Don’t make these mistakes at your next Paris-Brest-Paris

Helen bravely describes the events and emotions leading to her 2023 Paris-Brest-Paris DNF. She provides wise words for those novices participating in future events

And suddenly after about 15 kilometers I just couldn’t do I just didn’t I couldn’t and I didn’t want to do anymore I just couldn’t I sat down at the side of the road and I just waited and waited and waited and I knew it was finished that

Was that was the end of my my par breast par and don’t do a silly thing as I did and and and and take a decision before you’ve eaten eaten and slept this video is about Helen’s experience at riding at the Paris Brice Paris she gives us a

Unique insight into her experience of the Paris bre Paris let’s listen to what she’s got to say about her experience what are your thoughts on ramboe as a starting point Rambo is much more pretty there was room for for everything there was room for everybody to park the only

Thing I I found was lacking was that on the Sunday when everybody was just hanging around all day there was nowh to buy a coffee well I I I told that to a friend a colleague who is actually in the the Cycling Club at rmo your Club

Could have done could have made a packet that they’d had a stand for for drinks or something they would have made a lot of money I thought it was thought it was a really good good place for for the start I I think they I think they said

That anybody who applied from France there was nobody who was turned down this year they they they they accommodated all the all the entries that came from from France that’s probably how I got how I got in because I was I there was still places left um I think

It must have been only two or two week two weeks before the the closing date there was there was still places left so that’s how I I got my place so it wasn’t particularly nice starting time but it it was a starting time so that was all

Right which time group did you choose to start in and what time did you actually start I chose 90 hours because the speed I go i’ no there was no way I could have imagined doing either of the others I got halfast 7 in the evening start that

Was the the earliest that was left at the time that gave me an hour and a half or so before it before it got dark I would have liked more but well it was like that I went to bed fairly late on Saturday night and I I was trying try to

Sleep as long as I could I managed to sleep until about halfast 10 in the morning then I got up and went straight to Ru because they they said you had to be in the car park by 2:00 in the afternoon I tried to sort of have a nap

In the afternoon but it was it was pretty difficult so then there was it was quite noisy didn’t didn’t think I get got got much much sleep in really so you started at 7:30 in the evening did you ride through the whole first night yes I rode completely through the night

Until I did stop at the controls but I had had some sandwiches and uh some coffee and things I got to fuer at about halfast 8 in the morning slept there for a couple of hours I should have slept more but I was too hot so I just I just

Wasn’t sleeping so I thought I might as well get up I carried on it was pretty hot during that that day remember at the end of the afternoon getting towards ludak it was really really hot and just remember seeing there were bodies all all along the um at both sides of the

Road I’m just thinking I’m okay and then suddenly I was one of these bodies on the side to the side of the road I just couldn’t go any any further and you know I had to had to eat and drink and drink and drink and drink before I could get

Going again but it was um it was striking how how quickly it’s one minute one minute you’re okay and the next minute you C can’t do anything else but um so uh that that day was quite hard I went on from ludak towards K uh that

Evening I mean I stopped for a couple of hours now I stopped for an hour or so at l I wanted to stop for longer but there was nowhere to sleep all the places were taken uh the cue for eating was they said 45 minutes went and had a gallet so

The bivette stand I should have had two I think I should have I should have eaten more I didn’t eat I I I didn’t really eat enough at at all I mean I just wasn’t hungry and I should have forced myself to eat I just didn’t

Really get enough got to car about half 1 in the morning Tu would be Tuesday Morning same again no no no place left for sleeping no showers I was really really disappointed because I really wanted to I was really sticky and really wanted to to have a

Proper stop and so I ended up sleeping on the lawn outside in my in a survival bag so I slept until about 4 in the morning maybe slept four 3 hours something like that got up and I wasn’t a que for the canteen so I did

Have a huge plate of um pasta with mushroom sauce very odd thing to eat at 4 half 4 in the morning but it it did go down off I went to breast I got to breast half past 10 I think something like that half past 10 in the morning I

Was hurting everywhere especially at Saddle saws um well i’ done 600 kilm which is exactly what they done for the maximum that point and I think I was just as sore and thinking how on Earth am I going to do another 600 like this I changed my short spur

Pair with me load loads of cream and stuff and managed to get going again in the afternoon I I got I got back I got it back to car and that was a really hot afternoon um Tuesday afternoon very very hot and that was one of I think that was

One of the hilliest hilliest stages I just overheated and overheated and overheated and I wanted to go from car I thought well I’ll have a good rest here uh because I was still well in well within my time limits I had no no problem with that and but I didn’t eat

Enough I just I was just so hot I didn’t eat I drank but I didn’t I didn’t eat I tried to sleep there as well I didn’t get I didn’t manage to to sleep so I I thought well I’ll sleep somewhere on the side of the road when it gets when it

Gets dark so I left about maybe 8:00 in the evening from from car right and suddenly after about 15 kilometers I just couldn’t do I just didn’t I couldn’t and I didn’t want to do anymore I just couldn’t I sat down at the side of the road and I just waited

And waited and waited and I knew it was finished and that was that was the end of my my par breast Parry so um it it’s very disappointing I think it’s well it’s it’s my own fault I know I know exactly why it happened I know it’s because I didn’t eat enough

It’s no I I know it’s because I didn’t didn’t manage the the rest stops properly and with hindsight with hindsight I know what I should have done at that point I should have sto stopped for longer I should have slept I should have eaten a big meal and then taken a

Decision rather than taking it straight away saying I’m stopping here that’s that’s the one regret I had that that I took the decision straight away without without filling up my stomach and having a bit of sleep and because they well some a kind couple took me down to the

Next control point and then some friends of mine who were on holiday not too far away they came and picked me up well after a night’s sleep I was as right as rain I mean I could have I could have gone on a BK and done another few hundred kilometers no problem

But I just I just that with that point I just said no I can’t do it anymore and I I regret I regret to to having taken the decision so quickly maybe I wouldn’t have maybe I would have taken it anyway but I think the regret is that I took

The decision too quickly to stop but um but at that point I was saying why Earth did I decide to do this you know you haven’t got the experience why did you why did you do it and I thought about it why why did I do that why did I

Go in for it I thought well people sold it to me as being a great a great thing with with fantastic Ambience okay there was it was all the people at the side of the roof the cyclists I found it was a bit less am not so good in Ambiance because

They’re just so knackered um um and it was diff difficult to I never really rode in a group for any length of time uh to really get to know what what people were like it just didn’t work I I didn’t even come across any of the

People who I’d I’d um been with on the 200s 400s so it just just didn’t just didn’t work for that so that that’s one thing which I didn’t actually like about it the reason I did it was was was probably I thought in four years time

I’m going to be four years older will I be will I be qualified maybe it’s the the only chance I’ll ever have to have a crack at something like this so that that’s why that’s why I did it and I’m glad I did have a try because uh seeing

It from the in side it’s something wow uh these people are really um uh extr terrest they come from outter space all these people who who who manage to do who can do who can do this so um so the thing is do I think about doing

It in uh four years time I think probably not I think there’s there’s so many other things I’d like to try uh maybe I’ll not have the time time to fit that in again um I think there’s so many having started late cycling there’s so many places I’d like to Cy cycle in

Redoing that road while it’s not it’s not on my bucket list anymore I mean I got to breast I got I got part of the way back so the line is filled in on the on the straa heat map so that’s that’s okay for that so might might want to do something

Different I ended up the next day I got the train back towards um well back to Paris and then I came out again to ramb buya because I had to come and pick my pick my car up which was in R I went to

Look I went to the that was the that was the Wednesday evening then at that point I remember I came down on the the train from Paris to Ru and there was somebody else who had a a bicycle with a Parry breast Parry plaque on it well I I

Imagined it was somebody else who’d stopped like me I I just said hello and how is how is it for you and and it was the guy who had come second and he’d spent the day he he’ arrived on Tu Tuesday night or something and he’ he’d he’d um he’d spent the day

Sightseing in Paris so weird to to see to to see that and then I went I went into I went to went to the the Finish just to see how what what was happening at the finish and there were there were people trickling in but it

Was I found it was actually pretty sad because there was hardly anybody there a few people clapping went but uh as the tide cyclists lived in it was a bit it was a bit sad really how did I digest it I kept telling myself you were too hot

You were too hot you’re not a hot hot you’re not a hot weather person I knew that I knew I wasn’t a hot weather person I’ve never been a hot weather person afterwards it started hitting me you could have done this you could have done that you could have done the other

I kept myself to myself I didn’t I didn’t say anything get over it you you made a mess of it you’ve got to you’ve got to you’ve got to digest it yourself and finally I what did you know where could you have done done better and and that and practically everything people

Had already told me it wasn’t you know it was not that I didn’t know that I had to eat more it was not it was not that I didn’t know that I I’d have to I’d have to have to it’s it was complicated to to be able to um manage your sleep times

And everything um especially as a someone like me I would have to wouldn’t have won’t have a lot of time to sleep just because I’m not a fast rider I mean um on the on the good on the good bits I managed an average of about 24 when the

When when the wind was behind me on on the way out by the time I was got to the the Dena the last the last stage that I did from from breast to carry uh I was more like 19 19 kilometers an hour I was still well

Within the times but that that was the that was the crazy crazy thing worked I had to get to ludc by about 2 o’clock in the morning but I did I just just didn’t do it I mean I was I said just at some

Point I said no I don’t want to do it I it’s not that I couldn’t I just didn’t want to I think that that’s that was the that was the thing uh I didn’t even want to try anymore that was that was that was the ridic ulous thing about it

Advise them to think about eating and how how they’re going to manage to eat all the all the time think about eating all the time I had one friend well one uh one of my one person who who I’d met on a on a 200 a couple of times he did

Parry breast parry and he finished in quite a reasonable time I think 80 hours or something like that and his photographs he posted every single meal that he ate he was the only photographs that he posted on stra for the whole of Perry breast were just what he ate and

It the quantity was huge and he said I’ve missed one sandwich at such such and such a place or a crap or something here and they were just picture after a picture of plates of pasta bowls of soup sandwiches creps everything uh and just the sheer quantity and and and I think

Well that’s what you’ve got to eat to get to to um get it and I think that was was a is a jolly good um a really good really good example of Mery evil who did this wonderful these wonderful pictures and um you think about eating all the

Time I would say and and don’t and don’t take light take it lightly PL planning um where you’re going to stop and sleep because um I uh where I was I think there was a problem for sleeping there weren’t there weren’t places to sleep all the time and

I ended up sleeping on lawns outside uh once once it was even there were even thistles on the lawn and they they they pricked they pricked through the the sleeping pack they quite paintful that um maybe it’s even better it’s better to sleep on at the edge of the road side of

The side of the road sometimes than actually in the controls I never took the time to go to the L at a control I always went in went somewhere in a forest just before or just after um I think that that’s one way of one way of

Not not not missing a queue but I think it was pretty variable there some places where there was a queue for the L and others were were there wasn’t you but sometimes you had to know where to find things and um things like showers and wasn’t obvious where they

Showers and sleeping fa facilities wasn’t very obvious where they were a couple of times s that weren’t available that was I was think that was just bad luck I think we were lucky because it didn’t rain so you could could sleep outside and don’t do a silly thing as I

Did and and and and take a decision before you’ve eaten eaten and slept the couple that drove you back to Rambo League do you think if they weren’t there do you think you might have been forced to continue the ride yes probably I Pro I probably would have gone to the

Next control I think if I if I’d waited a bit long if i’ if I’d been stuck there a bit longer I might might well have I might well have have got up and and gone to the next next control is there anybody that you would like to maybe send a

Shout out to who’s either given you some support or encouragement along the way or in your journey to Paris BL Paris people from the shart Cycling Club evil who who who who who who put all his photographs of this food and latesa uh who who I met uh doing a

Qualifying event uh people who help help me and then the people who uh people who were on the 400 the 600 kilometers with me who um there was um Yanik uh and Mika and um um people they they they M he finished I think but I just didn’t

See at the uh the didn’t see at all they were the people they were the people who who I who encouraged me to to to do it because they were going to do it as well so I thought why not well I want to say thank you for

Taking the time to participate in this interview it’s been absolutely wonderful listening to all your your experiences both just rering in France as well as your amazing experience at the pis FIS and I just wish you all the very best in whatever you are going to be doing again

In the future and if you are going to do the next PVP I just wish you all the very best for that thank you if you’ve enjoyed this interview please press that like button and if you would like to see more videos about randine earing in other parts of the world and individual

Writers experience at Paris bre Paris please subscribe to this channel until the next time we meet please ride safely