Who?

My name is Domenic and I am a cyclist in the Lower Hudson Valley of New York state. I am planning to ride and complete the 2027 running of Paris-Brest-Paris. If you’re reading this, I appreciate it. Since it’s likely that we’ve never met, here’s some background about me and what I hope to do in this space.

As far back as I can remember, cycling has been something I always looked forward to and enjoyed. As child of 80’s suburban culture, a bike meant liberation, and also, to the extent possible, exploration. Cycling down a new road has always felt full of potential, of new places and panoramas unfolding at just the right speed. I must’ve somehow sensed this truth as a kid, but in the world I grew up in, bikes remain “just bikes”- some combination toy and transport.

After a typical American young adult car-centric period encompassing high school, university and later grad school in and around New York City, I hardly rode a bike at all. Eventually I found myself living and working in Taichung City, Taiwan: bicycling manufacturing capital of the world. After about 6 months of commuting by bicycle to work, it became obvious to me that road cycling really was a thing in Taichung, and I felt the urge to explore this new country that I called home.

I didn’t want, and couldn’t afford a car. The ubiquitous motor scooters that choked the intersections and zipped along the margins just seemed too dangerous to me. I started to ride a bike again at first, back and forth to work in the city.

My first “real” enthusiast bicycle was a touring bike. And while I rode it a lot and I appreciated its comfort, gearing and versatility, I soon found myself the owner of a lightweight steel road bike with 23mm tires that was far better suited to the endlessly smooth tarmac of Taiwans roads, but also to it’s steep and prolonged climbs (and often serpentine switchback descents.) I still remember the first sensation of pushing down on the pedal and feeing the bike surge forward. I was hooked then and there.

Taiwan was and is an amazing place to ride a road bike, and with few other commitments, I rode mine as often as I could. “Hilly” centuries became commonplace during the drier months and, multiple 1,000m climbs were not unusual in a day’s riding. They were simply the price you had to pay to explore outside of the city. So deep did the hooks sink in, that I completed a Tour around Taiwan and toured a bit in nearby Japan as well. Whenever I ride to this day, the climbs and descents of the central mountains of Taiwan are still the metric by which I measure each new route.

Since returning to the U.S., I’ve struggled to match the distance and the quality of the riding I was fortunate enough to do while living in Taiwan. A flat 200K with NJ Randonneurs and the Classic Route of D2R2 have been the longest and toughest riding I’ve done since then.

What?

For those who don’t know, Paris-Brest-Paris is the oldest organized cycling event in the world, dating back to 1891, when it began as a race with a comparatively small group of riders. It is now a non-competitive long distance cycling event where riders must complete a circuit from Paris to Brest and back in one go. There is a process by which you prepare and qualify and and it this bit that I will spend the most time documenting in this space.

It is interesting to note that PBP started less than a decade after “safety bicycle” (1885) and the pneumatic bicycle tire (1888) were invented. The time from which it was physically possible to the first time is was run is surprisingly short. It only took a few formative years for folks to wonder, “Hey these things are amazing and fun, I wonder how long we can ride them in one go. Let’s find out.”

Why?

It is in that same spirit of “how far?” that I have decided to take part in PBP. Simply put, I’m 44, and I know that while, if I’m lucky, I’ll have many years of riding ahead of me, the time to take part in an event like this is now. I’ve actually felt like this year, 44 has been one of noticeable aging indeed, and so the fact that 2027 is a PBP year away, I think if I’m going ever ride it, it’s gonna be now. I’m exploring the limits of “the extent possible.”

Where?

I’ll be doing my preparation and qualifying rides in and around the Hudson Valley, Western North Carolina, and through NJ Randonneurs/RUSA. PBP is, of course, in France.

How?

I’ll try to write my plan out in a bit more detail in the coming weeks, but for now, the big picture is to get to 200k shape by mid April, and then add distance as the months go on. I will follow the PBP qualifying stipulations for the year leading up to the event.

When?

Although PBP runs from August 22 to 26th of 2027, preparation begins, well, now.

Mother nature seems to have thrown a frozen, icy spanner in the works at present- I’ve only been able to to venture out on the bike maybe 3 times so far in 2026, but I have started and am in the third week of “grand fondo” training course in Zwift.

I’m also heading to Western North Carolina at the end of March, which will give me an opportunity to get some climbing in the legs and so longer rides and ease the transition from Zwift to riding IRL. Without getting into too much detail right now, I’ll just say that there is a 200k happening in New Jersey on April 18.

After that, there’s the Garden State 1200k Grand Randonee that I hope to participate in. By completing a 1000k ride in this event, I’ll be able to pre-register for PBP on January 16 of 2027, and I’ll also get a taste of whether or not this ultra long distance cycling is for me.

I’m still hashing out my riding plans for late winter/early spring and that should make a good topic for the next post. Thanks for reading, and I welcome your comments.