Catching a Rainbow

The Paris Brest is not so much a race as a cycling endurance competition held every four years in France. It follows a course from the country’s capitol to the town of Brest, in western Brittany, covering a considerable distance of approximately 1200Km or 746 miles.

The first race took place in 1891 following the success of the first ever bike race between Paris and Bordeaux earlier the same year.
Pierre Giffard, a writer for the paper ‘Le Petit Journal,’ was the race organiser. French moral was in a malaise towards the end of the 18th Century and Giffard thought that a race using the new fangled bicycle was just the thing to improve the nations flagging morale.
The race was made possible by the invention in 1885 of the diamond safety frame, the basic bicycle we know today and the new pneumatic tyres helped it on its way.

Cycling was a new sport and in 1891 there were only a few thousand adherents. Giffard recognised how important the machine and the new racing phenomenon were to become and organised the race to be a showpiece to the bikes versatility, power and range. It was not going to be a race… but a testing.

The event was intended to be one of endurance from Paris to Brest and a return to Paris, a man, his machine…and nothing else.
Medical opinion was against ‘such folly’ and condemned the race as ‘Lunacy.’ Despite the medical prophesy of certain death to any foolhardy enough to compete entrants began to come forward; so many that the entrance rules were changed and competitors were charged a five franc entrance fee.

By the time the first race was set to start three hundred competitors including seven women had come forward, although the women were later barred from the race by a change in the rules.
A further rule change enforced the riders to only have access to one bicycle and that same bike should be used through out the race. To ensure that there was no cheating an impressive sealing ceremony was organised outside the offices of Le Petit Journal whereby each bike had a specially designed seal firmly affixed to its frame.

As the sun came up on Sunday the sixth of September 1891 the riders set off from in front of Le petit Journal and headed towards Brest.
It soon became clear that the race was going to be a two-man affair and was between Charles Terront and

Jacques Jiel-Laval, two very different riders.
Terront was argumentative, hot bloodied and known to be impetuous, whereas Jiel Laval had a calculating mind and stuck rigidly to his cycling routine, never varying.
Their characters were not the only things that set them apart; they also opted for different tyres.
To years earlier in 1889 two French brothers André and Edouard Michelin had introduced their revolutionary clincher tyres and rims, which were not only safer, they gave a softer ride and meant that bikes could be ridden faster. A fierce debate roared at the time over which type of tyre was better. Connoisseurs, including Jiel-Laval opted for the older solid rubber variety, whereas Terront received backing from the newly formed Michelin company only one type of tyre would have a chance of existing after the race was over.

The eventual winner was Terront, finishing the race in Seventy-one hours and twenty- two minutes. The only stimulant he received was strong coffee in an attempt to keep himself awake. En-route Terront crashed as well as breaking a crank. His endurance showed through, finishing the stage one-legged and still managing to keep ahead of his competitors. From that point on solid rubber tyres began their decline into the history books.
Jiel-Laval came in second, eight hours after Terront.

Terront was not the only person celebrating. Giffard proud at his success filled page after page of newsprint with story’s concerning the race, Terront, as well as himself. Of the events 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?"
Although the Paris-Brest-Paris or PBP as it is known begun in 1891 as a race it is still the oldest cycling event still held every four years but is now looked on as a test of endurance and is thought of as being non-competitive. There is a great emphasis on self-sufficiency as long as the individual finishes within the ninety-hour time limit. Riders are permitted to stop en-route, eat even sleep if they chose but the clock is continuously running. Many chose either not to sleep or just catch a few minutes by the side of the road when exhaustion overcomes them.
Although initially the race was looked on as being a showcase for the new types of bicycle and the professional rider, today the greater emphasis is on the ordinary rider who can enter as long as they have passed one of the qualifying heats held earlier in the year.
The next Paris-Brest-retour will be in August 2007.

The Paris Brest is not just the name of a race, but also the pastry made to celebrate the very first race. It is a sweetened cream filled choux pastry covered in toasted almonds, which is very light and extremely easy to make.

The Paris-Brest

Choux Pastry
2 oz / 50g Unsalted butter
2 ½ oz / 65g Plain flour
Pinch of salt
2 eggs, beaten.
¼ pint / 150ml water.


1. Put the water and the butter in a saucepan and bring to a rolling boil.
2. Sift the flour twice onto a sheet of baking paper add a good pinch of salt.
3. Take the pan of the heat and empty the flour into the pan all in one go.
4. Return the pan to a gentle heat and mix thoroughly untoil the dough forms a smooth ball and comes away from the sides of the pan. Allow to cool for a few minutes.
5. Gradually add a little of the beaten egg and beat continuously to incorporate. Keep adding the egg and beating until a soft smooth dough is formed. The pastry, as it is called, should just drop of a wooden spoon when held aloft.



DIRECTIONS FOR THE PARIS-BREST:

1. Preheat oven to 2200C/4250F°.
2. Spoon the Choux Pastry into a piping bag fitted with a large plain nozzle.
3. Pipe a ring 1 ½ inches wide and 8” in diameter on a sheet of greaseproof baking parchment and sprinkle with flaked almonds.
4. Bake for 7 to 10 minutes then reduce the oven to 1900C / 3750F and cook for a further twenty minutes until the top is golden brown.
5. Remove from the oven, allow to cool for a few minutes before splitting the choux ring in half horizontally. Do not separate the halves but allow them to cool one on the other.
6. Mix together ½ pint of double cream, one egg white and 20z of icing sugar until firm.
7. Separate the two halves and spoon in the cream; replacing the top half before dusting with further icing sugar and serving.
















Sources and acknowledgements
A brief overview: Sleepless en Paris ...et Normandie ...et Bretagne (1999) by Eric Fergusson
http://www.randonneurs.bc.ca/pbp/articles/1999_sleeple...

An informative history: A Short History of Paris-Brest-Paris (1999) by Bill Bryant.
http://www.rusa.org/pbphistory.html
A short history of PBP
From an article on the internet by Gary Smith http://www.ahands.org/cycling/pbp2003/history.html

ANDRE MICHELIN 1853-1931 EDOUARD MICHELIN 1859-1940
http://www.michelin.co.uk/uk/front/affich.jsp?codeRubrique=20060606121922

Recipe for Paris Brest as sited in The Cookery Year, WH Smith 1996 edition, page 295

The most comprehensive information site about PBP and its history is found on the BC Randonneurs website:
http://www.randonneurs.bc.ca/pbp/main.html.
McCray, Phil. 1989. "PBP — 1891 to 1991" Journal of the International Randonneurs
Fergusson, Eric. Paris Brest Paris. http://www.randonneurs.bc.ca/pbp/main.html
Bill Bryant, A SHORT HISTORY OF PARIS-BREST-PARIS, Randonneurs USA, http://www.rusa.org/pbphistory.html
Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris-Brest-Paris