Tuesday, Day 4, Ypres to Artres, France
We left our hotel around 8:30 am. The forecast called for rain, cool temperatures and high winds. We had all three! The rain was never very heavy but the winds made up for the limited rainfall. Winds reached 30 mph with gusts up to 50 mph............there were cross winds, headwinds blowing directly in our faces reducing our speed by half and even in a few spots tailwinds helped push us along.
Northern France is beautiful. We've been riding from one quaint town to the next, each town exuding history. Beautiful churches and wonderful town squares filled with coffee shops and bakeries.
The highlight of today (for some of us) was to ride the COBBLES that are ridden each year in the HELL OF THE NORTH race called the Paris-Roubaix. Riding on the cobble stones is simple teeth shattering, jarring your whole body. In the Paris -Roubaix there are 47 sections of cobble stones, some that are very short and some that are over a mile in length. Michelle and I rode maybe 100 feet and couldn't take any more yet the pros fly over the cobbles at an incredible rate of speed and somehow manage to stay on their bikes.
We also got to visit the Veledrome in Roubaix (where the Paris - Roubaix race ends). A veledrome is like the Daytona speedway for cyclists. The corners are banked, with the top of the banking probably 20 feet above the lower part of the track. Since it was wet and this veledrome is outside only a few attempted to ride the track. Those that did, the result was not pretty.
At dinner, we learned that the eldest statesman (at age 73) on the trip had an accident and broke his hip. He is in good spirits at the hospital. Tomorrow they will decide whether to send him home to Australia or to a larger hospital here in France. Volker, a German now residing in Australia was a very interesting gentleman. I enjoyed sitting next to him at dinner last night and learning about his ride from Egypt to Cape Town and the following ride from Anchorage to Mexico City. Each ride took him more than 4 months. The stories were endless and interesting.
We are staying at a wonderful old guest house tonight and what makes it extra special is the owner is helping us with our laundry.
Tomorrow will be another long day..............91 miles with forecasts of light rain but continued strong winds.
Northern France is beautiful. We've been riding from one quaint town to the next, each town exuding history. Beautiful churches and wonderful town squares filled with coffee shops and bakeries.
The highlight of today (for some of us) was to ride the COBBLES that are ridden each year in the HELL OF THE NORTH race called the Paris-Roubaix. Riding on the cobble stones is simple teeth shattering, jarring your whole body. In the Paris -Roubaix there are 47 sections of cobble stones, some that are very short and some that are over a mile in length. Michelle and I rode maybe 100 feet and couldn't take any more yet the pros fly over the cobbles at an incredible rate of speed and somehow manage to stay on their bikes.
We also got to visit the Veledrome in Roubaix (where the Paris - Roubaix race ends). A veledrome is like the Daytona speedway for cyclists. The corners are banked, with the top of the banking probably 20 feet above the lower part of the track. Since it was wet and this veledrome is outside only a few attempted to ride the track. Those that did, the result was not pretty.
At dinner, we learned that the eldest statesman (at age 73) on the trip had an accident and broke his hip. He is in good spirits at the hospital. Tomorrow they will decide whether to send him home to Australia or to a larger hospital here in France. Volker, a German now residing in Australia was a very interesting gentleman. I enjoyed sitting next to him at dinner last night and learning about his ride from Egypt to Cape Town and the following ride from Anchorage to Mexico City. Each ride took him more than 4 months. The stories were endless and interesting.
We are staying at a wonderful old guest house tonight and what makes it extra special is the owner is helping us with our laundry.
Tomorrow will be another long day..............91 miles with forecasts of light rain but continued strong winds.
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