"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - Webster-Roubaix

Just curious who's going to be there...

i'll be there with three other team mates.

I'll be at this one, riding with my honeys in the combined 35+/W1-3 class.

Anybody know about the road conditions?

Bob

I don't know how they are now, but I can comment on last year. It's about a 2 mile long section. In that section it varies from hard dirt with some rocks, and potholes, to hard packed sand, to soft, loose sand.

The most difficult part is where its soft sand. I rode 23c tires, last year, and If I did it again I'd do 25c for a little more stability in the sand.

On the first lap doing the nuetralized rollout, it fell very unstable sliding in the sand. However, after that at race speed, the momentum helped a lot. You just have to be prepared for the bike to fishtail around a bit and catch it when the tires wash out.

Pedaling low cadence/ big gear seems to help in the sand.

also its a bit dicey to move up on the sandy sections, so it pays to get up front before the first turn onto the dirt.
On the whole, I had a blast last year, and would definitely reccomend doing it.

i understand there were a few flats last year. would you ruun sew-ups or heavy (xcross) tubed clinchers?

I road 23c Prorace2's and had no flats.

I'd do 25c's just for better stability in the sand, and a little bit better protection from pinch flats.

The biggest issue is pinch flats in the rough and a bit rocky spots.
Ideally a bit wider tubular (like ridden in Paris Roubaix) would be great. I just didn't want to risk my Zipps or glue on a different set of Tubulars.

Good chance of rain on race day this year.
It's still easily ridable on 23's, though go with 25's if you have them.
The bumps are nothing and the sugar sand is negligible.
Normal road setups are fine.

I just signed up for the 5s. I am debating running my old Hed Deeps with tubular Tufos, which seem to be pretty tough..they're just not very wide. Otherwise I'll probably run some sort of cheap, tough 25c tire.

I think I'll try to make it down there. I'll be the guy huffing and puffing, wishing he'd been riding more, and probably flatting/falling in the dirt, and blaming everything on a bum rear shifter.

I can't wait! Maybe if it rains, everybody else will decide not to show up and I'll stand a chance? Or maybe just all the slow guys I might be able to beat will stay home, and I'll get my tush handed to me?

I guess there's only one way to find out... See you Saturday!

Scratch that. See you guys at Davie and/or Tallahassee.

Scratch that. See you guys at Davie and/or Tallahassee.

Hmm, me too. ;)

I will be in Miami next weekend to visit family and friends, that's been on the books for about 9 months now because of the youth fair. I'll probably go ahead and race since I'll be down there anyway; how often do I have the chance to ride over a garbage dump???

you guys are wuthy

you guys are wuthy

Mike's a wussy. I'm married.

Mike's a student. And a wussy. And almost gainfully employed.

And slow, did I mention slow?

Anybody back from this yet? Reports?

Anybody back from this yet? Reports?

I heard Stubbs took 4th place in cat4. Rob took 5th or 6th. Ben took 8th in the threes. And a lot of people got shelled.

110 guys apparently lined up at the starting line for the 3/4 race. Decent field, fast times.

pretty nasty course. pot holes, broken pavement, lots of flats, flying bottles, loose sand, tree roots, dry leaves, and the worst-

wash-board ridges that shook the handlebars out of your hands.


the paved parts were ok tho-

if you liken the training we do to race these bikes to the precise manipulation of a scapel...

that race was just smashing sh!7 with a hammer.

I heard Stubbs took 4th place in cat4. Rob took 5th or 6th. Ben took 8th in the threes. And a lot of people got shelled.

110 guys apparently lined up at the starting line for the 3/4 race. Decent field, fast times.

Way to go, Eric.

Florida cycling has the dynamic results up for some of the races today.

http://www.floridacycling.com/Dynamic.htm

I heard Stubbs took 4th place in cat4. Rob took 5th or 6th. Ben took 8th in the threes. And a lot of people got shelled.

110 guys apparently lined up at the starting line for the 3/4 race. Decent field, fast times.

Not too shabby all around!

I don't mind hardpack, can handle some sand, but let me tell you, when I took a wrong turn a few months back and ended up on some steep, steep farm roads, and then hit washboard on the descent, I seriously considered not turning around to pick up my bottles, just because I knew it would involve me riding it again. Bone shaking.

The worst part was that the Start/Finish was on the 2.5 mile unpaved section.

Hardest race that I've ever done. Epic.

Bob

Ha! That's great. I'm glad to hear somebody on the organization side has a sense of humor.

Actually, the dirt is only 3k (1.8 miles).
The whole loop is 9 miles total.
It was advertised wrong.

Actually, the dirt is only 3k (1.8 miles).
The whole loop is 9 miles total.
It was advertised wrong.

2.5---1.8---no real difference. I think I lost a filling or two every lap, and I need a chiropractor but they don't work Sundays!

;)

Bob

What a great race! I'm just glad I finished on the lead lap! (cat 4) The 'cross skills helped out a lot in the unpaved sections. I didn't lose a bottle, but I did break a Tacx Tao bottle cage. Gotta clean the bike today and see if anything else came apart.

The rain on the last lap was beautiful. I fantasize about riding in conditions like that. The 5's race would have been even more fun (terrifying) in the rain. Too bad they shortened it due to the weather.

Cool photo gallery is up: http://picasaweb.google.com/Colavita.Girl/WebsterRoubaix

Awesome pics! I was registered and ended up coming down with bronchitis over the weekend, so I didn't show. It looks like it was certifiably nuts and I'm bummed that I couldn't race.

good job guys. sorry I missed the fun.