Cycling

[Wombcat]

Saturday is the Paris-Roubaix Challenge. I'm gonna do something stupid and do the 153 km which has 32,6 km of cobbles. Not really my thing, but the last one of the (big) spring classics. In previous years I've already done the Tour of Flanders (4 times actually), the Amstel Gold Race and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

 

[gethinceri]

Wow!! Good effort Wombcat, let us know how much it hurts!
The Amstel "God" Race sounds intriguing, is that where the expression "Christ On A Bike" comes from?

 

[gethinceri]

Naughty! You edited.

 

[Wombcat]

gethinceri It will hurt terribly, I'm afraid. My experience at Flanders has already proven that the cobbles there were tough enough for me. And those in Paris-Roubaix are much much worse. The distance of 153 is no problem, but the cobbles will hurt a lot.
The Amstel God Race is a competition between students: who downs the most beer (Amstel) is referred to as God for the rest of the year. (But actually it was a typo).

 

[Mephistopheles]

Steady on lads.

 

[gethinceri]

https://www.strava.com/rides/47442339
My warm up before my big test tomorrow.

 

[tooncheese]

Nice weather at last, and im falling back on my goal, so hopefully 100 miles in the next three days before the rain turns up.

What's your big test gethinceri?

 

[Jen]

Putting the bottle down!

 

[gethinceri]

You cheeky bugger Jen!
Cycling
It's my first sportive tomorrow tooncheese, not a huge distance but my furthest so far, 50km. I'm hoping to enter 3-4 this year with the aim of hitting 100kms by Sept.
I'll post the Strava link of my pain tomorrow pm.

 

[Wombcat]

I survived Paris-Roubaix Did the 153 km in 5:40.

I was in a good group until the forest of Wallers-Arenberg (first cobblesection). The cobbles are terrible. Not meant for cycling.
The first 5 or so sections where OK. Then my hands started hurting. After 120 km I had some blisters on my hands. The last 4 cobblesections truly were the hell of the north. Especially section 5, 4 and 3 (they number them down towards the finish, and the tourist-challenge does't do the last section). This was mainly because that was 5 km of cobbles in 6 km, and they were very bad. After the last of those sections I was nearly crying, because my hands were totally cramped.

But I finished I had mentally prepared for the worst, and it wasn't worse than that (even a bit better, I'd say).
No technical difficulties and that with my regular racing bike. Only modification I made was an additional handlebar tape. And a bit less pressure in the tyres (6,5 instead of the regular 8).

 

[gethinceri]

You poor bugger, very well done Wombcat. An ace performance to just finish, your selection of the "1st" emoticon makes me very impressed.

 

[Wombcat]

Well, it wasn't a race, so everyone who finished, finished 1st

 

[gethinceri]

I dig that! Well done on your triumph Wombcat.

 

[gethinceri]

https://www.strava.com/rides/47623855
Yay! Piece of cake.

 

[Jen]

mmmm, cake!

 

[Wombcat]

The trophy was cake?

 

[tooncheese]

Injured my knee, a hard ride after a few days off the bike has hurt the muscle in the back of my left leg. Luckily its raining for the next few days, so I can nurse it back to health on the trainer.

 

[gethinceri]

I did actually have cake, Welsh Cake, yum.

 

[The Pits]

Just tried SIS energy bars today, bloody brilliant!

Also, for those who are interested, and do not have a copy, there is a good supplement about sprotives and training in the latest edition of cycling plus.

 

[gethinceri]

I bought a box of ZipVit gels, like Calpol but all sugar and the consistency of hawked-up snot. Does the job but makes me retch.