At one time as many at 19 trains per day stopped at the Lexington Depot,in Lexington, Massachusetts. Now the rail line which ran past it has been repurposed as the Minuteman Commuter Bikeway, and so it is a fitting location for bicycling events. The Charles River Wheelers bicycle club hosted a discussion of the epic bicycle ride Paris Bret Paris at the Depot on February 27, 2019.

Charles River Wheelers members have had an illustrious showing in PBP and several member gave presentations. A video recording of the event was made, and all of the talks are now available on the Internet.

• Melinda Lyon, two times the first female finisher, made brief comments and answered questions.
• Harriet Fell was among the first Americans to finish PBP, in 1975. The photos were as entertaining as her stories. She described the haystack she slept in and the flashing lights of an emergency vehicle that stopped her, not to arrest her as she feared, but merely to stamp her brevet card for the secret control.
• Elizabeth Wicks, oldest American woman to finish PBP, described her experience and gave advice.
• Jake Kassen and Emily O'Brien talked about their 2007 PBP ride, completed on fixed-gear bicycles. Jake introduced the audience to the brevets offered by New England Randonneurs.
• Patria Vandermark and Henry van den Broek showcased the Seven bicycle that Henry rode in the 2015 PBP, emphasizing that a comfortable bike and palatable nutrition are critical for success on a long-distance ride.
• And there was a question-an-answer session.

Harriet's video is here.

All the others are in this playlist.

Harriet Fell

Harriet describes her PBP experience, with some different details from those in her video

Paris-Brest-Paris 2007 on Fixed Gear

Emily describes her and Jake Kassen's PBP ride.

Cycling in France

Sheldon's observations, with links to many other pages

Audacious, by Tom Shaddox -- a PBP story

Fiction about a PBP ride.