Long Rider

It’s midnight in Death Valley, on a clear, cold night in December, and Chuck Bramwell is among several hundred people riding bicycles on a road that cuts across the desert floor.

They are six hours into a 100-mile race and Bramwell has at least two more hours to ride. He is pedaling next to a veteran cyclist he does not know, who is showing him how to pace himself so he’ll have the energy to finish.

Bramwell said the experience, which took place in 1989, changed his life.

“That’s when I fell in love with endurance riding,” Bramwell said.

And now Bramwell, an Irvine computer programming consultant, is ready for what he calls “the experience of a lifetime.”

He and 32 other Southern Californians will be in France this month competing in the Paris-Brest-Paris 1,200K, one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious bicycle races.

That’s 750 miles on a course that includes 31,000 feet of climbing through hills and mountains from Paris to the seaside town of Brest and back. Racers will have 90 hours to complete the event to be considered an official finisher.

“This is my first time riding this race,” Bramwell said. “The hard part is knowing how tough they are on that 90-hour deadline to be considered a finisher. The last 50 miles you could have flat tires and medical problems. So you have to be well ahead the cutoff so you have extra time in case a disaster happens.”

Bramwell, 47, became interested in biking 14 years ago as a way to lose weight and improve his health.

“I had my own programming business,” he said, “and for 12 years I did nothing but work. There was lots of pressure and stress. I was getting heavy and not feeling well.

“I had an employee who told me how great cycling was. So I hopped on a bike one weekend and it was like going back to my childhood. I remembered when I was young how my folks bought me a 10-speed and how much fun I had. I liked the rediscovery of that. The more I rode the more I wanted to keep riding.”

He raced for the first time in 1987, a 50-mile ride from Rosarito Beach to Ensenada. “There were about 13,000 people, it was wall-to-wall cyclists,” Bramwell said. Within two years he had moved up to the Death Valley event, then became interested in 200-mile rides, called double centuries.

“I do four to five double centuries a year,” said Bramwell, who has finished 39 such races. “The first one every year is the hardest to train for. After that, if you stay in shape, the others aren’t so bad.

“A double century is equal to running a marathon, maybe a little more. It takes about 12 hours on the bike to ride a 200-mile race; a typical racer’s ride is 14-16 hours.”

Cycling has taken over Bramwell’s life. He sold his business and works at home, the better to plan training rides. He created a website, https://www.CalTripleCrown.com, that lists information on the 11 double centuries in California from February to June.

“After that it’s usually too hot,” he said.

He depends on Carol, his wife of 26 years, and sons Adam, 17, and Alex, 11, to keep him from going over the edge.

“[Cycling] can become obsessive . . . you have to be careful about that,” Bramwell said. “My family gives me a balance. Carol doesn’t ride, but she’s a terrific supporter.”

Bramwell has spent the past 2 1/2 years training and preparing for the Paris-Brest-Paris race. But riders must do more than train; they have to qualify by completing four timed qualifying rides called brevets. You must complete a 200K brevet in 13 hours 30 minutes, a 300K in 20 hours, a 400K in 27 hours and a 600K in 40 hours.

Paris-Brest-Paris, held every four years, began as a professional event in 1891. (The race’s popularity helped spawn the Tour de France, which began in 1903). Amateurs began racing in 1931, and by 1951 it became an entirely amateur event.

In the last race, in 1995, 2,860 cyclists started the race. All but 480 finished.

After building up strength and endurance, Bramwell said the biggest challenge is learning how to eat while you ride. Racers can burn up to 600 calories an hour.

“You have to eat the right things to keep up your energy,” Bramwell said. “It’s very easy to bonk. You can eat anything and still lose five pounds a day.”

There will be eight Orange County residents, including Bramwell, headed to France. No one is sponsored. Bramwell and his family will fly to London a week before the race for a vacation “to get over the jet lag and time difference,” then it’s on to Paris for the race.

“It will be a great challenge,” Bramwell said. “It’s truly a labor of love. It will be well worth it.”