Like the classic it’s named
after, Barry-Roubaix (Killer Gravel Road Race) tests riders on rolling gravel
roads (80%), pavement, one mile of rough two track, rocks, sand, mud, and
possibly snow and ice, along with 2200 feet of climbing over its 36 mile
loop. This year’s event took place on
Saturday, March 22nd in Hastings, Michigan and offered race
distances of 24, 36 and 62 miles. While
I did not see any snow or ice on the roads, there was plenty of rocks, sand and
mud on the 24 mile course which I completed.
This was my first “gravel road race.”
With the exception of the mini blizzard we drove through in north central Ohio, the drive to Hastings, MI was pretty uneventful.
We rolled into town Friday afternoon and quickly picked up our packets from the well-organized and friendly volunteers. We decided to drive the course and see how things were looking for a test ride. We drove about half of the 24 mile loop before returning to town to get our cyclocross bikes ready to ride. JMac and I had both brought two bikes each, mountain and cyclocross, with the intention of determining which bike to race on after taking a look at the course and conditions. I pretty quickly determined that I wanted my mountain bike for two main reasons: First, my mountain bike has a granny gear. Although there aren’t any long climbs on the 24 mile loop, there is a lot of climbing. I was working way too hard on my test ride with the gearing on my cross bike. Second, my cross bike is relatively new. While I had ridden it some this winter, I had not ridden it in the conditions which were presenting for the race (i.e. running water and peanut butter dirt on some of the climbs). I knew I would be more confident on my trusty Kona 2+2. JMac later opted for his mountain bike as well based on conditions advice from one of our JTree peeps. Test ride complete, we packed back up and drove to Grand Rapids, about thirty-five minutes away, where we were staying for the weekend.
JMac found a great local brewery for dinner, Brewery Vivant (http://www.breweryvivant.com/). Since it was a race night we only shared a few samples of their brews but I look forward to going back. The Belgian/Euro food (with an emphasis on local agriculture and whole foods) and beer were excellent. The building and seating had a very cool vibe as well. (JT, I had the best olives since Paris, 1996).
After a good night’s sleep, breakfast consisted of oatmeal with slivered almonds and raisins and coffee, courtesy of the hotel breakfast bar. I also brought a small container of roasted sunflower seeds and PB2 to add some more oomph to my oatmeal. (Side note: I have greatly reduced my intake of oatmeal since going NSNG. But when traveling or not being able to cook myself, I can’t find a better breakfast option than oatmeal. And since it was a race day, I wanted the extra glycemic load anyway). I grabbed an apple and a banana for the road and we were off to Hastings.
We arrived early, as always. (Old habits from triathlon die hard). JMac added some air to my tires and rear shock and I locked out the front fork. With the non-technical terrain, the Kona’s full suspension would be working against me to a certain degree. I ate my banana and killed some more time in the car until it was time to hit the POPs and line up. The 24 mile racers started between the 36 and 62 mile cyclists. From what I can tell, the only seeding was by gender and age. I wished JMac well and he lined up. My wave was only two behind his.
As my wave lined up, the sun came out for a brief moment. That made a huge difference in the temperature. Otherwise, conditions were supposed to be low 30s and overcast. I had added an extra base layer on top but was otherwise wearing the same combination of layers and kit as at Ice Man in November. I lined up about 2/3 of the way back in my wave. At Ice Man, I found myself pushed to the front while we were lining up and got spit out the back during the very fast start. So I did not want a repeat of that. Looking around, I did notice that most of my wave compatriots (all 24 mile females plus some youth categories) were on mountain bikes. The horn sounded and we were off. Unfortunately, I had positioned myself poorly once again. This time, it was like the last day of the Tour de France with everyone out for a leisurely group ride. I suspect that about ten girls got off the front in a couple of packs and the rest of us were left behind in traffic.
The course is on pavement for a couple of miles out of town then turns to dirt and a few climbs to get the heart and legs pumping. I just stayed to the left and passed people. All of the excruciating winter trainer sessions must have paid off because the climbs were doable. I began to catch the waves in front of me. Up and down we went. It seemed like if I wasn’t climbing, I was descending. But the course was fun. The hardest part was navigating other racers and choosing the correct body to get behind on the longer, steeper, wetter climbs. At one point on one of the longer climbs, I could hear the gentleman in front of me, grinding through his gears as we neared the top of a sloppy section. I thought for sure he was going to drop a chain and in the process drop me in the mud. But with some encouragement he ground it out to the top.
The various distances split off and then rejoined. The leaders of the 36 mile race passed me like I was standing still. But the course was very well marked and I had no route finding issues. My only frustration was being stopped at an intersection to allow car traffic to pass. While I was stopped, several other ladies in my wave were able to catch up.
For nutrition, I sucked on Clif shot blocks with caffeine. I had approximately sixty ounces of water on me in my Camelbak. Ultimately, I drank about forty ounces, which may not have been enough. Around mile 18, my quads started to cramp. I wracked my brain trying to remember if cramps were a sign of low electrolytes or dehydration. I shifted into an easier gear, ate another shot block, drank and kept going. Shortly thereafter I turned on to the pavement, a final long climb and the road for the finish. I tried to grab onto some 36 mile guys passing me on cross bikes but my quads cramped again and I backed off. I did finish the climb feeling pretty strong and then tucked in for the final descent to town. I enjoyed the finish as the course turned through town a few times before crossing the finish line . A girl in my age group caught me near the end and we battled back and forth with me popping past her just before the finish. I finished 14th out of 48 in my age group. JMac did very well, finishing 16th out of 74 in his.
I found JMac and we returned to the car to put away our bikes and change for the after party. Founders Brewing is the title sponsor for Barry Roubaix and already had the good beer flowing. We grabbed a couple of All Day IPA’s, some food and settled in with our peeps from JTree. Thank you to the city of Hastings for hosting the event. The center of town was shut down as an open air party, complete with fire pits, food, beer and cycling vendors. All in all, it was a very good day and a great weekend away. I am already looking forward to next year.
My hope is that you had a good weekend too. Work hard, play harder and take care of yourself. Thanks for stopping by. Talk to you next week.