Cow Pie Classic Preview

 One final test before Lumberjack. 

I have never done this race before. It is a relatively new event with the first edition landing in 2019 before all of the covid drama. They have different distance options ranging from 66 miles (Long haul) to 34 miles (short haul) down to 10 miles and something called the Big Sh*t EX adventure that is 365km and seems like its own creature. 

I am opting for the Long Haul edition for 2023. This is my last long training ride before Lumberjack. I was waffling with dropping down the distance so save my legs. I probably still can, but I missed the transfer time online. So....66 miles it is. Everyone says 66, but the links all show just over 63. Maybe there was a change that made it a bit shorter.

I have watched a few videos and learned as much as I can about the event. Overall it looks like a really fun event and I haven't heard anything negative. Most people talk about the farm sections. Yes...farm sections. Much like Barry Roubaix includes Shaw and Sager roads for added misery, Cow Pie has some unique sections that are only rideable on race day. 

It looks like at about 43ish miles there is a farm section that is about a mile long. I am under the impression that this section is new for 2023. These are really all guesses on my part. 

Around 48 miles in there is another section. This one is longer at around 2 miles long. There is plenty of footage of this section. The majority of it looks great with some 'singletrack' style riding in the woods. The last segment looks pretty tough with a super bumpy grass section.....in an old cow pasture. 

The last farm section looks to be about 1/2 mile long. It looks like a grassy section and a bomb downhill before spitting out onto the Fred-Meyer-Clinton-Ionia-Shiawassee-Trail. Say that three times fast. This is a short section of rail trail along the Grand River. From here a short jaunt over to Smokey Row and its a straight run into the finish. 

The farm sections aside...there are 2 major climbs that seemed to catch the attention of the riders on the videos I have watched. First is affectionally referred to as The Welch Wall. It looks like a relatively short .22 mile segment with a 6.7% average grade. Tough, short and steep. Doesn't seem terrible when you look at it being only 4 miles in. I should be warmed up and comfortable by this point. Won't be easy, but not the worst. The Wall in Barry Roubaix is shorter and averages 11.7% grade. Sheesh. The problem here, we have to ride it again 50 miles later. When the legs are tired from the farm sections the course loops back into this section for another attempt. It will be interesting to compare times to see just how much fatigue has set in at this point. 

The second climb that garners attention is 'Up Jessup'. This is a .32 mile segment averaging 5.7%. Again not the worst....but not easy by any stretch of the imagination. It comes around 32ish miles in. Hearing the comments makes me think that it will be tough regardless. 

This will not be an easy event. At around 40 feet of climbing per mile it is fairly flat....but so was Dirty Donut and was far from easy. The tougher part of this event will be the farm sections I mentioned above. While they are all rideable, they will throw some punches for sure. For me it will be surviving these sections and recovering between them. There are decent distances between each of the sections. 10 miles between Jessup and the 1st farm section. Around 5 miles between the 1st and 2nd farm sections. Another 4 from the farm to the last attempt at Welch Wall. Then another 4 miles from there to the last farm section. Enough time to get into rhythm again. 

There is even a Clydesdale class for me! There are 10 fellow clydes registered so that will be a decent group. TOP 10 finish! haha. I know a few of them and it will be a good time for sure!

So what about a goal? 

Well....this is an odd one for me. Do I use the facts from the last few events and set an achievable goal? Or do I go with what I believe and put a goal in place that falls in line with what my last ones have been? Having the understanding that my nutrition failed me at Dirty Donut...I am going into this event better prepared. Mentally I will be prepared for a slower jaunt around Ionia. Temps look to be closer to 80 than 90. Canada air will try to kill me, but at the lower levels I should be ok. Will just tap that inhaler before the start. 

I am setting my distance at the 63 miles for these goals. I would love to say that 4:30 is my stretch goal. Ideally I will finish around that time. Realistically I will shoot for Sub 5 hours as a hard goal. I hope to be closer to the 4:30, but I will take anything sub 5 hours. 

Lets see what happens.