Michael's profileMike's BLOGPhotosBlogListsMore  |  Tools Help |
|
April 15 Race report: Battenkill-RoubaixThe Battenkill-Roubaix bicycle race is modelled after Paris-Roubaix. 55 miles. 4400 feet of vertical climbing , nearly a mile straight up, through small rural towns, under covered bridges, steep gravel climbs up roads that are little more than dirt cow paths...a 1000+ racers from 20 states all at this event......all at race speed ! After riding it, I would say Battenkill-Roubaix could lay equal claim with Paris-Roubaix to the name "Hell of the North".
As I was driving out through the Berkshire Mountains and the Hudson Valley, mountains I typically viewed as scenic and beautiful, I was now starting to view them with trepidation. These were big mountains, and there were a lot of them. Yikes! What am I getting myself into, I thought. To make it even more challenging, I should mention this is my first bicycle race. Oh sure I have watched bicycle races on TV, ridden to watch them on my bicycle, and driven in my car to see them in person; but this is the first bicycle race I am actually in, and as I wait at the start line I am truly beginning to regret having entered the race. What if I crash? What if I hurt myself? What if I crack my carbon fiber bicycle?
My plan for the event? I confess I harbored some Lance Armstrong fantasies of attacking on the final climb. But mostly I want to get through safely and have a good time. As it turns out I did not attack on the final climb. Why didn't I attack on the final climb? Judas Priest! this race was unbelievably difficult and I was totally whooped!
My group, the cat 5 45+ headed out on a rolling start. Starting the race I felt a bit of relaxation…the pre-race jitters are over. Every time I get on this bicycle it makes me happy…..it is the most beautiful bicycle I have ever owned. A Giant OCR c1. The bicycle is absolutely beautiful to look at – red, carbon fiber, compact geometry – it looks fast even when it is not moving. Mavic Kyserium Elite wheels with bladed spokes shoed with green-sidewalled Paris-Roubaix tires that will not let me down with an untimely puncture. Fizik Alliante seat. Top of the line Dura-Ace components that shift so positively when I flick my fingers on the STI shifters. I love this bike.
A nice bike....but unfortunately I realize I don't feel so comfortable riding in such a large group, so I drift to the back. Mistake #1. Soon enough we said goodbye to the asphalt and were on unpaved dirt roads...wet, slippery, pot-hole filled muddy cow paths. I was OK on the first little rollers, but tentative on the on the unpaved descents. I am dangling off the back with a half-dozen riders trying to chase back on. Mistake #2. My heart rate was already at 170 beats per minute chasing back on and climbing this 6-8% gradient when all of sudden I am met with an 18% climb on Meeting House Road. If indeed there was a meeting house on this road in the past I would imagine that the gradient significantly reduced attendance at these meetings. 18% is steep, that is like doing the George Street Challenge...but beginning with a 170 bpm heart rate. That is nearly 3 beats per second! At the base of the climb! Well, that hill dropped me, and quite a few others.
Dropped, but the race was not over. A paceline organized of about 6 riders and together we cooperated extremely well. 30 seconds on the front, and then drift back to the rear to rest. I really enjoyed after my 30 seconds on the front the other riders saying "Nice turn" or "Nice job" to me. One rider in the paceline had a power meter and I asked him what he was putting out. He said about 220 when on the front of the paceline, and about 200 when not on the front. I noticed a drop of about 15 bpm in my heart rate when not on the front. We were all making good time, cooperating well as a unit for about 10 miles or more. This organization lasted until we met another hill...individuals now unduress, organizational structure of the paceline under duress...and as quickly as it started, the paceline dissolved. In hindsight, this was probably the most enjoyable bit of riding I had in the race.
Miles 30-40 were particularly nasty. All unpaved. Steep rolling hill after steep rolling hill. There was at least one other 18% climb in there, and untold other steep ones in the 10-14% range. One thing I remember clearly in this section was being passed by a pack of cat 4 women. "On your left" one said and they ripped by me, all climbing strong and powerfully, as well as in a very cohesive unit. Their state awed me, particularly compared to my state. I was not even worthy for them to draft behind for 10 seconds.
The final climb was long and very beautiful. Unpaved, of course, and very rural farm country. Beautiful old houses. And then a long descent and a few more miles to the finish line. The winning cat 5 45+ time was 2:50....that seemed fast to me. My time was 3:30, unofficial on my Garmin. Speaking of which, you can view all my ride data...speed, heart rate, elevation changes...replayed over Google Maps on MotionBased.com at this URL: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/2472179 or by clicking on "View Actity" on the MotionBased image below.
Then I watched the other races finish. First came the Cat 1/2/3 women. Unbelievably fast, sprinting at speeds I couldn't dream of even if I had fresh legs. Then came the testosterone train of the Cat 1/2/3 men. Unbelievably fast as well...they must have been going 30 miles per hour on the flat finish at least. One rider raised his hands in victory. Only problem, he still had another 3 feet to go, and another rider beat him to the line. Some great finishes as the other riders came in.
As I look at my ride data....my heart rate went zone 5 on that first 18% unpaved climb, and averaged a whopping 151 bpm over the ride....zone 3.8 avg. I hit zone 5.5! WTF?!? I was in zone 5 on the first giant climb, was dropped, and then toggled between zones 3 and 4 the whole ride. That is a very hard effort for sure. If you look at the trend in the heart rate, it declines over the course of the ride....that is fatigue, I assume, but I did not snap. So much for riding conservatively and then sprinting to victory!
Overall, I enjoyed it. I had wanted to do this -- enter a bike race -- for some time now, and now I've done that. I met some nice people. Saw some beautiful scenery. I enjoyed the encouragement of the crowds on the hills, along the way, and at the finish line. Would I enter this particular race again? Well, that is like asking a mother right after childbirth if she wants another baby. I think I need to think about another day.
If you are experiencing problems with links above, copy and paste the following URL directly into your browser: Comments (7)
TrackbacksThe trackback URL for this entry is: http://michael01612.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!2D894EF96C8FC0!2460.trak Weblogs that reference this entry
|
|
|
