Follow me at Paris-Brest-Paris

Some of you have asked how to follow me live during Paris-Brest-Paris.

The short answer is, you can follow me on the PBP web site, on this blog, or on Facebook. There is also a live webcam of the start.

If you want to see the route, a rough map of the course can be found here. Scroll down the page for links to detailed maps of each stage, with elevations and so on.

The event starts for me at around 18:00 French time on 21 August. That's 9:00 AM on Sunday, August 21 in Seattle. I will finish between 70 and 90 hours later, probably sometime on Thursday, Seattle time.

I will have a chip on my shoe. Every time I pass a control, my time at that control will be recorded, and you can view the results online here. You will be asked for my frame number, which is 4470

Update: you can follow all of the Seattle riders here.

The first control is the start. They start us in waves of 500 beginning at 18:00 (French time) and lasting for about 2.5 hours. You have 90 hours to finish, based on the time your wave started. I'm not sure how this will be reported on the web site. If they give you my elapsed time, it's simple. If they just give you the time at each control, you have to look at my actual start time and do a little math.

About 9 hours after I start, I should roll into the next control at Villaines-la-Juhel. After that, I should clear a control roughly every 4 to 5 hours until I stop for sleep. Unless there are problems, I'll sleep somewhere between Loudéac and Brest, most likely either Carhaix or Brest. I'll try to blog and put something on Facebook when I stop to sleep, but I may not be able to, so absence of an update just means I'm sleeping and wasn't able to conveniently provide an update.

Wherever I sleep, I should be leaving Brest and on my way back somewhere between the 37 and 47 hour marks. This should be late Monday or early Tuesday, Seattle time.

From Brest back to Paris, my plans are less definite, and depend on how I feel. I plan to stop once or maybe twice on the way back to rest, most likely at Loudéac and/or Villanes-la-Juhel. So once I reach either of these places on the way back, it could easily take me 7 or 8 hours to reach the next control.

There are two more controls on the way back: Mortagne au Perche and Dreux. Mortagne au Perche is only 140 km from the finish, so if I get there with 7 or more hours left, it's looking pretty good. Dreux is a mere 65 km from the finish. If I have 3 hours left at that point, I should be able to do it, assuming I'm not completely spent.

There is a live webcam of the start. Select the "Web TV" menu and then the option "Live." There may also be other live coverage at this address.

Since this is France, there is an official pastry for Paris-Brest-Paris, called the Paris Brest, first made in 1891. Here is a recipe. To the right is a picture of the pastry, which my colleague Natalie brought to work, in celebration of my impending ride.