At the end of August 1999 I rode a bike from Paris to Brest, and back again, a distance of 1216km or about 750 miles in a little less than 85 hours. The purpose of this text is to explain what motivated me to do it, and share what I've learned about riding a bike. You can download the whole thing if you want to read it out and read it on paper.
Some personal history My most intimate cycling habits
About Audax UK Who are these ultra-distance cyclists?
Tools of liberation Which kind of bike to ride
Anything that does not kill me makes me stronger Learning from adversity
Riding at night How to adapt to the contemporary nocturnal environment
You can never eat too much, only cycle too little Food and drink are fuel
Clothing and shoes What works
Repairs, first aid, personal hygiene Crucial artefacts to take along
Comments and related links Reactions to this site since publication, and some related links (added 02/11/99)
©Douglas Carnall 1999
The Street Machine. I wrote about it for BikeFix in the early summer of '99.
Minor update 18 May 2002.