Richie Cross

Sounds good Alan

Aargh...I'm off the guns now!! Best move house

What time at the Blair and do I need signs from the start beforehand? Oh..and where is the start

Good news and nice one Andy. Darryl...for info on coping with the zimmer, you can chat to an expert. www.auldbillymacdonald.co.uk

Ja

Good day indeed. First time I've done any pedalling since Flanders 6 weeks ago and also on my Ribble as my Giant is in the shop. Cafe stop in garelochhead with Graham, Paul and Boyd before up Glen Fruin. Took the cycle path route from Balloch all the way to Bowling which was a nice ride. The time off the bike started to tell but Paul was good enough to tow me along the Georgetown. Hopefully won't leave it another 6 weeks! Downside of today...couldn't find me nice new Garmin 520 at home. Remembered chucking it in the boot of the car. Also remembered trying to put the rear seat back up but it wouldn't go! Well...it did go after the 4th slam! Yep...Garmin crushed Cracked screen and the screen isn't viewable. Waiting to see if Garmin can repair it.

Paul...when will you be leaving Lochwinnoch? Don't fancy a 20 mile solo ride before I see anyone

Sounds good for me!! Definitely there this week but couldn't do the full route I imagine. Is anyone going to be at the clubrooms?

Can't do the 18th but can help out on the 25th

Sounds like a good run. I was up at 6 with the wee guy feeling tired so damp ground and a bit of a breeze was enough to make me go back to bed.

Oh Len!! Those heavy, slow Gatorskins on your good bike!!! You need to treat the good bike to some quality rubber!!

Haven't been out since Flanders so I'll see how this goes. Have to dust off the winter bike

yer deid to me

My Giant is currently away getting looked at...possibly x rayed....and I hope I just have a surface scratch!!

I was always a Conti GP4000S, then 4000S II user. Tried Conti Gatorskin for the winter but found the grip wasn't as good so kept the GP for winter as well. BUT.....I'm now a recent convert to Vittoria Open Pave. I'd read the tread didn't last but I'm satisfied that that's a fair trade off for how they feel grip wise. I'll be getting more when they need replaced...,,with my current mileage they'll be lasting ages!!

Jeez!! Sorry to hear that but glad you're ok!! Sounds like the usual SMIDSY ...sorry mate I didn't see you pish! Or they thought you're a slow moving bike so they could nip in front of you! Glad you're ok...I'd go and buy a lottery ticket!

I'm sitting having breakfast and looking at the weather so wish you guys well for today!

Aargh....working

Looking good My bike is still dirty and in bits in the garage!

Well done chaps. My idea of hell

Roubaix and this!

Well.....wow Did I love it all of the time, absolutely not! Great reports from the others that have covered most parts. I was really nervous going into this as I had hoped signing up for it would spur me on to lots of miles but it didn't really. As Alex said, we were later than planned getting to the 'hotel'...cheap and cheerful small rooms but good enough for sleeping...then we went for the longest dinner in the world waiting for hard to make pizza and pasta! Apparently the chef's wife left him midway through the evening hence the delay! Everyone else seemed to get served ok though! So plans of being in bed for 9.30/10pm were delayed by a couple of hours and the alarm going off at 4.15am the next day wasn't that welcome. Unlike Chung and the others, we had no breakfast to speak of at ours and had to make do with croissants and cold pizza We found the well organised bus so got a wee nap on the drive to Bruges. The pace at the start and jumping between groups didn't really suit me and I hit an awful low at around 50 odd miles. Didn't want to pedal and would've taken a lift if offered. Porto and Iain kept me going and then I jumped onto the group with Chung et al as they seemed to be sticking together and I knew Chung was a wheel sucker extraordinaire That was definitely a great plan and as Chung said, together on the flats, own pace on the bergs and regroup after. Once my food and copious amounts of gels hit my system I started to feel better and, dare I say it, pretty good in the end. The bergs and cobbles were doable once you knew what to expect. I had to get off on the Koppenberg like a lot of others which was a pity. The kms did tick off pretty quickly in the end once we got stuck into the interesting parts of the day. I might've missed some nice sights earlier but you didn't dare take your eyes off the wheel in front where you were on the narrow paths. Eventually we hit the Paterberg and my heart did sink a bit when I say it rise in front of me. Chung went off and I thought I'd catch him on the descent but we both managed to get into small groups. My group was then caught by a larger group so I jumped onto them and it was a pretty fast, manic run into the finish. It was a good feeling being on the same finishing straight as you see the pros and seeing the finish line in the distance. After getting our medals etc it was back to our hotel for a few beers......our intial plan was to head to Ghent but we were all a bit done in .....then bed. Race day gave us glorious sunshine and Oudenaarde is a nice wee town and we found a good wee pub. It was weird being in a pub with everyone clapping and cheering the riders at the end. Not what we're used to back home. The atmosphere in the pub and in the square was more like our footy crowds without the violence! And yes, I did indeed shake the hand of Erik Zabel....he did look a tad confused Chung....jealous of your Sean Kelly photo!!! An easy drive to the airport in the sun then home to rain...bed by 1am and up at 6am with the wee man this morning! Heading to night shift soon!! All in all, a pretty easy trip to organise, a superbly ran event. We had a great group over there. Lots of laughs and encouragement. The bergs were hard but doable at your own pace. The cobbled bergs were harder though. The other cobbled sections were ok once you got used to what to expect! I would do it again I think. Apart from Allan's mech issue, I don't think we had a flat between us?? I saw lots of bottles on the cobbles, flats, broken chains, one broken frame, saddle bags and even bits of a rear mech on the course! I'm pretty keen on Paris - Roubaix next year now. I've already mentioned to Mrs C and she's ok with it See you soon

Can't make it

Lovely day for it until about the 60 mile mark where my legs imploded and any rise in the road felt like a mountain. Unfortunately we still had the Crow Road to do! Time was marching on so had to bail at Clydebank and get a taxi to Alex's so I could get home on time!! Cheers for waiting and the wheels chaps

Lucky you guys! That's where I stayed. Lovely area. Have you or are you booking somewhere? I stayed with Velo Peloton http://velopeloton-cycling-pyrenees.bike Irish couple who look after you, home cooking and Paddy can act as a guide. Think you're only 15km from the bottom of the Tourmalet