Barry Roubaix 2018

In somewhat of a last minute decision, I was talked in to racing the Barry Roubaix in Michigan. I have always wanted to check this race out, but it just seemed like a long drive to a race that has a history of bad weather. Part of what talked me in to going was the fact that I had a ride for a little over have of the drive. This makes traveling a lot easier. It also helped that there was a group of people going that I always have a lot of fun around.

Hard to believe that in a 7.5 hour drive I could end up behind someone I know, who is going to the same race.

One thing that I didn't realize when I started to commit to this thought was that everyone was signed up for this new race class this year. The Psycho Killer 100 mile class. I really wanted to race the 62 mile class, but with the start times being different and making logistics more trouble, I reluctantly signed up for the hundo. I was thinking about racing the SS, but once I entered this class I figured there is no reason not to take gears. I had also heard the race is pretty fast and flat, so spinning my brains out for 100 miles didn't sound like fun.

Not a bad place to be for a long trip

After joining the Bushong duo, we headed to Lafayette to meet up with Kiel. Since we had to wait, we figured we might as well wait at People's Brewing. The sun was shining as we sat out on the patio killing some time. This was so much fun that we ended up killing more time than originally planned. This had our arrival time just past the closing time for packet pick up. The hotel was also not right by the race, so we figured we would just head to Bell's Brewery for dinner and pick up our packet in the morning. Our race started 3 hours before everyone else, so we figured the line would not be an issue. It took a little while to get a table and eat. We had a good time, but not too much of a good time. Well, maybe just a little more than we should have.

The early alarm came much earlier than I would have liked, but we had a little drive to get there and still needed to pick up the packets. I had to break in to the breakfast area to get a couple things to go with what I brought along. Thankfully there was coffee ready. We ended up with a sweet parking area real close to where the packet pick up was. After checking in, we started to get set up and ready. We were not really in a huge hurry, but then I was running a little late. I didn't feel like I needed to warm up since I was not planning on trying to win. I rolled up to the starting area as the announcements were started. I was hoping I didn't forget anything in my mad rush after a last minute trip to the bath room.

Photo credit: Michael Mielock

We took off as one big group of all 100 mile racers. Things were moving pretty quick. I kept up with who I wanted to stay around for a little while, but I was worried I might be going too hard. I backed my pace off a little and watched my group ride away. Since I was no longer attached, I figured I might was well stop to pee that I had been holding. We hit some of the sand sections and that made it very interesting. I was moving along better than a lot of riders, but after a little bit I would have to stop and pee again. Dammit! This was getting annoying. I continued the trend of passing riders and then stopping to pee all the way up to the first rest stop.

Photo credit: Michael Mielock

At this point, I topped off my bottles, grabbed a bite to eat and of course, had to hit the port-o-let. At this point several of the people I had passed could now go by me with ease. Eventually I got back on my bike and back to work. I was feeling pretty good and riding well at this point. I found a few people to ride with, but the groups never really stayed together. Somewhere along here I came up on Jen and told her to jump on. I didn't think she did, but a little bit down the road I saw her on the back of our group.

Photo credit: Michael Mielock

We rode together like this for a while. I was pulling off the front anytime we would hit a hill. I would ease up and the group would join back up. I spent a lot of time at the front of the group because of this. I tried to drop back several times and draft, but it never seemed to last. Since the course was not fully marked, I was following the map on my Garmin. With this screen on, I could not see how far we were or how long we had been riding. I think this was a good thing. At one point I wondered, but was scared to look. I didn't want to get let down by not being as far as I felt we were.

Photo credit: Michael Mielock

After the last rest stop a couple riders didn't stop so the group got a little smaller. I now knew how far we had to go and was still feeling pretty good for being this far in. A little bit down the road the 62 milers joined us. It was kind of nice having more riders around again. Somewhere along here the group lost Jen. I had thought she was with us, but with a few more riders around it was harder to tell. I looked back and didn't really see her. At this point I figured no more waiting on the group. I kept turning the pedals and moving along the best I could. It didn't take that long and I was all alone again only to keep passing a lot of the shorter distance riders.

Photo credit: Rob Meendering

At some point I came up on one of the riders that didn't stop at the rest stop. We rode together for just a little bit and then I looked over my shoulder and they were gone. I took another look at the numbers on my computer. I saw how far I was and what time it was. The fuzzy math in my head made me think I was on pace to finish under 7 hours. That sounded like a good ride time and I pushed the pedals a little harder and motored my way toward the finish. Toward the end I was moving pretty fast and thought I was going to make it. As I turned the corner and rolled across the line, the timer said 7:00:53. Just 54 second short of being under 7 hours. This put me in 91st place in the Open Men class.

By all means this was a solid time for me. I had loosely thought 8 hours would be a good effort for 100 miles. I am really happy with how strong I felt all day and with my finishing time. But, that negative side of me just can't stay away. What if I would have pushed the pace harder in the middle and not stuck with the group? What if I would have tried to keep up longer at the start? What if I would not have had to go to the bathroom 7 times!!! I know those are a lot of what ifs and with everyone there is a chance I could have had a lot worse day on the bike. I have excepted everything pretty well for what my plan was coming in to this race. There is one what if that I really ponder more than the rest. What if I was not in the port-o-jon when Kiel came by? If I was on the road when he came flying by, I know I would have jumped on. I may not have been able to keep up, but I would have tried. The perils of racing and all the decisions and circumstances that happen throughout the day. In the end, I am happy to have survived and can hope that the next time I will make decisions that are better based off of past experiences.