Race Report: Boulder Roubaix

The namesake of the Boulder Roubaix, the Paris-Roubaix (pronounced Pair-ee Roo-bay, making sure to give it a little nasal Frenchie flair), is the sufferfest of the pro tour for roadies. Famous for its cobblestones, it bucked Georgie Hincapie when his fork sheared off in one of the more rattly sections. Yikes!
So the Boulder Roubaix is like the kid sister imitating her European big brother. Cobblestones are replaced by chatterbump dirt roads. Riders complete multiple laps instead of multiple days. To me, this race sounded like my chance to give some roadies a run for their money. And then it rained. For days. Multiple days of rain in Colorado happens about as often as Hale-Bopp, so I worried that the organizers would cancel the race. But the day came and about ten hardy souls lined up in the Womens 1/2/3 race (my license says Category 4 on the road, but no one argued when I entered). Our instructions were to stay warm, and do five laps, totaling a little over 40 miles. Temperatures were hovering around 50F, and the rain never stopped. The race started, and I felt fine with the pack. Then as we started to accelerate, trouble! My rear derailleur wouldn’t move. I watched the field as I, trapped in my easiest gear, spun madly. Finally whatever rock or grit that was causing the issue cleared out, but by then I was playing catchup. I caught up to another girl coming into lap three, where she promptly flatted. She didn’t have an inflator, and figuring that anyone who was brave enough to show up for this race deserves to finish, I gave her mine. With two laps to go, we were chatting away, swapping leads depending on who felt strong (me up hills, her down hills), when we came through to start lap four. That’s when they stopped us. They pulled everyone early, really early. Bewildered to be finished already, we stood around for a little while. That’s when the cold started to sink in. Mara Abbott won our category, and my friends Kate and Lindsey put in strong finishes. An ignominious sprint back to Kate’s house found hot showers for all, and a strange finish to a strange race.