Farmhouse Classic

Yesterday was the Farmhouse Classic gravel grinder hosted my Joe Fox, owner of Cycle City bike shops. It was an 85.3 mile gravel road race that began and ended at the Fox family farm on the edge of Lathrop, MO. We started with a nuetral roll out for the first 4 miles or so and then the pace picked up but wasn't a blazing speed, that being said it was still a pretty good pace. The lead group was pretty big and I was working my way up through smaller groups as I hadn't started out very fast but within 8 miles I was on the back end of the lead group. I don't know if it was some loose gravel here and there or what but the pace line would yo yo and I really had to work to get back on the group from time to time. I wasn't going to be upset if I couldn't stay with the lead group because it was being lead by Coach and tucked in behind were riders like Corey "Cornbread" Godfrey (2010 Dirty Kanza winner), Troy Krause, and Matt Gersib, along with some other talented riders. There were also some riders that were just trying to hang with the group as long as they could and they did pretty good until we got into the climbs. On the first desent climb I quickly found myself getting into other lines to get around some riders that were not climbing very well, if I hadn't I would have lost the lead group very quickly. I could tell real fast that the lead group was going to thin down a lot in the next couple hills. After about 3 or 4 good climbs (about 20 miles in)I found myself right in the middle of the lead pack and to be quite honest it was a little intimidating, I mean seriously to be riding with this caliber of riders made me feel like I was out of my league. I was pretty sure that I wouldn't be able to hang with them a lot longer so I was going to get in some interval work and I jumped on the front and pulled 2 or 3 climbs and actually made a gap on the group for a very short bit, I wasn't trying to but I figured I would go until I blew up and then try and survive from there. When we got to a confusing turn we stopped for a minute to make sure we were going the right way and I was able to get a little recovery and then tucked in on the rear as we started up again. About 2 miles from the checkpoint I had fallen back and met up with the lead group again at the checkpoint. I knew what I needed to do and quickly did it so I would be ready to roll out when they did. It really seemed to be more of a good paced group ride than a race for quite a while, when someone would flat the whole group would stop which allowed me to catch up when I would fall off the back a bit. The course was not marked and it was tough to know which way to go a few times because not every road had a sign on it.

Stewartsville (about mile 50)was the next place to get more fluids and or fuel and I wasn't too far behind the lead group when I arrived. I already had a plan on what to get and quickly purchased more water and filled my camelbak and bottles and was one of the first to be ready to roll again. Troy had mentioned that he was not feeling very good at this point but was going to continue on and I was able to start to see on the faces of a couple other riders that fatigue was starting to settle in as well. We rolled out again and had to stop a couple times due to flats, which once again allowed me to tuck back in for a while and about mile 70 ended up being the last flat of the day for the group. As we rolled out the pace would pick up and then back off and then pick up and then back off which started to drop a rider and then two. At mile 70 there was only 8 of us in the lead group and I went from 8th to 7th a couple miles later. Troy, who had been suffering already, and Matt, who was really starting to show signs of fatigue were riding together and the lead group was already on a good size climb so I let it rip and charged up the hill leaving those 2 riders behind. I was just trying to get on the wheel of somebody in the lead group but just couldn't quite make it. I would get about 30 yds away and then the group would pull away again, now in 5th position I caught another rider but he quickly got back around and we still had 10 miles to go. I was thinking that there were two riders that might falter if I could just stay close enough, and no the riders were not Coach or Corey. About 3 miles to go the group was about 1/2 mile or maybe farther away and I was pretty sure I would not catch them but I stayed on the gas as best as I could. Soon I was pulling into the driveway and the ride was over, I'm sure the look on my face showed that I was glad to be done. My legs were pretty fatigued, my rear and lower back were hurting quite a bit and I knew that the smoker had been going while we were gone and there was some fresh pulled pork waiting for me to devour it. I popped the back hatch of the van and just sat there for a few minutes with my water. I finished in 5th position overall and thought I was 4th in the Men's open, but I didn't realized that Corey was on a single speed. I didn't realized this for sure until Joe was getting ready to do the awards and pointed at me and Coach and said I need you guys, I knew that Coach had won the 50+ class and then I figured out that I was 3rd in the Open. I feel kind of bad that I got an award because the group ride pace allowed me to stay within striking distance and toward the end I was able to get ahead of riders that were much better than I am, if it had been race pace the whole day I don't think that I could have bridged that gap. That being said I couldn't be more happy with how I rode, I was able to push myself very well and I really listened to my body and backed off when I needed to but I wouldn't stay there very long.