Cycling focused stories and pictures
I forget which one of the Cape Randonneurs described the meal provided at the Arrivée as worthy of army canteen rations but the description was completely accurate. The chicken was bland and the pasta limp, but I ate it all the same. My body needed the fuel and I couldn’t be bothered to go out in the rain searching for something more palatable. Continue reading “PBP – Epilogue”
00:30, 19 Aug – Loudéac, 780km
I woke before the alarms rang – in fact remarkably close to the original time of midnight to which they’d been set. It was still a solid 3.5 hours of decent sleep, and the shower had already worked it’s magic – leaning against the tiles, eyes closed whilst a torrent of hot water washed over me until I was something close to fully awake. Continue reading “PBP Part 3 – Sleeper”
00:00, 18 Aug – Loudéac, 448km 
I can’t remember whether I opened it before going to sleep or after waking up but the card Yoli and Ben had made for me which read “Open at 1st drop bag” made me laugh so much I nearly wet myself. It was a real boost to the spirits. Continue reading “PBP Part 2 – Slow Train To The Coast”
19:30, 16 Aug – Saint-Quentin en Yvellines, 0km
By the time Peter and I lined up at the start a couple of my plans had already gone astray in minor ways. Despite a comfy hotel room, I had lain awake for the afternoon unable to sleep. And misjudging what would be open on a Sunday in a Parisian suburb had killed off my idea of starting with a baguette or two in my bag. Continue reading “PBP Part 1 – Overnight Express”
So here we are at last, after three and a half years of dreaming the day is finally here – it’s the 16th August 2015 and the 18th edition of Paris-Brest-Paris starts today. Frankly, I cannot wait – not just because it’s been in my thoughts so long, but also because the last two days or so have been a steady processing of rushing from one place to another Continue reading “Hurry up and wait”
I’m not sure I’ve ever really subscribed to Warhol’s fifteen minutes of fame theory. I’m also not sure a local newspaper would really qualify as the level of celebrity the artist was referring too. Regardless of these, it was a little bit wonderful to get some recognition for the efforts we’ve made locally qualifying for PBP. Continue reading “Almost Famous”
They say that mad dogs and Englishman go out in the midday sun, but there doesn’t seem to an equivalent saying for Cape Randonneurs gathering for a 1,000km Audax at 9pm on a cold mid-winters night – beyond just simply “mad” that is. Continue reading “Not the shortest day (winter riding #2)”
“Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.” ― George Carlin
The first unexpected aspect of the final Cape 300 qualifier was that 14 brave souls pitched up to ride at midnight with a distinctly unpromising weather forecast. Continue reading “Tales of the Unexpected (winter riding #1)”
I got so carried away with penning a Facebook piece to announce my entry into PBP, that I lost track of time and almost forgot to actually register. OK, that’s a bit of an exaggeration – but I was unusually late getting to the web page. Continue reading “Booking my spot”
It’s somehow like a ‘vasbyt’ in the army, you just keep going and wait for something to break inside you or to recover.
Chris van Zyl
A faint glow rose above the eastern horizon as our wheels ate up the final few kilometers to the half way checkpoint, rolling easily across the smooth tar after hours of gravel roads. Dawn would break over us before we got there, but only just. Continue reading “Vasbyt”