2010 Blogs
Roubaix velodrome is to cyclists as Tetley tea is to Brits, as Pellegrino is to bubbly-water-drinkers. An urge to kiss the track is a sign you have some sort of sick cycling fettish. Would you rather kiss the podium boy/girl or the mud-strewn track? Although I didn’t kiss the track and I didn’t lay and make mud-angels, I was right chuffed to ride on it, especially it being my maiden voyage on a velodrome.
It was refreshing to wake in France on Saturday to green grass and clear roads void of snow. Beside hotel there was a cobbled lane which I started my morning ride off on…when in Roubaix. I then ventured to the center of Roubaix, finding a bike path, and then the velodrome.
Although the course invoked some fear and worry, I was excited to race it when I had some adrenaline flowing. It was raining during the pre-ride on Saturday, but the sun came out on Sunday, making for a peanut-butter like slop, fun to slide around all willy-nilly. The race started on the track, for about 150m before taking a hard-left onto pavement then into the pits. Out of the pits was a short sand pit and 100m of thick mud leading to the planks, which were blimey-tall. This brought us onto a soccer field for a while where there were some fun and tricky off-camber turns. Then through the pits for the 2nd time, some slick mud, pavement stretch, and a wicked flowy shoot through the woods before hitting the foot of the looming stairs. The flippin stairs. Each step seemed to be the height of my hips and grew taller every lap. It was like doing a set of max-weight back squats each lap! The rain seemed to collect at the top of this hill, as this was where the mud was the stickiest. We intertwined between trees for a bit before hitting the first drop-in descent which turned right onto a sloppy mud stretch, with a right leading up a slick hill which I was unable to ride. Sharp left to the top of the 2nd steep descent, then a wicked mud bog, then finally a bike path-like stretch to shoe us onto the finishing 200m on the velodrome.
My start was less-to-be-desired so through the off-camber field section there was some traffic that I was able to move through with running. When riding around others through technical bits, the front of that bunch really dictates how and what you will be able to ride. Indeed, on the 2nd descent I tried to ride while someone in front of me was running and I catapulted over the bars. However, this very well could have been the fastest I made it down all day! A big difference between the racing I have done in the US versus ‘cross the pond is that every woman fights for every spot. There is always someone to reel back in (unless there isn’t). And as soon as you pass someone, she will claw back to your wheel like a squirrel scampering up a tree with a cat in hot pursuit. And so it went, pedaling, on and off, pass, chase, re-pass, get passed. The leggies were alright, so the race was also alright, with a 14th. It was nice to have the familiar faces of Meredith and Mo on the start line. Katerina rocked Roubaix’s face off. All in all a grand-diddy-diddy weekend in France where my dinner vegetables were cooked to perfection.
It was refreshing to wake in France on Saturday to green grass and clear roads void of snow. Beside hotel there was a cobbled lane which I started my morning ride off on…when in Roubaix. I then ventured to the center of Roubaix, finding a bike path, and then the velodrome.
Although the course invoked some fear and worry, I was excited to race it when I had some adrenaline flowing. It was raining during the pre-ride on Saturday, but the sun came out on Sunday, making for a peanut-butter like slop, fun to slide around all willy-nilly. The race started on the track, for about 150m before taking a hard-left onto pavement then into the pits. Out of the pits was a short sand pit and 100m of thick mud leading to the planks, which were blimey-tall. This brought us onto a soccer field for a while where there were some fun and tricky off-camber turns. Then through the pits for the 2nd time, some slick mud, pavement stretch, and a wicked flowy shoot through the woods before hitting the foot of the looming stairs. The flippin stairs. Each step seemed to be the height of my hips and grew taller every lap. It was like doing a set of max-weight back squats each lap! The rain seemed to collect at the top of this hill, as this was where the mud was the stickiest. We intertwined between trees for a bit before hitting the first drop-in descent which turned right onto a sloppy mud stretch, with a right leading up a slick hill which I was unable to ride. Sharp left to the top of the 2nd steep descent, then a wicked mud bog, then finally a bike path-like stretch to shoe us onto the finishing 200m on the velodrome.
My start was less-to-be-desired so through the off-camber field section there was some traffic that I was able to move through with running. When riding around others through technical bits, the front of that bunch really dictates how and what you will be able to ride. Indeed, on the 2nd descent I tried to ride while someone in front of me was running and I catapulted over the bars. However, this very well could have been the fastest I made it down all day! A big difference between the racing I have done in the US versus ‘cross the pond is that every woman fights for every spot. There is always someone to reel back in (unless there isn’t). And as soon as you pass someone, she will claw back to your wheel like a squirrel scampering up a tree with a cat in hot pursuit. And so it went, pedaling, on and off, pass, chase, re-pass, get passed. The leggies were alright, so the race was also alright, with a 14th. It was nice to have the familiar faces of Meredith and Mo on the start line. Katerina rocked Roubaix’s face off. All in all a grand-diddy-diddy weekend in France where my dinner vegetables were cooked to perfection.