riding the roubaix cobbles

Smirf

quick question....

I am looking at organising our work charity ride for 2017, and one of the options is London to Luxembourg (Office to office)

one of the twists that I want to throw in to make it more of a challenge is to pick up about half the pave sector of Paris Roubiax incl Arenberg. However, this route will take us the opposite way to PR route.

question: are you allowed to ride the sectors the opposite way to the race? going to be late sept 2017 so not at a key spring classic time

thx!

DeVlaeminck

Arenberg is basically a path you can ride it either way you want - what you can't do is drive down it as there are barriers. No idea about the others but I can't imagine any are one way though I suppose some may not be public rights of way.

DeVlaeminck

Oh and the chance of a novice riding sectors like Arenberg at anything above slow jogging pace is zero unless you are all on mountain bikes.

Monty Dog

Arenberg has been ridden a few times in reverse-direction in Paris-Roubaix. Normal direction involves a slight incline and then a long drag - coming the other way meant it was very fast and resulted in some serious crashes including the one that nearly finished Johan Museeuw's career. There are barriers either end, plus a wide packed-earth path that get's ploughed-up for the race to stop the riders going that way - when they first put the crowd-barriers in, some riders were going down the dirt path to avoid the cobbles! 360-odd days of the year, it's simply a barriered-off abandoned track, or a minor farm tracks like many other secteurs. Also worth taking-in some of the WW1 sites / memorials that frequent the countryside.

ugo.santalucia

You can ride them the way you like... they are farm tracks for the most. Don't expect large crowds of riders if you go outside the race weekend, most likely there won't be anybody

bigmat

Arenberg is pretty full on, particularly if its wet. Not sure your colleagues would thank you for the experience, although they could always just use the gravel track at the side I guess.

dov2711

I done something similar this summer- I had cycled from the East Coast of Scotland to France for a charity and since I was 70 miles from Roubaix I headed for the cobbles.

I had some anxiety about sectors being closed/inaccessible which wasn't the case, people just seemed to accept that folk will turn up and ride the sectors on a day to day basis. I used the gpx files from the Roubaix challenge to hit the areas I wanted and it was a great experience.

Strangely there were sections with low ratings that shook me more than others of higher severity. Possibly as I aimed for the worst edges since riding in the gutter seemed pointless.

Are the cobbles bad? Well I arrived back at my van missing a crown which had been shaken from my skull!!

mac111051

We watched the sportive this year on the Arenberge and it was broken bikes broken bones and ambulances and that was in the dry, the cobbles at Flanders would be safer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sACU-0qbAY&t=308s

Smirf

thanks all. Sounds like it should be good - well. good in the painful way (having ridden PR I at least know what to expect!!)

Smirf

BigMat wrote:

Arenberg is pretty full on, particularly if its wet. Not sure your colleagues would thank you for the experience, although they could always just use the gravel track at the side I guess.

we are going to do a diversion for those that don't want to traverse the cobbles. but it's a nice way to drum up the sponsorship through the promise of pain!

ugo.santalucia

Smirf wrote:

BigMat wrote:

Arenberg is pretty full on, particularly if its wet. Not sure your colleagues would thank you for the experience, although they could always just use the gravel track at the side I guess.

we are going to do a diversion for those that don't want to traverse the cobbles. but it's a nice way to drum up the sponsorship through the promise of pain!

One sector is not too painful... I generally glide through the first few and suffer like hell by the time I get to Mons En Pevele... I suggest you take in a few more...