 Report by Brandon Andrews- On April 19th an early Saturday morning a few of the Angry Monkeys joined about 270 other riders for a gravel ride in Southwest Wisconsin. The Dairy Roubaix is a Grass/ Dirt/ Mud/ Gravel/ Tarmacdam?/ Unsupported ride as it proclaims on the website. Thankfully due to amazing weather the Mud was not apart of the ride this year. I secretly had hoped that the course would have been muddy, but now looking back and recovering from the ride I am very thankful it was dry. The Day started out at 5:30am. I somehow convinced Laura that we should do this ride after knowing a few other members were going to be there. Bobby Miller also decided to join a few days prior. And some how Tyler Reeder was convinced less than 12 hours before we were expected to leave at 5:30am. Oh did I mention 5:30am was the time we were suppose to leave the house. SO at 6:15am we finally left Madison and started towards Wyalusing State Park in Bagley, Wisconsin. A couple of notes about driving with Laura, Bobby and Tyler. 1. Bobby needs coffee, 2. Tyler speaks fluent Spanish, 3. Its a good thing we had a cable through the wheels on the roof rack as one came out of the wheel holder on the highway. We stopped to fix the wheel, and allow Bobby to get cofiee...and a doughnut and breakfast burrito at the gas station. (great fuel for the 54mile ride he was about to do) Those food items lasted for about ten minutes until we saw a McDonald's and stopped for more food. It is amazing how much Bobby eats. We finally arrived at the park and were able to start getting ready about 25 minutes before the ride started. We were a bit slow getting ready and were still pumping up tires when the entire 270+ group rolled by us. Joe King also joined us and road out with the group. As we were leaving the parking lot we picked up Muse Davis who had also been running late. The group waited for Muse at the start after everyone had left, we dont leave a monkey behind unless they are just too slow like me, but that's later. :) The course was hilly, more hills than I have seen the past almost year living here. I was very surprised. the road conditions and gravel conditions were great though. Very hard packed gravel that made riding relatively easy. Laura and I were on our Crockett's, Muse switched to a geared CX bike, which I am sure he was happy to have gears, Bobby and Joe were on 29ers mtb and just running circles up and down the hills, Tyler (again decided to come 12 hours prior) was on a borrowed Crossrip. We did pull the rack off his bike to save weight and he borrowed some shoes to clip in. We had other friends on the ride to that we would chat with and ride with. It really was just a fun ride. The first 26 miles to the rest stop we all sorta stuck together. Bobby would ride ahead because he had way too much energy and then we would pass him and he would catch back up. At one point Laura and Tyler were riding thinking Bobby was ahead and he was not, this was the moment we made Bobby work hard to catch us. Again the weather was fantastic the cool breeze in the morning with sun shining down. Our group even stopped to help a group of coworkers who had busted a chain as they were trying to pass us. Bobby kept a bag with tools, food, water, and a small sink in it. He was excited to help those in need and rub it in to them for being without tools. We traveled along the side of the flooded Mississippi banks. We went up and down and all around. As we pulled into the one and only water stop I could feel my legs getting sore and starting to cramp. I have had some serious cramping issues on long rides in the past, normally about 60miles in, but this was way too early to have those pains. Leaving the rest stop Joe King was back with the group as we climbed out of the small town where we got water, bananas and I ate one of those bunny peeps. The climb out was tough and steep. I wanted to have one more gear to get up that climb. It was not my favorite. As I got to the top and reached Bobby, Laura, Muse and Joe I realized the rest of the day I would be on my own. They could go ahead and I would just tug at the slow pace to keep the cramps down. Tyler and I hung back and rode together the rest of the day. Laura, Muse, & Joe stuck together until Muse took off at a blistering speed according to Laura. Bobby had way too much energy from all the food he ate so he was gone with a fierce pace. My cramps would come and go, I rode with another guy who was having the same issues, he went ahead of me and then I saw him on the ground with cramps, he was fine just cramping. I knew if I stopped I would have been on the ground too with cramps. I would get a burst of energy and gain some speed on the gravel only to hit a road section that would slow me down? Not sure why that would happen. Tyler and I stopped just before the last long hill to talk with some other friends about the ride and grab some water. The last climb was long and steep. Not something I wanted to do. Muse had circled back in the car just to check on me and see if I needed anything, I was not feeling great but thought I had one more push in me. I continued up the hill and down to the park entrance. I waited for Tyler and then we could ride in together. The fun part was the last bit where we had a "Cyclocross" course set out for the finish, quick spin in a sand pit (volleyball court), around a few trees and through the finish. A cooler of beers and cold drinks awaited. We hung out at the end for a few minutes before hitting the road again back home to Madison. Bobby had already started to eat 5 power bars after the ride and we needed to feed him. This was still an adventure because we stopped to eat and also got pulled over for speeding. Thankful the offioer had had pitty on our salt crusted faces and worn out bodies and let us go without a ticket or waming. All in all it was some great times with the team as we prepped for the upcoming year. We have some talented riders who are just great people too and that makes the team experience just that much better. -Brandon Andrews "l'd say many thanks to teammates hanging at the back so I had someone to ride with when I showed up late! The atmosphere was great, and the road was (mostly) awesome. Great run through a long hollow on the way to the MS river. Even better rolling run along the river, watching bald eagles flying around waiting to eat my remains. After the break, there was a murderous series of climbs to get back out of river country, followed by a very welcome tailwind- assisted farm tour northward. Then more descending. Then an insultingly relentless climb. Then a short CX-style finish with two coolers full of beer at the finish. Good times.‘ - Muse Davis. Sorry we did not get a lot of photos, too much time riding and having fun instead. Living in the moment without our phones.
 Mississippi River and the dirt roads of Wisconsin- Photo by Muse Davis. |
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