Mississippi Bluffs Road Race

Mississippi Bluffs road race is one of those goofy-charming events that ABR occasionally throws up. I like the loop a lot. 3 miles or so of narrow quiet roads with a bit of sand and gravel and quite a few twists. Onto a wide straight section that leads into a screaming safe downhill to a sharp right hander immediately followed by a long, two-tier 5% hill, a few minor rollers, a short steep hill and a long, exposed gradual descent to a narrower road with a couple of right handers and slight uphills. The finish is tricky; a steep 1/4 mile hill, descent and a 500m 2% grade to the finish line. Jump on or before the hill and try to hold the gap into the wind for a mile, hammer it as soon as you see the finish in the distance and risk giving a free leadout to the others or running out of gas, or wait until 200 m to go to sprint and risk getting caught out and starting too late. No perfect way to do it - depends on your own strengths and the dynamics of the group.

Anyway, of the 15 miles in the loop about 2/3rd is good quality roads with a hard shoulder, 5 miles or so are 2 lane blacktop with no shoulder and occasional sand and gravel. A few hundred feet of climbing per lap is enough to sap the legs after a few laps, combined with the ample heat, tail and crosswinds there are plenty of chances to attack; and once a well-organised break gets away - it's not coming back.

Previous years the race had only been two laps, not long enough to drop anyone - and it had all been decided in a mile-long drag race to the finish. So when I saw that this year's race would have 4 laps for the open and 3 for the masters I was excited. That extra length, combined with the course, would make it a lot more testing and should provide for a challenging and enjoyable race.

Being ABR, things like the centerline rule, littering and other such inconsequential rules are pretty much left up to the honor of the riders. As long as they're not too grossly violated don't expect anyone to care. Oh, and expect a two week wait for results.

Donnie and his Dicecyling crew had put a lot of work into the race over the past few years, combine that with a bargain $20 entry fee (half that of superweek) and the lack of available Road Races - this event was one that I was determined to support.

By some unfortunate scheduling, there was also a MTB event taking place nearby that drew away riders and volunteers. The DOT also decided to carry out some last minute roadworks on two sections of the course. Full credit to Donnie for taking this in his stride and sweet-talking the DOT and Police forces to cooperate. It all ran smoothly and the road crews very graciously gave us right of way when safe - it never proved to be an issue.

The race itself tends to attract mainly older masters. It's one of the few that attracts appreciable turnout for 50+, and 60+ and even a few 70+. Numbers vary a lot. Very few Iowa riders are familiar with ABR and the level of open, junior and Women riders tends to vary in some weird random fashion. Last year there were a fair number of juniors and ladies, this year only one lady. Numbers were down a bit - partly due to the crazy MTB conflict, but mainly because of the weather - many didn't fancy a 60 mile race in a heat index of 100F+. Neither did I, but it's not enough to stop me from racing.

Although I would have been better suited to the masters, I registered for the 1/2/3/4 opens because some teammates were going to come along and we were all going to race together. They never showed, so when the open cat assembled we were 13 strong - three Cat 1/2s, eight Cat 3s and just two 4s. Had I known this I would have registered as a 3 in order to make it a better race.

First lap was pretty chill. Everybody was aware of the heat and rode sensibly. I, along with several other, started with 4 full bottles. The pace was moderate bar a few crazy-fast accelerations injected by the 1/2 guys. I've never encountered this in a cat 4 or master's race. I guess this is how the fast guys race. Everybody held on, bar James from ABD who flatted, and almost everybody (with one dishonorable exception) took their fair share of pulls.

Second lap was the same, easy with a couple of scary pace changes thrown in. Mid way through I had a bit of luck, we had come over the longish two-tier hill and hit a sharp 1/4 mile kicker into a headwind. I was first wheel and hit it at a fair, but non-blow up pace. Halfway up a train of 5 riders come past me, the pace was high and I was hurting, so was tempted to save some energy and sag to the back. I thought better of it, swallowed the pain and jumped on. Lucky I did. We hit a wild 30+mph over the top and kept it up for several minutes. I hung on. When things calmed down I looked back and we had shed maybe a third of the group.

Just before the start of Lap 3 two riders jumped on the hill, a third bridged, and they were away. After we figured out that they were the three 1/2 guys everyone else was content to fight out the cat 3s amongst themselves. It would have been tempting to try to bridge, but I doubt if the others would let me go.

Lap 3 we kept up a reasonable pace in the heat and rotated through smoothly - no more crazy pace changes. At this stage it became clear that one rider from PACT was not working and ticking everyone off. Everytime he'd get to second wheel he'd languidly drop off and fall to the back - usually over the yellow line if it kept him out of the wind. In a group of half a dozen those shenanigans become embarrassingly obvious. A number of people spoke to him but it was a waste of time. He'd feign lack of understanding and start rubbing his calves in fake-cramp mode.

James who flatted was still out there two laps later. A teammate, the only lady rider, stopped and gave him a tube, I believe.

Mindful of the possibility of being caught by dropped riders, I kept the pace high the couple of times it flagged. The smaller the group the better for me. Turning the corner in to the wind another rider dropped off from heat/exhaustion. We were down to 5.

A mile into lap 4 we came upon one of the cat 1/2 guys with a flat. The XXX rider, who had been riding strongly, then dropped out and told us to continue on - down to 4. At this stage I knew I'd be able to make it to the finish and wasn't worried about being dropped or not. Two of the others started laying down sudden jumps to try and drop the wheelsucker. Didn't do it very well though. The first guy would get a gap, I wouldn't react, the 2nd guy would then lay down some power to bridge up with the wheelsucker on his wheel. This happened several times, the other two taking turns jumping but then dragging the wheelsucker back up with them each time. Seemed like a good way to wear yourself out. Not once did they succeed in forcing him to expend any extra energy. I told them that it would be much better if they both jumped simultaneously while the wheelsucker was on my wheel, thereby forcing him to chase, but they didn't seem to get it.

This went on for a few miles until a rider joined us from behind. It was the Cat 1 with the flat, XXX had sportingly given him his wheel and he had buried himself to catch us. We started rotating smoothly, minus any help from our PACT friend of course. As he was clearly a musclebound sprinter type the best chance to put some hurt on him was on a hill. I went to the front and killed it up the sharp hill where we had dropped a few riders two laps previously. Got a gap on him, crested the hill and yelled at the next guy to pull through to hammer it - he promptly eased off and it was gruppo compatto again. That was the end of that. I then got an earful from the Cat 1 for not rotating smoothly. Sorry man! I guess you know better - not your personal leadout train quite yet.

Nothing much happened on the rest of the lap. We had some fun trying to get the sprinter dude to go to the front - at one stage he ended up there by accident and we all eased off to leave a gap. He slowed down and started to rub his calves somewhat worriedly. Nearly fell off our bikes laughing.

Curiously dysfunctional group - wheelsucking got to a couple, I was mad about littering, another guy mad about a flat and a missed win and everyone put in bad temper by the heat. We didn't work together well.

It was clear that the cat 1 guy was much stronger than anyone else, but I'd fancy my chances one-on-one against any of the other three riders. In a group though my function is usually to come second last in any sprint situation - much like CBR Luke in that respect. It would be fun to be in a break with him to see who would come last or who would try to break off the front the earliest.

I thought there would be a chance that the others might mark each other out, so I jumped about 1/2 a mile before the last steep hill. Unfortunately, I had forgotten that there was still $30 on the line for 3rd place. The Cat 1 wasn't having any of it and he chased me down, dragging the others back up.

We hit the hill with a mile to go. Last year I got jumped and gapped on this hill, so I kept a strong pace up the ascent. Nobody came around. Kept the speed up on the downhill without straining myself - nobody came around. Hit the uphill with 500 meters to go and I punched it. After 60 miles in sweltering heat I had only 10 good seconds in me when I needed 40. They came around me with 350 m to go. Cat 1 winning the sprint easily for 3rd, with the PACT guy, whose cramps had mysteriously vanished, sucking his wheel all the way for the Cat 3 win. Then a big gap to the Cat 3 junior, another gap to me, and an even bigger gap to the last Cat 3 of our bunch who blew up even worse than I did. Second last in the group again!

6th overall. Three 1/2s and two Cat 3s ahead of me. 12 or 13 starters, 8 finishers.

Didn't really feel the heat until the last couple of miles - then was quite overcome - couldn't even talk. Stripped off as much as I could dare and headed for the pump for an improvised standing shower. Cooled down after a while, exchanged a few war stories, thanked the organizer for all his good work and hightailed it for home.

For powergeeks - time 2:43:24, 61.17 miles, 22.5 mph, AP 214 W, NP 261 W. HR 157 bpm. IF .886 - fairly mellow race with some strong surges, indicative of the heat and riding in a chase group with no incentive to really push it.

There were some problems with the results, but they got changed after a couple of emails. Fun race, great course, deserves support, roll on next year.

What I am going to get worked up about is this - Littering! There were two riders in my group who had no problem with throwing their gel wrappers into the ditch and launching water bottles into a hedge. I know who you are, you know who you are. You got some abuse from more than one rider because of it but ignored everything. I can give you all the cliches about coming over and dumping all my trash on your lawn, or how you are doing your best to destroy the few road races we have. The cliches are still true. Just because it's ABR and you would probably have to shoot an official to get DQ'd does not make it alright. Any rider who litters is contemptible and does not have my respect as a rider or a human being. Sound harsh? It's supposed to!