Paris Roubaix Randonée 2006

Paris-Roubaix randonée - Sunday 11th June 2006

Report from John McDowall

Cycling as a sport has the good fortune to contain many events of truly awe inspiring, jaw dropping magnificence. It was about eight years ago as someone with very little interest in cycling that I stumbled across Eurosports coverage of a particularly mud splattered Paris-Roubaix, I thought it was mad, completely bonkers, and knew at that moment that I would take up bike riding. So when Bob Wade floated the opportunity to ride the bi-annual randonée version of the real thing, run over 175Km with the full 53K of cobbles, I immediately put my name down. Bob had done wonders arranging the logistical side of things including the provision of a support van driven by his wife Gillian. The trip was organized with some riders from Bob’s connections with Trek and four NR members (myself, Bob, Richard Somerset and Nick Harris)

With a 5-30AM start on Sunday 11th of June we filled the van and headed to the first check point to start the ride. With temperatures soaring over the weekend to 30 degrees no winter style clothing was required as we rode suitable beefed up winter steeds through deserted French villages. The ride held no terrors in terms of climbing but it was the first section of cobbles that we all braced ourselves for. This came after about 30K and was approached in the prescribed professional manner- in the big chain ring flat out. I immediately hit a couple of problems, my front brake shook apart and every time I hit a severe bump (very often) I was unintentionally unclipping. The brake was hors de combat for the rest of the ride and tightening up pedal tensions mostly solved the unclipping problem. Bob had unfortunately suffered a more dramatic mechanical, breaking the back axle on the fixed gear bike he was riding. We surged ahead unaware of such traumatic events while Bob approached a local to borrow some tools to enable him to continue his ride.

Ridding such large sections of cobbles could be approached in many ways, sometimes the brow was smoother, other times dust and mud had smoothed out strips and that was the more comfortable line, other times a tyre width strip of earth was available between the cobbles and the dreaded shrubbery edged drainage ditch. The initial cobbled sections did not seem too bad but there was a cumulative wearing affect on your arms and hands so it became that bit harder to maintain the required speed. I therefore found myself anxiously scanning ahead to look for the smoothest line. The cobbles and arrangement that make up the Arenburg forest section has to be seen to be believed. I lasted about 20 meters before moving over to the side onto a still very rough grass section, it only then while suffering some sort of Eurosport inspired flashback that it dawned on me that I was riding where the spectators normally stand. Any doubts about the ‘God like’ status of professional bike riders evaporates when you see what they ride over in Arenburg forest.

The event was terrifically well organized with excellent signposting and marshalling and with genuine heart warming support from the locals of all ages who cheered us on from the road side. At about every 40K there were well stocked feed stations where the biggest concern was getting enough fluid on board in the soaring temperatures. We mostly rode as a group re-collecting at the feed stations but the talk among the NR members was of the final sprint at the velodrome and where would the crucial attack be launched. With the final section of the ride approaching, including a daunting 5K of cobbles in 6K of riding, Richard started to suffer from severe pains in his arms and was dropped on a cobbled section. Nick who had rode very strongly over the cobbles then powered ahead while I gained a respite for a big effort over the last smooth section. About 10K from the finish I went past Nick who was at the side of the road having had the misfortune to suffer a puncture on the final run in. A hectic run in to the finish, including a ceremonial section of cobbles and then the big moment, a lap of the famous velodrome cheered on by crowds of well wishers. The three of us arrived within five minutes of each other with Bob heroically battling on after several misfortunes to finish. Paris-Roubaix is a truly epic and memorable event, well organized and supported that is a true test of any rider and their machine. A big thank you to Bob and Gillian Wade for undertaking the leg work in arranging the complicated logistics for this ride.