The Barry Roubaix

Last year, I raced my Salsa Vaya in the 24-mile Barry Roubaix just a few months after having reconstructive ACL surgery. Not to mention I had opted to use my own tissue (which failed, so I have a cadaver tissue instead), so I was missing a chunk from my hamstring (which still cramps up when I do a lot of climbing), and it was the first time since that surgery that I could ride my bike outside... I was also in a really weird part of my life where I had broken up with my boyfriend because I was depressed and unhappy with my life and I missed him a lot, which made me even that much more depressed. I wore a knee brace, I walked up every hill, and when I finished riding 24 miles I had to go home and go straight to bed -- my butt was kicked!!

I had finished though, and that is what mattered most to me. This year was so entirely different than last year! It's really crazy what 12 months can really bring. After hurting my knee and being unable to play roller derby I sort of lost a little bit of my identity. That's what was so depressing-- I didn't know who I was when I was unable to move and unable to do the things that I had spent my life doing. Group rides from the bike shop? Couldn't do that. Roller derby? Yeah, right. Spin class? I sat on my bike all winter and moved my legs, but really didn't spend much time spinning. Hikes with my dog? Skiing? Commuting to work via bicycle? Sledding? Anything? Nope, just pretty much staying stationary. I don't wish a torn ACL on any athletic person. Or any type of person, for that matter. It's a real bummer.

Back together, back to being happy.

But that's all in the past. This year was so different. This year was SO MUCH FUN! I really had a blast at the Barry Roubaix this year and it was so amazing to see so many friends and customers out there riding the course. Chelsea Strate, one of my favorite fat biking friends I made this winter, came out from Minneapolis for the 64-mile course. She stayed at my house two nights and came to visit me at the shop. I really wish she lived in Grand Rapids because it's really great to have more friends that are girls that want to ride to the same extent that I do. She really killed it over the weekend, too, and placed in the top 20 overall women's field!

Chelsea Strate finishing like a beast!

So race morning Chelsea, myself, and B loaded up and headed to the race. I'm still getting used to this whole getting-ready-at-home thing. I couldn't find my riding glasses and just gave up and left the house without them. I knew it was going to be a muddy mess and was really hoping I could scrounge something up to protect my eyes. Sometimes riding with contacts really stinks, especially when you get a little spec of sand in your eye. I wound up finding a red pair of shades I had bought for 50 cents at Goodwill just before race start. They made for some really awesome photo ops.

I was doing a really great job at hydrating and needed to desperately relieve myself before my wave took off. I was in wave 9 and knew I had about 10 minutes before it was my turn to go. By time I got out of the bathroom and made my way to the line I realized that wave 12 was lining up near the GRBC hospitality tent... whoops! I looked towards the front of the ginormous line and saw that wave 9 was on deck! I maneuvered my way as best as I could through a huge crowd of people and made it to the back of wave 9 just as they were counting us off! Whew.

I started gaining speed and was on the left side of the group on the road, following a guy who had the same idea that I had: get to the front. A car was headed our way, so we both started to get over. I'm not entirely sure what happened, but I must have been too close to him. He yelled at me and told me not to ride near him. I was surprised by his 'tude and dropped back a few riders. A guy next to me started chuckling and said, "some guys take this really seriously." I guess so. I wanted to take it seriously, too, and really wanted to have a good race. I couldn't be too serious about it, though, because I saw a lot of familiar faces around me and knew there would be some friends real toasty at the finish line. I shrugged it off and just kept pedaling.

The week before, a group from the shop had pre-ridden the 36-mile course. They had returned home with sad-looking bikes and photos of puddles and ruts on the gravel roads. I was really happy that I was on fat tires but found myself wishing I had more air in my tires. There were a few peanut-buttery spots in the first half of the course, but there was also a lot more road segments than I remembered there being. I felt a little bouncy on a few of the spots, but otherwise felt really good. My friend Kent was riding fat, too, and we rode together for a big portion of the race chatting as though we were on a stroll. At one point I heard someone joking and talking behind me and I started spinning my legs faster and tried to pull away... it was another friend, John, who had jokingly smack-talked with Danielle and I at spin class just a few days prior. I didn't want him to pass me, but he had been putting miles in this winter too and was on a cross bike. He rode with me for a while, until I lied and told him Danielle was just a little ways ahead of me. Ha! He took off, excited, after his decoy rabbit and I didn't see him again till the after party. He never saw Danielle. What sweet revenge. ;)

Sweet shades, amirite?!!

Despite the mud, and the fact that the mud broke the fender I had just put on my bike to be courteous to the riders behind me, I had a really great time at the race. I was able to ride my bike up every hill and was surprised when I saw the Hastings city limits sign. I passed the finish line with a huge smile on my face and was so happy to see Tom and some other GRBC folks hanging out at the finish line recovery tent. Tom had brought hot dogs and beer to hand out to race finishers, but ran out way before I crossed the finish line. I was the third female fat biker to cross the line and was happy with my results. Danielle had finished first, and Dana Baurhenn racing for Vanderkitten came in second. The men and women fat bikers were all grouped in to the same fat bike category, so they only awarded the top overall finishers regardless of gender. I hope to see that change next year and hope both the top men and women will be acknowledged.

There was so much food here BEFORE the race.

After the race, I was able to hang out for a little while before having to rush back to Grand Rapids. LadyfestGR was happening downtown and I had been asked to help teach a bicycle mechanics class with my friend Tara, who works at another shop in town. Despite knowing that LadyfestGR and the Barry Roubaix were both the same day, I really wanted to be a part of both of them. Two really awesome events going on in West Michigan the same day? Especially when both events involve bicycles? Yes, please!

Bike maintenance while The Blow sets up in the background

So I'm hoping now that I'm caught up to date I can begin to be more timely with my blog updates. It's a little embarrassing that it's taken me so long to finish the GLFBS and the Barry Roubaix. Tomorrow is the Lowell 50, and I'll be racing the 34-mile course on my fat bike! If I don't have an update within 4 days someone please punch me.

Cari Niewiek, myself, Jenny Scott

P.s. the new 2014 Grand Rapids Bicycle Company kits make their grand debut tomorrow! They look so good!

!!!