Battenkill Roubaix–Wow!

What a day at The Tour of the Battenkill. As we rolled out of the little hamlet of Salem, New York, I noticed that the bank thermometer read 80 degrees F. Yikes, that warm, in April? For two months now, I’ve been primed to compete in this road race, fully expecting “spring classic” type weather-cold, rain, wind, snow. Instead, we got an exceedingly warm day with brilliant sunshine. I’ve got the sunburn on my arms to prove it. I never thought of packing sunscreen, but I had arm warmers, knee warmers, thermal gloves, booties, hats, etc. I didn’t need any of that stuff. I ended up riding most of the race with my jersey unzipped.

Spike, Arlen, and I made the trip from Connecticut. It was nice of Arlen to drive and we were there in less than three hours. Unofficially, known as Battenkill Roubaix, this race has seen explosive growth in participation since it started four years ago. This was my first time and it brought back great memories of the classic New England road races from the early 1990’s. Races like the Tour of the Valleys in Putney, Buckfield and Sebago Lake in Maine, the Coberly Road Race in Bolton, and others; have all ceased to exist. Battenkill Roubaix has emerged as one of the most successful one day races in the country, and today, 1300+ riders competed in 16 races, almost all of them sold out. There were two, that’s right, two sold out Cat 4 races.

So, how did the race go? Well, it depends who you ask. I had a pretty good ride considering that I had not been on my road bike since the Plainville Spring Series race three weeks ago. The day after that race, I cut my hand badly and the fix included 5 stitches. I couldn’t hold onto the handlebars until this week.

120 riders started the Men’s 30+ race. The course was 54 miles long and consisted of one small loop and then one big loop. Point to point races like this are very rare nowadays. My GPS trackedit at 54.23. My HR monitor didn’t work, but all the other facts are there. The route was punctuated by many steep climbs and five major sections of dirt road. With the ultra dry conditions, the dirt roads turned into sandy rutted beaches. Loose rocks were shooting from our tires as we hammered across them. The dirt road climbs were steep and very loose. I saw some very talented riders walk. We rolled out and did a small clockwise loop that included the first sector of dirt. Folks started getting dropped on that first section. The field regrouped and we road through Salem again on our way towards the first big asphalt climb. Spike, Arlen, and I were all well postioned in the first 25 riders. Once the road steepened the pace quickened. The splits formed and Spike and I faded back. Arlen made the split and was in the first group. I was in the second group and Spike was behind me. There was a blazing fast downhill, then a rolling section before we hit the second dirt section on Juniper Swamp Road. This was very steep and a lot of people were walking. My group had closed in on the rear of the front group just as we hit the climb, but it exploded again. We were a little past the 10 mile mark.

Arlen says he got dropped from the lead group of 20 or so riders, and was chasing with a few other guys. I ended up in what became the third group, which swelled to 15 or so riders. Spike was in a group of four chasing my group. Eventually, Arlen punctured on a very rough section of dirt around mile 30. I’ll leave the storytelling to him, but his Neuvation carbon fiber rim cracked, causing the puncture of his tubular. Then, he ended up riding the rim and destroying it. I never saw him on the side of the road when I passed, despite his yelling. I must have been in the zone. Spike did see him and offered his wheel, but it was too late and Arlen refused. He ended up walking quite a ways before finally getting a wheel and completing the course. It was a bummer because I felt like he was poised to have a great ride.

My group rode together for nearly 40 miles. We never had a chance at closing in on the group in front of us, though we could see them at times, miles across the countryside. It was crystal clear day and we rode through beautiful farms. The heat took its toll. We were thrilled to ride through several little towns with cheering fans. I’m not sure what town we were in, but at one point, volunteers were handing up bottles of cold water, a saving grace. I was covered head to toe in salt and dirt. The dust was so thick you could barely see at times. This race course was rough on a lot of riders equipment, not just Arlen’s. I rode my standard team issue Cannondale CAAD9 with my aluminum Neuvation wheels and Tufo 21c clincher-tubulars. 

The last section of dirt road came at the 50 mile mark. It was also a very steep climb. My group splintered and I couldn’t hang on. I rode the final few miles into a headwind on my own. I finished in 2:43. Spike finished 17 minutes back. Arlen did eventually finish, though way back. We were glad that he was able to complete the course.

One of us will post the results when they become available. We are curious to see how many finished and where we were positioned. The fields were so shattered from the challenging course and warm conditions. We all agreed that despite Arlen’s misfortune, that we would return in 2009. We assume it will be frigid and wet because the chances of the weather being like today, are very slim.