A lot of things taken for granted in Cycling go swiftly out the window when cobblestones are introduced to bicycle and rider. The notion that your wheels should both be pointed in the same direction at any given moment, for instance, or that that they should in some way be in alignment with the direction of travel of the rider/bicycle unit, such as it is. Not true, in fact. As it turns out, wheels can move wildly in any maner of directions and not greatly impact forward motion. Another misconception is this notion that one needs to have their handlebars reliably in hand while whisking through a corner or that the direction the handlebars are pointing should be in the direction of travel. Also untrue.
Riding cobbles is a matter of going full gas over the secteurs, no holds barred. The faster you go, the more your bike cascades over the tops of the stones; as the bike flails along, the rider links together recovery after recovery to stave off the imminent crash caused by any of the above conditions going catawampus. Riding the pavé is basically like a toddler learning to walk: always one step away from a face-plant.
For me, though, the biggest challenge is recuperation during those intense efforts. Over the years, I have gotten good at faking it and stealing a few deep breaths during short windows of opportunity, like when the pressure comes off the pedals briefly when cornering. On the cobbles, however, this matter is complicated somewhat by the bouncing wheels, jackhammering of the bars and saddle, and the certainty of an imminent crash.
Which leads me to conclude that while endurance, strength, and interval training will all form critical elements of my training for Keepers Tour 2013, I’m going to also make a point of learning how to take recovery breaths with a tightly clenched bunghole as I try to keep from shitting myself. That’s going to be a differentiator for sure.
I know as well as any of you that I've been checked out lately, kind…
Peter Sagan has undergone quite the transformation over the years; starting as a brash and…
The Women's road race has to be my favorite one-day road race after Paris-Roubaix and…
Holy fuckballs. I've never been this late ever on a VSP. I mean, I've missed…
This week we are currently in is the most boring week of the year. After…
I have memories of my life before Cycling, but as the years wear slowly on…
View Comments
My home town (Montrose) used to have granite setts on most of the older streets when I was a cycling teenager on the Raleigh Shadow - we just thought they were normal. They were the size and shape of big loaves of bread from a baking tin and if even slightly moist offered all the grip of a puppy on lino. You just got used to riding them and the occasional crashing falls which hurt less if you're only 15 or so.
They tarred them over in the 1980's and the town just uses cars to kill cyclists like everywhere else now.
One of the reasons I really want to do at least some of the Keepers Tour is to see a) if pave really is worse than our regular roads and b) to rediscover my teenage sett riding skills.
@the Engine
These don't really do it justice, but they start to give you an idea.
@frank
Ours were more evenly laid but the stones were if anything bigger rounder and smoother - if you went at the right speed your eyeballs would catch the frequency and you couldn't see properly - this link (sorry I don't have the copyright) shows some of the few that are still around http://www.flickr.com/photos/jelltecks/2168020901/
@the Engine funnily enough - in the fucked way nearly every suburb in Melbourne nay Australia is named after some place in the UK (eg I live in Malvern), Montrose is a suburb out in the hills (or what pass for hills) - so when one says I am heading out to Montrose- it means a hard hill ride.
Our only cobbles are not too challenging bluestone ones - but they are only in alleys - which presents a different challenge as a fall may result in a needlestick injury.
@Buck Rogers
Obviously
@frank It feels like it works -- for me. Try it.
@frank
Guess one of us will need to find a great deal more on the Yates style of riding.
@Marcus yeah I remember seeing a few of those alleyways when we were walking around Melbourne a few weeks ago...there were a few that had some pretty significant gradients to them as well, you could probably link some kind of Ronde tribute ride along some of them.
You would of course need to kick off the fashionista latte sippers. Have you ever given Fyxo's Melburn Roobaix a crack?
There may be something to the knee held next to the top tube position a la riding a motorcycle and counter steering. This was something I was not aware of when I was competing but since have fiddled around with. The difference is 200 kilos vs 8 and it becomes really subtle on the bike. If I was still trying to beat some kid out of the last corner I think it would be worth getting to know the subtle effects.
Cobbles in the rain are the only experience I missed! The keepers tour may correct that if I win the lottery...
Davis Phinney writes about the knee in cornering technique too, along with more counter-steering than seems normal. Apparently it worked for him. I tried to use the techniques to some degree of success but found it hard to undo the learning of the many years riding prior to reading about. I would say that these days I use a bit of both techniques...whatever it takes to get around the corner fast and safe, really.