![]() ![]() ![]() JFT was helping us with the transfer to our hotels and the dropbags during our ride. A 8 hour flight later we landed in the Paris airport on the evening of August 16th, waiting for our bike boxes to arrive (felt like ages). We used the lounge at Delhi for a good meal and passed some more time taking photos. It already felt like a festival with so many us traveling together having conversations over a vast variety of topics. In the blink of an eye, the travel date was upon us. The climbing duo of Ganesh and Naveen gave me company as we did short-hill repeats overnight to test our legs and sleep management. One last dance on the pedals, the mind asked, and I agreed. 10 days of rest and a week of short exercises later, I was able to get on the saddle again without pain. Luck was by my side, as it was not a tear. ![]() I sprained my hamstring playing football. Just as I was planning to put some more rides together, I had a scare. The mind was on a high as I went back to routine. Through the relentless rain with our cold clothing in the serenity of the western ghats we survived. As he rightly said to me, “completing the plan in such rides where not much is at stake is what defines your mental will”. Myself and Rohit chalked out a challenging plan for a 4 day training ride amongst the ghats of Karnataka in hostile weather. It started asking the uncomfortable questions: are you ready? are you prepared enough? anything important you didn’t do? No better way to answer them than to be out on the saddle. Having taken a break from BRMs, with a couple of months to go, the mind started to play games. If that was not shocking enough, I got validity for a year! Vive la France! With some prior experience of visa applications, the process was smooth and the stamped passport was delivered in 5 days. With the help of succinct information conveyed by our captain at BR, Mohan, we were able to multitask and sort out our travel plans (phew). Then came the logistics of travel: Flight bookings, hotel reservations, VISA conversations. Alongside the qualifying rides that were wrapped up quickly with the SR5 success, two other long-distance brevets ( BGB 1200, DevBhoomi 1000) earlier this year gave much needed assurance of my abilities to last the miles. ![]() The road to Paris was long, testing and yet rewarding. The 20th edition was held between 20-24 August 2023, the ride started and finished in Rambouillet, a small town on the outskirts of Paris which wore a festive look for the event. It is the oldest cycling event which has a history of over 100 years. It has an overall elevation gain of over 11,000 meters and has to be completed in 90 hours. (PBP) is a 1,200 kilometer randonee event which is organised by Audax Club Parisien once in 4 years. That was a prime example of how well we were mentally tuned-in by the community at BR (Bangalore randonneurs) for our upcoming challenge: Paris-Brest-Paris Randonneur, 2023. What would common sense tell you to do? Sleep!! The randonneuring brain is wired differently, we were adamant on unpacking and assembling our bicycles before we slept. 30+ of us have landed in France after a day long flight journey, a 2 hour bus journey and a patience-testing check-in to the hotel due to the language barrier. ![]()
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