Tour of the Battenkill 2023

The Tour of the Battenkill has been on my list to ride for several years. Covered bridges, scenic views, and over 5,000 feet of elevation gain in upstate New York. The downside is that it’s late April and the weather is likely to be a factor. (It was a bad factor.)

In the week up to the race, the forecast was for seasonable temperatures and a chance of rain. Although labeled as a gravel route, the info I had said that less than 10% of the route was on dirt roads. I decided to bring my road bike instead of a gravel bike. That would be a mistake.

Dan, Ryan and Riccardo joined me at the starting line. That chance of rain had become a 100% chance of rain. A hard drizzle at the start.

I pedaled out hard, sticking near the front for the first few miles. Then we came to the first steep hill. That sent me backwards. I kept pedaling hard, hooking onto groups and fighting to get back. The rain started coming down hard.

We came to the first sections of dirt roads. My theory about using a road bike seemed to be holding okay. It had been a dry spring and the roads were hard-packed. Even with the rain, my slick tires were doing just fine on the dirt roads.

We came to the first rest stop and I was in trouble. I nearly fell off my bike. My legs were cramping badly. The suffering had begun. That would continue for the next 20 miles as the rain fell hard and my spirits sank.

Coming into the second rest stop I was in a dark place. There were a dozen people at the stop looking to quit the race. There was no real exit. There was no shelter from the rain, it was cold, and there was no SAG vehicle to take quitters back to the finish line.

I looked around and said “HTFU Doug. You’re not quitting.”

There was a covered bridge over the Batten Kill River to raise my spirits. But just temporarily.

My spirits went back down again. I came face-to-face with the steep incline of Juniper Swamp road. There were a few riders that had become pedestrians and were walking up the road. The incline was brutal and my spirits dropped. I put a foot down. I walked the hill. My feet were sticking in the sucking mud. The heavy rain had soaked into the dirt and making the surface very loose.

My bike was covered in mud. The dirt roads were holding the rain and turning soupy. Should’ve brought the gravel bike.

The rain started to wane. It was feeling just a touch a warmer as I came to the second rest stop. A few calories in my belly. Topped off my water bottles. Rain jacket off. My spirits rose. I once again felt good physically and mentally. My legs were cooked, but cooked in a way that should be after 50 miles of riding.

Next up was the big climb of the race: Patterson Hill. I was facing a mile long ascent on a soupy dirt road with an average gradient of 7.1%. This was going to hurt.

I dug down deep. There was only 20 miles left to ride. I went under the start-of-climb banner, the road turned and went sharply uphill. There was a little slip of the tire but I was determined to make this climb. A rider in front of me slowed and put his foot down. Not me. Not on this climb. I kept turning the pedals. Other walkers were ahead up the road, but that would not be me. The road eventually flattened. My bike computer chimed with a note marking the summit. I did it.

One more section of dirt road was ahead. It was really soupy. My wheels spun in a few spots. It took a lot of concentration to find a good line and to keep the pedals moving. The mud got thicker on the bike and on me. I should’ve brought the gravel bike.

It was down to 10 miles to finish line. It was mostly downhill. Only one climb remained. The top of that climb was less than a mile to the finish line. The remaining roads were all paved. I dug deep. No need to conserve energy any more.

That last hill hurt. But at the top the finishing line fairgrounds were up ahead. The finish line was in sight.

It had turned from a race to a battle just to finish for me. It turns out only 223 riders finished the Gran Fondo. There should have been many more. I assume many went to the shorter routes, didn’t finish, or just didn’t show up. I heard that 900 riders signed up. Looks like only half that number crossed the finish line across the three routes.