Then all of a sudden it was time to check-in . . . the first of many, many lines I would be in. I sailed through the part where they checked our lights and reflective gear with no problems. Then I lined up again for my card and brevet book etc. which went quite a bit slower. While in line I finally met up with Rob, from England, whom I had met on the RM1200 and had been communicating with all year. He had gone through the check-in a little before me. It was very good to see him again.

click to supersize Lining up to check in

click to supersize Char and Dr. C

After we made it through, we headed out to the front of the building where many groups of cyclists were having their photos taken. There I met Paul (DrCodfish, from the Bicycling Forum) after his photo session with the Seattle Randonneurs. The Canadians moved into position next, and we had a long photo session with multitudes of pictures taken.

Once we were finished, Greg, Rob and I returned to the food area for a while, cycled around a bit, and had supper at a restaurant in Plaisir. Then I returned to my hotel where I did some more preparation and laundry, and went to bed quite early. About 2:00 a.m. we were awakened because of a torrential downpour. Joy and I had to dash out to rescue our partially dried laundry, but we couldn't really complain . . . Rob was in the neighbouring campground and got completely flooded out!!

There was some miscommunication between the Canadians. It was our (Team Manitoba's) understanding that we would all have our final supper and then go to the start together, but that did not happen. The three of us on Team Manitoba from the 90-hour start quite suddenly threw ourselves together because we heard that the Canadians were on the move, and dashed out to the restaurant only to discover that we were the only ones there. Nevertheless we had a good supper and I was unexpectedly hungry! In fact, after the chaos of Aug 15th, I felt like I was on Valium — I've never been so completely relaxed before an event, especially one of this magnitude!

We three cycled to the start together just in time to see the 80-hour group (Vedettes) leave. Then we lined up to get into the stadium — a very slow process interrupted occasionally by the specialty bicycles being rushed past us for their start. While in line, I discovered that my pump and lights weren't too secure, but I couldn't do much about either without losing my place. The whole time we were also serenaded with bagpipes. I turned to Joy at one point and asked her if they didn't play bagpipes for funerals. She thought a moment and then responded with, "Well, they play them at weddings too!" When we finally got to the stadium we were rushed in to have our cards swiped at 9:20 p.m., and then I talked my teammates into giving me a few moments to fix things up. Next, we were in the crowd being herded out, like a bunch of cattle, to the start. I felt rushed from the moment we decided to go for supper right to the end of the PBP.

click to supersize Start line 80 hour group

My idea of 500 people starting together was completely different from what happened. I imagined a vast crowd with pushing, shoving and accidents. In fact, the part of the PBP I was most concerned about was the start. As it happened, I ended up near the back of the 10:30 p.m. group and it was quite uneventful. We had to roll with one foot on the ground for a while, and then the group spread out, and within about 10 kms I was riding alone. I could see taillights in the distance on straight stretches, but if I was riding a curvy section of road, I couldn't see any lights. This was somewhat frightening! I was told I would never ride alone and here, barely out of the start, in the middle of the night, on a completely unfamiliar route, I was alone!

It wasn't long however, before the next wave of riders started to go by me (OK, I'm slow) and I was able to keep pace with some of them. I picked up some speed too and attacked a few hills. Greg caught up and rode with me for a few minutes. It was comforting to see a familiar face because by this time I'd lost my teammates; and Rob, I suspected, had gone off in the first group in an attempt to do a fast PBP. I stopped briefly to refill my bottles, and again at another place for a quick coke (where the people at the stand seemed amazed at my very low gearing!). I found Joy again, but lost her after that coke stop.

Greg

During this time I was riding with a group of riders I didn't know and couldn't see, but two things stand out in my memory about them. Many of them had bells and various other noisemakers on their bicycles and every once in a while someone would ring a bell and then others would "answer" with their own bells. I could hear the bells all around, even off into the distance. The other thing was that someone behind me started whistling "Wooden Heart." That and the song "By the Light of the Silvery Moon" were the two songs that stuck with me for the rest of the ride.

click to supersize 80 hour group on the road

There was another thing that had quite an impression on me. On that first night, every time we came to a populated area there were decorations everywhere — mostly bicycles decked out with lights, flowers, etc. Later on the ride there were words of encouragement written all over the pavement. These things really boosted my spirits. Not only was the support from the people who lived in the area great, but also every time I saw these things, I knew I was still on the right route. Riding as close to the time limits as I was, I couldn't afford a single extra kilometre.

click to supersize Before Villaines

I arrived at Mortagne Au Perche just before dawn where I found Neil who was just finishing up his meal. There was a very long line for food but I felt I needed to eat something and chose a large plate of mashed potatoes. There was also an Internet connection at this stop so I sent an email to my parents from there to let them know I was on my way and still OK. Then I donned my ankle braces for the first time and set off. Neil had gone ahead of me but was stopped by a flat so I passed him. He caught up to me shortly after and we rode together for a while.

click to supersize Charlene at 236 km

Somewhere between Villaines La Juhel and Fougeres we stopped for a brief stretch. I went through part of the very helpful yoga routine I've recently learned and Neil napped again at what turned out to be a popular "washroom" stop! For the entire first 24 hours I don't think there was a single hill top that wasn't "occupied," and in places riders were stopped every few feet along the road.

Something happened to me mentally as I approached Fougeres (311 km). We had been climbing "rollers" for what felt like forever and yet we were only about 1/4 of the way through the ride. On the RM1200, I made it 760 km into the ride, before feeling significantly tired, but on this ride I felt completely exhausted and completely daunted by the prospect of 900 more kilometres. Was I insane to put myself through all this? (My mother and grandmother thought so, though they were still strong supporters!). I almost came to the decision to pack it in at Fougeres, and a short, very steep climb did not help my situation at all; I ended up having to walk it. However, once I got into the control (3:55 p.m.), had a large plate of salted French fries, and a 10-minute nap, I felt much better. Neil and I continued on to Tinteniac.

I had fun on the road to Tinteniac (366 km)! The rollers didn't seem nearly as steep and long and I was able to keep up a good pace. Neil and I were catching up to and passing everything in sight. We had a very brief stop at the control at Tinteniac (7:41 p.m.) where we picked up some energy bars.

click to supersize Charlene at 333 km

Then we set off for Loudeac, and again, I enjoyed the ride; I had all kinds of energy and enthusiasm. This was the start of a pattern for me. I dragged myself through the mornings and then quite suddenly would develop a burst of energy in the evenings.

When we arrived in Loudeac (452 km) at 12:20 a.m., there was a line-up for beds with the first one scheduled to open at 5:00 a.m. We couldn't wait that long. After using the filthy washrooms we returned to our bicycles to decide what to do. We were very tired, but thinking about it now, I might have cycled on to Carhaix-Plouguer. However, just then we met Joy who was very frazzled and frustrated, and appeared to be on the verge of abandoning. So, the three of us decided to share two space blankets and my rain cape, and huddled together on the lawn in the cold to try and get some sleep. I managed a little less than 3 hours of restless, cold sleep, then we queued for breakfast (bowls of tepid, weak tea was not my idea of a good way to start the day, but the croissants were warm), and were on the road again by about 5:00 a.m. We saw Brian and Susan Leier (84-hour start) briefly — they had caught up to us while we were sleeping.

After 10 minutes of sleep on my rain cape in the warmth of the day, I felt like a whole new person. I had all kinds of energy again, and made it to the top of the ridge, Roc Trevezel, just before Brest with no difficulty. They say that before you make a final decision to quit, you should eat something and take a 10-minute nap. Most of the time, that's all it takes to keep going.

The Roc Trevezel area was the best scenery on the entire ride. The rest of the way was rolling farmland with some forests and small towns, which I liked for their architecture and history. The churches were quite impressive, even if they were always on the highest points, and every church spire in the distance meant that we would be climbing. I think we visited every church along the way — the ride could have been called the "Tour Eglise"! I also admired the castle we sailed past — I might have been the only one of my group who noticed it. But I really appreciated the rocky beauty of that ridge before Brest.

click to supersize Church before Villaines

click to supersize Brest

And then there was the descent! That descent felt like it went on forever. There was a very enthusiastic Spanish (I think) rider who flew down in front of me yelling words of encouragement and ringing his bell at the riders climbing back up. I stopped to take a couple pictures of Brest as I crossed the bridge — I was so relieved to finally get there that I thought it was just beautiful.

click to supersize Brest

click to supersize Bicycles at Brest

There was, however, a steep climb to the control. I can't remember if I made it all the way up or walked a bit. The Brest control (615 km) (3:28 p.m.) wasn't very crowded and was one of the nicest controls I had been in. I dashed off to eat thinking that Joy and Neil would have left already, but they were waiting for me and hadn't even eaten yet; so I had some time to sort of organize myself before we set off. DrCodfish gave me a bottle of water and left it, where I could find it, in my helmet. Thanks Dr! It was also at this control that I met Frank from Germany. I think this was his first 1200K. I made a mistake here though — I bought a powdered drink I was unfamiliar with . . . and it was awful! The stench lingered in my bottle for the rest of the ride.

click to supersize Team Manitoba at Brest Neil, me & Joy

Shortly after Neil, Joy, and I left Brest I started shaking and feeling quite weak so we stopped at a grocery store and I purchased a chicken sandwich and, for some unknown reason, a block of cheese! I guess I was thinking I needed some protein because I hadn't been eating any along the way and figured that cheese was the way to go! Who knows. I'd been on the road for a long time and I think my brain was running on half power. Shortly after I purchased the sandwiches, Neil had his second flat and while we waited for him to change it, I ate my sandwiches. I felt much, much better. Strangely, I never did eat the cheese even though I carried it all the way back to the finish line with me.

click to supersize Brest Bridge

We handled the climb back up to Roc Trevezel very well. On the way I met Phil from London and also talked to one of the BC Randonneurs who told me that quite a number of Canadian riders had already DNF'd! We stopped to put on our cool weather gear at the top, and then began to descend to Carhaix. Thank goodness for those descents or I don't think I would have made it. On the way down I rode with John from UK who knew Rob, and then as we neared Carhaix (696 km) (10:09 p.m.), I regrouped with Joy and Neil. As usual I was feeling quite good now that it was evening, but Joy told me she wasn't feeling well.

Rob

We set off into the night for Loudeac, and this became a very frustrating part of the ride for me. Trying to keep tabs on three people in the dark isn't easy, and while I felt I had the energy to keep up a good pace, Joy did not seem to just then. I spent the next few hours shouting to keep track of us all. And if that wasn't bad enough, I ended up ahead, spotted a turn in the road that was a bit obscure, and while waiting for the others, stood there and shouted at everyone going by who missed the turn. It's a wonder I had a voice left by the end of the night.

We also stopped a few times at roadside stands. All along the way during the nights, and sometimes during the day, the people who lived in the area served coffee, and some food. I really appreciated these stands — I needed the coffee and they also let me know that I was still on the right route! At one such stand I met a French girl who also has the name Charlene. Between Fougeres and Villaines there was another place where Paul, a Frenchman, gave his address to riders who stopped, and requested that they send him a postcard. He had postcards from previous years on boards outside his place.

click to supersize Postcard wall

30 minutes later I woke up!! Oops! That 30 minutes was the best sleep I got on the entire ride, but now I was pressed for time. I set off fairly briskly, hit a bump coming down a hill, lost one of my rear taillights, and cracked the support of my handlebar bag. I fixed it up as best I could with a bungie cord and continued cautiously on. I knew that if the handlebar bag broke entirely it would also destroy my lights located right below, and I still had one more night to ride through. It didn't help that I was starting to really suffer from back spasms whenever I climbed. At some points the pain in my back was so bad I was almost in tears. It was during this time that I encountered a number of very supportive riders who offered advice regarding both my handlebar bag situation and my painful back. One was an anesthetist who I jokingly asked if he would put me under and out of my misery! But I really appreciated all the support I got just then. It was also at this time that I suddenly became absolutely determined to finish.

I finally made it to Tinteniac (859 km) (12:09 p.m.) and spent some time there rearranging my load — taking everything out of my handlebar bag and putting it into my jersey pockets and plastic bags. I also stopped at the medical area to get a short massage and some painkillers for my back. They didn't help.

click to supersize Castle near Fougeres

From there I set off with Phil who was very encouraging and willing to ride with me despite the fact that I probably looked like a tramp with my plastic bags hanging everywhere. I made it to Fougeres (914 km) (4:21 p.m.), without any further incidents and had quite a good meal there. I also checked the message board but there was nothing from my teammates. Again, as evening approached, I started feeling stronger and had quite a good ride to Villaines La Juhel (1002 km), arriving at 10:06 p.m. Phil wanted a shower there, so I had time to fix up my load which was listing badly to one side. I met a lot of people because of that load! They all came to tell me my bag was falling off! It wasn't — it was fairly secure until just toward the end of the ride — but it looked like it was about to drop at any moment!

Once again, we headed off into the dark and cold. This time I had on everything I brought except my second pair of shorts. I had made an interesting discovery the night before — arm warmers, when combined with a sleeveless jersey, didn't do much to keep me warm! During the night we made a couple of stops, one at a café for coffee, and another at Brassiere Choki where I ordered a sandwich. Unfortunately it really wasn't what I wanted at the time, and the baguette tasted a bit mouldy to me. I wasn't feeling too well so I went out to the parking lot and laid down right in the middle. I had to get up a few minutes later when I was almost run over.

click to supersize Sleepers

Just as dawn came, we were going down a descent when a car raced up with a woman in it yelling, "Attention!" We slowed up and at the bottom of the hill was the body of one of our fellow cyclists. He had apparently touched the wheel of the cyclist in front of him during a rapid descent, and went face first into the pavement. He was still alive then, but I heard later that he passed away. For the next hour or so the whole group of us rode in a long line, about 10 feet apart, in silence.

While we were riding in that long line, the road was fairly flat and curved around to the right. I could see the cyclists and I think one of the motorcycles go around the curve — which triggered an hallucination. All of a sudden there were huge people, two or three times the size of a normal person, floating over the field and one of them held a large movie camera. They just floated there and weren't threatening in any way, so that was OK with me and I continued to cycle. After I rounded the corner, they disappeared.

click to supersize Toward the end

I started really struggling again. I hadn't eaten since Villaines La Juhel and I suspect I was bonking. Fortunately, I met up with DrCodfish again and he saved me with a banana — even though I nearly threw up on him because I ate it a bit too fast! Sorry! Just before Nogent Le Roi I stopped and sat on a wall by the side of the road to doze. I wanted to lie down, but I knew that I wouldn't wake up if I did and I figured if I sat on a wall, I wouldn't fall into a really deep sleep — or I'd fall off and that would wake me! A few minutes later one of the motorcycle patrols came by and wanted to know if I was going to make it. He asked me three times and I finally had to get on my bicycle to convince him.

I made Nogent (1167 km) (10:36 a.m.) with quite a bit of time to spare, compared with some of the previous controls. In the restaurant I got a plateful of food and made my way to a table toward the back. Just as I approached an empty spot, a voice said, "Machka?" I turned, but didn't recognize the speaker. He introduced himself as Rowen from Australia whom I had "met" on BikeForums! It was quite a coincidence meeting him like that! I sat and chatted a bit while toying with my food, and then prepared to leave, even though I didn't feel all that well. Phil arrived just at that time, and while he was getting himself together I decided to take a nap under one of the tables.

click to supersize Karen

We then we headed off on the last leg of the journey. I was told that it was basically flat all the way back. It wasn't. I think the worst climb in the bunch was on that stretch of road through the Rambouillet forest. I had to walk most of it and there were a couple more steep climbs after that which I had to walk as well. It could be that I was just getting tired, or perhaps they were particularly steep.

click to supersize Charlene at Finish Line

The longest part of the ride was the last few kilometres. It felt like we went around in circles for a very long time, escorted by a motorcycle so we couldn't attempt a shortcut. I was exhausted and completely fed up with the ride. Along that last bit some of the other riders indicated that they wanted to savour the last few kilometres and enjoy their finish. I just wanted to finish and get off the bicycle! I started to become very irritable, and evidently I yelled out "I hate this ride!" when I came over the line. I don't recall actually saying that out loud, although I know I was thinking it at the time!

I wanted to just drop my bicycle in the path and get to the control right away, but was directed to park my bicycle first, and ended up in a bit of a fight with the volunteers at the control. Finally they almost shoved me into the stadium to park my bicycle. The stadium was nearly full and I had to go clear to the other side and then make my way inside to the control where I finally got my card swiped for the final time with 23 minutes to spare! My total ride time was 89 hours and 37 minutes for the 1225 km.

click to supersize Finish Line

I was met at the end by Rob, Greg, Matt and Liz . . . and one of the first things I did was to lie down and fall asleep against a fence for a few minutes. My own teammates finished a bit earlier and had apparently returned to the hotel almost immediately. I congratulated Frank and Phil on finishing, and then I headed off with Rob and Greg to find something to eat because I was starving. The last time I had really eaten was at Villaines La Juhel. We met Wayne and went to McDonalds! After we ate, I knew that I had to ride back to my hotel but I was very, very tired so I opted for a nap at Greg's hotel before setting off. Then Rob rode me "home" where I collapsed into bed. Joy came in later and said something to me, but I don't remember what it was.

click to supersize Right after PBP - Greg & me

click to supersize Hours after PBP - Greg, Rob, me, Wayne

click to supersize Rob at the finish line

About 9 hours later I finally got up for breakfast — just before they quit serving! After breakfast I attempted to take the bus into St. Quentin but the one I thought should come didn't, so I got a ride with one of the other Canadians. I never could figure out that bus system! Once in St. Quentin, Greg and I went for lunch and then went shopping because I needed something to replace my handlebar bag. I settled on a waist pouch; I'm not fond of them, but didn't have much other choice.

click to supersize The Day After Looking Tired! Greg & Me

click to supersize The Day After

After shopping, Greg and I went to the post-ride US get-together where I was probably the only Canadian in the bunch! Yikes! However, it was a very good meal. Later that night I returned to my hotel where I packed and rearranged my load a bit in preparation for the next part of my adventure. I had just gotten into bed when Joy returned and decided to pack up her bicycle - I helped her with that and it wasn't until around 1 a.m. that we went to sleep.

My Cards and Medals
click to supersize

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