Tour of the Battenkill Bike Race
Lesson learned: Stick to your usual training leading up to race day
Oh Battenkill! For most cyclists, simply saying the word Battenkill will often times cause some sort of knee jerk reaction. It’s coined as “America’s Toughest Race”. The course is roughly 60% gravel and 40% old, beat up country roads. 2013 would be my third year in a row competing in this ritual of an event and it would once again prove to be a challenge. Although this year the race was only 84 miles (down from 120+ last year), it still held its reputation as I walked away from the event with crippling back pain, dirt in my eyes and thoughts of ‘what if’, ‘would of’ and ‘should have’. The joys of cycling races.
I must admit I was a bit nervous and worried heading into this year’s event. Being that I’m now living in Wisconsin and training solo in the cold, I haven’t been able to get the intensity and duration in with my cycling training. A mix of paincave.com with some solid long rides with a local friend and I was off to races in Cambridge, NY where Battenkill is held.
I flew in to the ever crazy LaGuardia Airport in New York City on Thursday before the Saturday race. Being that I’ve been living in Deer Tick, WI (joking… it’s actually called Fish Creek, WI in beautiful Door County); it was a welcoming site to be in the city. I soon found my teammates and together we made our way to our friend’s condo. No time and quite honestly, no roads to get a little recovery ride in.
Friday morning would arrive with sheets of cold rain falling in the bustling Manhattan. A late departure and soon we were on the road for our 4hr trip north to Cambridge, NY. By the time we got to Cambridge, it was early evening. It seems every year the conditions are different for Tour of the Battenkill. Sometimes dusty, other times muddy, little bits of gravel and yet other times huge chunk like gravel. A quick bike build, some reading material and soon I was off to bed. Again, no easy recovery ride as time, weather and darkness would not allow for it.
Saturday morning would come all too early. Our race started at 8:40am. The early start would certainly throw me off my normal schedule. Oatmeal, peanut butter, walnuts and few scrambled eggs would make do for my breakfast. I also had way too much coffee, but all for good reason. Let’s just say, I needed the coffee to help jump start my bathroom visit. Funny as it may sound; this would prove to be a major factor in the race.
I roll over to the staging area and say hello to all the friendly faces. It’s a huge family reunion of cyclists from around the country. We’ve all been locked away and focusing on our off season cycling training all winter and this was our chance to catch up. Temps were cold, sky was cloudy and drizzle was in the forecast. I find myself feeling good when I start to notice my right quadricep is starting to feel weird. I look down at my Garmin. We are a mere 18 minutes into the race and my quad is cramping up. I start to panic and curse under my breath. I have at least 3+ hours left of this race and I’m starting to cash my chips in and beginning to think this is the end of my day.
Instead of freaking out, I start to reason through a few things. I haven’t been able to ride my bike the past two days because of my travel schedule. While traveling, I was not drinking enough water to stay hydrated. I drank a pot of coffee in the AM to help with my bathroom situation. Caffeine causes dehydration. Okay, settle down Jacob, you can handle this. I start to slip to the back of the field while hammering down 2 bottles of sports drink and inhaling 2 gels’. I stomach all this in less than 45 minutes while suffering through with a leg that is cramping up. Eventually at the 1 hour mark, I start to feel some improvement.
While I was busy trying to get my life back together, the winning break of 7 guys would go off the front of the race. They attacked in the first 5 miles of race and never looked back. That break would dwindle to 3 guys and I was happy to say that I ended up coming in with the group that was sprinting for 4th place. Our group consisted of roughly 40 guys while the other 60+ guys got blown out of the back of the race. Tour of the Battenkill is not forgiving and it’s important you take what positives you can from any race. As my coach said, I felt horrible for the 1st hour of the race, got myself back together and ended up with the lead group. Not a bad day.
There are some lessons to be learned here. Get your usual ride in the day before the race. It’s important to ‘get the travel out of your legs’. Also, stay hydrated especially when you are traveling. When you are out of your usual element and normal routines, you must take even more consideration to stay the course. I’ve been racing for years and yet I still make fundamental mistakes like this. Most importantly, be sure to have fun! There is always another race.
We just finished up in Arkansas at the 36th annual Joe Martin Stage Race. This 4 day stage race certainly provided us with great sights, hard climbs and challenging terrain. Stay tuned for a brief write up soon.
Jacob
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