Hi - I am looking to cycle Amsterdam - Paris this July in 3-4 days. Itinerary is:

Day 1 - Amsterdam - Bruge
Day 2 - Bruge - Roubaix (via some of the Tour de Flanders route)
Day 3 - Roubaix - Compiegne
Day 4 - Compiegne - Paris

I am going to do the ride with an old 7000 series aluminum Rocky Mountain bike with conventional geometry, rear rack and panniers, low rider paniers in front. No shock absorbers, chro-molly fork.

I've done a lot of cycle touring (more than 10,000 km), so am not really worried. I am l just looking for general advice from anyone who has done the Paris - Roubaix route to find out just how "bumpy" it really is for someone used to averaging 20 km/h when in full tour mode.

Thanks

Its not "bumpy" at all!

You really have to go out of your way to find the old farm roads that still have cobbles -- just as the race does. There are any number of small C or D roads that (at least on the french side) will get you to where you are going without hitting any cobbles at all.

If, however, you are looking to ride the cobbled sections -- get a good map because they are not easy to find... oh, and they can be very, very rough. When in doubt (esp. w/ large puncture resistant touring/mtb tyres) ride on the side. (Note, if you were racing, I'd advise you to ride on the top of the cobbles at high speed -- that is s.o.p. for racing the cobbled sections). A good map of the french cobbled sections can be found on the TDF site (www.letour.fr under the race details for Paris-Roubaix) -- Amaury sport puts on both events. A good map of the flanders cobbles can be found on the website of the Tour of Flanders (http://www.rvv.be/)

Enjoy your ride ... and if you need some pointers on getting into Paris on the smaller roads, let me know.

A+
Philippec

Hi - I am looking to cycle Amsterdam - Paris this July in 3-4 days. Itinerary is:

Day 1 - Amsterdam - Bruge
Day 2 - Bruge - Roubaix (via some of the Tour de Flanders route)
Day 3 - Roubaix - Compiegne
Day 4 - Compiegne - Paris

I am going to do the ride with an old 7000 series aluminum Rocky Mountain bike with conventional geometry, rear rack and panniers, low rider paniers in front. No shock absorbers, chro-molly fork.

I've done a lot of cycle touring (more than 10,000 km), so am not really worried. I am l just looking for general advice from anyone who has done the Paris - Roubaix route to find out just how "bumpy" it really is for someone used to averaging 20 km/h when in full tour mode.

Thanks

worth asking here too:
http://www.cyclingplus.co.uk/forum/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=3

Thanks for the tips.