So it begins.

My lovely wife Jane feels that I should document my attempt at riding Paris-Brest-Paris in 2011, and she is generally smarter than me, so here it goes.

Paris-Brest-Paris (hereby referred to as PBP) is a 1200 kilometer bike ride to be completed in under 90 hours.  Specifically, PBP is a brevet, which according to Wikipedia is:

"an organized long-distance bicycle ride in the sport of randonneuring. Cyclists - who, in this discipline, may be referred to as randonneurs - follow a designated but unmarked route (usually 200km to 1400km), passing through check-point controls, and must complete the course within specified time limits. These limits, while challenging, still allow the ride to be completed at a comfortable pace - there is no requirement to cycle at racing speeds or employ road bicycle racing strategies."  

Couldn't have said it better myself.

In order to qualify for PBP,one must ride a brevet series in the same year as PBP.  PBP is run once every four years.  A series consists of 4 rides with accompanying time limits:

• 200K - 13.5 hours
• 300K - 20 hours
• 400K - 27 hours
• 600K - 40 hours

I hope to ride a complete series this year not only for preparation, but the more brevet kilometers you ride this year, the earlier you can register for PBP next year.  Apparantly, due to the large number of people who register for PBP, Audax Club Parisien (the group that puts the whole thing on) is limiting the number of people who can register.  So, the sooner you can register, the better your chances are for getting in.

So, why am I trying to do this craziness?

Well..., maybe it has something to do with watching "the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat" at the beginning of Wide World of Sports every week when I was a kid.




Maybe it's because I like the challenge.
Maybe it's because I want to take a trip to Paris with Jane.
Maybe it's because I like to ride my bike (or at least I do now).
Maybe it's because I want to brag that I did it.

It's probably all of these things plus a few more.  We'll just have to see if I can actually do it.