Roubaix Roubaix Roubaix Roubaix

So it’s Easter weekend already! Where does the time go? And of course, it’s also the weekend of Paris-Roubaix, my favourite one-day classic event in the calendar – it such an exciting race to watch, and it’s not as tactical as a lot of road races are – you have to be strong to win. It definitely appeals to the mountain biker in me, the idea of having to make the right compromise in equipment and training to ride a 260km road race with bike and body still able to survive over 50km of punishing cobblestones. It’s an odd favourite to pick for someone who has a delusion of being a climber (I think I only believe that because I’m quite light, sadly I don’t yet have the power or results to back it up!), but it’s just so enchanting. For people who I’d like to see on the top-step, it has to be Haussler – he’s been so close twice already this year, it’d be great to see him finally get the reward for his hard work in the Queen of the Classics. But it all depends…that’s the joy of bike racing!

I seem to say this every blog entry, but it’s been a busy few days since I last wrote anything. Most of my time has been taken up packing box after box with things for my new home in Orwell – I’ve become quite a dab-hand at taping up shipping crates now, although my careful organisation in packing the first few boxes has turned gradually into organised chaos, and then just chaos. I still have a sofa-bed to deconstruct, and the usual pile of odd-shaped things that don’t fit the crates, but I’m more or less ready for the removals men to come. It’s very weird to think that in 48 hours, I’ll be packing most of what I own into the back of a truck to head back to the county where I have spent most of the last eight years. I definitely view it with a mixture of excitement, trepidation and occasional dread. The cat, by contrast is aware that something exciting is going on, and wants to be in on the ground floor – I’m sure he’d pack himself if he could!

I went out for my last long ride around Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire yesterday; perhaps not the best of days to remember it by, given the grey skies and constant rain. For most of my four hours it was like a heavy scotch mist that soaks you to the skin without you even being aware that it’s raining. Every time I looked down, the water would run off my visor into my shoes – euch! I also got my second puncture of the season (my first one was sometime in January, but thankfully not on one of those days where it’s so cold you can only get the tyre off with your teeth!), probably from the grit washing off the verges into the road. I spent a happy fifteen minutes sitting in a ditch picking flints out of my tyre to make sure that I didn’t get a second one (I only had one tube in my saddlebag, bad plan – there are two in there now!) and watching soggy horse-riders go by. I managed to get home just in time to see the podiums for the World Cup XC in South Africa, which was quite exciting. It looks like it’s going to be a year dominated by the old guard in the men’s racing, with Hermida, Absalon & Sauser on the podium, along with fresh-star Burry Stander and surprise 5th place Wolfram Kuschat, who seems to have suddenly hit his stride in his mid-30s! For the women it’s all change, with Liz Osl on the top-spot, which is somehow more exciting. It’ll be interesting to see what the rest of the season brings. It was also good to see the brits scooping up some UCI points; hopefully we’ll see a few more brit women racing this year…

Whilst I was out riding, I also had a bit of a revelation when it comes to road safety for bikes too – when it comes to looking out for us two-wheeled brethren, white lines are no help. Aside from the recent controversy caused by riders crossing the solid white lines on the road at a recent Premier Calendar road race, and ultimately the race being cancelled by police as a result, white lines are not our friends in a more obvious and mundane way. Some of the roads out in the wilds are un-lined, and I often find that drivers pull wide to overtake on these roads, using the whole width of the road to pass me. But in the same situation, on a similar-width road with a while line down the middle, suddenly the drivers don’t pull as wide. I’d pondered this for a while, and then yesterday the answer hit me – people don’t like crossing the white line! If they can overtake, and stay within the line, even if the other side of the road is visible and clear for miles, then they will. I put my theory to the test, and sure enough, sit far enough out that drivers have to cross the line to overtake, and they’ll start passing wide again (albeit maybe with a grumble at “lycra louts” under their breath). Then it’s a case of taking a leaf out of the horse-rider’s book, and giving people a cheery “thankyou” wave and voila! – safe overtaking, and non-pissed-off drivers! Result!

Today, happy easter by the way, I’m off out to spend the day with my parents; today’s efforts will have to wait until this evening on the rollers, where the only hazard I ever have to deal with is falling gardening equipment. Quite how Rachel and I are going to fit all of our cycling stuff and the gardening tools into the shed in our new house is a mystery, I suspect it’ll involve quite a lot of box-tetris, but I’m sure we’ll work something out. Maybe we’ll have to find somewhere else to put the lawn-mower!!! I just have to figure out the best way of getting Eurosport hooked up in there for added inspiration...