PARIS-BREST-PARIS? THAT’LL BE 1,200 KM THEN!

While we all contemplate our rides this weekend let’s take a moment to applaud club member Keith Griffiths as he tackles the iconic 1,200 km PBP Audax ride on Sunday.  Starting in the Parisian suburb of Rambouillet on Sunday evening Keith, alongside 6,000 other cyclists, has just 90 hours to complete the ride west to Brest on the Atlantic coast and back.  All of this is unsupported with only periodic feed stations and control checkpoints to break up the relentless ride.  Sleep is allowed if you’re prepared to queue and pay for one of the basic “beds” but most riders will be taking respite from the snoring in their bivvy bags along the way in bus shelters, canteen floors or on park benches.

PBP is an event that requires proof of 200 km, 400 km and 600 km Audax rides just to be eligible to enter. It only happens every 4 years and has a long and unique history, starting in 1891 following the first long cycle race, without rest, of 600 km from Bordeaux to Paris when amazingly 3 Brits completely dominated the podium taking the first 3 places.  The French were inspired by this event and the inaugural PBP followed in the same year. A brief history of the PBP can be found here:  https://www.audax.uk/about-us/history-of-paris-brest-paris/

You can join us in following Keith’s progress using the tracking tool here https://track.rtrt.me/e/PBP-2019#/tracker/RL6KAVW8

For anyone who is interested in joining the Audax cycling community we’re certain Keith will be very happy to help point you in the right direction when he’s got his breath back.  In the meantime there is a huge amount of information on the Audax UK website here https://www.audax.uk/

This has been a journey of many years in the planning for Keith, encompassing so many different components of riding a bike, from fitness, nutrition and even bike building.  It’s one that we very much hope he’ll be able to share with us all in more detail when it’s all over.