Last week, Sur la Route de l’Extreme by Sandrine Lopez and Philip Dupuis was shown on French TV. It’s a well-done documentary of this year’s PBP, with beautiful shots showing the variety of randonneurs who participate, from the fastest to the slowest. There are great shots of the lead peloton. I loved a scene following a faired tricycle recumbent on a descent. In an evocative twilight scene, I spotted a friend leaning against a tree and napping. And I had tears in my eyes when a rider abandoned with back pain.
So you can watch it, too, we have put a recording on the Bicycle Quarterly server. Download it and watch it over the holidays (mp4 file, 155 MB, French language without subtitles). Enjoy!
We would like to wish Happy Holidays to all our readers and customers. May the new year bring you great rides and wonderful memories!
What do you suggest to play this mp4 file with in Windows?
Thanks, Jan, I’d like to view the movie, but had trouble with the “download” link. Can you check it?
Try again. Perhaps there was too much traffic?
Many thanks for the visual gift Jan! Merry Christmas to you and your family too!
Neat film, worked fine with Media Player Classic. Subtitles would help fill in the gaps in my “PBP French”
Thank you, looking forward to watching this over the holiday break!
Merci! Quicktime player plays mp4 with no trouble.
No wonder my original download wouldn’t play for me. Looks like I only got half of the 155 MB the first time.
We compressed it from the original (which took 6 hours to download), but it’s still a big file.
is it possible to provide a link to the original? or somehow let us know where to find it? thanks and happy holidays!
The original was broadcast on French TV. There is no link. A friend recorded the broadcast and sent me an MP2 file. That was too large for downloading, so we converted it to an MP4 file, which is what you can download.
Try Internet Explorer. Could not get to work with Chrome.
Although I don’t speak French, the potency of this film spoke volumes to me. Both ends of PBP are covered: the power and pressure of riding with the front group, as well as the protracted miseries of life at the rear. Bravo!
Yes, it’s a neat movie. I only wished for a little more coverage of the riders in the “middle,” who have neither the pressure of the lead group, nor the stress of the time limit closing in. To me, that is perhaps the best way of doing PBP.
Thanks for this great film.
Thank You
Beatiful film, but You are right about the lack of riders in the “middle”, but there is not much drama in the middle, so it is understandable.
Not much drama, but a lot of beauty. Seeing riders enter a control, unhurried, but purposeful, and getting back on the road within 10 minutes after having eaten a bowl of soup, would pretty inspirational to me.
I agree! Tough event to film because there is no time for mid-ride coverage/interviews for those enjoying a great ride in and around the bulge. Watching riders adapt to conditions and the realities of PBP (vs. expectations) was an impressive sight
Brought back a lot of memories… Thank you for sharing.
I was amongst those “lagging” behind with 87hrs and 26 minutes.
I had not intention to race, and although I understand the appeal, and understanding it was my first PBP, I suspect most riders wanted to complete the ride as best as they could with the resources they had, as I was.
I had no support whatsoever at the controls, besides what the organization arranged (which was top notch in my humble opinion), and had to carry all my stuff with me.
I salute the “first wave speedsters”, but I also have a lot of respect for those that took this ride with all their stuff, and completed it before the end.
I also appreciate how supportive the population was along the path; I never expected such support for cyclists. It still brings tears to my eyes remembering the smiles and warm words of support and I feel I never thanked them enough for that.
This was an awesome documentary, and I appreciate you sharing it.
Congratulation on completing PBP. I would not call your time “lagging” at all. Riding within your limits, with some margin to the time limit, is what PBP is about. It sounds like you had a great time, too. I agree that PBP is a very emotional experience, because of the support of the local population.