Paris-Brest-Paris

Well done Garry, surely between 1am and 5am you should in have been in an Audax "Hotel" ?

Yanto wrote: Well done Garry, surely between 1am and 5am you should in have been in an Audax "Hotel" ?

I was riding with Stuart around that time and he had made provisions for booking into an Audax Hotel.
He flatly refused the first offering but accepted the second. Unfortunately, having no kip provisions, I had to press on, as it was a bit cold to really relax into concrete against skin at that particular moment. So he took up occupancy for a while, and I pressed on...but I soon fell victim to natures call and found myself virtually falling off the bike, collapsing into a grass verge and having to accept the way things are. Such is natures call.

Yanto wrote: Any plans for keeping the miles up until PBP?

Oh boy...there is so much to do...I need to get the bike sorted out, loads more mechanicals...and fitness....well, there is so much to do.

We'll see...

AlanGoodman wrote: I can see the attraction of doing these bonkers long events on/in a trike... It gives you somewhere relatively comfortable to sleep!

Too true.
Also, cover said vehicle with a nice smooth fairing and you have not only increase in speed, but protection from the elements too....while you sleep!

One is pleased to note that Garry finished PBP in 89:34, which is a whole twenty-six minutes faster than 2007!

Chapeau, Sir!

legs_larry wrote: One is pleased to note that Garry finished PBP in 89:34, which is a whole twenty-six minutes faster than 2007! Chapeau, Sir!

Thanks Dave.
You were missed out there. A certain part of Mortagne had a poignant familiarity to it - you will recall it well [especially after you'd just lent me 50 quid at the control too ]

What an experience once again. Did I enjoy it? Goodness knows. The whole gamut of emotions seemed to come and go, forever flowing so quickly, ranging from the most negative to the most positive, but all in all it leaves an indelible imprint on the memory that's for sure. And how bizarre it is that once some time is put between the finish and where we are now - it all seems like an amazing experience and the pain recedes. Hell fire we'd never go back and do anything again if the case was contrary. But it was a mad crazy dash for the line from start to finish, with no time to spare. Again. And the nights were tough. Always trying to hold onto precious time while sleep deprivation accumulates by the kilometer. It was always emergency stops for me, half hour here, half hour there, but the weather was so much kinder this time around and I did most of my emergency kipping by the side of the road, along with many others.

I see the tracker did not not record me going through Tinteniac on the return leg. Reading yacf, it sounds like the tracker was all over the place for a while. I don't recall seeing a blank in the brevet card....but it could be I was so zonked I actually forgot to go through the control!

I saw Patrick Fields on a few occasions. We were swapping internal thoughts about our lack of preparation and how utterly blown apart we felt - and vowed this: never for this ride to be completed in this state again! [cough] I didn't see Stuart once throughout the whole ride. Getting home it would appear there was a reason - he finished 10 hours ahead of me! I smell the air from another planet, the planet 'Training'. Fair play to him. From what I can see from the photos he was not carrying the kitchen sink either, which I have a tendency to do.

I have to say there were many good recumbent riders out there, most of whom I sadly didn't see after reaching Mortange. Some very good riders indeed. PBP is not flat, as you know, but recumbents can be ridden perfectly fine if you're prepared to prepare properly.

But it was a great experience and I feel buoyed to go off and build another bike. This one is history. It was cobbled together pretty quickly this year [where did that year just go!] and did the job, but it's a bit all over the place. If I'm still of this world in 2019 I'll be 60 [what!], and [from a distant bar stool] I like the idea of putting in some dedicated time to get fit, get a bike together that can perform to a higher standard, go round once again, and have a decent crack at making headway into the clock, and pushing beyond the hanging on stage for so much of the time.

But the sun shone...for hours. And on the descents, it was fantastic.

Here are a couple of [not perfectly clear] videos from the start posted on BROL.

https://youtu.be/4Htz15C2NmU
https://youtu.be/jsbETs00Qmg

[can't seem to post these as clickable links though]

Coming back into the flat though made me realize how much I'd left all the issues here well and truly behind for 6 days - strikes me that's a good barometer of how you've spent time away. There is therapy in getting so exhausted that wooden floors, table tops and roadside verges can take on the character of being the most enticing places to insinuate sleep! At that time, emails don't matter no more.

Talking of sleep......most go.
See you sometime Dave.
cheers


Edited by garryb59 - 22 August 2015 at 2:32pm