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On Sunday 11th June I will be attempting the Paris-Roubaix cyclo-sportif which uses the same route as the legendary Paris-Roubaix one day classic race. It is a randonee, or cyclo-sportif as the French commonly call them, a test of reliability and endurance rather than a race and only takes place every other year.

The course begins in a town called Cambronne les Ribecourt just north of Paris and winds it’s way through the french countryside for 260km (162 miles) to Roubaix, a town almost on the Belgian border, taking in 26 sections of Pavé totalling around 42km (26miles)  For those of you who do not know, the Pavé are cobbled roads, generally used only by farm vehicles.

The cobblestones vary in size from that of a clenched fist to a small loaf of bread and are generally laid in what seems to be a totally random manner. This leads to a road surface which varies from something similar to the worst road you have ridden along in the UK to almost unrideable. It is known as the "Hell of the North" for good reason. Here are a few quotes from a guy who did it two years ago."However, the other seven sections seemed to me to be the worst of the entire ride. They are not just badly surfaced but most have lumps and dips in them just big enough for a wheel to go down which makes them incredibly difficult to ride over. By this stage my hands were so painful that I could not unfold them from the bars after the end of the pavé and was having to ride much more slowly over the pavé for fear of not being able to control the bike. We passed the 25km to go mark with some jubilation but it lasted less than 5km. With 20km to go, you arrive at the hardest point of the ride. Here there are three sections of pavé, all very close together: Camphin (1800m), Carrefour de L’arbre (2100m) and Gruson (1100m). All three sections are really tough and I was very nearly crying with the pain from my hands by the time I got to the end of each section."

So as you can see it's a very tough ride. So please dig deep and sponsor me online. I have paid the whole cost of the trip so all the money raised will go to Oxfam.

Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Oxfam will receive your money faster and, if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you.

So please sponsor me now!

Many thanks for your support.

Mark