Paris-Roubaix

So this past weekend I did the Paris-Roubaix cycle-tour ride. On Saturday I drove down to Roubaix to meet up with a group from Trek that had driven over from England – we had a pretty good group too! We dropped a bunch of cars at the end and all drove down to Paris together (ok not quite Paris – it starts in Compeigne). I had been hesitant to decide on which option I’d ride though – 260km is a pretty long ride, while 180km, although still long, was a much more reasonable distance.

But once I got there on Saturday I knew there was no way I could only do 180 – so I signed up for the full monty: 260km, of which 55km were on the (cycling)world-renowned cobblestones (aka pave; aka kinderkopjes). Including the 2.4km of the Arenberg Forest, (cycling)world-renowned for swallowing up whole pelotons full of strong able-bodies riders and spitting out blubbering shells of human beings…..cool.

Sunday started early for us – notice that I didn’t say ‘dawned’ early. That’s because we started the ride at 04:45….in the dark! This was by far the earliest I’d ever been on my bike (except for a 24 hour MTB race, which was a blast!). So off 3 of us started in the cool dark morning and quickly joined up with a few groups and soon we had about 60 riders trucking along. We weren’t going hard at all though – we all knew it was going to be a LOOONG day in the saddle.

The first 3 hours were really wonderful – just cruising along at a steady pace, watching the sun coming up over the horizon as we wound our way through the hills and forests just outside Paris. This was a REALLY nice place to ride, probably made even more so because of the complete lack of cars at that hour of the morning. It wasn’t until 82km into the ride that we hit the first checkpoint where we could stop and refuel, in addition to stamping our cards. This is where most of the rest of my group started their ride – just in time for the cobblestones!

It was at 97km into the day that we hit the first cobblestones. It really amazed me too – it was about 3.5 hours into the ride and I really felt like the ride had just started. The time had just flown by! So as we came into the first cobblestone section I couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear, and as I relaxed my upper body, dropped into a harder gear, and really let loose on the pedals I could hear myself laughing out loud – this was so much fun. Crazy? Perhaps. But I wasn’t alone – all the other riders had huge grins and some were also laughing out loud too. As bizarre as it was we were loving the cobblestones.

This continued for the next 3 or 4 sections of cobbles, but then the realization came upon me – I still have 23 more sections to do (along with a HEAP of km’s!) before the finish. So on we trundled.

With the guys I was riding with a pattern quickly formed. We would leave a rest-station together and ride until we hit the first pave section, then I would drop the hammer (did I mention the best way to ride pave is as fast as possible?? – seriously – it’s a well known fact, even as weird as it sounds) and speed along the cobbles as fast as I could. Upon reaching the other end I would latch onto another group of riders and ride with them to the next cobbles, at which time I’d drop the hammer again and speed away on the cobbles. Although I’ve never really done them before I seemed to have a knack for riding the pave – and I was absolutely loving it.

With the hot weather I also realized it would be really easy to overexert and/or overheat. It was about 31 degrees C, not a cloud in the sky, a brisk head-wind, and SUPER dusty (that gives another dimension to the cobbles…..but at least it wasn’t wet!). So at every rest stop I filled up on water and got some food, and made sure I was really taking care of myself throughout the day.

It wasn’t until the 160km mark that we hit the Arenberg Forest – wow, what a beast. I’ve never ridden anything that hard on a bike before, and after about 200m I actually pulled over to the side to reload and make sure I wanted to do this. After a few seconds I realized I did, so back into the center of the road and off I went…..bouncing all the way. It was amazing though – the biggest cobblestones I’ve ever seen, with huge gaps in between, and NOT A SINGLE PATTER TO THEM! There was nowhere to ride a smooth line or an easier line – it was just pure hell for 2.4km…..and I loved it. Still grinning when I emerged on the other side!

From there the rest was a piece of cake – except for the massive blisters I developed (this through my gloves!) and the searing pain in both my wrists. It was really strange – the entire ride I didn’t once have problems with my legs, butt, or back, but my wrist and hands felt like they were being torn off – really painful. Even as I type this (5 days later!) I still have lots of pain in my left hand, which I’ve had wrapped up all week in a tensor bandage to keep from moving it!

So at the end of the ride we rode into the famous velodrome in Roubaix where we did our little spin – what a feeling that was entering the velodrome. I can’t really explain it – just such a special feeling. In total, from start to finish was 11.5 hours, of which I estimate I was riding 9.5 of them. That’s an average speed of about 27kph – not that fast, but that’s not why I was there.

I can honestly say that was the funnest day I’ve ever had on a bike, and even when I crossed the finish line I thought about doing it again in 2 years (it’s only done every 2 years). Such an incredible feeling knowing that I’ve ridden the same tough course that the pro’s do every year. And even they have trouble with it – most don’t finish, and those that do say they’re still messed up 1 week later!

An absolutely stellar day on the bike, just what the doctor ordered. So fun.

I’ll never forget that hot and dusty day spend riding the French countryside – it’s a massive paving stone on the road I call my life (yeah yeah – really cheesy, eh?!).