al yuille

Flanders Tour Day 10
  Paris Roubaix Challenge 145km   On the morning of the ride at my 3.15am alarm call, I made the quickest & easiest decision during this whole trip - A. Do I get up now & ride to Roubaix to catch the 5am 1 & a half hour coach transfer to the start village? or B. Do I stay in bed for 4 more hours and do the shorter version?   With in 3 seconds of the alarm sounding, I was on the phone texting Paul & co to leave without me :-) Chapeau to them for sticking to the original plan! (I somehow forgotten about this ridiculously early start part of the trip :-/ I remember it was early but not that early???) I on the other hand opted for extra 4 hours :-) in my warm bed & start the day more leisurely as the shorter route starts & finish in Roubaix, I even had the time to get lost getting there & in the process hooked up with David from Spain who was lost too, we cycled / stumbled / chatted (in limited English) our way into the Velodrome for a more “friendly” start to the ride. But as soon as the horn went, a lot of them just went full gas down the road, I joined in for a wee bit but thought better of it & just eased back, as there was a strong head wind on the flats 50km ride before we hit the first secteur of Pave, but it was the 5 star full booner - Arenberg though! So, you’re basically thrown straight in at the deep end really. The previous times I did it, you won’t hit the trench until after 10 secteurs. So, for the folks who’s doing it the first time, they must be thinking “holy sh*t”! When we got there, we were surprise (then relieved) to see that they have closed the Pave part off & instead you were diverted onto the foot path. I looked over & the big stones were covered with black slippery wet soil. Maybe the organiser deemed unsafe to ride & made the decision that they did. A couple of Americans behind me said .....”what’s going on, I paid good money to ride this expletive deleted bit of road ..... I want a refund ....” :-) Eventually they let us back on the Pave about half way in, but it was extremely difficult & scary riding on those slippery & bumpy surface, I did not enjoy it at all   Riding the shorter route meant, I was on my own, without the rest of the full router’s company. However, over the course of this trip, I’ve gotten use to riding solo & we tend not to say much in these Sportive situation anyway, so it wasn’t too bad.  Unlike Flanders last Saturday I didn’t have the joy/entertainment of seeing young Ruairi’s heroics smashing the cobble climbs, so to preoccupy myself, I started to look at other riders numbers pinned to their backs. Like Flanders, your number also had your name on it plus your nationality too. I had brief chit-chat with guys & gals from USA, England & even a lassie from the South side of Glasgow etc :-) It was a good way to pass time on the road sections indeed!   Eventually I bumped into Paul McD at I think the second last feed stops, it took him a wee while to register it was me when I stood in front of him & he looked concerned! I said everything ok? To which he reply “not really”, Paul unfortunately had a puncture earlier & afterwards his tool bottle lid came loose & all his tools/tubes where scattered around Northern France. He was worried as he only had one tyre lever & one tube left. Luckily I had 3 levers & gave him one, so off he went as I wasn’t going to try hold his wheel since he was doing his usual DA attempt pace no doubt :-) Later I found out David & Paul Leavy had punctured too, with Paul Leavy being the more “eventful” one with his tubeless set-up & recently acquired €10 pump from “Hell” made his repair a bit more “stressful” :-) I think Paul can fill you in with that :-) I’m that respect, I was lucky indeed with no real mechanical at all!   Despite being 30km shorter, there’s still 19 secteur (compare to 29) of Pave to ride through, they came thick & fast. Before you know it, the last 5 star “Carrefour de L’Arbre” was in front of you, the positive on the day was that the temperature gradually got warmer & by then it was 21 degrees & sunny. So that kind of made up for the rattling pain to your hands, arms, feet, bum etc ....... basically everything hurts! There seems to be a lot of punctures this year & always sad to see - a few serious casualties with paramedics attending   On the side of the road, I hope everyone was fine in the end!   The final stretch before the Velodrome finish is always a bit of a mess in this event, you have hundreds of cyclist jostling for space with cars & bikes weaving through traffic into spaces. But to be fair to the local French motorists, they were very patient & understanding. I didn’t see or hear any complaints or aggressive horn, Chapeau to them too!   Later we all found each other & meet up at the Velodrome where we swop stories, a few beers, fries & lying on the grass soaking up the late afternoon sun after having survived the “Hell of the North”!   I personally think this will be my last time on Pave!   I had such a wonderful great week in Flanders & to top it off with a great enjoyable ride with my fellow Wheelers in Roubaix, what better way to end my journey for the last 10 days!   Chapeau David, Paul & Paul!   Thanks again for a great few days spent with youse, its been a real pleasure!   Cheers   Chung  

Chung doing his best to drop Ruairi Mulhooligan on the kapelmuur. Looking forward v pro. 

So bike is back.


Damage to the seat stay is superficial (first scratch is always the worst init).

Shop have replaced the chain and rear mech (with the new ultegra version no less) and put the originally spec'd crankset (FSA SLK Carbon) back on and its running sweet as a nut.

Still have blisters on the soles of my feet from walking down the Glen Fruinn!

Still laughing out loud at the above quotes Paul, Quality!
 
First tour away and absolutely loved it, even the windy wet bits which there were loads of!
 
Highlights for me were ascending the Bealach na ba, crazy winds though which made it very difficult! 3mph and fighting with everything to make the top, descending the other side was probably the dodgiest thing i've done on a bike, the crazy Irishman with deep sections as well, outrageous! 
 
Day 3 from Ullapool to Tongue in the sun is up there with my all-time best rides, Darryl took us off course on a road heading for the Summer Isles but turning right to Lochinver which was outstanding, single track roads stunning scenery and lots of climbing, would highly recommend. 
 
Lowlight for me was only the A9 but thats the NC500 ticked off so I won't be riding that section again. The weather is what it is and adds to the challenge, and a challenge it was!
 
Lastly, the banter was top notch as Paul mentioned so cheers to the guys for that and Darryl for the whole idea.
 
Where next.....

Cheers for the wheels today guys. Saw you at the Pollackshaws roundabout Chung as I passed in the car - looking a bit over it !
 
Nae luck Stevie - hopefully no frame damage and a satisfactory resolution.

Cheers for the wheels today guys. Saw you at the Pollackshaws roundabout Chung as I passed in the car - looking a bit over it !
 
Nae luck Stevie - hopefully no frame damage and a satisfactory resolution.

My. belated thanks Jane

Indian summer Iain? - book flights for Goa 😂

Indian summer Iain? - book flights for Goa 😂

Thanks for tow to bridge today guys !

Largs via Mornington Cresent

Watch out George - was in BB last month 😛

Yesterday was wet. Today was wet. Tmw looks fine.
 
Seriously, Largs ? Stay in on Zwift 😆
 
If you are out in bad weather you are badass. Period.

Billy likes accelerating. Its the top speed he needs to work on And he doesn't half exaggerate. Said to him a million times.
 
Anyhow I guess we all surge to get off the front as soon as possible and out of the wind but when you get in a squad that stays smooth it's such a joy. Like poetry in motion. Totally worth the extra effort of passing the lead rider slowly and smoothly... 

Beautiful day here in Tighnabruaich - no rain 20C!

Beautiful day here in Tighnabruaich - no rain 20C!

Beautiful day here in Tighnabruaich - no rain 20C!

Beautiful day here in Tighnabruaich - no rain 20C!

Forecast still 16 and rain for Lochgilphead, 19 no rain for Stirling and 21 sunny for Edinburgh. Chung, Greg , you happy to head east ? Still planning a big day 100 plus ?

Forecast still 16 and rain for Lochgilphead, 19 no rain for Stirling and 21 sunny for Edinburgh. Chung, Greg , you happy to head east ? Still planning a big day 100 plus ?

Where we're heading is the only place where it's going to be raining on Sun ! What about a ride over to Edinburgh ?

Round Knapdale ? 100 odd miles from ferry so about 150 from club rooms ! ..... And 4 ferry journeys George !
 
It's nearly midsummer so a nice long day. Probably not for everyone ,or indeed anyone. ..... Chung ?
 
http://www.mapmyride.com/gb/dunoon-sct/kilberry-loop-route-21540598

Round Knapdale ? 100 odd miles from ferry so about 150 from club rooms ! ..... And 4 ferry journeys George !
 
It's nearly midsummer so a nice long day. Probably not for everyone ,or indeed anyone. ..... Chung ?
 
http://www.mapmyride.com/gb/dunoon-sct/kilberry-loop-route-21540598

Cheers Campbell.
 
Timings at top of thread.

Chung and I will be riding this ( all but the worst weather permitting!). Plan to ride from club rooms and ride back from Ardrossan. Anyone else ? Greg , you still on for this ?