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Paris Roubaix Epic!
Hi all,
Stevie and I rode the bi-annual Paris Roubaix Sportve on Sunday and what an epic it was this year. We opted for the middle 180k distance which we knew would be a challenge but doable. We went with a party of mainly South Londoners and stayed overnight at Compiegne. We had to leave the hotel at 3:30am to get the full distance riders to the start for 4am. Back on the coach for a snooze and onwards to our start.
We set off with Kevin, a friend from Maldon and John Mullineaux of londoncyclesport.com complete with electronic gears on test (I insisted on checking for mechanical doping!). It was a beautiful warm morning for our 7am start with not even knee warmers required. All went well for the first 35 miles including the first 3 or 4 pave sections. We passed the usual array of broken bikes (Corley Cycles rider with broken rear mech), bottle cages and saddle bags that had rattled loose and flown off. Then the heavens opened and we were drenched. Now cobbles are tough at the best of times but wet muddy cobbles really are the hell of the north. We sheltered and shivered for half an hour at Wallers Arenberg at about half way but decided to press on even though the weather was still showery. I was one of the few to brave the Forest of Arenberg section as there is a tarmac path 'cheat' section alongside it which the pros are kept away from. However I was down to bouncing along at 7mph and John got bored and carried on.
Kevin punctured. Not so bad, just as we stopped so did the rain. We set off again but the pave was still slippery and now muddier from more riders passing over them. My biceps began to ache. Being a cyclist I don't often use them! Then the comedy (luckily) moment of the ride. Kevin slipped down from the crucial top of the camber, lost control, almost regained it and was then gone, upside down into the deep ditch. Cold, stagnant ditch water!
On we went trying to make the most of the faster trains that had formed earlier but then losing them again every time we hit cobbles and the trains fragmented. Old friends from Kent, GS Invicta, Medway Velo and Maria David (organiser of the London Women's Road series). After the last food stop we counted the sectors down, only 6 to go now. Showers again, more mud. Then the fearsome Carrefore De L'arbre. Keep off the cobbles, too much ache, head for the muddy side path and then we were through. Just Hem to go. Bikes plastered, legs filthy, arms blasted, one last push down to the track. Onto the banking, the final sprint. Then the photos, the beer, the souvenir cobblestone and water bottle and a compact mirror for the ladies - to check the mud splatters?
What an Epic! The numbers - 107 miles, 25 miles of cobblestones, no punctures (for Stevie and I), 4 hours sleep the night before, 1 crash. But they don't really tell the tales of herroism and effort, of mud and rain and rattle and roll. We saw very few women taking part so Stevie's efforts were really fantastic on her old faithful steel steed. As an aside, would you really use your Pinarello Prince or Dogma to ride over 25 miles of cobbles in the mud and rain? I saw a few!
How about the Tour of Flanders next year? It's got to be a doddle after this!
Mark.
Stevie and I rode the bi-annual Paris Roubaix Sportve on Sunday and what an epic it was this year. We opted for the middle 180k distance which we knew would be a challenge but doable. We went with a party of mainly South Londoners and stayed overnight at Compiegne. We had to leave the hotel at 3:30am to get the full distance riders to the start for 4am. Back on the coach for a snooze and onwards to our start.
We set off with Kevin, a friend from Maldon and John Mullineaux of londoncyclesport.com complete with electronic gears on test (I insisted on checking for mechanical doping!). It was a beautiful warm morning for our 7am start with not even knee warmers required. All went well for the first 35 miles including the first 3 or 4 pave sections. We passed the usual array of broken bikes (Corley Cycles rider with broken rear mech), bottle cages and saddle bags that had rattled loose and flown off. Then the heavens opened and we were drenched. Now cobbles are tough at the best of times but wet muddy cobbles really are the hell of the north. We sheltered and shivered for half an hour at Wallers Arenberg at about half way but decided to press on even though the weather was still showery. I was one of the few to brave the Forest of Arenberg section as there is a tarmac path 'cheat' section alongside it which the pros are kept away from. However I was down to bouncing along at 7mph and John got bored and carried on.
Kevin punctured. Not so bad, just as we stopped so did the rain. We set off again but the pave was still slippery and now muddier from more riders passing over them. My biceps began to ache. Being a cyclist I don't often use them! Then the comedy (luckily) moment of the ride. Kevin slipped down from the crucial top of the camber, lost control, almost regained it and was then gone, upside down into the deep ditch. Cold, stagnant ditch water!
On we went trying to make the most of the faster trains that had formed earlier but then losing them again every time we hit cobbles and the trains fragmented. Old friends from Kent, GS Invicta, Medway Velo and Maria David (organiser of the London Women's Road series). After the last food stop we counted the sectors down, only 6 to go now. Showers again, more mud. Then the fearsome Carrefore De L'arbre. Keep off the cobbles, too much ache, head for the muddy side path and then we were through. Just Hem to go. Bikes plastered, legs filthy, arms blasted, one last push down to the track. Onto the banking, the final sprint. Then the photos, the beer, the souvenir cobblestone and water bottle and a compact mirror for the ladies - to check the mud splatters?
What an Epic! The numbers - 107 miles, 25 miles of cobblestones, no punctures (for Stevie and I), 4 hours sleep the night before, 1 crash. But they don't really tell the tales of herroism and effort, of mud and rain and rattle and roll. We saw very few women taking part so Stevie's efforts were really fantastic on her old faithful steel steed. As an aside, would you really use your Pinarello Prince or Dogma to ride over 25 miles of cobbles in the mud and rain? I saw a few!
How about the Tour of Flanders next year? It's got to be a doddle after this!
Mark.
Comments
I put this in the wrong section by accident. Can you move it to Sportives?
Thanks,
Mark.