Much to the dismay of everyone in my life that doesn’t race bicycles, or even ride them for that matter, it’s bike racing season again. We all know it as the wonderful time of year where getting evil eyes in the parking lot at a road race solidifies the seemingly endless excuses not to show up.
And trust me, I can and will find all of them.
Let’s start off with some hot topics from the last few weeks –
- Peter Sagan is a jackass. There is no excuse for what he did on the podium at the Tour of Flanders. And if you think it’s funny or excusable or the podium girls fault because she chose to be there 1) fuck you 2) you’re just as bad as him. His apology was BS. He should have been fined, arrested, given as suspension or otherwise kicked out of the sport. I have no respect for what Sagan’s done or what he will do.
- Marianne Vos is awesome. Her off season, if she really even has one, consists of winning either world championships, Olympic gold medals and classic races she’s yet to win. Ohh, throw in a mountain bike race here and there, and she’ll probably win that as well.
- How fucking odd does Cancellara look on his bike? 1 ) He’s huge. 2) It works. I know he’s slowly closing in on Boonen on “cobbled classic king” but if we go through this period without ever seeing them in a proper battle, it’s just not going to be the same. Although it is nice to see –
- Zdenek Stybar being a total dudebro and giving it the beans at Roubaix – only to be taken out by a crazed spectator. Honestly, it sucks, but also honestly, it’s sort of part of what Paris-Roubaix is.
As for me, well, I’ve been riding my bike and seemingly getting a little better at it. I totally sold out and bought a “garmeeeeeeen”. And while I can’t say I’m in love with it our that it is totally better than any other, far less expensive cycling computer out there, I sure do like riding with it. It’s nice to be able to keep track of my speed/cadence/heart rate and then just upload to Garmin’s cool little website thinger.
But my rides have been a little better. I’ve been going a little harder up hill, but being far more conservative, for whatever reason, on the descents. My leg speed is slowly coming back. It’s amazing, but I lost so much during the end of ‘cross season. It’s hard to keep up, but I’ve sort figured out a way to keep it up.
- It was hard. The good hard though. All in all I had a really good day. After being misinformed that there was a “neutral rollout” to the first dirt road the pace skyrocketed from 0 to 27mph in 30 seconds. Yikes! What I didn’t expect was how fast the course would be. The profile looked lumpy and there seemed to be a few “climbs”. Fortunately for me, there were no real big climbs, only short little grinders. In fact I spent most of the day in my big ring, not that I am necessarily ‘bragging’, but it was just that fast.
- The first 45 minute was as chaotic as a race could be – bodies and bottles flying in every direction. I lost both of my bottles in the first 35 minutes and another an hour later. Luckily, it was only about 35°F and I didn’t require a ton of water for the day.
- I went down twice – both times in icy ruts. The final time was the killer. I was hanging with the lead masters and went down about 25k from the finish. It took me all of 2 minutes to get my momentum back and drive on. I finished with at time of 3hr12min, something I am proud of for my first gravel race, ever.
- Other than that, Barry-Roubaix was a ton of fun. The event atmosphere was amazing – from the Founder’s Brewery beer to the live band to the post race awards ceremony – everything was well done. Hopefully the weather plays out a little better next year and we can get some sun and warmer temps.
Following Barry-Roubaix, Taylor, Kristen and I did a little 25 mile recovery ride on the short course. It was nice, but 10° colder than the day before.
Aaron and I rode Scioto Trails.
Dave and I recon’d the Amish County Roubaix course and I rode a ton. It’s nice to be drinking less, sleeping more and feeling better all week long rather then feeling strong on Wednesday and slow and lumpy on race day.
Honestly, my biggest goal of the spring was Amish County Roubaix. It’s not a course that suits by weight, but it’s a course that I have fallen in love with. Dirty, nasty, gravel roads that are dangerous and scary in a part of a Ohio that is as old than any other part of the state.
- High noon start times are the best – while the drive was just over an hour and forty-five minutes, being able to get an extra half hour of sleep and enjoy breakfast and coffee instead of piling in to a car at 6am is more or less the best thing on the planet.
- When I registered the field looked strong. It got stronger after registration closed and a few more names stacked the field.
- The race started fast and I hung for a bit. I was doing good until the real descents started and lost contact about 25 minutes in. I hung on with a few guys and lost contact again on a descent. Finally, with about 40 minutes left to race, I gave one climb the beans, bridged up to about 20 seconds and lost it all again on the descent. Yikes! With ten miles and mostly flat road left and chewed through the forty-five to sixty second gap between me and a small group of two/three. With about 4 miles to go I got on their wheel and the games began. I put in a few tester digs to see how the legs felt, but sat up. About 500m from the finish I took off and one guy went with me. I took a turn too wide and thought my day was over. I buried myself, shifted down, lunged for the line and took the sprint.
(Maybe the first time a bike throw has worked in my favor)
- I heard someone yell, “Spencer, you’re in the money.” I was in a state of disbelief. I knew I had picked up a few spots, but didn’t know I had clawed my way inside the top 10!
- SoupCan racing did a great job with this race. Not only was the course very well marked, it was also 80% marshaled with volunteers. At no point was I lost or wondering which way/where to go. Plus, a beer token and a cooler full of Coca-Cola won my heart. Thanks to them.
(THANKS MOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM)
More shots from Zanesfield RR here
- Note – I am still the worst road racer on the planet. No matter what the consequences are.
- On Sunday, I registered for a road race in Zanefield, OH. I was in good spirits after my good, hard ride on Saturday. Unfortunately, Millersburg, OH lacked much in the way of vegetarian fare and I didn’t have a proper post-race meal until about 4 hours after the race. I tried as hard as I could to not move, eat properly and sleep well but none of that happened.
- Early on, I hung in with the, uhhhhum, humuhmm, cat 4 field for 1.5 laps and spent the last 1.5 with Duncan off the back. We traded pulls and finished up the short race. It was clear my lack of post-race food from the day before had made it’s impact.
- More importantly my cat 4-form-o-meter is about 71% if we’re judging based on my less than impressive performance at Zanesfield.
But, you know – Ride, race, fail, learn, correct
Up next –
- OMBC #1 at Mountwood – Always a good time.
- OMBC #2 at Mohican State Park – The test of true MTB form
- RATL and Cuyahoga Valley Training Series
- TOSRV – How many cookies can I eat this year?
Till next time.
The VeloBros Standard 