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Day One
(Tuesday, August 21, 2007) |
Riders gather inside the
gymnasium to get their brevet cards signed and cards swiped |
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The "Before"
photo |
Ken McClain and Peter
Burnett |
Our brevet card is signed
for the first time |
Waiting outside for the start |
Ken, Peter, and Eric wait
for the start |
First ride shot! |
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Paris-Brest pastries were
yummy |
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First Control:
Mortagne-
au-Perche |
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Hand-painted welcome sign at Mortagne |
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It's still a long way to Brest! |
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Heading down yet another French village street |
Second Control:
Villaines-la-Juhel |
The control at Villaines was set up like a Tour de France
stage finish. |
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Picturesque toppled
column. |
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Fourth Control:
Tinteniac |
Inside the "quick
food" section at Tinteniac. I slept for 15 minutes on top
of a stack of gym mats. |
Two fixies ready to ride. |
Food selection at
Tinteniac. |
Paul Guttenberg, looking
a little tired |
Creative translation:
"crudites" becomes "crudeness of rice" |
This family was up at 4
a.m. making free coffee and tea for us ... |
... They had a small
kitchen set up in their garage. |
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This bar/restaurant
outside Loudeac offered the chance to sleep on a clean, dry
floor out of the rain. We stopped here and slept for an hour. |
Fifth Control:
Loudeac |
Trudging to the control
to check in. |
Nodding off. |
As the Rocky Horror song
goes, "Madness takes its toll..." |
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Shower facilities in
Loudeac. |
Drop bags at Loudeac |
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Day Two
(Wednesday, August 22, 2007) |
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The very striking bridge at Brest |
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Eighth Control:
Carhaix-Plouger |
Utterly exhausted at Carhaix,
this rider came up with a creative sleep solution |
More sleep solutions
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... and more. |
Drink selection. |
Bread and cutlery. |
When you're tired, any place looks good for a rest. This
rider picked a spot under a table. |
This sausage stand--and the nearby tent that let us get in
out of the rain--was a welcome stop. I ate a sausage sandwich
and fries, washed down with a bowl of coffee. |
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Ninth Control:
Loudeac |
Cots and sleeping riders
at Loudeac. |
It was actually pretty
quiet here, and a bit smelly. Everyone was starting to smell
rank at this point. |
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This way to Paris! |
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Secret Control |
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We stopped at a cafe in the wee
hours. This rider asked for the coffee grounds used to make his
espresso--he then ate them. |
Classic PBP scene--face down
asleep on the side of the road |
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Last Day:
Friday, August 24 |
Last Control:
Dreux |
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The "After" photo,
taken after 83 hours of riding with three hours' sleep. I felt
much worse than I looked |
Post-ride photo: Washing our
bike in the fountain at Saint Quentin. It was fun and helped get
the rainy muck off. |
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August 21-24, 2007--Campy Only's
Eric Norris took part in the 16th Paris-Brest-Paris, covering the
1,225-kilometer course in 83:09 on a fixed gear (running 72 gear inches
the entire ride). Presented below, photos from the ride. More
captions
coming soon.
