{"id":3700,"date":"2019-04-13T17:37:58","date_gmt":"2019-04-13T17:37:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.360velo.com\/?p=3700"},"modified":"2019-04-14T21:58:57","modified_gmt":"2019-04-14T21:58:57","slug":"2019-rough-road-100-the-year-of-roadies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.360velo.com\/2019-rough-road-100-the-year-of-roadies\/","title":{"rendered":"2019 Rough Road 100 – The Year of Roadies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Rough Road race overview<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Rough Road 100<\/a> in Morris, IL is a well organized and increasingly popular Spring “gravel” event. This year was no exception, and over 400 riders showed up. But the big surprise this year was the friendly weather. Temperatures reached over 60 degrees by the end of the race, and winds were very mild. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Wait. WHAT?” You might be asking if you are from Illinois. Yes, 6 to 9 mph winds from the South, in the Spring! I can’t remember riding outside with so little wind this time of the year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the first time, as far as I know, there was no “yellow line” rule so riders took up the entire road. With so many riders in the event, using up the whole road made the race safer and more manageable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Leading Group of Rough Road 100 in 2019 | Photo by Robert Clark<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Theia<\/a> and I got to the event late. We had to get our plates, change, warm up, and position at the start line in 30 minutes. Next year we are getting there 90 minutes early. This last minute stress was unnecessary and avoidable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the end, being late to the start did not effect me, but my power meter died. I could have replaced the battery if I had more time. But at the same time, who needs a power meter? I just wanted to stay with the lead group, and my power meter was not going to help me do that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My goal for the race was to stay with the lead group until mile 52. That’s when it gets crazy, and crashes happen. I had no interest in crashing, so I just wanted to hang until then. If you want to learn what happened, read on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Race preparation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Many of the strong riders pre-rode the course over the previous week. I was mostly interested in the rough gravel section around mile 20. I heard the gravel was compacted this year, which was a change from 2016. That is normally where the main selection happens in the race. I was prepared to ride 350 watts for 10 to 15 minutes starting around mile 17 to stay with the front group. I estimated that’s what would take me to stay with the lead group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In preparation, I also studied my Rough Road 100 Race Video from 2017<\/a> and looked at the Race Profile on Ride with GPS<\/a>. I mapped out the hard, cross wind sections and two short climbs. The numbers on the left are the mile markets and the words on the right told me what to expect. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, [YELLOW] Short X means short cross wind section that is moderately hard. And, [RED] 8.1x means 8.1 miles of hard cross winds. Feel free to cut this out and tape to your top tube if you are participating in this event. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Rough Road 100 Cue Card <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n