Dude, I Just Lost a Contact!

This past week I took the time to go get my eyes checked again.  Got myself a new set of glasses and a new set of contacts. I'm having to wait till Tuesday for a full box of contacts. Well today on my long ride the wind was so strong that it blew one of my contacts out!

Training this week has been ok at best.  Took Monday off, and Tuesday as a recovery ride.  Wednesday brought 5 min pyramid intervals, and Thursday was my last gravel ride before Rouge Roubaix! Then it decided to rain all day on both Friday and Saturday.

Short Stop at the Refuge

After taking an unexpected day off (Saturday) I decided that Sunday's ride would need to be a good one. And boy was it! Started off with Kevin, David A, Parisa and me fighting the wind and cold as we headed out to the Noxubee Refuge. First hour was a little slow, but once we hit the Refuge, Kevin and Parisa peeled off and David and I picked up the pace.  The next hour and a half was filled with fighting the wind, side by side, as we pushed a high endurance pace over the rolling hills surrounding Starkville, MS. At 2 hours 30 min in, Kevin rejoined our group. Once we got back into town, 3 hour 30 min in, David peeled off to head home.

Some Rolling Hills

It was at this point that the pace really picked up.  The next 45 min we pushed a high tempo pace as Kevin and I headed down Old Westpoint.  Kevin showed me a cool little road just pass the highway which became our turnaround point. On the way back to town I blew up, with only 30 min left to go. Kevin was kind enough to pull me on into town where we split. By far my hardest long ride. But defiantly what I needed going into my rest week before Rouge Roubaix.

Train Bridge at Turnaround

Old Road Bridge at Turnaround

Rouge Roubaix is my second race of the year and my first B priority race.  Each of my B priority races are placed at the end of a rest week.  Rouge Roubaix is only my second road bike race and my first century. The race course has 3 gravel sections which total 25 miles. I am very nervous about this race, both because of my inexperience in road bike races and riding with a group on gravel.  Even with my reserves about this race my goal is to finish with the lead group. Talking to Kevin, who did this race last year, I expect the lead group to be less than 10 of the 50 starts in Cat 5. Below is the official description of the race pulled from the website.  

Welcome to home page of the Rouge Roubaix. A classic 100 mile road race that covers the good, the bad, and the ugly of the Feliciana’s. The race starts in St. Francisville, LA and travels north and west through the back roads of West Feliciana Parish and Wilkinson County, Mississippi. You will encounter a constantly rolling terrain, and a few climbs that will test all racers. The road surfaces will vary greatly. You will encounter chip and seal, sandy gravel, smooth as glass asphalt, and some roads that are just plain bad. This race is a classic test of man and his machine vs. the terrain and elements. It would be unfair to attempt to predict what type of weather to expect for the Rouge Roubaix. You should come prepared to battle 80 degree heat and Louisiana humidity (it’s worse than Houston). You should also come prepared to expect temperatures so low that your water bottles will freeze. And then again, if the cycling Gods are with us, we will get one of those perfect spring like days where it will be tough to break a sweat.
http://www.rougeroubaix.com/