It has crossed my mind several times to conduct guerrilla gardening and line the white gravel roads of Göttingen with Tuscan tree seeds. I believe it would make the area just a bit cooler!

Now, a second thought has hit me, what about guerrilla cobble stone laying? There are cobbles in Göttingen but nothing of any substantive nature, certainly not comparable to the Low Countries or Northern France where the Paris Roubaix cycle race is held.

During a recent trip to Halle in Saxony Anhalt I found that the cobbles there stretch out before you and flow off into the distance (pictured). Just like PRBX!

Halle Cobbles

In Halle and in the countryside around it there are enough cobbled sectors that each year Die Hölle des Ostens is promoted on or near to the day of the Paris Roubaix cycle race. The distance of 185km helps illustrate the richness of the cobbles in the area and I have included a route map from the 2015 edition.

I wonder if I acquired a big consignment of Roubaix cobbles and each time, I went out on my bike I could ´plant´ one at a suitable location, and bit by bit create my own Carrefour de l’Arbre (my favourite sector of the race route) …. I do have one cobble to get me started.

The Ride – A Question of % (25km)
With thoughts of cobbles and steep climbs in my mind, I ventured out on a ride where distance wasn´t the priority, rather I wanted to climb hills and ride cobbles.

The ride started with a stiff climb up to Am Kirschberge, (23%) more climbs followed including the cobbles of the Zieten Terrace (10%) and especially the cool BarbaraStraße (8%).

Next it was two steep gravel ascents (22 and 23%) to get onto the high ground followed by a mix of great descents and a wee bit more climbing.

The climbs varied in maximum % from 23 plus at the start to touching almost 24% elsewhere.

Garmin Connect: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/7505295294
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/5974910022