Today consisted of 11 cobble sections from the famous Paris-Roubaix race. One word: OUCH!!! We were given advice pre-stage: ride them as fast as possible, ride the side gutter with a higher risk of a flat from the stones, ride lower psiβagain, with a higher risk of a pinch flat, and relax. I decided to go for the less risk of a flat way, so bounced my way across the 20k of bricks in the road in agony. I had to remove my watch as it was digging into my wrist with every jarring metre!
There are smooth roads alongside which seems like a much smarter choice. This is the longest stage of the Tour. I pulled out and the start was on cobbles! This felt so punishing after yesterday.
Unfortunately, I had a mechanical consisting of a stuck dropped chain that required a pretty lengthy derailleur adjustment. Mechanic Andy saved the day and aside from having to stop one more time as my water bottle cage bolt sheered off, I was off at a full time-trial effort, knowing I was going to be the last rider in to feed stop 1, where everyone had to wait for me to roll out and get on with what was going to be a very long and hard day of riding.
The day WAS long! Fortunately, this aggression from drivers is rare and I am feeling very lucky. I pulled in after of hard riding and was very happy this stage was DONE! Allez, allez, allez, and goodnight! Today was a special stage as Ollie and camper Ben from Youth Adventure Trust rode with us and we were all inspired by the amazing work this project does to help kids gain confidence and resilience. It was also special today as we all contemplated what went on here during World War II and I felt thankful to be out riding my bike freely and enjoying the beautiful day.
Each day the first 30km or so of the stage takes us to the first feed stop. No one leaves that first stop until the last rider comes in. This keeps the group closer together and also gives everyone an opportunity to ride with all the different cyclists.
