Club Member Spotlight - Ken Goldman and Wei Sun
I received this article that Ken had read from his archives and found to be a good read. Enjoy. Editor
Hello Sports Fans,
Back when I was an RBA, I wrote a short history on PBP. I thought I
would bring it out again to get everyone's mind going as it's 2007 and
it's a PBP year. So, as Rod Serling said, "Submitted for your
inspection..."
A short history of PBP
In 1891, Pierre Giffard, the publisher of the French newspaper Le Petit
Journal, sensed that something had to be done to boost the sagging
French moral. Unlike some more conservative journalists of the day who
thought the bicycle was an oddity quickly to be disposed of, Giffard was
a dyed-in-the-wool cyclist. This was easy in Giffard's day since Lycra
hadn't been invented yet. What had been invented in 1885 was the "safety bicycle," the basic form of the bicycle we know today.
Although there were only a few thousand cyclists in all of France and
only a handful of tho se were racing fanatics, Giffard realized the
potential of the fledgling bicycle. He wanted a dramatic demonstration
of its power, range, and versatility. He wanted to sell more newspapers
and increase his circulation. Giffard hit upon the idea of a cycling event of
enormous proportions. This was not going to be any mere race; this was
going to be a test.
Giffard fanned the flames of interest with a series of hot-breathed
articles. He had conceived of a test "not primarily of speed but
brains, skill and endurance." He had hit upon the idea of a 750 mile
(1200 km.) event going from Paris to Brest on the Atlantic Ocean and
returning to Paris.
Could a man with the aid of nothing more than his muscles accomplish
such a feat? The medical establishment of the time didn't think so.
Doctors universally condemned the idea as sheer lunacy. "The bicycle in
such overdoses will kill the rider just as surely as an overdose of
ar senic" one medical expert of the time wrote. So much for medical
science.
Despite these dire predictions, people started lining up to enter.
Giffard was taken aback at the tumultuous response he received. He
changed the entry rules in mid-stream and charged the unheard of sum of
5 francs to enter. Nonetheless, 300 riders including 7 women signed up.
Among the new rules Giffard came up with was the time limit of 10 days.
Another rule said each rider had to use the same bicycle throughout. To
avoid cheating, each bicycle was provided with a special seal. The
sealing ceremony was an affair of great pomp and circumstance held in
front of the
Petit Journal building. Properly huffy officials affixed seals of
worthiness to entrants' machines. Presaging the length of the race, the
sealing ceremony lasted for two days! When the officials had finished,
280 machines had been "signed, sealed, and secured." Among the 280 were
10 tricycles, 2 tandems and 1 high wheeler. At the last moment, Giffard
decided not to accept women. So much for equality.
At daybreak on Sunday, September 6, 1891, 206 riders left a cheering
crowd in front of the Le Petit Journal. After three flats within the
first mile, the French professional, Jules Dubois realized his pate de
frois gras was cooked. The race was now between Charles Terront and
Jacques Jiel-Laval.
There could not have been two more different riders than Terront and
Jiel-Laval. Terront was hot-blooded and impetuous. Jiel-Laval, on the
other hand, was coldly calculating, sticking methodically to an
hour-by-hour schedule from which he would not deviate. In the end, the
mad, impetuous Terront won the first PBP in 71 hours 22 minutes, even by
today's standards a very respectable time. His closest finisher, the
ice-water veined Jiel-Laval, finished 8 hours behind Terront.
Terront had battled fatigue wit h nothing more than strong French coffee.
On route, he had crashed into a barrier. At one point, he broke a crank
and had to pedal one-legged to the next checkpoint. Even with so severe
a handicap, most of his teammates could not keep up with his frantic
pace.
Terront's finish was as much a victory for the power of the human spirit
as it was for technology. One of the hotly debated items prior to the
race was which tires were better? Just two years earlier in 1889, the
Michelin brothers had introduced their clincher tire and rims. The
connoisseurs of the time gravitated to solid rubber tires. Terront was
backed by the Michelin company. Jiel-Laval, being a connoisseur, rode
solid rubber tires. Terront's air filled victory sounded the death knell
of solid rubber tires and put us on the road to pneumatic riding.
Giffard was beside himself with success. He filled the newspapers with
exploits of this seminal event for month s. He made the most he could of
the 99 finishers of this first PBP. He wrote: "For the first time we saw
a new mode of travel, a new road to adventure, a new vista of pleasure.
These cyclists averaged 80 miles a day for 10 days, yet they arrived fresh and
healthy. Even a skillful and gallant horseman could not do better. Aren't we on the threshold of a new and wonderful world?"
Part of that "new and wonderful world" was in part culinary. A baker on
seeing the gallant lads cycling by his window on the first PBP was so
inspired by what he saw, he created a pastry called the "Paris-Brest" in
honor of the staunch riders attempting this most unique of rides. The
calorie-laden confection is available today at any good French bakery,
especially in Paris or Brest.
It was also to be a "wonderful world" of sporting events. Encouraged by
the success and notoriety of PBP, another Frenchman started the modern
Olympics. The Tour de France was started in 1903, again inspired by
Paris-Brest-Paris. No other bicycle race held today is as old as PBP.
Because of the arduous nature of PBP, it was initially held every 10
years. Racers would rather do 10 races of 75 miles a year than 1 race of
750 miles. As time went on, the number of entrants declined. Only a
special kind of racer could afford the training and the risk. To stem
the decline, officials instituted something new for the 1931 running of
Paris-Brest-Paris. It was to be a PBP of firsts and lasts. The 1931 PBP
was to be last PBP before the Second World War. It was to be the first
PBP to be won by a non-European, Sir Hubert "Oppie" Opperman of
Australia.
It was the last time PBP would be run as a professional bicycle road
race. And it was the first time another class of rider would appear at
PBP, the randonneur (literally, super-tourist). With the inclusion of
the randonneur class came th e time limit of 90 hours to complete PBP.
Jules Tranchant won the randonneur class with a very impressive time of
68 hours 30 minutes.
There was no PBP in 1941 due to WWII, but in 1948 it was revived. To get
it back on schedule, it was held every five years, then, every four. PBP
was now an amateur event put on by the Audax Club Parisian (Don't bother
trying to find "audax" in a French dictionary; you won't find it! "Audax" comes directly from the Latin word meaning "bold" or "daring.").
Some things were held over from previous days: the machine you start on
is the machine you must finish on, the 90 hour time limit, and the
distance, 750 miles. Qualifying rides known as brevets (literally "diplomas") were instituted to bring in only the best. Riders were also
required to have fenders on their machines. The number of eager riders
continued to grow with each running of PBP as well as the reputation of
the ride internationall y. With time, Paris-Brest-Paris had truly become
what Pierre Giffard intended - not just a race, but a test.
Cancelled Ride
Heaven this day desire to weep
Bringing us wind and rain.
The tapping rain drops make us sleep,
In bed we should remain.
Still if you want to ride the route
That's planned for Corral Hollow;
Just email me and I'll send out
Directions you can follow.
Wei Sun
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