02/07/2023 – PCR 2023 – Day 1

The alarm went off and after a quick hop in the shower and chowing down of my baguettes, humous and cous-cous, we rode to HQ. Thanks to overbuying at the supermarket and bringing half a cupboard worth of food over from the Uk, my collapsable backpack was fit to burst.

After a rousing speech by the organisers and a couple of housekeeping/admin bits we all got on our bikes and grouped together at the exit of HQ. We were to be set off in groups to get to the Old Town Harbour where we would then be set off in groups for the start of the race.

I wasn’t too fussed about being right at the front of either of these groups so spent some time admiring other peoples bikes which is always good fun. There was quite a variety from gravel bikes, to aero bikes to a velomobile.

The ride down to the old town was nice and relaxed and thankfully we were able to not get lost. After some more chatting at the actual start line and starting a bit later than planned, Mally started setting off groups with a couple of minutes between each group to not cause too much of a hassle on the roads of St Malo on a sleepy Sunday morning.

I was content to be in one of the later groups but I started to get itchy feet so made my way up to jump a group or two ahead. After a quick chat with the people around me Mally set us off and we settled into a gentle pace, chatting as we went.

The start felt similar to last year in the sense that it was almost neutralised and was like a casual group ride. Little did I know that the first group that went off with the race favourites in had set off like a rocket straight from the gun.

Again, after a while I got itchy feet and wanted to ride at my own pace, never been a fan of big group rides. I then rode hard enough to get away from the group I was in but not too hard to fatigue myself.

I started to pick off people who had been dropped from groups further up the road and a couple of people who were stopping to fix punctures already which was a real shame for them. I also passed someone who had been in a crash with another rider that was a really unfortunate accident. Later I found out he was taken to hospital with a suspected broken shoulder but it was fine in the end.

After a while I bumped into Jason who I rode with for a bit last year including the ride through the night to make the ferry. He was in good spirits so we caught up for a bit which was nice. There was a flat section where the strong wind was at our backs and we were flying along at 35kmh in the TT bars with only gentle pressure on the pedals.

The road took us onto a cycle path that was a bit sandy and we all got into a single file and the miles ticked on by.

After a while, I got itchy feet again as we were riding at a pace that was marginally slower than I wanted to be at. Not because I wanted to go fast or anything, but it just felt like to reach where I wanted to in the evening I would have to push on a little bit harder. Little did I know that this would be the last time I would see Jason until the end of the race.

The first hill of the race was up next and I decided to give it a bit of a nudge, open the legs up a little and to try and move up the field a little bit, see if there was anyone else that I knew. It was a real leg snapper and there was a Race photographer on the hairpin which I have yet to find my photo from but can imagine that my face proved I was putting in more effort than I should have done.

At the top of the hill I then bumped into Jess who I knew from Cardiff so we rode together for a little bit and had a chat. In what is a really interesting aspect of the race that I really like is all the women who have entered (which is a disappointingly low number) are invited to start in the first wave and ride off together.

I then ride on and bump into Chris who I met the day before and roamed around St Malo with for a little bit and he was on the same train of thought as me, would be good to give today a bit of a nudge. We proceeded to then ride pretty hard for the rest of the day.

We headed towards Rennes and created a bit of a peloton behind us. We rode hard through the countryside and on the cycle path alongside the canal into the city. We set a strong pace and tried to get other riders to either help out or drop off the back but frustratingly, they just sat in behind us sheltering from the wind. The whole point of the race was that it was a solo endeavour but no matter how hard we rode, they just sat in behind us.

Having a very quick stop in Rennes for a burger to save time, I managed to munch down a chunk of the cous-cous that I’d bought the previous evening and couldn’t stomach in the morning.

We were chatting along riding through the French countryside taking in the views as we went. We got a bit competitive and would see a rider or a group of riders in the distance and challenge ourselves to catch them up.

Typically as soon as we’d do that we’d see another rider in the distance and so we would keep pushing at a pace that was marginally harder than I’d want but we were moving up the pack and getting some good distance done in the day.

I did have an end point in mind for the day, there was supposedly a McDonald in Vannes about 280km into the day that closed at 10:30pm and given that we had started the race late which meant that it would be a toughie but I was determined.

One of the riders that we picked up on our charge forwards was Laurence Kilpatrick who seemed like a really nice guy. We rode as a trio for a while but the pace had caught up with me a little bit so I let them go on and I dropped back.

It was nice to ride for a bit by myself in my own head, listening to some music and podcasts, the way that I had done it for months on my world trip. After a while I started riding with a pair of riders, Aston and Si.

They were strong riders with really cool bikes, Astons was all beige and army green with beige tyres aswell. After a while of riding together we all realised that we were very low on water and then as if our prayers were answered, we turn a corner and there is a restaurant/bar so we swing in, buy a can of coke and get our waters filled up.

These little 5-10 minute stops are easy to add up over the day and can build into a large chunk of time if they aren’t minimised in frequency and length but this one was definitely worthwhile. At the start of the race it is even more important as it might be the first day or two where you’re riding with different people rotating round different groups.

The ride was really pretty and took us through some pretty little villages.

I met back up with Chris and we made our way to Vannes as the sun was setting and we pulled into the McDonalds not too long before they called for last orders.

Sadly the McPlant hasn’t made its way over to France yet and I was stuck having a couple of portions of overpriced Fries. In hindsight I didn’t order enough Fries but as I was finishing up, Loz and Raph rocked up so I waited for them to finish their meal before heading off with them into the night.

I had a couple of aims for the day, they were to ride 300km, ride past midnight and make it to McDonalds. With the first of those ticked off, I let the two of them know my plan for the other 2 aims and they agreed that it was a good plan. It was a good night to be riding and we headed out of Vannes and into the countryside where pretty much bang on 300k into the day, we found a church in the middle of a town with some nice outcrops of wall that would provide good wind shelter for the night.

Having ticked everything off, we bedded down for the night whilst bubbling with excitement that after long wait, the race had started.