Stage 5 day 3 (17th May)

St.Quentin to Roubaix (77 miles). Another 7am start..ouch! Roger Hammond joined the Slam today. Ex pro and Paris-Roubaix specialist. Although Welly introducing him as Roger Taylor was an obvious candidate for a fine later tonight! Group's pace was strong again and took its toll within 15kms for me. A beautiful day, albeit a little crisp to start with. A tail wind for most of the morning was greatly appreciated & loved the ride by myself. Good pace at approx 27kph, I think, til lunch at 65kms. Made a decision to take a longer lunch break and let the remainder of Group 3 go. The ride afterwards was a notch slower, although gave an opportunity to speak to other riders. 10-15 miles later, I took an opportunity to roll on again and lead a group onto the 3kms section of cobbles or pave. No sign post or warning, and not helped by a van pulling out and then stopping just in front of us! Could not have prepared for the experience that was endured for the next bone jarring 3kms! Took a bit of getting used to and even the "smoother" bits in the gutter were as rough as! Proper hard core and huge respect for the professional riders who race over 65kms of pave during the Paris-Roubaix at 40kph+! Rolled hard to the velodrome & what a 2 laps on the banking. We were privileged to use the same shower blocks as the Pro riders, each changing cubicle has a brass plaque with a previous winners name. History itself... and in my case Fabien Cancellara (2006). Had a nice chat with Roger Hammond, having admired his bike he rode on today. The coach journey to Lille was certainly memorable: Bollie, Bohemian Rhapsody & lots of head banging! A quieter transfer by Eurostar to Ashford followed. Heard Sarah's & the girls' voices for the first time since leaving, nothing fills the heart quite like it. Great to see everyone at Pizza Express as they hosted what was another great night on the Slam. Unsurprisingly another early start in the morning! Not sure how that alarm clock has survived so far! Last day tomorrow, how quickly this has passed so far.