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Barry-Roubaix, who's in?
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My cyclocross team and I are joining in the fun this year. My first ever gravel race/ride...looking forward to it, it looks like a ton of fun. Doing the 62 mile event. Any other ST'ers doing the race this year?

https://barry-roubaix.com/

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Taco cat spelled backwards is....taco cat.
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Re: Barry-Roubaix, who's in? [spot] [ In reply to ]
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I didn't expect to see this pop up!

I am in with my local team also and plan on the 36-miler - look for guys in A1 Cycle Center cloths!
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Re: Barry-Roubaix, who's in? [spot] [ In reply to ]
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One of my favorite race. I’ve done the three traditional distances but stepping up to the Psycho Killer 100 this year as part of the ultra gravel series we have in Michigan. I think you’ll like Barry... the entire town gets behind the race to the point that the course is permanently marked. Awesome post race festivities and atmosphere. I’m spoiled in that I only live 45 min away so I get down to train on the course quite often.
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Re: Barry-Roubaix, who's in? [Toefuzz] [ In reply to ]
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Toefuzz wrote:
One of my favorite race. I’ve done the three traditional distances but stepping up to the Psycho Killer 100 this year as part of the ultra gravel series we have in Michigan. I think you’ll like Barry... the entire town gets behind the race to the point that the course is permanently marked. Awesome post race festivities and atmosphere. I’m spoiled in that I only live 45 min away so I get down to train on the course quite often.

Yeah, it looks really cool. Driving up from the Dayton, Oh area. Stoked about the post-race beer.

___________________________________________________
Taco cat spelled backwards is....taco cat.
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Re: Barry-Roubaix, who's in? [teddygram] [ In reply to ]
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teddygram wrote:
I didn't expect to see this pop up!

I am in with my local team also and plan on the 36-miler - look for guys in A1 Cycle Center cloths!

Will do. We'll be in black and white jerseys with "The Optimists" on it if it's warm enough to wear a short sleeve jersey over a warmer base layer.

___________________________________________________
Taco cat spelled backwards is....taco cat.
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Re: Barry-Roubaix, who's in? [spot] [ In reply to ]
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Another local here. I think I started it in year two when it was a couple of hundred people racing from the state park. One of my favorite events of the year and a great start to the race season.
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Re: Barry-Roubaix, who's in? [spot] [ In reply to ]
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I just talked to one of my friends today about doing the 62 miler. I just need to see if I can get the time off (I work saturdays).

Any recommendations on tires? I'm riding the stock tires which came with my cx bike, clement mxp clinchers. I've been thinking of switching to tubeless.
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Re: Barry-Roubaix, who's in? [hubcaps] [ In reply to ]
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hubcaps wrote:
I just talked to one of my friends today about doing the 62 miler. I just need to see if I can get the time off (I work saturdays).

Any recommendations on tires? I'm riding the stock tires which came with my cx bike, clement mxp clinchers. I've been thinking of switching to tubeless.

Hopefully some of the folks who responded to this thread can help you, because I'm a total newb to both this race and gravel riding. I'm going with the stock tires that came on my CX bike as well. I'll probably bump up the PSI quite a bit from cyclocross racing pressures, though.

___________________________________________________
Taco cat spelled backwards is....taco cat.
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Re: Barry-Roubaix, who's in? [spot] [ In reply to ]
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Yes. 62 on the fat tire....
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Re: Barry-Roubaix, who's in? [spot] [ In reply to ]
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Tire choice can depend conditions and it's hard to tell this far out. I'll run Clemente PDX because that's what's on my bike and they seem to work well over a lot of conditions. I'm not one to overthink things. Most years a fast rolling file tread would probably be fastest. Again I don't think it matters much. I know one year I ran studded Xerxes tires because the course was all ice.

From the FAQ
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Re: Barry-Roubaix, who's in? [spot] [ In reply to ]
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I should be there, probably in the 36, coming from the Detroit area.

Tires are always a tough call. Conditions can vary greatly. can be a real challenge if it's muddy, but it's a relatively short section.

I only have my older CX bike and just ride 30mm Michelin Mud 2's regardless.
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Re: Barry-Roubaix, who's in? [spot] [ In reply to ]
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Spot,

I'm just down the road from you in Cinci. I'm in for the 100. Haven't done any gravel rides before. My logic for jumping in and doing the 100 was "Go big or go home". Biggest concern is I don't have a bike yet. Some of our team (mostly Indy based) is coming up and doing the 62. One of my best friends from college is coming over from Chicago and he'll do the 100 as well. Look for guys in ToADS jerseys (Team of Amiable Devoted Supporters). Once I get the bike thing figured out, my stress level will go down substantially.

Good luck w/ the training over the next 90 days!


Tad

It took awhile, but I finally discovered that its not the destination that's important, but rather the journey.
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Re: Barry-Roubaix, who's in? [hubcaps] [ In reply to ]
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hubcaps wrote:
I just talked to one of my friends today about doing the 62 miler. I just need to see if I can get the time off (I work saturdays).

Any recommendations on tires? I'm riding the stock tires which came with my cx bike, clement mxp clinchers. I've been thinking of switching to tubeless.

I’m a big fan of tubeless and would recommend that regardless of which tire you go with. As others have said, tire choice can really depend on conditions. The 62 miler has quite a bit of paved road after it breaks from the 36 mile route so I went with 35mm Panaracer GravelKing SK’s last year and they worked great. There is a small trade off as Sager Road was pretty sandy and I struggled a bit compared to the guys on fat bikes or mountain bikes with 2.1”+ tires, but I’d like to think I made up some time on the rest of the course. I will say that it’s amazing how much time you can lose on one little stretch of road!
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Re: Barry-Roubaix, who's in? [spot] [ In reply to ]
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I live in SE Michigan and this has been on my bucket list for a while. A group of us from TeamODZ (Zwift cycling team) are meeting up to ride it. Should be a blast!

http://www.teamodz.com
http://www.endurancelab.fit
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Re: Barry-Roubaix, who's in? [hubcaps] [ In reply to ]
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hubcaps wrote:
I just talked to one of my friends today about doing the 62 miler. I just need to see if I can get the time off (I work saturdays).

Any recommendations on tires? I'm riding the stock tires which came with my cx bike, clement mxp clinchers. I've been thinking of switching to tubeless.


I did the founders fall fondo which is the same course and it was wet, slightly soft and muddy that day. I was running tubeless Specialized Tracer Pro

https://www.specialized.com/...?color=231012-156476

These tires were perfect in every situation during the race - I have not had them in the snow/ice however.
Last edited by: teddygram: Jan 14, 19 8:32
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Re: Barry-Roubaix, who's in? [spot] [ In reply to ]
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I'm in. It will be my 4th year doing it. It's worth the drive from Oklahoma. It's one of my favorite events of the year. I had to choose between this and Gravel Nats, which is 6 hours closer for me, and I'm choosing BR

As others said, course conditions can change quite a bit. Personally, i think a 35-38 is the right width tire for the course. It can be sandy in spots, so a wide tire is an advantage there, but there is also quite a bit of asphalt on the course and a few climbs, where anything wider than a 38 is overkill. Two years ago, a few riders from Holoweskel Citadel raced it on their road bikes with road tires and finished top 10, but i wouldn't suggest that.

Sager road is the section where the race usually blows up. It's a hard left turn off of asphalt onto a narrow jeep road, up a small climb, and then basically a mile or two dodging rocks, puddles, holes, sand, etc as you gradually keep climbing. It's narrow enough that you can get caught behind a rider who gets stuck in the sand, and your chances of making back to the leaders are slim.
Last edited by: rob_bell: Jan 14, 19 11:25
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Re: Barry-Roubaix, who's in? [rob_bell] [ In reply to ]
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rob_bell wrote:

Sanger road is the section where the race usually blows up. It's a hard left turn off of asphalt onto a narrow jeep road, up a small climb, and then basically a mile or two dodging rocks, puddles, holes, sand, etc as you gradually keep climbing. It's narrow enough that you can get caught behind a rider who gets stuck in the sand, and your chances of making back to the leaders are slim.

In the early days of the race the Sager road section was just a couple of miles from the start and it was all asphalt to that point. It would be a sprint to get to that section before everyone else. With only a couple of waves at the time, almost the entire field would hit that left turn at the same time. It was complete chaos, but a on of fun. I works better having it in the middle of the course but part of me still misses the complete cluster.
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Re: Barry-Roubaix, who's in? [spot] [ In reply to ]
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I'll be there with one other guy doing the 100. Should be a good time.
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Re: Barry-Roubaix, who's in? [spot] [ In reply to ]
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I'll be there. Hopefully the weather cooperates. Two years ago it was 39 and pouring. I picked gravel/sand out of my eyes/ears the next day and a half.

Last year was better, dropped almost 30 minutes off my 36 mile route time. Hoping this year to be under 2 hours assuming the weather cooperates.
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Re: Barry-Roubaix, who's in? [spot] [ In reply to ]
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I'm in for the 62 mile route. It will be my second Gravel event ever. I'm from Cincinnati and recognize your CX kits, I've raced a few OVCX events in 2018.
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Re: Barry-Roubaix, who's in? [spot] [ In reply to ]
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Still working out some of the details, but I think I am in. It will be my first gravel race I will be doing it on my CX bike. It will be a bit of a departure from my spring tri training, but oh well. Should be fun.

https://www.endurancelab.fit
https://www.teamodz.com
https://discuss.endurancelab.fit
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Re: Barry-Roubaix, who's in? [teddygram] [ In reply to ]
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A1 Cycle Center out of Merrillville? If so Myself and a few folks from the Valpo Ironwood group will be going. All distances from 36 to 62 and Fat Tire.
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Re: Barry-Roubaix, who's in? [kkerns] [ In reply to ]
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That is correct!

I will keep my eyes open for the Ironwood guys and say hello!
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Re: Barry-Roubaix, who's in? [spot] [ In reply to ]
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Bumping the thread to hear how everyone's race(s) went.

I did the 100. We rode the 2nd Sager Rd section the day before the race b/c most of the teammates were riding the 62. I used that as a barometer for how much sand we'd be dealing with on raceday, so it was a punch in the face when we had the other longer, deeper sandy sections to work/walk through. Thank goodness the sand was pretty much done after the first 1/3rd of the race.

Legs held up nicely for the 100, but the body as a whole was pretty whipped at the end.

I couldn't get folks to work a paceline or even echelon (where possible) to get everyone to save some energy with the high winds and was shocked at how many people were coasting the downhills when there was an immediate uphill to follow.

All the athletes were pretty relaxed. I didn't hear a single rider complain about another rider on the course, even when you had folks on fat tire bikes being held up by riders walking through the sand. So I would say everyone followed the Barry Roubaix Rule #1 - Don't be a D**K. Great to see out there.

Volunteers were outstanding. Would have liked to have heard the guy playing his drums in the middle of nowhere, but he was just starting to set up when I rolled through. I could have used more cowbell from spectators.

Bridged up to a small group for a bit that had one rider blasting heavy metal for what likely was the duration of the ride, so rolled ahead for a quieter ride.

Didn't see any wipeouts other than folks bailing when the front wheel washed out in the sand.

I loved the area, the town (Hastings felt like a mini-Asheville, NC to me), the vibe and loved everything the 100 mile route had to offer except for the extended sand sections. This ain't road riding, so all the sand should be a fair expectation. But all that sand was a detractor for me, enough so that I wouldn't sign up for the 100 again. We'll probably do the 62 as a team next year.

And what a difference a day makes. Rain on Friday. Sunny on race day (organizers gotta be happy with how that turned out). Snow/sleet and heavy rain on Sunday (I couldn't believe how many cars we saw off the road in ditches on Sunday morning driving back home...troopers and tow trucks everywhere).

What did others think of the day, the race(s)?


Tad

It took awhile, but I finally discovered that its not the destination that's important, but rather the journey.
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Re: Barry-Roubaix, who's in? [TMT] [ In reply to ]
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Did the 62 on the fat-tire and had a blast in the sand. I only wish it was A Lot longer for my 4 inch tires. The rest of the ride was a tough go and a long day in the saddle.

I saw the drummer as he was packing up - got him to play for a short second. That was nice of him.

All in all it was a good day. Weather was perfect and the volunteers were great.

I'd probably do the 62 again, but on a cross bike. I've twice been talked into doing too long of rides on the fattie (last year was the Lutsen 99'er). Hopefully, the group is done with trying to come up with new challenges, but that might get kinda boring too.

Glad you had a good day as well.
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