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In a nutshell
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Start
Finish
Stages
Rest days
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Paris, France
Paris, France
22 stages
4 days
Nantes, Brest, Saint Malo, Étretat
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Total distance
Average distance
Total climbing
Average climbing
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2.432 km
111 km
17.500 meters
800 meters
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1.520 miles
69 miles
57.400 feet
2.600 feet
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Road condition
Period
Accommodation
Price full tour
Discount
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100% paved
Saturday April 22nd, 2023
Wednesday May 17th, 2023
Mixture of camping (19) and hotels (8)
€
3.795,-
€ 200,- for early registration
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Description
When you think about long distance cycling, you think
about Paris-Brest-Paris. It started in
1891 as a challenging bicycle race of 1.200 kilometres
from the French capital to the most western city of
France, and immediately back. In an era when diamond
safety frames and pneumatic tires were taking over from
high-wheelers with solid rubber tires, Paris-Brest-Paris
was an "épreuve", a test of the bicycle's reliability.
The riders carried their own food and clothing and only
Frenchmen were allowed to enter, 207 participated.
Nowadays Paris-Brest-Paris is grown into a mythical
cycling event with thousands of riders from all around
the world and is held every four years. The holy grail
of long distance cycling is a kind of "Olympics" for
determined cycling enthusiasts. They leave Paris in
western direction, keep on riding, fill themselves up
with energy bars and gels on the bike, continue during
dusk and darkness, take powernaps in bus stops, reach
almost straightaway Brest, and return to the French
capital in the same rhythm. 1.200 km in less than 90
hours, the time limit.
Paris-Brest-Paris is a great event, but it's also a pity
that such a rich and diverse part of France is traversed
so quickly, partly passed in complete darkness, and so
missing all attractive and historic sites. As you may
expect from Bike-Dreams, we want to ride
Paris-Brest-Paris in an alternative way. We take our
time, we cycle along a varied mix of interesting places
and have planned some rest days in between to absorb and
enjoy the French splendour, style and gastronomy. From
the fairy-tale castles along the Loire to the assault
beaches of D-Day. From the prehistoric Carnac to the
oyster farmers near Saint Malo. From iconic places of
the Tour de France to the enchanted appearance of Le
Mont Saint Michel.
We leave Paris via the leafy, bourgeois
suburb of Versailles which hosts
France's most famous and monumental château. After
roughly 100 kilometres the glorious cathedral of
Chartres looms up above the carefully preserved
old city. Another 100 kilometres further we
reach the Loire Valley. Kings, queens,
dukes and nobles came here to establish feudal castles
and, later on, sumptuous palaces - that's why this
fertile river valley is sprinkled with hundreds of
France's most opulent aristocratic estates. The Loire
Valley is also known for its outstanding wines and
lively, sophisticated cities, including Blois,
Tours and Angers -
that's why the entire valley is a vast Unesco World
Heritage Site.
Cycling along the Loire we arrive after five stages in
Nantes, the birthplace of Jules Verne.
Shipbuilding anchored the city's economy until the late
20th century, but the artsy city on the banks of the
Loire transformed itself into a thriving student and
cultural hub over the last decades. A perfect place for
a rest day.
Further west we arrive at the coastline of the Atlantic
Ocean, and not just a normal piece of coastline, we
arrive at the Passage du Gois. The
causeway of more than four kilometres is flooded twice a
day by high tide and is used occasionally in the Tour de
France with some divergent experiences as a result.
We cross the Loire at the elegantly curved Pont
de Saint-Nazaire, one of the longest
cable-stayed bridges in Europe. It rises 61 metres above
the water, which was enough to classify it as a 4th
category climb in the Tour de France of 2011.
We continue our route to Brittany; a
land of myths, legends, proud tradition and culinary
wealth, where fiercely independent locals celebrate
Breton culture, and where Paris feels a long way away.
The region has a Celtic influence with a dialect related
to Gaelic. Cycling is very popular in this region that
produced Tour de France winners like Jean Robic, Louison
Bobet and Bernard Hinault.
Thousands of years before the calendar era, and even
predating Stonehenge, Carnac is a place
which may not be missed. It's world's greatest
concentration of megalithic sites, with no fewer than
3000 of these upright stones. They constitute an
astonishing sight, and even though their purpose remains
obscure, the area hums with mystery.
We cycle to the centre of Brittany, and the heart of
Brittany's cyclisme, the Mûr-de-Bretagne.
The local climb with a length of just 2 kilometres and
an average of not even 7 per cent, makes it the
"toughest" cycling col of the complete region. It's a
must for our cycling tour, and also frequently for the
Tour de France organisation. Cadel Evans won the stage
up the Mûr-de-Bretagne in 2011, which was a start for
his Tour victory. Ten years later it was Mathieu van der
Poel who won the stage and took the yellow jersey in
honour of his grandfather Raymond Poulidor.
We head further west to our halfway destination and second
rest day: Brest. The maritime city
suffered heavily during the bombing in 1944, but it has
managed to reinvent itself. The city centre was
completely rebuilt and Modernism, Neo-classicism, Art
nouveau and Art Deco, all comes together.
Eastwards along the craggy northern coastline of
Brittany, we pass quaint fishing villages nestled in
beautiful bays, secluded sandy beaches and dramatic
seaside scenery. One of the villages is Erquy,
which is considered by many to be the birthplace of
cartoon hero Asterix, the famous Gaulish warrior.
The marvellous Côte de Granit Rose -
named after the pink colour of the rocky coastline -,
and the Côte d'Emeraude (Emerald Coast)
- is on our way before we arrive in the mast-filled port
town Saint-Malo. This quintessential
Breton port is a former island near the mainland.
Originally designed as a citadel that during the Second
World War was largely destroyed, except for the old
walls. Saint Malo was rebuilt in its original style with
granite houses that appear ancient. Cancale
is a nearby tiny fishing village well-known among
gourmands for its oysters. The prized shellfish has been
collected here since Roman times, but oyster farming is
more recent. At low tide, it is possible to see the beds
spread out in the bay.
Not much further we arrive at one of France's most
iconic images: the slender spires of the rock-top abbey
and the stout ramparts of Le Mont Saint Michel
rising dramatically from the sea - or towering over
slick, shimmering sands laid bare by the receding tide.
For one day, you would prefer a beachracer to cycle
around this unique site in the world.
Le Mont Saint Michel is located at the border between
Brittany and Normandy. A beautiful region with a variety
of dramatic coastal landscapes and quiet pastoral
villages.
But mentioning Normandy, is mentioning
D-Day. 160.000 allied troops, supported by almost 7.000
naval vessels, stormed ashore on June 6th, 1944. We
cycle along the 80 kilometres stretch of D-Day
beaches: Utah Beach, Omaha Beach, Gold Beach,
Juno Beach and Sword Beach. Halfway is the attractive
and historic town Bayeux, which was the
first French town to be liberated and is one of the few
places in the area to have survived the Second World War
practically unscathed. The nearby cemeteries are places
of solemn pilgrimage.
East of the beaches we find Normandy's most charming
port town Honfleur. The old harbour
evokes maritime life of centuries past. We follow the
coast till Étretat which is framed by twin cliffs, a
favourite spot for painters such as Claude Monet. The
village is a perfect base for wander up and down the
shoreline or clamber up to the fantastic vantage points
above the nearby chalk-white cliffs.
We cycle inland and follow the Seine for many
kilometres. We don't miss out on Rouen.
With its soaring Gothic cathedral, beautifully restored
medieval quarter, imposing ancient churches and vibrant
cultural life, is it one of Normandy's most engaging and
historically rich destinations. Before we arrive in
Paris, we pass the tiny country village of Giverny,
which is a place of pilgrimage for devotees of
impressionism, because Claude Monet lived here for more
than 40 years in a rambling house with a huge garden
that inspired him for many paintings.
The 1st edition of Paris-Brest-Paris starts
Saturday April 22nd,
2023 in Paris. You finish your wonderful
loop at the Arc the Triumph in the heart of the French
metropolis after 26 days and 2.400 kilometres.
Our version of Paris-Brest-Paris is definitely not the
shortest route between the two cities, and it's also not
the toughest tour in our program, but it's another great
tour in our varied selection of bike dreams. If you are
looking for some pleasant flat and rolling cycling over
quiet roads, every day some interesting places along the
way, and want to explore this wonderful part of France
in all her aspects - history, art, gastronomy, coastal
scenery, architecture - than this one is yours.
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The credo of Bike Dreams is : "Life is not the
dreams you have, but the dreams you realize".
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