2008 LAMBRA Road Championships official results
Congrats to Jeb for taking home 1st place in the Cat 3 division.
Brian & Jeb prepare fo rthe 70+ mile race (left) / Damn, htat boy has some long arms (right).
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Brian's face says it all (right). HOT, HUMID, INTENSE.
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3 man break away that stuck to the end. (right)
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Racing Rapides Omnium S³ official results
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Jeb (Jacob) Falgout's 1-2-3 recap!
Road Race
The road race started at noon. Starting off, I was concerned about the heat with a solid 3+ hour ride ahead of me in the hottest part of the day. The race was 73 miles(5 laps of 14.5 miles). There was a 2 man break on the first lap and the pace of the peloton was slow, aside from a few attacks. We eventually caught the break (end of 3rd lap) All the while the pace was still slow for the most part.
I thought of something I read in The Ultimate Ride, Chris Carmichael said that he tells his athletes that he would rather see them take a risk and fail rather than sit in the pack and just finish. Then I thought to myself, 'I'm not pushing that hard in the pack, if I could get away and for some reason they just stay this pace long enough for me to get a decent gap, maybe I'll get lucky.'
After a few miles into the 4th lap I moved up to the front. No one really wanted to pull so I did a few times and one of those times there was just enough of a split between the rider behind me and I for me to give a little extra inconspicuous pedal to the medal. I created a gap and then I stepped on it, without leaving the saddle. Riding along a long slow bend, before I knew it and to my surprise the peloton was out of sight. I told myself to just get in time trial mode and win or fail trying. A few miles went by and I could see a few riders gapping up to me. 'Good, with a few extra riders up here the chances of staying away are better'. Moments later La'Sports Matt Davis pulls up with 2 Bay City Breakers, I saw potential. We started a rotation. About a mile or so later one of the Breakers falls off. A little while later we get to the meanest hill of the course. The other Breaker falls off. Just Matt and I left. It was a good situation. Matt is THE strongest rider in this race and was the perfect partner for a breakaway. Even if he won at the end I would be glad to get 2nd place.
We kept pushing through the rollers. Matt started to take on more of the work. Before too long I could see riders behind us. It was a 6 man break consisting of Bain Foote, Tracy Martin, Wylie Bagley and others, all cat 1,2s. They soon caught us and Bain attacked right away. He didn't get away. This was now a serious break. Myself with 7 others and I knew they were strong. This break was going to stay away, I just had to stay with them and that was no easy task. There were plenty of attacks to follow. I took my share of pulls and even chased down a solid attack from Matt.
It was HOT.
We start the last lap, moving along steadily. I dump the last neutral feed water on my head and I'm ready to go. I started to feel cramps at the beginning of the 5th lap. I thought 'theres no way I'm dropping from a break like this because of cramps.' I quickly ate the second half of my clif bar, 2 gels and half a bottle of gatorade. The cramps soon went away. I was feeling good. Bain threw one of the hardest attacks on the big hill on the back, but everyone stayed together. It was looking good, I just had to out sprint as many of of these guys as I could.
With under 6 miles left I felt slight cramps again. I tried to drink it off, but it kept growing. We were just a mile or so from the finish and the cramps started taking over. The white 200meter flag is in site, thank goodness its almost over. I gave it my best cramped effort. I was able to finish ahead of Tracy and barely overtook Bain to get 6th. I was very happy with the result and was glad to finish with the leading break. I was glad I took the risk.
S pecial thanks to Glenn who I found out later chased down something like 7 attacks back in the main field and helped team La'Sport with successful blocking.
Crit
I didn't know what to expect in the Crit. I just went in ready to hurt and not so much worried about cramps. The first few laps were brutal. La'Sports Jason Ham and Breakrs Jacob Brewer go for an early break. They get a big gap. Matt Davis basically led the entire rest of the race chasing nearly every single attack and there where many. It was like a slow race with often random attacks, some proving very difficult to stay with. Glen tried attacks on 3 occasions, I tried 1. Matt just nailed every attempt. The 2 on the break got further and further away. No one wanted to waste there energy pulling to give Matt a rest.
This basically goes on for the next 45 minutes. 4 laps to go. Matt's team mate Patrick Mar attacks and obviously Matt lets his teammate go. I go for the gap and wind up leading the pack up to him. Not long later Patrick tries again but sneaks away. I get on his wheel and we get a gap. We only stayed away about a half a lap and the peloton caught us. Pat stayed in the lead for the next few laps and I stayed directly behind him, second in the pack. He picks up the pace decently and with 1 lap to go he pulls off. I was just going to pull off with him so I didn't lead out the whole pack to the finish.
The 2 on the break away seal there finish.
Glenn pulls up on the other side of me and says 'Stay on my wheel'. It was just what I needed. Glenn picked up the pace to a very uncomfortable speed. Things where looking really good. He kept it fast enough so no one could come around. 27, 28ish in the corners, not to sure didn't have my speedometer up. On one corner on the back side Glenn's back tire lost grip and did sort of a stutter, very rapidly catching and losing grip. I thought he was going down for sure but he managed to stay up. In the very next corner I heard the sound of carnage behind me. I glanced back to see a few riders sliding out in the turn. Almost to the last stretch and no one was coming around. In fact behind me was looking kind of spread out. I was feeling really good. I jumped off of Glenn's wheel right out of the last turn. Glenn yells 'Go Jeb hes right on your wheel' ('he' being Matt Davis). I give it every thing I had. It was a long straight. It was very fast. For a moment I thought I might actually do it, but Matt came around with about 50 meters to go and I came in right behind him to get 4th. Even though I didn't beat him I was really happy with my performance and stoked about Glenn's brilliantly executed surprise lead out.
TT 9th
RR 6th
Crit 4th
Omnium 4th
Raising Canes Individual TT official results
Rising Star - 16 year old Brian sure is coming into form lately - 1st in cat3 - 3rd overall - Keep eatin your wheaties!
*NEWSFLASH* - Jeb utilizes wind cheating hydration system! - or is he trying to emmulate one of these figures?
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Andrea and Tim riding in the Individual Time Trial.
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Adam and Jesse preparing to take off!
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Mark Miller's Tuesday Night 10 mile TT (May)
Placing |
Racer |
Avg. Speed (mph) |
1 |
Brian Rizk |
27.21 |
2 |
Glenn J. Richard |
26.74 |
3 |
John Fell |
25.97 |
4 |
Jeb Falgout |
25.93 |
5 |
Jeremy Johnson |
25.40 |
6 |
Dodd Foreman |
25.08 |
7 |
Johnathan Falgout |
23.56 |
8 |
Adam Falgout |
23.18 |
9 |
Frank sauter |
22.67 |
10 |
Matt Billeaud |
22.41 |
11 |
Kerry Behrens |
21.36 |
12 |
Tim Provost |
21.31 |
13 |
Jesse Melancon |
20.73 |
14 |
Tim Sharlow |
19.60 |
15 |
Andrea Rizk |
19.29 |
Thanks to all who showed up Tuesday night. Also thanks to Danielle Lewis, Ben Sonnier, and Roy Landry for all the help with the TT.
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Mississippi Grand Prix 2008
Race weekend Highlights!
Biggest winner - Johnny Falgout - (Cat 5) 1st in the RR, 2nd overall, 3rd in the criterium (pictured left - yellow helmet). Matt Billeaud also got 2nd place in the Cat 5 Road Race - great job guys.
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Precision Bikes Racing Milestone: Andrea Rizk - 1st woman to attempt an entire stage race. You go girl ! ! ! (above)
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Ricky Tenney back in the mix - left and Glenn Richard right.
Glenn's Masters 35+ weekend Recap
Ah yes, the MSGP – the biggest, baddest race around these parts. Pretty much every serious racer tries to peak for this race, so you can expect some fierce competition and with around 20 grand in total payouts, you will see teams from across the entire southern part of the nation show up. Normally I would race the 1-2-3’s but a nagging injury helped me decide that I should not push the issue if possible. The Master’s race was only 3 events and the road race and Criterium was also marginally shorter. So – with my racing age of 36 and Brian and Jeb pointing out my grey hairs, it was an easy decision. Friday night, I planned to watch Brian and Jeb race the 123 crit but the weather had other plans and the chief referee was forced to cancel the event. Nobody wants to race the fastest Criterium when the roads are wet. The next morning was a total flip flop in weather conditions – it was absolutely beautiful. Ricky Tenney decided to join me for this race and everyone did a double take when his name was mentioned for roll call. Rick was also surprised to see others that are still racing.
Not even a quarter mile into the 56 mile road race, there was a horrible crash – I thought this poor Herring Gas guy was dead after seeing his head smack the pavement. He ended up getting a severe concussion, but he is alright now. Ricky Tenney avoided the same pile up by going off-roading through a ditch for about 30 yards. I waited up for him and he said he was fine. Not realizing his brake was rubbing the rim for a while, he did not last much longer from the punishing pace. The hills were pretty much big chain ring hills and I’ve really been trying to improve this limiter by doing inclined trainer intervals with max resistance. Boy, did this really help me. I sh*t you not, I was getting shelled off the back of every hill last year. This year I found myself up in the front during the hill climbs – actually creating gaps, not even having to get out of the saddle. This - for me, was worth a first place finish – basically conquering my major limiter. But now, I can see concentrating more time on this has somewhat weakened my TT and sprint, but I feel the tradeoff is worth it because my overall standings should be better this year. I got my first warning for the double line rule by the motor ref. Basically, I was coming up really fast on the left side when someone shot out in front of me – and instead of slamming the brakes and causing a crash, I just went around him and the yellow line. No biggie, but if it happened again I would be sent to the rear of the pack. The road race sprint was chaos; everyone was jockeying for position within the 1k mark. It was impossible to get to the front and the pace was not that fast because it was a big hill finish. I ended up 16th by literally knocking people out of the way to get to the front.
The Time Trial started around 6pm for me and boy was it painful. I truly hate riding TT bikes, especially with my recent injury, that’s why I’m so glad this was only a 5k TT. As much effort as I put into it, I thought I would have gotten top 3, shiiiiiit, the top 3 averaged around 31mph; sorry, but not this year. I got 8 th place, which moved me up to 8th overall going into the Criterium. My crit started at 10:am – the pain was relentless. I guess it would have been much easier to sit in the back, but I had to watch 3 riders who were right on my doorstep for the overall classification. I had to stay up front and help work to catch every break away that happened. The final lap was scary, everyone was elbow to elbow in the final turns; I knew I had to really suffer to get into a good position, so off I went about 8 back into the final turn and got passed by 2 people – so I ended up with 11 th in the crit and 9 th place overall which was in the money. Not bad considering I was riding with an injury and finished last place in 2007 within the Masters class. I can’t wait for next year’s event.
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Above-left; Brian Rizk hiding behind last years overall winner in the yellow yersey. Above - right; Jeb Falgout takes one last easy breathe before the Sunday 80 minute criterium begins. Brian ended up with 2nd overall in the cat 3 division and Jeb 3rd overall in the 3's as well.
Rocky Mount Stage Race 2008
Scott Schilling's 1st stage race recap!
This is my first stage race and my 3rd road cycling race ever but I was up in the air on racing as a Cat 5 or in Master +35. If I race Master I will cover greater distances and since we are hiking all the way up to Shreveport I might as well get in some good mileage. Also, in Masters category I can win some cash if most of the field just falls down. If I would do well then I would help out the overall team in points. Even more importantly I would gain some really good race experience So I decide to race Masters. When it was all said and done I got my butt kicked, but won a pair of sunglasses in a sprint on the Crit and gained some good experience.
The first race is a 54 mile road race with some short intense climbs, that during the race end with a short sprint as the riders would try to split the pack. After slugging it around the 13 mile loop on a practice run, I was not looking forward to hitting these hills and wind 4 more times. As the race started the adrenaline and draft made the ride much easier than the initial solo slug fest on the warm up run. As soon as I started to settle in and let my confidence grow about how and where I will be at the end of the race. Then all of a sudden the routine of what I though were random sprints started. I was thinking “what the hell is going on? No one is getting away this early.” I had completely forgot about the hot spot right after lap 1 and all the chess like strategies that this sport pulls. All is going on at this point as I can imagine from a rookie’s stand point is they are trying to gauge the field and the teams, then later will try and split the field. After 3 laps of the numerous sprint episodes…after every turn after every climb, no matter how small, I am spent and had every intention of jumping off the back of the pack and enjoy the rest of this lovely Saturday sunny and windy ride at my own pace. Then all of a sudden I catch right back up to that living traveling accordion and I now have a good spot in the pack at 4th with only a few people off the front and we only have about a lap and 4 miles left. Not too far into the 4th lap we hit the monster climb that inevitably culminates with sprint on the back side, and here is where I finally fall off the back then get to do my Saturday stroll into the finish. Total time 2:25:47 it is a race and there are different dynamics in the field but for comparison the Cat 4 winning time was almost a minute behind at 2:26:40.
Time trial…4 miles out and back. The only thing that was more challenging than the head wind on the way out was figuring out how to get to the parking area for the race. I did an impressive 9:56 – In +35 that is 15 out of 17; compared to cat 5 that would put me at 7th out of 17; compared to cat 4 that would put me 12th out of 21.
Then my first ever criterium. Wow the pain…it is that sensation that makes you wonder what the hell are you doing…why are you subjecting yourself to this crap. Then after it is all said and done and the delirium is starts to subside, then you have that sensation of being so alive and acutely aware….just an unbelievable feeling.
My take away…I really overestimated my training. I always thought of myself as a sprinter and climber. I tend to be quick and this last Nov and Dec I was working out in CA and climbing about 6,000’-9,000’ a week. Funny how when you feel competent in an area you neglect it during training. I had not done an interval session in many years and after Christmas I had not climbed a hill except for the Rouge Robaix. Across the board I have been overestimating my training.
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Cat 123 crit pictured above! _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Mark Miller's Tuesday Night 10 mile TT (April)
Thanks to all who came out to the first TT of the year for Precision Bikes. Special thanks to Glenn, Mike, Craig and Adam for their help also.
Placing |
Racer |
Avg. Speed (mph) |
1 |
John Fell |
25.51 |
2 |
Trevor Casper |
24.45 |
3 |
Geoff Mire |
24.35 |
4 |
Jeb Falgout |
23.66 |
5 |
Eric Sonnier |
23.03 |
6 |
Jonathan Falgout |
22.78 |
7 |
Ben Sonnier |
22.37 |
8 |
Kevin Soingner |
22.25 |
9 |
Leroy Richard |
21.71 |
10 |
Josh Latiolais |
21.57 |
11 |
Matt Miller |
20.67 |
12 |
Jesse Melancon |
20.05 |
13 |
Tim Sharlow |
18.99 |
14 |
Michael Ardoin |
17.78 |
See you the first Tuesday of next month, May 6th. Same time and same place.
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NOBC/Raising Cane's 2 man TT
officail results - Sorry No pictures - We just had one Cat 3 entry for this race.
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Raising Canes 3 man TT 2008
* All of these great photos were taken by Erin and Adam falgout. Please visit her website at erinfalgout.com
As you can, there were plenty in attendance this Saturday before Easter. Seven - 3 person teams in all. Not bad for a team that only existed for less than 2 years. This was a 20 mile / 3 man TT sponsored by Raising Canes on River Road - north of Baton Rouge. President Rick Sauter can be seen acting silly above.
Smitty and Ben Sonnier. (above)
Frank Sauter, Roy Landry, and Johnny Clavelle. (above)
This is hilarious - Scott needs to upgrade to Cat 4. He's suppose to be suffering like Don and Ricky behind him. (above)
Jeb and Glenn (above).
Mark Miller and Jed Darby getting after it. (above)
Johnny Falgout, Matt Miller, and Matt Billeaud.
Teddi Schneider, Danielle Lewis, and Peggy Connick. (above)
I swear Miller has the best hair; that's why I call him Vidal Sasoon.
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rouge X roubaix 2008
Special Thanks to Erin and Adam for the excellent pictures and Feed Zone help! To view more of the Rouge Roubaix X photos, log on to ErinFalgoutphotography.com enter the site and go to the proofing tab. The password is rrx
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Matt Billeaud
It's been 6 years since I last raced in high school. Being that my longest ride before the Rouge was 55 miles, my goal was to have fun and finish (hopefully before Johnathan and Adams last year time). Rolling out to the start Johnathan, Scott and I worked to just stay together and not get push around by the massive group of 70 -100 racers. Around 20 miles I felt a tension in my leg that seemed like a cramp was about to happen. I was not having that so I just ate a cliff bar and focused on staying hydrated. There was no problem here for the remainder of the race.
At the first gravel section I found my full bladder already screaming. Remembering Glenn talk about the no stop leak (this was not a experience I'll do again unless I'm a possible contender).I was dropped toward the middle of the gravel. I was alone for about 30 minutes just going up and down the little hills. I managed catch a few riders here and there as well as some faster riders catching me on the way back from fixing flats. That was nice to ride with them until we hit the second gravel section which I found myself slamming on the brakes down one of the slopes and realizing that it's not a good idea to follow the bike in front of you. I was caught by Phil and we caught Leroy. Well I'm not quite sure what happened next but I think it was about three of us climbing (walking up) the third gravel section. I could tell my legs were beginning to tighten and so I did a quick stretch and was on my way again. Leroy was kind enough to give me a bit of history on that road saying it was about three hundred years old and was used by the Indians.
Anyway, my body was still moving without the go. It was around mile 85. I was alone most of the last 15 or so miles just trying to keep the bike moving. I did finish. with a time of 6:15. Bring on the rest of the season.
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Jeb Falgout
This Rouge Roubaix was a great experience for me. I've been in plenty of races now and this one brought things to yet another level. It is the biggest baddest race of the year (obviously) and was my first race as a 3 AND my first COLD race. It started off just a wee bit on the extremely freezing side. Everyone was complaining in the beginning. There were somewhere are 100 riders, which is much more than usual races, so it kinda makes you feel like a little pawn in the cat 1,2 riders game. The pace was fairly easy due to the draft of dozens of riders. My goal was to get near the front before the first gravel section, which I did. Once we hit the gravel things got tough. There was a split in the peloton and I was near the back of the front group barely holding on and catching glimpses of herring guys hammering at the front when we'd go through turns. There was a 3 man breakaway before the gravel, so they were reeling them in.
After the first gravel things lightened up a bit. A little ways later, and this is absolutely true, a couple of guys stopped to pee, then a couple more and a couple more and before you knew it nearly everybody was stopping to pee and the rest slowed up to wait. I took full advantage of the situation. As a rider past by, I overheard him saying "That was the biggest gentlemens agreement if I've ever seen one". I also saw a few other riders pee while riding, mid pack, like it was no big thing and their team mates would give them a little push from behind to help them keep the pace.
It warmed up a bit, the chasers all caught back up to the lead group, and we hit the second gravel section...OUCH. Once again I was just barely on the back of the lead group after another split, this lead group was much smaller. I was there to see the lead rider grab the $100 at the top of Blockhouse Hill (I think thats the name), but I couldn't hang with them this time. I fell back to a chase group, which was also small. After that gravel section the chase group I was in, consisting of Matthew Davis and Tim Regan to name a few riders I was surprised to have falling back to, caught the lead group. Great I'm not in a bad position yet. One more gravel to go.
The third gravel is where it all fell apart. It was rough and the gravel was thicker than the other sections. I had just enough momentum while riding in the tire tracks (thinnest gravel) to keep myself up right. To stay with the leaders I was forced to attempt to ride around a few riders who were falling back. The first 2 went okay, I sort of put my hand on them and used them to balance and even did a little pushing (hey it was desperate times, whatever it takes). I tried to go around one last guy but I lost balance, went into deeper gravel and had to get off my bike. It was nearly impossible to get back on with out jogging up a little ways. The lead group got away and it was survival of the fittest from there until the end of that gravel.
After the last gravel section, things got a little more structured again. I found myself in a pace line with 4 soon to be 6 other riders. The rest of the race was basically just riding in with those guys. I beat them all to the line except 1 guy who did not take ANY pulls. The time on my watch said 4:31:18. There is no official time yet and as of right now I placed 28th overall in the A race. I don't know my placing in 3's alone yet. I actually didn't feel like crap after the race which was great. As I said in the first line, it was a great experience.
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Brian Rizk
The Rouge-Roubaix for me was a big guess. I was confident and really really looking forward to the Rouge-Roubaix. I had put in the hours and was convinced I was going to do well. Until, Tuesday morning I woke up with a sore throat. At the time, I didn't think anything of it. Just a sore throat, so I rode Tuesday night, relatively hard, almost time trial intensity. Wednesday morning I woke up with fever and was dizzy and nausiated and the whole nine yards. It didn't get any better Thursday or Friday and developed into a real bad chest cold. This is where all my expectations went down the drain. I was thinking about not doing it at all. My fever broke Friday night and I did a little ride Saturday. It was going to be iffy. So I convinced myself to race, or to ride.
The race started and if was freezing cold. I dressed extra warm because I was worried about pneumonia with my chest congestion. I actually ended up not feeling that bad at all. The only problem I had was keeping my heart rate down and keeping my breathing in control. My legs felt fine. I hung with the pack until the first gravel section. I still wasn't confident in myself so I was riding towards the back of the peleton and got stuck behind some slow riders and lost the pack. We formed a chase group and after the gravel section caught back up to the peleton. I sat in and tryed to recover from the chase. My lungs were getting tight and I was loosing control of my coughing. We hit the second gravel section and I was looking up a giant gravel hill and me and Glenn said "forget it". We stopped and answered mother natures call and went along at our own pace. The last 3! 4 miles was a big blur for me. I was going back and forth between dropping out and thinking about my health or finishing and thinking about my ego. Well, like usual, my ego won. I finished the Rouge-Roubaix in just under 5 hours. That's 1 hour and 15 minutes better than what I did two years ago. So, in a way I feel accomplished. I did better than I thought I would with the condition I was in. But, still in the back of my mind, I can't help but think how good I could've done if I hadn't gotten sick. Special congrats to Jeb who did really really well. He put in the time and energy and pulled out the results for Precision Bikes. And thanks to Glenn who stayed with me for most of the 34 miles that I had left after I got dropped. Also, thanks to my mom who gave up her sunday to sit out at the feed zone and wait for me. I already can't wait 'til next year (i know, pretty crazy, looking forward to the&n! bsp;Rou ge-Roubaix).
From left to right (Brian, Glenn, and Jeb)
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Scott Schilling
This was my first pure road cycling event (well the race was not purely on roads…but anyway) and it was a great experience. First of all, it absolutely cleared some misconceptions I had about road racing. I use to think that road racing was about getting in great shape then ride your ass off. I am just beginning to appreciate the intensity, strategy and the swift & brutal punishment for minor errors. I use to think mountain biking offered more in terms of excitement since you were constantly navigating crazy obstacle 0 to 20 feet in front of you and from time to time one of them would test your intestinal fortitude. Road racing offers the same intensity around your immediate proximity, generally there is no roots, ruts, rocks, drops etc. (except in the Rouge) but the nice thing about trees and those other inanimate objects is they don’t eat lunch when you are right on them, they don’t get scared and veer into you, they don’t just up and decide to block you into the outside of a turn. The sports are different but both have intensities and will make you face some fear in you.
Waiting on results so I do not know how I did. After grinding away from pointers from Jonathan, Matt, Glen and everyone else, I knew I only had to get a seat on the left side with a nice view…not at the front but close enough to avoid the tragedies that the Rouge guarantees. And that is exactly what I did….for about 10 miles. Being caught up in the draft and then at every downhill I suddenly turned into Ricky Bobby, soon I found myself right up at the front. Then eventually, front row and feeling an obligation to give it a whirl in the front row. I could not just sneak back into the pack…now I can and will. Shortly thereafter, maybe 2 miles later we hit the first gravel road climb. The pack hit it with speed and the climb started with a gentle grade and swift pace. Still gitty about the moment (my first race) and although a bit tired from the Test. fest minutes before; I am trying to motor along as hard as I can and improve my position for this climb. The pack’s speed was good and I was on the far right of the pack as we went into a left turn. I hit some loose deep gravel and the speed was good enough to force me out into the bank and to a complete stop. I did not appreciate the pace of the pack until it whizzed by me as I was standing still. Got going again and safely passed one of those guaranteed tragedies… a small pile up of a handful of riders. From here I had a nice solo ride by myself up and down the gravel road. Later, I would learn a how different a Sunday stroll on a gravel road is when you have about a 2 dozen wheel with over 100psi riding next to you.
Traveling on I hooked up with a new group, I guess those of us that fell off, slid out or crashed. The group tried to get organized and attempt to catch the lead group…or what may have been the lead group. In the Rouge there is no clear line of sight and many obstacles- some hills, but primarily gravel hills- that will rip apart a group and put distance between them. For the most part the group seemed like it is always chasing a ghost, since you really never got to see the other group. Then, I think (time, distance and sequence are a bit of a blur) we had one of the infamous gravel climbs and here is where I learned that riding in a pack on gravel road does 3 things: 1) 100psi tires shoot out rocks like bullets in a machine gun (yikes my poor frame…need to get a Kevlar bike so it can survive or a pee wee herman bike so at the end of the race I can leave it behind some old movie theater and wash my hands of it) 2) you really don’t need that many gels on the Rouge, because you get plenty of high protein, high iron content dirt thrown right into your mouth courtesy of the bike who has and is breaking wind for you, and 3) this is mountain bike terrain….but now you are in the blind since you can’t see the road in front of you at all. You can only gauge unmanageable obstacles by the people falling in front of you. Then the analogy to mountain biking can take on another angle, riders and their bikes are like logs…and you can crash on it, ride over it or hop it. Just like a log you don’t want your chain ring testing the texture.
Later, mistake number 2 or 3…which is a repeat of number 1, I am back on the front of the pack I am with….without glasses (can’t really see signs until I run over them) or any knowledge of the course and I miss a turn. I turn to try and catch the pack up the hill…but maybe my bike was shy of getting pelted with rocks…didn’t catch the pack. Up the steep one…Yes I jumped off and hiked up the hill. My ego was spent with my testosterone around mile 10-20. The hike a bike is a great time to get closer to mother nature and return some of her love.
Besides not eating dirt like a Tonka Truck, rolling along solo has its advantage in the Rouge. Although, conversation happen in the pack, it is a bit more intimate when it is just a few. Oh, and I am guessing that another Rouge benefit is that mix the girls with Cat 4/5. So- Jamie from FL who can climb like a goat, my number is 337-781-9416. Doesn’t everyone look so sexy in spandex a plastic helmets that belong on Star Trek. And the writing on a jersey’s are like an online profile so it is easy to drum up a conversation.
After that section, we were pretty much done with gravel roads. Now we only had to contend with a few asphalt roads that are turning into gravel roads. However, they do have some beautifully smooth paved roads on this ride. After making it through every gravel section without going horizontal and surviving a run in from a rider on my left that resulted in a pile up, I got up close and personal with one of those pretty roads. On a nice downhill section, Ricky Booobby possessed me, started grabbing for speed going around the left of another rider into a right hand turn. I could not get the lean I needed and my momentum took me across the other lane where I found a nice patch of dead leaves to dive into. I still can't recall exactly what happened…all my scratches are on my left side (all minor, barely even conversation pieces) but I was trying to lean into a right hand turn.
After that a small group formed of about 4 guys and 2 girls. And we worked our way toward the finish line. The girls were strong and as our group turned into a slinky or an accordion, the girl from the VW team took off. After a little while she had about a mile on us. So Jamie and I left the group and tried to catch the girl from the Volkswagon team. We came up short about 100 yards.
It was a great time- at mile 40 I was cussing myself for signing up for the race, but at mile 102 I was extremely happy with my effort, despite the poor decisions. Adam…thanks for helping with my beverages. The bike seems to be ok after the rock fights and the layout in the turn.
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Leroy Richard
I don't know how many Rouge Roubaix's Leroy's done, but I know he smoked a lot of young whipper snappers!
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Sh*t Happens
Between the potholes, inexperienced pack dwellers, high speed downhill in gravel, and pure bad luck, it's a miriacle anyone comes out without an incident.
Closing Note; Raising Canes put on an excellent race this year. This race is getting extremely popular - looked around over 200 people signed up for this event.
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