Today was the 2013 Barry-Roubaix dirt road race, and I participated riding my 2012 Salsa Mukluk 2 fatbike. I ended up with an official time of 2:39:09 and 14.2 MPH average, placing 33rd of 58 in the 36 Mile Fatbike category (results here). I would have liked to have finished in a quicker time than I did last year (2:21:42 / 15.2 MPH average), but as this year’s course was a mix of frozen dirt roads and ice with some rutted mud and I was on a heavier and slower rolling bike, I’m happy. There were many hills that I would have normally pedaled down, but this year’s ice found me (and many other folks) gingerly coasting down them, not braking or changing course. Had conditions been like they were last year times probably would have been faster across the board.
Earlier forecasts looked like the roads would be greasy, peanut-buttery mud, so I set out ready to stop and fix my bike a number of times, but this wasn’t needed. Even with the ice I didn’t fall or step off my bike once, and my bike was almost as clean at the finish as it was at the start. From what I could see my dripping nose added more filth to the bike than the course did.
Differing from previous years the race started and finished in the beautiful town of Hastings, Michigan. In the past it had started at Yankee Springs with the easternmost point near Hastings, but this time the western-most point was near the old start. This worked wonderfully, as the entire town was set up for the race with businesses open early and staffed up for the almost-3000 participants and family members, with the start and finish lines right downtown. Most intersections had police directing traffic, there was a blocked-off street post-race party area, and it all felt like a whole-town event. This venue change was an excellent move.
On the suggestion of our friends Nick and Marty we booked a room at the Parkview Motel, which was a great choice. Not only were a bunch of other friends and acquaintances staying there as well, but it was four blocks from the start/finish area. All I had to do for the start of the race was dress, put my stuff in the car, to check out, and ride to the start. It wasn’t even far enough to be considered the remotest of a warmup! After I left the room at about 10am Danielle continued to sleep, then being in a downtown-ish area she wandered into some shops then sat in a coffee shop until it was time for me to finish. This all worked out very well, and I hope to stay here again. While the place was a bit old, it seemed reasonably well cared for and everything was very clean. At ~$66 total for the night’s stay it was a great choice.
There was one scary part to today’s ride, but thankfully I didn’t see much of it. At the top of one of the most sustained climbs in the course a rider apparently fell off his bike and wasn’t breathing. An acquaintance of mine was one of the folks giving him chest compressions (for a total of 18 minutes) right in the road before the EMTs arrived and got to work on the guy. From what I’d heard and read a few places online he had a pulse when he left in the ambulance, was airlifted away, and is still in the hospital. I really hope he’s all right. (More info starting here in the MMBA Forum.)
This sort of event is scary, but one could have a heart attack doing stuff around the house or just sitting and watching TV. So long as one doesn’t overdo it, the benefits to strenuous exercise (particularly if it is fun) likely outweighs the potential risks.
The Strava page showing my statistics from today’s race can be found here. Official results from the 36 mile race can be found here.
(That photo above is Roger Class’ Pugsley, Rob Tranter’s 2012 Mukluk 3 (which he’d purchased from Nick Shue), and my 2012 Mukluk 2 with different tires and chainrings from stock, all propped against a wall outside of the motel rooms. The three of us, along with Nick and Marty, and Rob Ritzenhein all entered the fatbike class. Erik and Kristi rode their normal 29ers.)