Paris-Roubaix Challenge
On Christmas Eve 2012, our family received an unexpected offer for jobs in Waterloo, Belgium. It was not easy to sit among our friends and neighbors that evening, as we were bubbling over with excitement about the news that had come as preparations for the holiday evening were upon us. We were coming together in a closer way than ever with this wonderful group of diverse people. In our Atlantic-side apartment, we enjoyed a smorgasbord of delights, each offered up by one of the many guests: Olivia's humus and raw vegetable plate, Abdelhak's Flag Speciale beer, Najib's fish tajine, Gabriel and Monica's Chilean stew, Richard's armful of freshly baked round breads and baguettes, Lolo's glistening pork roast, and Annie's much touted mussels, accompanied by the best French wines in my collection and my wife's hundred-and-one small dishes to round out the feast, including a core-warming many-bean soup. The crowd of guests were from all corners of our quiet existence, and, as hosts, the link between such diverse individuals, we were the hub about which the evening's festivities revolved. We felt something near to guilt knowing our farewells would soon have to be made. We opted not to speak of it that evening.
Our decision to head up to Belgium was made fairly rapidly. Our international search for employment was focused on Asia, and the Belgium consideration occurred through an unexpected unfolding of events and connections. We had, thus, not given any thought to such a possibility. In the interviews and follow-up discussions, our sights were firmly set on the quality of the institution for which we would work and the life our children would have in their new setting. It dawned on me only gradually that we would be heading into the heart-land of classic cycling. To say that played no part in our eventual decision would not be truthful.
At the time, my cycling interests and attention were given over wholly to the Grand Tours. USPostal's epic domination in France and the rush from other quarters to pick up the pieces in Italy and Spain each season occupied my thoughts, reading, you-tube time, and hours in the saddle. In those years, I was motivated to get the training miles in by the ambition to ride Tour de France climbs each summer.
TopVelo, Cyclosport, and Cyclisme magazines were available in Morocco, so I was aware of the growing popularity of cyclosportif events, which I like to call citizens' races. These are mass participation events in which cycling enthusiasts of all levels can ride over the course in full or in part of the best-known races on the calendar. Still more of these are organized in virtually all regions of France and Belgium, following the best cycling routes known to local riders. The cyclosportifs are held throughout the year but become more numerous in the spring and summer, looking much like the professional racing calendar.
Spring 2013
Tour of Flanders
Paris Roubaix
Spring 2014
Tour of Flanders
Liege Bastogne Liege
Spring 2015
Out of action due to a persistent cough
Spring 2016
West Flanders Tour
Tour of Flanders
Paris Roubaix
Spring 2017
Ghent Wevelgem
Paris Roubaix
Mur de Grammont
Material
Material selection for the cobblestones is particularly important. Given the heavy vibration and sometimes violent shocks of the highly irregular pave stones, their shifting orientation over years of use by heavy farm equipment in all seasons, and especially the gaps opened between them, choosing the right wheels is the first question. Tubulars are unquestionably the best option for comfort, performance, and puncture resistance, though punctures become immediately problematic. It would be folly to replace a punctured tire without sufficient glue and time for it to dry. This necessitates an entire wheel change, so mobile support becomes indispensable. That, of course, means more equipment and more cost.
For hubs, the choice is clear. Campagnolo Record with 36 spokes. The higher spoke count gives a stronger wheel and allows slightly lower spoke tension, for a more forgiving, shock-dampening wheel. Low-flange hubs allow for longer spokes, which absorb more of the road vibrations; but high-flange hubs and their shorter spokes provide insurance against snapped spokes, for which is no roadside remedy but an entirely new wheel. As the wheels are the first point of contact with the irregular surface, it seems logical to absorb as much of the vibration as possible right off the bat.
Much time and thought went into tire selection. In my youth, the wisdom of the day reasoned that the narrower the tire cross-section and the higher the pressure, the lower the roller resistance. Time, experience, and research have revealed this not to be the case at all. Apparently a wider section and lower pressures allows for greater tire deformation, that does produce some internal friction, but this is balanced against a smoother line of travel that is, indeed, shorter than the minutely undulating wave of the smaller, harder tire. Greater adherence is an additional balance, offering enhanced security in all conditions, and this becomes more significant the more extreme the conditions become. So the 21 and 23 millimeter tires of the early decades gave way to the 25 millimeter of this millennium. It has always been common practice for professionals to use tubulars of 27 millimeter cross-section. The question was, thus, would 27 millimeter suffice or should the 2-4 mm increase of regular road tires apply to the pave as well? With many brands offering tires for diverse purposes, it was possible to obtain quality tubular tires with cross-section in 27, 28, 30, and 32 millimeter. I decided to start with 27 millimeter, which seemed certain to clear the brake bridges of the frame and the interior of the caliper. These could be tested on the Belgian cobblestone roads for adherence, comfort, rolling resistance, puncture resistance, and stability.
On Christmas Eve 2012, our family received an unexpected offer for jobs in Waterloo, Belgium. It was not easy to sit among our friends and neighbors that evening, as we were bubbling over with excitement about the news that had come as preparations for the holiday evening were upon us. We were coming together in a closer way than ever with this wonderful group of diverse people. In our Atlantic-side apartment, we enjoyed a smorgasbord of delights, each offered up by one of the many guests: Olivia's humus and raw vegetable plate, Abdelhak's Flag Speciale beer, Najib's fish tajine, Gabriel and Monica's Chilean stew, Richard's armful of freshly baked round breads and baguettes, Lolo's glistening pork roast, and Annie's much touted mussels, accompanied by the best French wines in my collection and my wife's hundred-and-one small dishes to round out the feast, including a core-warming many-bean soup. The crowd of guests were from all corners of our quiet existence, and, as hosts, the link between such diverse individuals, we were the hub about which the evening's festivities revolved. We felt something near to guilt knowing our farewells would soon have to be made. We opted not to speak of it that evening.
Our decision to head up to Belgium was made fairly rapidly. Our international search for employment was focused on Asia, and the Belgium consideration occurred through an unexpected unfolding of events and connections. We had, thus, not given any thought to such a possibility. In the interviews and follow-up discussions, our sights were firmly set on the quality of the institution for which we would work and the life our children would have in their new setting. It dawned on me only gradually that we would be heading into the heart-land of classic cycling. To say that played no part in our eventual decision would not be truthful.
At the time, my cycling interests and attention were given over wholly to the Grand Tours. USPostal's epic domination in France and the rush from other quarters to pick up the pieces in Italy and Spain each season occupied my thoughts, reading, you-tube time, and hours in the saddle. In those years, I was motivated to get the training miles in by the ambition to ride Tour de France climbs each summer.
TopVelo, Cyclosport, and Cyclisme magazines were available in Morocco, so I was aware of the growing popularity of cyclosportif events, which I like to call citizens' races. These are mass participation events in which cycling enthusiasts of all levels can ride over the course in full or in part of the best-known races on the calendar. Still more of these are organized in virtually all regions of France and Belgium, following the best cycling routes known to local riders. The cyclosportifs are held throughout the year but become more numerous in the spring and summer, looking much like the professional racing calendar.
Spring 2013
Tour of Flanders
Paris Roubaix
Spring 2014
Tour of Flanders
Liege Bastogne Liege
Spring 2015
Out of action due to a persistent cough
West Flanders Tour
Tour of Flanders
Paris Roubaix
Spring 2017
Ghent Wevelgem
Paris Roubaix
Mur de Grammont
 |
| Pave sectors for the 70 km route of the 2017 Paris-Roubaix Challenge (top tube sticker) |
Material
Material selection for the cobblestones is particularly important. Given the heavy vibration and sometimes violent shocks of the highly irregular pave stones, their shifting orientation over years of use by heavy farm equipment in all seasons, and especially the gaps opened between them, choosing the right wheels is the first question. Tubulars are unquestionably the best option for comfort, performance, and puncture resistance, though punctures become immediately problematic. It would be folly to replace a punctured tire without sufficient glue and time for it to dry. This necessitates an entire wheel change, so mobile support becomes indispensable. That, of course, means more equipment and more cost.
For hubs, the choice is clear. Campagnolo Record with 36 spokes. The higher spoke count gives a stronger wheel and allows slightly lower spoke tension, for a more forgiving, shock-dampening wheel. Low-flange hubs allow for longer spokes, which absorb more of the road vibrations; but high-flange hubs and their shorter spokes provide insurance against snapped spokes, for which is no roadside remedy but an entirely new wheel. As the wheels are the first point of contact with the irregular surface, it seems logical to absorb as much of the vibration as possible right off the bat.
Much time and thought went into tire selection. In my youth, the wisdom of the day reasoned that the narrower the tire cross-section and the higher the pressure, the lower the roller resistance. Time, experience, and research have revealed this not to be the case at all. Apparently a wider section and lower pressures allows for greater tire deformation, that does produce some internal friction, but this is balanced against a smoother line of travel that is, indeed, shorter than the minutely undulating wave of the smaller, harder tire. Greater adherence is an additional balance, offering enhanced security in all conditions, and this becomes more significant the more extreme the conditions become. So the 21 and 23 millimeter tires of the early decades gave way to the 25 millimeter of this millennium. It has always been common practice for professionals to use tubulars of 27 millimeter cross-section. The question was, thus, would 27 millimeter suffice or should the 2-4 mm increase of regular road tires apply to the pave as well? With many brands offering tires for diverse purposes, it was possible to obtain quality tubular tires with cross-section in 27, 28, 30, and 32 millimeter. I decided to start with 27 millimeter, which seemed certain to clear the brake bridges of the frame and the interior of the caliper. These could be tested on the Belgian cobblestone roads for adherence, comfort, rolling resistance, puncture resistance, and stability.
Roads
I love roads:
The goddesses that dwell
Far along invisible
Are my favorite gods.
Roads go on
While we forget, and are
Forgotten like a star
That shoots and is gone.
On this earth 'tis sure
We men have not made
Anything that doth fade
So soon, so long endure:
The hill road wet with rain
In the sun would not gleam
Like a winding stream
If we trod it not again.
They are lonely
While we sleep, lonelier
For lack of the traveller
Who is now a dream only.
From dawn's twilight
And all the clouds like sheep
On the mountains of sleep
They wind into the night.
The next turn may reveal
Heaven: upon the crest
The close pine clump, at rest
Ancl black, may Hell conceal.
Often footsore, never
Yet of the road I weary,
Though long and steep and dreary,
As it winds on for ever.
Helen of the roads,
The mountain ways of Wales
And the Mabinogion tales,
Is one of the true gods,
Abiding in the trees,
The threes and fours so wise,
The larger companies,
That by the roadside be,
And beneath the rafter
Else uninhabited
Excepting by the dead;
And it is her laughter
At morn and night I hear
When the thrush cock sings
Bright irrelevant things,
And when the chanticleer
Calls back to their own night
Troops that make loneliness
With their light footsteps’ press,
As Helen’s own are light.
Now all roads lead to France
And heavy is the tread
Of the living; but the dead
Returning lightly dance:
Whatever the road bring
To me or take from me,
They keep me company
With their pattering,
Crowding the solitude
Of the loops over the downs,
Hushing the roar of towns
and their brief multitude.
Source: PoetryFoundation.org
The Cobbled Sections
For the big ride, I will split the cobbled sectors over two days, using the traditional countdown numbering
29 Troisvilles to Inchy
the is
sslkfj
28 Briastre to Viesly
27 Viesly to Quievry
26 Quievry to Saint Pithon (3.7 km)
25 x ( km)
24 x ( km)
23 x ( km)
22 x ( km)
21 x ( km)
20 x ( km)
19 x ( km)
18 x ( km)
17 x ( km)
16 x ( km)
15 x ( km)
14 x ( km)
13 x ( km)
12 x ( km)
11 x ( km)
10 x ( km)
9 x ( km)
8 x ( km)
7 x ( km)
6 x ( km)
5 x ( km)
4 x ( km)
3 x ( km)
2 x ( km)
1 x ( km)
The Cobbled Sections
For the big ride, I will split the cobbled sectors over two days, using the traditional countdown numbering
29 Troisvilles to Inchy
the is
sslkfj
28 Briastre to Viesly
27 Viesly to Quievry
26 Quievry to Saint Pithon (3.7 km)
25 x ( km)
24 x ( km)
23 x ( km)
22 x ( km)
21 x ( km)
20 x ( km)
19 x ( km)
18 x ( km)
17 x ( km)
16 x ( km)
15 x ( km)
14 x ( km)
13 x ( km)
12 x ( km)
11 x ( km)
10 x ( km)
9 x ( km)
8 x ( km)
7 x ( km)
6 x ( km)
5 x ( km)
4 x ( km)
3 x ( km)
2 x ( km)
1 x ( km)
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