Dairy Roubaix - Race Report.

Brandon, Carl and Laura at the Dairy Roubaix.

Dairy Roubaix is a gravel "race" or ride that starts in Wyalusing State Park - Bagley, WI. This year we had a few members riding in the "race." Some people treat it as a race, but really it is more like a long gravel ride though some fantastic country side of southwest Wisconsin. You have a choice between 54 miles or 107 miles of hilly gravel roads.  On the trip this year we had Andy Wilcox-Hull as our fast guy riding with the fast group. Joey King rocked his single speed and road ahead of the rest of us too. Laura Andrews, Carl Bakker and myself (Brandon Andrews) just hung out in the back half of ride. The first 30 miles were fantastic. There was a small rest stop along the Mississippi that had a few snacks before a tough climb out of the river valley. I personally was riding a brand new Boone 9 bike and it was fantastic. I however struggled after 30 miles due lack of exercise and being a slacker. The ride kicked my butt.  Laura had a great day riding ahead of Carl and I. She has been training for a Marathon and is in much better shape than the rest of us. Carl was also riding a Single Speed steel bike on the hilly course, and used that as his excuse to keep me company in the back. Carl had these comments about the ride: "We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day to be doing the Dairy Roubaix; blue skies, light breeze, and best of all-warm­! The gravel was definitely fresh, and created a very loose terrain that was difficult to keep upright in at times, but kept me on my toes and made the ride interesting. Pickles, cheese curds, and brandy made for some very “Wisconsin” trail fuel. I held off on the brandy, but was wishing for some at the top of the killer hill not 5 minutes later… The 8 mile stretch along the flat, tilled, brown fields and hog farms reminded me (and my nose) a lot of home back in Iowa, but when contrasted with the beautiful sights we saw in the valleys of green before and after, I was definitely glad I call Wisconsin home now. The 2 mile downhill late in the race was one of the more exciting moments of my life. 47 mph on a singlespeed with cross tires is something you don’t do very often in life! All in all, the time spent with friends and the support I had throughout the race was more than worth the lack of sleep and the destroyed knees. "

Overall a fantastic day. Andy ended up doing really well and so did Joey. Hopefully we will have more comments from them later. Looking forward to riding this course again next year.

Laura and Carl riding on the gravel roads in Southern Wisconsin.

Selfie of Carl and Laura- and Brandon taking the photo.

Brandon and Laura riding. Photo by Russel Jobs

AMR member Andy Wilcox-Hull with the fast guys. Photo by Bryan Fosler.