The Lowell 50 that was actually 57

Lowell 50

10/28/17

Renting a bike for a race sounds like a great idea when you don’t really have the right equipment for the event.  But in reality, it might not be such a great idea after all.

I know racers like to make excuses and try to explain away a result that was not as good as they had hoped it would be; I am not going to do that. I made the decision to rent a gravel bike instead of riding my mountain bike for the Lowell 50, a decision I do not regret, but I will not try again.

Friday, the day before the race, I stopped into Terry’s Cycle in Alma and spent some time getting fitted on a Trek CrossRip 1. The owner, Chris, was very helpful and did a great job of getting the bike to fit me. We set the bike up on a trainer, put my pedals on and adjusted everything else needed to make sure the bike fit correctly. It felt good on the trainer so I loaded the bike up on my car and went home, excited to race. When I got home I rode it around a bit, adjusted the brakes a little more to my liking and gave it a last once over; although there is not much needed on an all but brand new bike. In fact, I think I spent more time figuring out what I was going to wear to stay warm, which turned out to be everything. 

The drive to the race was uneventful and we arrived at 8:30 am, which gave me an hour and a half to get myself ready. After getting layered up and doing a warmup ride I went over to the start line to make sure I could get a spot right up front. 

Photo Courtesy of Sara Longest

The race started with just over a mile of neutral rollout until we got to an old covered bridge. I stayed toward the front of the pack but out of the wind for the next couple of miles until we got to some decent climbs at which point I stood up to accelerate with the pack. At this point, the bike told me, “NO, absolutely not. I DO NOT CLIMB!” I could feel the rear wheel flex when I really tried to put the power down and watched the group of leaders pull away, unable to answer. When we got back on some flats I hammered to catch back up thinking that if I could stick with the lead group through these initial hills I would be fine since the course was pretty flat for the middle 30 miles and I could worry about the end of the race when we got there. 

Photo Courtesy of Sara Longest

The next set of hills came and once again the rear wheel flexed and only a portion of the power I was putting out was transferred to the ground. The lead group pulled away, and this time there was no catching back up as the next ten miles was just a series of punchy climbs.

At about 15 miles into the race most of the climbs were done and I was getting used to the bike, but the lead group was gone. On the bright side, I was able to get in a group with three other riders who were all willing to put in the effort and make a pace line work, and after another 20 minutes we picked up a fifth rider who was also willing to take his turn pulling

At mile 29, just over halfway through the race, we made a 90 degree left and I instantly realized we had been riding with the wind all morning. It was like getting slapped in the face while another cold hand reach down your jersey and gave a little tweak. It seems like just about every year I have one moment when I realize I have forgotten just how chilling a fall morning can be in Michigan; this was that moment this year and it was quick to remind me I do not like the cold much now that I am a skinny cyclist. There was not much to do but tug my zipper up a little higher and pedal on. Our pace line turned in to a mini-echelon and our pulls got a little shorter but we all struggled on as a group trying not to fall too far behind the lead group.

With about five miles left to go, three of us put in little surge the other two were not able to match and a gap was created. The three of us continued to take our turns pulling and put a little more room between the other two.

The last couple miles of the race had two more climbs at which point my bike reminded me it preferred to be on the flats, staying at a constant speed; climbing and accelerating were not its forte. The two guys I was with pulled away and I focused on not getting caught by the two people we had dropped. And the race was over; 19^th out of less than 75. Not exactly the result I was looking for but a fun and hard fought race.

First the positives:

I felt strong and raced well: I was able to put in solid pulls on the flats and hold a pace I was comfortable with.

My nutrition was spot on: I had a Hammer Gel before the race and during the race I had one bottle containing a mixture of Hammer Nutrition HEED and Sustained Energy, about 350 calories worth, and one bottle of Fizz for hydration.

This was a great learning experience: I am signed up to race the Coast to Coast Gravel Grinder (http://micoasttocoast.com) next spring, a 218-mile race from the east coast of Michigan to the west on gravel roads and two tracks. I have been unsure what I wanted to ride for this race. I was not sure if my mountain bike would be the best bet or if I wanted to rent a gravel bike. This race answered that question for me. Equipment does make a difference, especially wheels. And while I’m really thankful that places like Terry’s Cycle will rent quality bikes like this, I now know that I’m personally better off sticking with my own familiar equipment. That way, I know the strengths and weaknesses, and am not caught off-guard by unexpected performance.

I am not going to dwell on any negatives, let’s just say I did not place as well as I would have liked and after reviewing some stats, I had a faster average speed at the HellKaat 100 on my mountain bike (and I rode almost twice as far). If you want a little more proof than just me saying the bike can make a difference, check out this video from GCN comparing a cheap bike vs a race bike when you have a chance:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wdb7KEc7xJI

I will write a short review on the bike soon but here is a link if you want to check out what I was riding:  https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/bikes/hybrid-bikes/urban-commuter-bikes/crossrip/crossrip-1/p/1374000-2018/?colorCode=grey