>Since when was the 2003 PBP a race? It is my understanding that the
>PBP is not considered a race and the organizers even discourage
>people from treating it as a race.
>Steven Maasland
I never said it was a race... but that my fastest times have been on old machines. My local hill isn't a race, either, but I do time myself when I train to see how I am doing.
That said, I do have a trophy the organizers of Paris-Brest-Paris presented for the fasted mixed tandem. You'll have to ask them why they might offer trophies for fastest times in an event that is not a race...
As I understand it, every finisher (within the time limit) gets the same medal, every finisher is a winner, so it's not a race. But people should challenge themselves to exceed what they think they can do. And those who go fastest in each category get a trophy. Melinda Lyons has another trophy for the fastest female. Her bike looked pretty conventional, too. There also are trophies for oldest, youngest, country with most participants, and more. Yet it's not a competition. -- 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