Written by Nancy D. Haney

Cycling around France for about 762 miles (1200K) sounds great doesn’t it? Imagine riding that distance in 90 consecutive hours or less. That’s what over 5000 cyclists did in late August at the Paris-Brest-Paris event (PBP), including six local riders. This test of cycling endurance and will is held every four years for those non-professional cyclists who qualify. In order to qualify each rider must complete (within time limits) a brevet series of sanctioned 200, 300, 400, and 600K events during the same year as PBP.

This year more than 44 nations were represented. About 650 riders were from the US (13% of those were women). From the Bluegrass area were: Johnny Bertrand, Alex Meade, Steve Rice, Steve Royse, George Allen, and Todd Williams (from Cincinnati).

This was Johnny Bertrand’s 6th completed PBP (of 7 starts), his first being in 1983. When asked about this year’s ride he described it as “long, cold, and wet” but a piece of cake compared to the weather conditions here for the qualifying 300K in early March when the wind chill was minus 17. He noted that a rider must stay mentally strong during the many ups and downs of PBP. “90% of the ride occurs between your ears,” he said.

It is difficult to sum up Johnny’s contribution to American randonneuring—he’s been involved on the regional, national, and international level. He has spent the last 21 years as RBA of KY (Regional Brevet Administrator). Johnny has just stepped down from that position handing over leadership to Steve Rice. Steve is currently finalizing the dates for a full 2008 brevet series which he has already submitted to RUSA for approval (Randonneurs USA). He hopes that by offering a full series in the area it will be easier for our local riders to qualify for 1200K’s without having to travel so far for them.

Steve completed his second PBP this year and he found it somewhat easier on himself than his first one. He indicated that riding 1200K for the first time ever in the PBP 2003 edition caused some firsttime jitters. By now he’s had much more experience having ridden Boston Montreal Boston (1200K) in 2004 and London Edinburgh London (1400K) in 2005.

Alex Meade rode his first PBP this year and had a stellar ride. He achieved something very few riders do. By finishing the entire 1200K in just under 56 hours he became a member of the exclusive Charly Miller Society named for an American rider who set the benchmark finishing time of 56 hours 40 minutes in 1901. (Imagine—that was back in the days of dirt roads, cobblestones, and fixed gear bikes!).

Alex built the frame for the bicycle he rode replacing another bike he also built that had just worn out (after 20,000+ miles). He tried to match the exact geometry of the one he replaced since he had ridden that one to train on and for all his qualifying brevets. Like the original, he used a steel frame and equipped it with a Brooks B-17 saddle. Compared to a racing bike he used slightly heavier wheels with 32 spokes and his stem was a little bit shorter and higher.

When asked how he trained for PBP Alex said he had ridden 26 centuries (or longer) this year before he left for France in August. During July he said he rode 150 miles every Saturday and 100 miles every Sunday. I asked him about the toll the grueling PBP took on his body. He said that even though he’d been lifting weights all year the last four hours he couldn’t hold up his upper body. To compensate, he rested his arms on the handle bars (aero bars aren’t allowed). One month after PBP the small fingers on both hands were still numb (but getting better).

I wondered how the cyclists could handle sleep deprivation. Alex told me he slept a total of only 30 minutes. At one of the control points he paid a high school kid one Euro to wake him up when he told him to. Alex had to write the time down since they didn’t speak each other’s language.

The riders I spoke with all commented that PBP was unbelievably well organized with control points about every 50 miles or so. At the control points the riders had to check in and had access to food, water, bike mechanics, medical help, cots, and some showers. Even though the weather conditions were less than ideal every village had people on the side of the road (even in the middle of the night) encouraging the cyclists and yelling ‘Bon Courage!’

Out of the blue Alex mentioned something…”They have different roadkill in France.” Gosh I hadn’t thought to ask about that! When we stopped laughing he elaborated. He saw hedgehogs and a badger on the road in France. Poor critters—c’est la vie!

This year 30% of the registered riders DNF (did not finish). Possibly the bad weather was a factor. Alex noted “I never thought I’d be wearing a balaclava in August!” He wore shoe covers, tights, a long sleeved jersey, and a vest for just about the whole ride. Whether a rider finished or not they all completed the qualifying brevet series and should be very proud of that accomplishment. Congratulations to all the riders who participated.

LATE BREAKING NEWS-PBP RESULTS WERE FINALLY POSTED AND OUR OWN ALEX MEADE FINISHED 4TH AMONG ALL AMERICAN PARTICIPANTS. A BIG WOO HOO TO ALEX!!!!

To learn more about randonneurs and riding brevets check out rusa.org and for more Paris-Brest Paris info go to www.paris-brest-paris.org Our local brevet organizer is Steve Rice who can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it