hardly the hell of the north.......

A recent Rapha blog entry advertising an organised ride in homage to Roubaix made me realise how lucky I am up here in Lancashire, to be able to indulge in my own particular brand of compulsion, perhaps even infatuation.

Like many others, I have always had a healthy degree of cynicism and mild contempt for those individuals that hang about, often on motorway bridges looking to 'spot' Eddie Stobart lorries or perhaps coaches - it's hardly a sophisticated, grown up or even socially acceptable thing to do. At least not in polite society. It was then with some embarrassment and no little sense of irony, that I realised a few years ago that I had become one of them. The attraction, the delusion, the mania even - this monkey on the back thing - it was no different to a man in an anorack on a train platform or motorway bridge, seeking out ever more elusive targets to tick off, to list, to catagorise. I should have known it was coming, as the juvenile, pre-pubescent crossjunkie was a keen young ornithologist, ticking his way merrily through the bird species of Northern Europe.......

But it's not Steady Eddie lorries, nor trains, coaches or any other transport medium. Nor is it birds, stamps (that too was a pastime at one point). No it's cobbles now - cue images of a 12 step programme meeting 'Hi, my name is......' and the nodding assent of fellow addicts.

There it is then, by way of confession - my cobble addiction, exposed in all it's humiliating glory. Obviously people around me already knew this, but as in all things addictive, it is the addict who is the last to realise.

Anyways, going back to Rapha and their 'Hell of the North' thing.... I have to say I felt somewhat smug, superior even. Bridleways, rough roads, muddy stuff and 'bumpy terrain'!! 20 sectors of so called 'pave' in 100km. Are they having a laugh?

Put this in yer bespoke, tailored-leather-cased pipe Rapha, and smoke it! With a few minor diversions, my 40 minute commute by bike this morning incorporated no less than 7 distinct secteurs du pave, and when I say pave, I don't mean a slightly bumpy track with a little mud, I mean proper sets of cobbles, some in good repair, some with wheel sized holes.

Some long and flat, some gently rising. All good honest, working class cobbles, just like the Roubaix ones. Well, not quite as rough or long but enough for you to get the picture - apologies for my dodgy Blackberry photos:

Stretching up and into the trees, this gem is in Crawshawbooth....


Rawtenstall town centre - an entire cobbled high street with little hills off to the side....



OK, it's a back street but when the cars aren't parked on it it is about 500m of beautiful, compact sets.....


Not quite Carrefour de l'Arbre but fun nonetheless....



Industrial backdrop in Waterfoot, just like Roubaix....



There are in total around 20 sections of pave I have found within 15 miles of here - all can be linked to provide a meaningful ride. So come on Rapha - let go of the London-centric thing and come and discover the real deal for yourselves up in the grim North. If you dare....