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| Hi All This is a somewhat belated addition to Denise's wonderfully detailed and colourful event report. Reason for the delay is that I have been enjoying a relaxing tour by car through France, Switzerland and Italy. Now in Provence where I'm enjoying the sun we didn't see in Brittany and drinking the wine we didn't dare touch in the event. As a veteran of many marathon,triathlon and ironman events I am something of an endurance event junkie and so when JF first proposed this long ride in "the beautiful gentle rolling hills of Brittany" my interest was stirred. However, PBP turned out to be a far greater physical and mental challenge than I had even remotely anticipated. Getting to the start line of PBP requires many months of preparation completing the qualifying brevet rides and for many it is the culmination of years of thinking and planning about the event. Having done so much to get to the start the great fear we all have is that we will ultimately be forced to abandon the ride due to either physical or mechanical breakdown. To see JF forced to withdraw after 400+ kms with tendenitis of the knees was immensely saddening. JF is a natural for this sort of riding and he was well trained for the event. Apart from riding for many kms in the wet with ice packs strapped around his knees there is really little that JF could have done in Singapore to simulate the riding conditions we encountered. I saw one guy around the 200 km mark busy taping up two
broken spokes and I passed another guy around the 850 km mark with
loudly singing bearings in his front hub both of them were probably
forced like hundreds of others to withdraw due to mechanical failure.
The fact that Denise and I got through the entire event without so much
as even a puncture was amazing.
In all endurance events you see people who are a source of inspiration and/or admiration for one reason or another and I encountered many such people during the course of this event, not least of whom was Denise. When Denise arrived at the midway point of Brest after
600+km including a final 1km, Mt Faber steep side gradient, final climb
into the town she had a smile on her face but she looked shattered.
During the 30 minutes that we rested and got a bite to eat in Brest
Denise spoke darkly about the hills we had ahead of us in the
section leaving Brest. She was sceptical that we would get to enjoy the
benefit of a tail wind which odds on given that we had battled a fierce
head wind most of the way to Brest. And so when Denise declined to come
with me as I prepared to leave Brest,despite the fact that her cut off
times for the next control points were starting to get tight, saying
that she wanted to rest a little longer I privately concluded that she
had pretty much ridden her race and would be unlikely to go much further.
As I headed out of Brest I did not expect to see Denise again before Paris and
so when she turned up on the road some 200 km later I experienced some
strong emotions - shock, immense pride, and a huge dose of guilt that
I had written her off earlier. From that point we rode together for the
rest of the ride and through some very challenging sections. Over the
last 400kms we passed hundreds of riders, some still peddaling but the
vast majority lying at the side of the road or on the floor of a cafe
or under a shelter of some sort.
There were very few women in the event and even fewer who finished which makes Denise's effort event more outstanding. She proved that she is a very determined and very resilient individual. Thinking of having a go at PBP 2011? I recommend
it as a unique opportunity to experience the amazing capacity that
our bodies have to overcome extreme fatigue and sleep deprivation. Finishing
it is hugely satisfying, not to mention the pleasure of cycling over the
gently rolling hills of Brittany in the warm French summer!!
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