I'd done Flanders twice over the last few years, and the Hell of the North had been nothing more than big talk between Gareth and myself. It became more serious as both of us would reach a certain age — considered a milestone by many, except by those directly involved. This year and we thought we should do this ride through the fields of northern France. We signed up, paid for it and started bragging to friends and colleagues. There was no way back!
We had to get up a little earlier than Gareth and Ed as we (me and Emily – our team captain, support crew, driver, supplier of gels, water, energy bars and the extremely much-appreciated Leffe Brune at the end) stayed a half hour down the road from Ed and Gareth, and had to pick them up before going to the start and sign in.
I felt very strong at the first stop, of course with my fair share of cursing pavés and dust, but at least thinking it was still great circumstances. Especially after our observation that all the dark and black sky was nowhere near where we were heading and the wind was blowing the other direction—oh how wrong we were!
I don't have much more to add to Gareth's and Ed's posts other than perhaps thinking it seemed as if Asian monsoon season decided to make a surprise appearance to this beautiful part of France. Though, it never felt cold...even with rain coming from above and below – spraying from the bikes in front of us. Luckily, as Ed mentioned, this lasted only for about 2 ½ hours.
Wallers-Arenberg! Here we go! The only thing I thought when entering it was. "How on earth do the pros go over this at 40kph?" I was one of the fools who insisted on doing the whole sector on the pavé, and not cheat out on the compacted mud, which was so invitingly on the right—where everybody came past being shouted at by me being cheats! I was very amused though to see Gareth skid off towards the ditch to the left as if he were drunk and lost all control.
The part where Gareth went off the beaten track was indeed probably the worst. Not only because its length and number of 'pavé' sections, but also because of the rapid succession with very few meters of asphalt in between. This becomes even more unpleasant when you don't study the parcours whatsoever and realize that just when having managed to dig up a gel from your back pouch and bite off the cap to enjoy its delightful content, 50 meters around the corner the next secteur welcomes you. So, quickly shove the !@#$% thing back into its place in my shirt and hoping this particular section was not going to be over two kilometers.
Bike-wise, where Ed rightly proudly rode his retro steel horse and brand new shoes and cleats – I rode my full plastic Kuota Kebel on never before used Fulcrum Racing 1 wheels and a pair of equally new tires – 23mm, which I got for free. Why spend money on 25's if you're Dutch. Whether it was because of this or just fate, I managed to puncture twice in the last few sectors. I did feel mostly good until the end, apart from the last two pavé sections where I felt nothing but misery, wanted to be out of this hell and of course hoped I didn't puncture again. Once on the asphalt again, I was able to do resume my 30-35kph speed to catch up with Gareth a few kilometers before the velodrome, where Ed was waiting for us so we could all ride a victory lap together.
Concluding remarks:
Paris-Roubaix, also known as "Hell of the North" is arguably one of
the toughest single day road races in the world. Every other year, the
Paris-Roubaix Sportive is held so mere mortals can challenge themselves
on the most brutal cobblestones known to man. French Highway to Hell
is a three-part chronicle (in their own words) of three friends who set
out on an adventure to conquer this event. French
Highway to Hell (Part 1)
can be read here. And Part 2 can be read here.
Michiel ended up in beautiful Brussels some six years ago, descending from the ultra flat and equally ultra bike friendly Netherlands. It was a bit of a change with less accommodating roads and traffic than he was used to, but a very nice change in scenery and hills! He came into Belgium with a classic steel bike, but now has moved on to carbon.... Unlike Gareth and Ed, Michiel tends to buy my bikes and peripherals new. Michiel also plans tackle some of the hillier parts in Europe – Ventoux is checked, many more to conquer!
