but it's the feeling I got!
My evaluation of my preparation and training efforts didn't reveal a lot this time. Our brevet series was fairly flat, although we did lots of miles in the relatively mild hills west of Houston that approximated the overall climbing rate in PBP. I used a bike computer from VDO that reads out the percent slope; many of the grades were between 4 and 7 percent. The steepest grade I saw was a bit over 8 percent.
Fenders, or lack thereof: My feet stayed wet for most of the ride, leading to my only health problem (hot spot, presumably caused by trench foot). Even after the rain stopped the road stayed wet and my feet were covered by spray off my wheels for long periods of time. I kept my "waterproof" shoe covers on but as they soaked through all they did was keep my feet relatively warm--they did nothing to keep my feet dry after the initial hours of the ride. Actually, they kept my feet damp long after the rain stopped, and I should have removed them. Lack of mental clarity (i.e., stupidity) after many hours on the road probably explains why I kept them on.
The rain was the biggest factor that affected my performance, I think. I didn't really think it was slowing me down that much at the time, but in retrospect I am certain that I would have finished at least a day or two earlier if it had been dry. Almost certain? Dreaming? In reality I simply slowed a bit on some of the descents and probably rode a bit slower during the actual rainy periods. Eventually my wet feet did stop me through the development of trench foot, however, so fenders would have been nice to have. I would still have been wet from the actual rain, but they might have had a chance to dry out once the only water present was on the roadway surface.
Camelbak: I carried up to 70 oz of water in a Camelbak. For the first night it was very handy to be able to carry lots of water; after that, however, I could have gotten by with one large bottle of water and one large bottle of Sustained Energy. As a result of carrying the Camelbak I ended up carrying surplus water on every leg past the first one, and ended with bruising on both shoulders under the straps. Mind you, if it had been hot I might have had a different opinion. On long, hot rides in Texas I use a Camelbak because it provides large quantities of cool water and helps me stay hydrated, but that's under much different conditions than a cool, rainy PBP.
My propore rain jacket worked very well, with little sweat buildup. I did have another very thin jacket under the rain jacket that I eventually packed away. It stayed damp and contributed little to my comfort level under the rainy and cool conditions.
The relatively uniform weather conditions of the ride helped me save some money, actually. Each and every official ride picture revealed me dressed in the same outer jacket, helmet cover, and tights. Thus, I only purchased one photo!
As far as physical after-affects, I did have some tenderness in my feet as well as tightness in the triceps of my left arm and numbness in that hand. The issues with my feet went away after a few weeks, but the muscle tightness in my arm has lingered; the numbness in my fingers disappeared after a few weeks. I did have the usual peeling of skin on my backside in the saddle contact areas, too (similar to peeling from a sunburn, but I'll decline to get any more graphic).
Sleeping for 3 hours at Loudeac coming and going helped me deter any problems with sleep deprivation, although I did get very sleepy the last night when my foot problems kept me from getting much sleep. I was very fortunate to experience short lines at the dormitory in Loudeac, allowing me to maximize my sleep time. My shower at Loudeac and clothing changes at the bag drops helped considerably with physical comfort. All in all, PBP was once again a great experience.
When I begin preparations for PBP in 2011 and figure out my training regimen, I just need to remember one thing: you're always four years older.
© Mark D. Wooldridge, February 18, 2007.