Paris-Brest-Paris

Chelmsford Partner Graeme Provan has just returned to work after completing the Paris Brest Paris (PBP) long distance cycling event.

 

First run in 1891, the 1230-kilometer PBP, is a gruelling test of human endurance and cycling ability. Organised every four years by the host Audaz Club Parisien, the Paris-Brest-Paris Randonneurs is the oldest cycling event still run on a regular basis on the open road. Beginning on the southern side of the French capital, it travels west 600 kilometres to the port city of Brest on the Atlantic Ocean and returns along the same route.

 

Today's randonneur cyclists, while no longer riding the primitive machines used a hundred years ago over dirt roads or cobblestones, still have to face up to rough weather, endless hills, and pedalling around the clock. A 90-hour time limit ensures that only the hardiest randonneurs earn the prestigious PBP finisher's medal and have their name entered into the event's "Great Book" along with every other finisher going back to the very first PBP. To become a PBP ancien is to join a very elite group of cyclists who have successfully endured this mighty challenge.

 

The event is held in August every four years.