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Paris-Brest-Paris is the most important event in the long-distance cycling community.  It's held every four years and riders come from all over the world to take part. There are 5.000 places and in order to get a place, would-be participants have to prove that they are up to the challenge of riding 1230km in fewer than 90 hours.

 

In the UK, long-distance events are organised by Audax UK (Audax has its roots in the French for "audacious", I'm told.) Despite the filter of the qualifying events, PBP remains a tough challenge for any rider and a percentage fails to finish. In past years, the UK has the highest success rate of any country - possibly because some of our qualifying events are almost as hard as the event itself.

 

In order to try for a place in PBP, riders have to complete rides of 200km, 300km, 400km and 600km, each within a prescribed time limit, in the year of the event.  As competition for places is high, riders who have completed the same distances in the previous calendar year get priority.  Last year, I managed to clock up the 200, 300 and 400 pre-qualifying events but failed spectacularly on my 600, which made me particularly determined to get my qualifying rides in the bag early this year.  

 

I rode the 200, 300 and 400km events in the south east but for my 600 I picked what is arguably the most challenging ride in the UK calendar - a south to north (and back) traverse of Wales. This was the 600km ride on which I failed last year, so I had a score to settle!

 

I wrote up some notes at the end of a few rides. You can read them here.  There's also a very evocative account of my 600km written by one of the Rapha Team professional riders here.  In the next few days I will also add some FAQ about long-distance cycling, my approach to it, and the PBP itself.

 

For more about PBP, visit the PBP 2011 site

 

If you're interested in trying an Audax event (they start at only 100km), have a look at Audax UK's site.