How did the Cow Pie Classic go.....
It started with a trip to Ionia. I can say that in all my years in Michigan that this was the first time I had ever been there. My drive up was quiet. I liked the last part of the drive where the road dropped down to the river. I rolled in and saw where everyone was parking. I followed suit and parked before heading to the Ionia Theatre for packet pickup. Cool little theatre reminded me of The Regent in Allegan. Neat that the towns hold onto their culture still. I grabbed my packet and headed back to the car.
Since I replaced my valve stems and went tubeless on the TCX I have had some issues with my pump. Not sure if its the pump...the stems...or a combo. But I had to borrow a pump. Big shout out to Main Street Bicycle Company for having a tent right by me and letting me borrow a pump. Much appreciated!
It was time to do a little warmup. With 63 miles ahead of me I didn't want to do a major spin, just a bit to get my legs moving. I know that this course has a few climbs right off the bat so I didn't want to start cold, just a little warm. I headed down the Fred Meijer trail that is right there. There is a really nice bridge here to ride over. I headed down the trail a bit just easy spinning.
Legs were feeling pretty good overall. A ride earlier in the week they felt what I can only describe as "chunky". Like there were chunks of muscle that didn't want to work. Once I got further into the ride that went away...and this is what I was trying to avoid with a short warmup. I rolled back over the bridge and into downtown Ionia for the lineup. Heard my name and it was Dale saying Hi. Make sure you check out his events later this year. Either the Fast Fitty or Custers Last Stand. Great guy, great causes, fun events.
Then it was time to line up. Looking at my number plate I was wave 1. There was a lot of confusion here as people were all mingled together trying to get to the front. A lot of Long Haul riders were trying to get to the right wave. I couldn't really hear the announcements but they were saying that Singlespeed and Clydesdales should start at the 9:06 wave....but my number plate said 9am. Not being able to fully understand....I started with the Elite Long Haul wave. They played the national anthem and a single prop plane did a flyover. Pretty cool actually.
Then it was go time. I was towards the back and by the time I got to the Start/Finish line the group was decimated. There was the big group up the road and a string of riders all the way back and past me. LOL. I chatted with a few other riders and just settled into my pace. The first paved sections had more climbing than my body prefers that early in a race. Nothing like starting uphill. lol. But I managed to hold my pace until Welch Wall. I was halfway up when I heard a train coming. This was the wave that started after me and there was a huge group. They came charging past with a few even sneaking past on the right side of me. I was as far right as I could get...but some still found some room. By the time I got to the top...that group was gone too. lol. Strong riders for sure.
I settled into my pace and just rode how I wanted to ride. I made sure to drink every 10ish minutes. This was a big issue last week. I had to ensure to get my calories in and stay hydrated during this race. I made it a point to keep that intake where it needed to be. Twenty miles in I started to see a few people ahead of me. There were still some riders passing too. I was alone, but not completely alone. I eventually reeled in a few riders. So far, everything was going according to plan. I did catch a guy and we chatted a bit. This was his first race ever. He was shocked by the elevation...lol. I told him this was a flatter race....and he was surprised. I was driving into the wind on a paved climb and figured he would maybe take a pull next.....but I dropped him. As I was riding my own pace I just kept going.
I finally hit the Jessup Road climb. Worse than I imagined. lol. I climbed as far as I could and had to get off for a walk. My feet were starting to hurt, so it was good timing. The hill was steeper and longer than I thought it would be. It wasn't a very fun walk either....riding would have been better....but I it was time for a walk. I had caught a guy towards the bottom, but he cleared the climb and made a gap again.
I settled back into my pace knowing the first farm section was coming soon. Around mile 40 I had caught that guy again. We made the turn into the first farm section right into a sandy 2-track. I heard "what the fuck!?!?" and it was my thoughts exactly. lol. He pointed out the grassy section on the side and we managed to get into some sort of rhythm. This wasn't even the worst part....but the 2-track was pretty long and it was very sandy. Then we kicked off the track into the woods and a bumpy grassy section before getting back onto normal gravel. Not a great section for me, but I made it thru unscathed.
The next section of gravel was awful. It was pure washboard for what seemed like miles. I honestly don't know because I was so crosseyed from all the bumps. I was on the right side, the left side, back to the right, down the middle, left side again, right middle...middle...left....all the way to the right. There simply wasn't a good line anywhere. It sucked. But I made it....and managed to leave the guy that had been riding with me. I reached the second section of farm. The first part wasn't terrible. Sandy and rocky farm road leading into the woods. Then it was quiet and peaceful in the shadowed woods. Worst part....I thought I was back on my mtb and didn't plan for the abuse I would take. There were a few roots and rocks and I forgot I was on a full rigid carbon cross bike. I took a few hard hits and then remembered to right was I describe as "lite" on the bike. The trees gave way to the last section of open farm. This section was absolutely awful. I had heard horror stories, but riding it was so much more real. I wanted to walk....I wanted to stop. But I just put my head down and kept pushing the pedals slowly taking a total beating across the field. I finally got to the barn and managed to clear the entire section before hitting the gravel. Brutal.
Took me a few minutes to get settled back into my pace. With about 15 miles to go I had to keep pushing to the line. I got to the point where the signs said "2nd time" with the arrows and I remembered another jaunt up Welch Wall. By now, 54ish miles in, I was slowing down and my feet were killing me. I rode part of the way up and just decided to walk and give my feet a break from pedaling. I got to the top and I got back on to finish the course.
One last farm section. I actually reached it before I thought I would. I made the right into the farm and about lost it in the big rocks. It wasn't gravel. It was big chunky loose rocks that they had laid for their driveway. Perfect for cars, hard for bikes with skinny tires. Thankfully it was pretty short and I was in the grass. This time the grass was smoother. The grass gave way to the woods and a fast trail thru. It was pretty fun for while it lasted before I kicked out onto the Fred Meijer trail again. This time it was peat gravel and it was just a nice calm part of the ride. Getting closer to the finish. One more left and back onto the gravel for the home stretch back into Ionia.
I thought it was flat the entire way back. But there was one more kicker that snuck up on me. With 2 volunteers directing traffic at the top I didn't want to walk. So I stood and climbed until I reached the top. They cheered and said good job, letting me know it was only 3 miles to go. It was all paved....but I was running out of gas. A little false flat and I finally saw the pavement give way to brick...knowing I was almost there. As I rolled into the finish area all I could do was laugh. The barriers were being taken down and there were only a handful of people. Ghost Town. Everyone was over at the brewery around the corner for the awards and food. Done and dusted. Not last.
I slow rolled to my car and just sat and relaxed for a while. I had done it. While I didn't clip my soft goal....I was only 11 minutes away from it. I took 5th out of 7 in my category. 138th out of 154 in the Men's category. Not a bad day.
As this was my final test before Lumberjack I am very happy with how the race went. I started and finished exactly how I wanted I wanted. I felt solid the whole race. Yes, I was getting tired, but this is a long event that gets harder as you go. Most events do, but you add in those farm sections and you have to save some energy. At that 45 mile mark in Dirty Donut I was suffering. Here I was able to push thru a nasty field and keep going thru the entire race....slow or not. Making sure that I was getting my calories in was important and worked for this race. Mentally I was also in a good place. I enjoyed the ride and the struggle versus letting a tough section of gravel or a nasty climb get into my head and shutting me down. Win.
Overall it was a good day. I felt wrecked when I got finished...just like I should have been. I was able to build my confidence in a race scenario with both my mental toughness and my nutrition plan. In just a few days I have my major goal for 2023 on the schedule. I will have an in-depth post on that later. For now, I am happy with my day and ready for the next challenge.
Thank you to the promoters for the Cow Pie Classic for a fun event. Thank you to all the volunteers for your support.
Keep moving forward!
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