Author

Elvin Chan on Mar 26, 2022

Race name: 2022 Barry-Roubaix 36 Miler Race date: Saturday, Mar 26, 2022

Decided to come back to Barry-Roubaix after seeing that they introduced self-seeding waves, thinking it would make it easier for me to find a pack riding the same pace on a 29er.

Conditions were wet on the ground with rain and snow, but no accumulated snow/ice. Flurries fell through the race still with no accumulation. Temps with windchill stayed an even 20 deg F. Wind was 15-20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph.

This is one of the years where the traditional third Saturday in April timing of the event coincided with Easter, which has them moving it earlier past spring break. Whenever that happens, expect the cold and rain (if not snow).

I did find a lot more 29ers in my wave and found it relatively easy to get lined up at the front behind other 29ers. (it seemed that folks were sorting themselves at the line already between left (gravel bikes), middle (29ers), right (conservative).

Food/aid handups come at the 22 mile point which is late, so plan to keep food with you and consume before then. You can stop at that point for home-baked cookies and a porta-potty too.

I lost 30 minutes compared to my 2019 time. It seemed other riders in my class kept their losses to at best 20 minutes, but most 45 minutes plus.

Surprisingly with wet conditions, most of the sand on Sager Rd. was packed down and thus manageable possibly with my road bike with 28mm. When I tried it in an April year, the sand is loose in longer stretches - get ready to walk/run to save energy.