I woke up at 5:00AM to watch the Paris-Roubaix

And it was worth it!

Last Sunday was my most anticipated race of the year - the Hell of the North - the Paris Roubaix. It is the time in spring when I get to watch someone other than the main GC names win a career-making race. It is the day when tough men race over tough cobbles. I love the Paris-Roubaix, this year it did not disappoint.

When my alarm clock rang on Sunday morning, I shot out of bed. There was no hitting the snooze button. I had prepared the coffee pot the night before, I had made sure my viewing devices were set and channels/websites selected. It was the morning of the long anticipated Paris-Roubaix.

John Degenkolb won the race in 2015, but the biggest controversy was the daring crossing of the railroad tracks during the race to beat the high speed TGV to Paris:

• The controversial train crossing of the 2015 Paris-Roubaix video 
• The old train crossing incident of 1937

Paris-Roubaix is like Christmas to me. I can't sleep for the excitement and I happily arise early.

Last week, I had fun tweeting some images taken when I was fortunate to be a fan at the race a couple years ago. I was there to see the riders inside the Arenberg Forest and again at the restaurant of le Carrefour de l'Arbre. I had watched the race online for years and knew exactly where I wanted to be if I ever got the chance to be there in person. I had sort of hoped for rain and mud, but was instead treated to a fantastic good weather day in northern France.

Here are some of the images I tweeted last weekend (with many more I did not tweet). Paris-Roubaix is a tradition and these are sights can be seen any year - even the year you went or will go! These photos are what you might not see on TV - they reflect the loyal fans who go to the race year after year with family and friends.

For years I had wanted to be at the Paris-Roubaix as a fan - the experience did not disappoint. 

All photos by Karen Rakestraw of Pedal Dancer®

La Trouée d'Arenberg (ou Tranchée de Wallers-Arenberg) (Arenberg Forest)

Thrilling to be a fan on the sector of pave

Getting in the mood with some Jupi

Ropes are used in the middle of the forest to control fans

We timed it right to walk into the forest behind this fun group!

We walked the entire length of the Arenberg forest. Then we got a beer!

There is a big celebration at the start of the Arenberg sector (east side) with beer tents, entertainment and sausages!

Just a fantastic mood and celebration going on at the start of the Arenberg Forest section of pave.

A long tradition for fans

The same fans gather on this section year after year

Entertainment stage at the start of the cobbles - I loved singing Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline with the crowd.

Sausages and frites are a tradition.

And beer tents

At the entrance to Arenberg Forest there is a memorial to Jean Stablinski,
a French professional cyclist from a family of Polish immigrants, who worked the mines in northern France.

The fans take their place, the gendarmes try to keep order, the TVs get in place and the cobbles are ready for action:

It is really exciting to line the barriers with the other fans

There are barriers at the beginning

Gendarmes on horses patrol the forest

The mood is fun and relaxed before the race as the cameras get in place.

Photographers piled up on the left side, fans on the right. Depending on conditions - fans might line both sides.

Skilled Gendarmes on motorbikes stand up as they ride the rough cobbles. They are exciting to watch.

Then the peloton roars by and the earth shakes:

Fans are so close to the action in the narrow passage of the Arenberg Forest!

The green grass of the irregular cobbles

When the moss grows on top and the grass is wet - the convex cobbles are really slick.

Being the "professional" photographer that I am - THIS is my first photo of the riders. I have a big tip for taking photos at the Arenberg Forest: you are down, the pave raises the riders up; the ground shakes (a lot!) and everyone is reaching in toward the riders -- so just enjoy the moment and forget the photos.

When the helicopters show the riders turning onto this pavement, I know the lead group is through the forest.

Le Carrefour de l'Arbre (ou Pavé de Luchin)

We got in our car and drove to another section of pave to see the peloton yet again, shortly before the finish at the Velodrome in Roubaix.

I love these markers!

Only a 2 star sector of pave, but strategically, a very important corner of the race.

Not the time to get a flat, but somebody always does. Usually only three sector of pave remain before the velodrome. (I took this photo on a non race day)

Beautiful working fields of northern France as the fans stretch along the parcours.

The crowded scene at Carrefour de l'Arbre on race day.

Gendarmes (police men) are everywhere along the course.

A great way to spend a Sunday afternoon in France.

On the enormous big screen TV at the corner near the restaurant of l'Arbre, we were able to see the finish in the Velodrome happening just a short distance away. The crowd roared at the finish. I couldn't believe I was in France on this Sunday in Spring!

My niece Kristina walking back to the car after seeing the race pass and the finish on the large screen TV at l'Arbre.

Roubaix Velodrome

I visited the Roubaix Velodrome on a quiet day earlier in the week, when I could walk the last section of cobbles and walk into the veldrome as the riders would do on race day, imaging the thrill of victory. 

Daily life goes on over the final (modern) secteur of pave before the Velodrome

Look down and you will see imbedded in this final section of cobbles, stones dedicated to every past winner. It's great to walk along and discover the names on the stones.

The most important corner of the Paris-Roubaix (entering the Velodrome)

What every rider wants to see first - the finish line inside the Roubaix Velodrome

Could you imagine sitting here at the finish line of the Paris-Roubaix. There is no need for seat backs because everyone is on their feet for this finish.

Across from the stadium is the Velo Club du Roubaix club house. It is a museum of sorts inside with a collection of race history.

You can go inside the club house for a drink or a look around at all the memorabilia - a must for fans (on a non-race day).

A landmark outside the Velo Club cafe.

I walked quietly around the velodrome a week before the race and imagined who had won in the past and who would win that coming Sunday afternoon.

What great memories!!

Related posts by Pedal Dancer:

• I was a fan at the Paris-Roubaix 
• The History of the Paris-Roubaix

Study the maps carefully and you should be able to see two sections of the race. If you want to see the race out on course and in the Velodrome, I would suggest joining a Tour Company for the day. They will navigate the parcours and logistics for you, allowing you to relax and celebrate the race.  

Gregg Germer of The Chain Stay (one of the Tour Companies I would highly recommend) snapped this picture of me (center) with my arm around my new found friend who was teaching me drinking songs - in a language I did not understand at all - but sing I did. We were about to walk under the famous landmark of the train trestle in the Arenberg Forest on Paris-Roubaix day!

I can't wait until next year. I plan to get up at 5:00a.m. again. Maybe even 4:45 a.m. when race coverage goes live in the U.S.A..

Realated blog post by Pedal dancer®: American Again (returning from traveling in Belgium). 

Five years as a blogger

For five years I have tried to contribute to the cycling community

A sudden inspiration occurred to me while watching the Paris-Roubaix race in 2010. I should blog.

It was a time when I was really into pro races abroad and learning the roads and travel logistics to attend the races. I had friends in Belgium attending the Paris-Roubaix in April 2010; they were in Belgium and I was home watching the race online - it felt as if I was there with them. Then it occurred to me: I should share my experiences and research about cycling travel. Maybe I could help others by sharing what I know and more importantly, what I learn.

I was planning a five-week cycling trip to France that following July, it would be my fifth trip to see the Tour de France. I wanted a way to share my travels with friends and family back home, so I continued blogging while traveling through France ticking off many of the high Cols. I remember looking at my blog statistics one day in July 2010 and marveling that a hundred people had read my blog. One hundred people where interested in my stories of riding a bike in France - it was hard for me to comprehend.

Then a strange thing happened - people started to recognize me.

I began to hear from people through email, comments or in person; readers who recognized me from my blog. It was cool! Every person I met, told me their story. And I love travel stories! They told me where they had been, where they had stayed, and whom they had met along the way. My world suddenly became much bigger.

If you are a traveler - or better yet, a traveler who loves to ride a bike - I am guessing you have experienced the feeling when the mountain makes you feel so small. Where the world makes you marvel at how insignificant you are and yet how your actions impact so many others.

For me, this is the joy and purpose of getting out and riding a bike in new places. 

Sometimes I think I shouldn't be so transparent on my blog; that I should protect my privacy. As much as I love facts and information (and if you read my blog you know I love compiling and sharing data), it is the times when I share my humor (Irish humor that would be!) or tell of my woes, which seems to best connect me with all of you readers.

I've had some great times and I've had some hard times in the past 5 years. I long to be in the shape I was five years ago when the Triple Bypass was completed with ease. I have worked very hard on Pedal Dancer and enjoyed covering the pro races and traveling to France, Belgium and especially Ireland for the Giro d'Italia last May, but the time spent on creating the blog was great. I probably should have been following a regimented training plan instead to maintain that awesome shape that is now long gone.

I wish I never broke my pelvis mountain biking in Moab - that was a true bummer and I have never been the same cyclist since. I have fears and pains that I am still trying to solve 4-years later. I injured my left knee in the fall of 2014 and was recently diagnosed with Trigeminal Neuralgia. But through all the pain, I put together six totally awesome routes for Ride with GPS as a new Ambassador to Summit County bike rides in Colorado. I swear I wrote an entire guidebook to cycling in Summit County in the process.

Without a doubt, I can say that I contribute to the cycling community in Colorado. And that makes me feel good. I suppose we all want to feel as if we contribute in some small way to the great big world around us.

The topics I write about, in my blog, have varied greatly over the years. Like my fellow cyclists, I am sometimes interested in bikes, or training, nutrition, race routes, pro riders, hot topics, best new equipment, or simply a good place to grab a beer. If you scroll down my blog you will see the topics discussed vary as much as a conversation with a good friend. That is the exact joy of being a blogger - freedom of expression.

I get to take and share photos like this, even if they are not finish line shots, and especially because I like seeing Bradley Wiggins' kids in the frame ...

I get to be close enough to feel the spray of champagne after a good competition in sport ...

I get to recommend cool places to visit like this cafe in Carbondale, Colorado ...

I get to travel to places like this, in France and sit and have a picnic (with wine of course!) ...

I get to say "I've been there", "I've climbed there on my bike" ...

I get to direct Bradley and Cav to their team buses after sign-in before the stage start ...

I get to write a guide to Summit County bike rides, because I love Colorado! ...

I get to plan more travel and hopefully much more cycling ...

And I get to meet all of you!

Thank you all so much for your support and encouragement over the years. Those one hundred visitors have now turned into thousands daily. That makes me happy. If I had made a dime off of all of this - it would've made me even happier!

I have visitors from around the world, although most come from the U.K., Germany, Australia and France (along with those Russia spam visitors). Most visitors still come to read about races or equipment, or about roads and tollways in France. Plenty visit to see Marcel Kittel's legs. I hope I can provide visitors from outside the United States with a sense of what it is like to ride or race a bike in Colorado or California.

California is my home state, Colorado is now my home residence.

Some of the things I personally do for Colorado Cycling:

• Compile annual Event and Race Calendar Lists
• Detail the climbs in Colorado with facts and links to experts
• Write a Guide Page to Summit County Cycling
• Recommend local rides in Colorado
• Cover the race and write Fan Guides to the USA Pro Challenge
• Volunteer in the community at events and as a photographer at races

1.  Pedal Dancer® Colorado Bike Event and Race Calendar Lists

• 2015 Colorado Cycling Events and Bike Rides
• 2015 Cycling Events in the Western United States
• 2015 Colorado Bike Race Calendar
• 2015 Charity Bike Rides in Colorado

2.  Pedal Dancer® Colorado Climbs

• Colorado Climbs - The very best bike climbs in Colorado with all the facts, offered in one convenient place.

3.  Pedal Dancer® Summit County Cycling

• Summit County Cycling - A guide to road riding near Breckenridge, Frisco, Dillon, Keystone, Copper Mountain and Vail Pass.  I am a Ride with GPS Ambassador to Summit County.

4.  Pedal Dancer® Favorite Rides

• Favorite Rides - My favorite rides in Colorado and France are featured.

5.  Pedal Dancer® USA Pro Challenge Race Planning and Coverage

• USA Pro Challenge -  For information on the 2015 USA Pro Challenge bike race in Colorado, August 17-23, 2015, please go directly to this Pedal Dancer Guide Page. 

6.  Pedal Dancer® Volunteers!

• I will next volunteer at the 2015 Bicycle Colorado Gala on April 24, 2015.  
• My race photography that I give to local racers for free: Pedal Dancer Photography

I sure hope all this effort and good will has helped someone. If it hasn't, I should have just hired a personal coach and gone for those personal STRAVA records, then gone home, cleaned my bike and opened a beer. For five years!

Instead I wanted to contribute and accomplish a few things, I think I did that. And my photography got much better. Thanks again for the ride ! Thank you so much for visiting my blog.