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.
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@mxlmax When you pedal it's inevitable that a crank gets *stuck* at the bottom every half-pedal revolution. I agree that it looks more likely he's coasting than pedaling but we don't know, which was my point.
Here's Gustav Larsen doing it wrong.
Did some offroad driving yesterday. Yes, driving. I know. That aside, similarly to riding the cobbles, after I finished driving this part of the course I said the same thing I did when I came off the first section of cobbles: "Oh, it can handle that. I don't need to worry about all that other crap I do with this thing."
@Buck Rogers
We have 100 year old cobbles in Seattle and had them in St. Paul where I grew up. I thought I knew what cobbles were.
Not so much.
The issue with cornering on cobbles as well is that you can't stop pedaling because you pretty much come to a stop after 2 seconds.
@frank - is it just me or is there something wrong, just wrong, posting this image from this poster on this site???
Discuss....PLEASE!
@The Potato Man
That's a great shot. Those rims/tires look so tiny for his gargantuan form.
@mxlmax
Front skewers usually get fucked up during wheel changes. Though, even if he likes it that way, it wouldn't be his only Rule violation. Check out those shorts!
@Rob
I'll also submit I was doing that instead of riding the Cogal.
@frank
The shorts are suited to accommodate the legs. His own set of Rules.
@TBONE
Merckx, that is awesome!