Baker, in a remarkable show of disrespect for his age – he’s approaching 60 – completed the 1200-kilometre ride well under his aim of 82 hours, crossing the line in 78 hours, 36.50 minutes.

He easily ensured he finished inside the 90-hour cut-off, joining an elite group of athletes who can say they have completed such a testing distance and course.

He proved his endurance in a number of qualifying events of increasing distance, known as the Super Randonneur Series.

Completing the Paris-Brest-Paris earned Baker an Audax award for finishing the series. 

“It was tough, obviously. On the first day we left from Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines just outside Paris and rode 450 kilometres straight before having a real rest, and then once we got to the town we were staying at I had problems with accommodation,” Baker explained.

“I got probably two-and-a-half hours of sleep, got up and rode another 350 or 360 kilometres and got to the next town.

“From there we rode to Brest and back, and I had about seven hours off the bike at that point. 

“After that I covered the 450 kilometres back to Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines and that was the end of it.

“Overall, I averaged just under 22 kilometres per hour.

“Naturally I was pretty tired. You have to really watch your diet while you’re riding. 

“At every station there is food provided, but by the time I finished the only thing I could keep down was mashed potato and gravy.”

An event of such magnitude is a massive strain on both the body and the mind, and Baker admitted that it could be hard to focus on simply continuing the journey.

The camaraderie of the field, however, made it easier, he said.

“There are periods where you are riding on your own and it gets hard, but I was privileged enough to join a couple of French groups and rode into Brest with one of those,” he said.

“The way they look after everyone in the group is fantastic.

“The atmosphere the whole way along is absolutely amazing, though, and you roll into a town and they have free coffee and food waiting for you. 

“You ride for 200 kilometres, pull into a town and they make you an omelette.”

The race’s toll can be high, and it isn’t just fatigue and a sheer lack of energy that forces people out of the race, though they play a part in some of the injuries.

“One Australian rider fell asleep at one point and broke his leg,” Baker said.

“There was a Spanish pack behind us and a guy there fell asleep as well. I am a trained nurse in my normal life, so I stopped and helped him for a while.

“Some riders get what is called Shermer’s Neck, where you literally cannot hold your head up anymore, so that’s another risk that you run. 

“It is pretty important to do a lot of exercises during the actual ride itself to make sure everything is working the way it should be.”

While he is still in recovery mode to some extent, the Bathurst rider says that another tilt at the event isn’t out of the question, and that attitude owes a lot to the simple courtesy given to the competitors.

“My overall view of it is that it was just the most amazing experience to be invited to ride with certain groups during the trip, and to be a part of such a big international event and enjoy myself in doing it was a great feeling,” he said.

“In one of the towns, we rode in and there were local school- children there to show us to our accommodation and explain where all the facilities were and that sort of thing. 

“They get right behind all the competitors and treat you with so much respect.”