MDcatV

i'll be there. Cat 2 race. 5 of us making the trip. who else?

GirlAnachronism

I'll be there, women cat 4 under 35. Heading up with five teammates in various fields.

TheJackMove

Cat 3 grey race.

FormerRower

Cat 2 race, no team with me.

MDcatV

^from what you just posted in that climbing thread you dont need one ;-).

Homebrew01

What is the appeal of the race that causes it to draw 4 times the number of normal entrants in a road race, at 3-4 times the normal entry fee ?

Blackdays

Bragging rights.

Grumpy McTrumpy

I'll be in the 40+

MDcatV

it's marketed well as a unique one-day race.

echappist

Unique as in it's like a circus? Personally, i don't want to be one of the clowns.

-Paraphrase of a pro's perspective on Paris Roubaix

RudeSiggy

I'm in Cat 2s with a few teammates.

Racer Ex 

Recon indicates that the roads are molasses.

aicabsolut

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8b2IvgpgNk8

Creakyknees

"it's like a gladiator event"

Battenkill, Rouge-Roubaix... throw in some dirt/gravel and tough hills and get high entry fees and huge fields. Ex, we should do that around here, I know some roads up around the Red River that'd work fine.

Homebrew01

After paying out prizes, there's $200,000 to work with. I don't know what the expenses are, but I bet there's good pocket money left over. Even if expenses were $50,000, that still leaves a nice income of $150,000 until next year.

Matt2.8NJ

I will see you there, then, with two teammates.

Best of luck to you.

brianstalnaker

Cat 4 Brown

Makin the solo trip from So Cal. Lookin' forward to being back in the NY racing scene for a day

Racer Ex 

I actually mapped out a course up around Mc Kinney. There's still a lot of gravel including the road to my house.

Thor05

I'm in Cat 4 blue with 3 team mates

ridethecliche

Is the finish at your fridge with a sixer inside? If so, I might have to start training again.

jabbahop

cat 4 pink with no team mates.

MDcatV

that was a pretty awesome race. the gravel is what everyone talks about, but i didnt think it to be particularly significant in the outcome, the relentless 6K feet of 1 to 3 minute climbs, that's another story.

how'd everyone do? I had a nice pre-race conversation with RudeSiggy, whose team had a nice day out there, suffered, did a bunch of fat guy slip back climbing, descended like an insane person, attacked at mi 65, got dropped at mi. 70 (meetinghouse road for those who watched the utube above) followed the SRAM car back onto the group, got dropped again on the next climb, and finished otb. no result to speak of, but a great way to spend my 40th birthday.

GirlAnachronism

I got a flat (said in Charlie Brown voice).

FormerRower

Crashed hard early in the Cat 2 field, managed to get back into the final group of 15 or so (before 10 more bridged), and then ended up top 20. Wish I did not have to spend so much energy early post crash, but that is racing.

jabbahop

First race of the year, first at Battenkill, first as a Cat 4, first solo attack. Great and painful learning experience. I knew the climbs would kill me so I followed a stupid attack from the gun hoping that I could get enough of a gap to get over the hills without getting dropped. Stayed away until the bottom of the first hill after the other guy dropped back after 5 minutes. Was fun riding behind the pace car with the pack a ways back - would pay dearly later.

Slid back the first two climbs but chased back on with others. Then about 25 miles the cramping started in both quads anytime I pushed hard or stood. To compound things I dropped my last bottle (third) at mile 40 but someone gave me a small water at the last feed stop. I almost fell over when I put my foot down to get the bottle as my calf seized too. About this time I noticed that my rear brake was rubbing and had to open my release all the way to have enough clearance (turns out my shifter slipped down the bars a bit tighening the cable but didn't figure that out until the race was over). Ended up gunning out of gas on the run in to town and soft peddle the last 3KM in 54th place 34 minutes off the pace.

Without the initial solo effort and the hydration/fueling/mechanical issues, still wasn't going to finish with the top guys but would have liked to see how much time I could have gained back. Lots to to improve upon and learn!