Barry Roubaix Recap from David Moore

For many the Barry Roubaix is not only the start of the season but the start of bike riding for the year. For me it’s just a continuation of something I never planned to stop. With the exception of the 1 week break from training after last fall's Iceman Cometh race for an appendectomy, the ride continues. The cold February rides around the Lake at Stony Creek and more than tolerating the stinging winds and surviving the icy back roads fully prepared me for the cooler temperatures. What I was not quite expecting was the fast pace that was set by the higher numbers of competitors racing with Cyclocross bikes. I chose my 2010 Specialized 29 Comp.
The bike has been a faithful friend all year and was ready to take whatever was thrown at her. As we lined up at the Barry Roubaix start I scoped out other bikes taking note of the gears others were about to take off in. I had already decided that my take off gear was best as I felt strong enough to stay ahead of the group at least until the first sharp turn onto the main road was past. We got the "Go!" and I was off. I was at the front of the pack and intentionally as I did not want to get tied up with another bike. Getting a another derailleur stuck in my front spokes would not have been pretty, its happened before.

After we made our way onto the main road, I was in the big ring and the first 10 or 15 cyclocross equipped racers went past me... I was ok with that since I knew the fastest guys would be passing me soon enough. I was even more surprised that at the first 1 mile I was still among the front as far as other mountain bikes were concerned. As we got to the sandy two track some of the Cyclocross bikes got a little squirrely, but it was smooth sailing with the S-Works FastTrak on the front wheel. The climbs in the two-track were a little too easy for me... I realized as others started to pass, that I needed to get up out of the saddle and give an extra push. Those Cyclocross bikes were great on the straight-aways, but on the sharp climbs they just got in the way. We got to the dirt roads and even more cyclocross bikes passed. I tried to draft a few of those 'cross bikes but they either slow down on the climbs, or they were too fast so most of the next 18 to 20 miles I just went it alone. I noticed that on the downhill sections of the dirt roads that I had more confidence than I had last summer, my bike really did have great traction. Even though I was able to make the turns with very little speed loss, I found that accelerating on the exit of the turns were no match for the skinny tire 'cross bikes, I would use this opportunity to take a few swigs of my electrolyte drink.

The climbs, they kept coming, I thought I was getting to the top of a climb only to be disappointed that I wasn't quite halfway up. I experienced no cramps in my legs, but my heart was maxed on one stand-up climb to catch a guy I swore I had passed just minutes earlier. On the fast sections I learned how to appreciate a few moments of drafting, but they were just moments. At the last 14 miles or so finally got my break as I was really really tired, a cyclocross guy let me draft him for a while, he was pretty consistent with his pace which allowed me to not only catch my breath, but for my heart rate to finally settle down... we talked for awhile, he asked how I felt, I said "dead", but I was lying I felt alive and well, but just spent. At some point I got out of my saddle and sprinted up a hill I thought the guy I was following was right behind me which would have been cool, but when I had the chance to look back he wasn’t there, but I found a whole string of bikers following me... probably taking advantage of the same thing I had minutes earlier, a break from the wind.

At the last 6 miles (on pavement) I saw my good buddy's wife ringing a cow bell, so I knew at that point I was close to being done that gave me a little more motivation (albeit no energy), to get up one more time to feel the last burning as we climbed yet another hill. I saw the entrance to the Yankee Springs Park, WOW! I was relieved. As I made the left turn into the park, I decided I just had to finish on a high note. I got up and peddled past a few more bikers, the last stretch to the finish line sure seemed longer coming in than it did going out, the last few yards finished up in the saddle, I was done for the day. I finished the 35 mile race in 2:04:56, with an average 16.8 mph. The results do not show me as the winner or even the top 10 but my ability to recover quickly after the race shows me as "WINNING". This is just the beginning, I have a plan and staying strong is essential and in this I am Specialized.

Barry Roubaix 2011

By Jay Jones

Otay, I love this race, I love the course. It mimic's a lot of how I train, back roads on my single speed cross bike. And most of my early season miles is on the fixie...so this race is nothing new, my body is use to this type of race.


What I wasn't use to was the gear ratio that I selected. I've been running a 38x17 the past two months. Last year I had a 39 tooth chain ring along with some different cranks, so I assumed I used a 39x16. So I decided to switch from a 17 tooth to a 16 tooth and I thought I would be okay.

I was in Wave 3 with all the people over 40, single speeders and fixed geared racers. There were a ton of fast cats, so the roll out was fast and I could see the lead group pull away, which is no big deal so the panic button wasn't hit just yet. The pavement treated me well with my gear selection...I was rolling along, spinning at about 110 rpm's while working a little on the climbs. I was happy. Then we hit the dirt and a few climbs. In traffic, with a long line of cyclists in front of you, it's hard...no, impossible to ride the single speed style which is gain some momentum before the climb, so I was working real hard near the top of the climb. After a couple of these, I was unable to recover as I would have to keep pedaling down the other. With this said, I didn't even bother hitting the panic button, I threw the whole thing away. I knew my day was done and it was confirmed when people that I am always in front of starting passing me.

With each proceeding climb, I was digging deeper and spending more money than my account had. I decided not to worry about the race and my standing as I did have some big plans. I stilled raced when I could, but with this gear ratio, I lost way to much time on the climbs.

I ended up finishing in 2:26, a whopping 18 minnows slower than last year! I never cramped, just couldn't turn the cranks like I wanted too. I have a good baseline of where my fitness is at and let's just say...I'll be riding more real soon...just don't run me over on the pavement...

Go ride!

24 hour spin for the WCFY!

Thank you all for the AWESOME effort you put forth to help make our 2011 24 Hour Spin a success! We had a great turnout for spinning with zero gaps and at least 2 riders spinning at all times. We had a record day of sales and will be giving a check for $2241.00 to the Waterford Coalition for Youth! I hope that you had a great time attending.


Sincerely, Ernie Dell