>I'm sure Matt Gorski who is dreaming of giving his Rene Herse a run
>out in P-B-P is aware of the following but maybe other Francophiles
>are not.
>The joint "winners" of P-B-P 1966, Demilly and Macaudiere, covered
>the 745 miles in 44hr 21min. Both rode rene Herse bikes. both 531
>of course, bag supports, dynamo and battery lighting, gears look
>like huret and Herse chainset with top gear of 52x14 and amazingly
>8oz tubs. Unlike my unsupported ride they had Rene Herse himself
>and daughter Lyli in a following car.
Macaudière's bike is shown in our book "The Golden Age of Handbuilt
Bicycles," including a historic photo of Lyli and Rene providing
support at an obviously rushed control.
>The following year these two and two others rode Fleche Velocio from
>Paris. The idea is that you ride as far south as possible in 24
>hours. They reached L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue due east of Avignon !!
>Almost 460 miles. Those herse bikes must pedal themselves!
The goal of a Fleche is to ride a predetermined distance in 24 hours (you select route and distance) and end up near Avignon, where the spring cyclotouring meeting takes place every year. There are records, but you need to know what you can do - more than a certain percentage off your pre-determined distance, and your ride is disqualified. Teams of up to 5 bikes, tandems, etc., ride. 3 must arrive.
Fleches also are held in various other locations around the world these days, including the Pacific Northwest. My worst memory of any ride is from my first Fleche. 24 hours in pouring rain, on a racing bike with no fenders (those were the days before I knew there were special bikes for this type of stuff), some 650 km distance meant no stops longer than 10 minutes (and only 3 of those), headwinds, a crash when I hit a pipe lying on the shoulder while descending in the dark at 35 mph... it was awful. And we had miscalculated our route, so we got credit only for 640 km. Our record then was broken the next year by a Canadian team who rode 645 km or so. That experience almost put me off long-distance cycling...
Of course, your point is well-taken. Even today, there hardly is a better bike for PBP than a randonneur made by Herse or one of the other top French constructeurs. Their tandems are even better ;-) -- Jan Heine, Seattle Editor/Publisher Vintage Bicycle Quarterly c/o Il Vecchio Bicycles 140 Lakeside Ave, Ste. C Seattle WA 98122 http://www.vintagebicyclepress.com