Barry-Roubaix

Another sign that spring is here: Saturday, March 27, was the first big bike race of the year!  Grace and I raced/rode the Barry-Roubaix, which is a mostly dirt road race.  It takes place in and around Yankee Springs State Recreation Area, a little southeast of Grand Rapids.  While we were not as excited as we could have been about getting up at 5:30am on a Saturday, we both had a great time once we got there.  The event was well organized, the course was great, the weather was sunny (though a touch cool), and we saw quite a few friends there.

There were three options for length; 23, 35, and 65 miles.  If it was a little later in the year I might have gone for the 65 mile route, but my legs didn't have too many miles in them, so 35 miles it was.  As each mile rolled by I seemed to feel better, and I found myself seemingly floating up the hills with no pain!  I suppose I could have rode for a faster time, but I had found a comfortable groove that I did not want to disrupt.

Grace rode the 23 mile route since she had only been out for one significant ride before the race.  But she did it on her single speed mountain bike, and it sounds like she charged the hills in proper single speed style!

We were both too busy riding/racing to take any pictures on the course, but afterward we could take time to pose for the camera between making sandwiches and opening beers.

Heading home after the race, we took back roads for a while since we were not in a rush and it was much more pleasant than the interstate.  My GPS can be seen stuck to the windshield, hard at work.  It is indispensable for my job, and comes in mighty handy for some of our trips, too!

Home again.  I made a rack for the bed of the truck to carry bikes.  Having had a couple Rangers in the past, I knew exactly what I wanted.  The fork mounts for the bikes are readily available from most bike shops, and they are attached to a contraption I made that attaches to the plywood "bedliner" with three screws.  A third fork mount could be added in the middle.  Being an engineer and tinkerer, my rack contraption is set up for road trips.  My large cooler fits snugly in between the bikes, and my Coleman stove nestles in on the right side.

Spring is here!  Time to get out and enjoy the warm temperatures and longer daylight.