#232: Rouge Roubaix intel?
Since I have never ridden the Rouge Roubaix course, I spent some time trying to figure some of the course. The maps, etc are up on the event site, but I wanted to try to see where the crunch times appeared on the course.
The first one appears to be the turn off Hwy 24 in Fort Adams (Miss.) at around mile 64. The pavement disappears and turns upward (keep in mind I have never ridden it).
A bit further on (mile 80) is the infamous “Big Bertha” hill just outside of Tunica (Lousiana).
Despite these harder decision points, the race is going to be tough in general. I know I am pretty well prepared for the distance and intensity. I have had a pretty steady increasing load as I transitioned from cyclocross season to the road pre-season. This puts me as good as I am willing to be this early in the season. After this weekend with the change to DST, I am sure my training volume will go up and I can focus on different aspects of my fitness that are more difficult to address on the indoor trainer.
The plan for the weekend is drive down Saturday morning (5-5.5 hours?), pre-ride part of the course, and then get to the hotel. The race is Sunday morning, clean up afterwards, and then hit the road north that afternoon. It should be a pretty tiring and long 2-day weekend.
