I heard about a local race happening the week after Crossroads. The inaugural Tour de Paris Landing was to be a two-day stage race in Buchanan, TN, starting and finishing from Paris Landing State Park. It had a big purse for such a small race, which attracted the attention of quite a few elite riders. I did not have my normal race bike, but I was ready to try it on Shannon's bike. I tried to convert a few things over on her bike, like wheels, to make it a bit faster.
The race was to be made up of two road races: a 45-mile race to Paris and back on Saturday, followed by 84 miles of tough rolling hills around Dover and Land Between the Lakes on Sunday. Saturday began with a rainstorm and a lot of confusion. The race volunteers did a great job getting us registered, but nobody seemed to be able to tell us where we were racing. All we knew was that we were not doing the loop that was posted on the website. Lightning delayed our start for over 30 minutes before we finally got started. Originally we were supposed to start in two waves. There were just two classes: Cat. 1-4 19-39 and Cat. 1-4 40+/Women. Turnout was low with the terrible weather, so we all started together. There were at least 10 Pro or Cat. 1 riders out of a group of 35 riders. That sure was a stacked field for such a dinky little backwoods race!
Riders about ready to start Stage 1. Shot taken from the wheel truck.
Another wheel truck shot as they followed us up the first climb.
We started in a downpour that only worsened as we crossed the bridge over the big Tennessee River. We were headed toward Dover, going the opposite direction of where I had thought we were going. The route turned into the Tour of Hwy 79. We basically took 79 to Dover, turned around, rode it back to Paris Landing, then just kept going a few miles toward Paris and turned around again. They kept the distance at 45 miles, but changed the route completely. Hwy 79 is a tough and boring road in my opinion. It's two-lane most of the way to Dover, but the Paris side is a super wide, super boring four-lane. And it's constantly rolling hills in both directions. The Dover side has bigger hills. We hit those first on Saturday. The first few miles were hard as everybody wanted to break away in the downpour. I was active in following the breaks, yet never stuck my nose out into the wind. I tried to be smart about it. I knew I was outgunned with so many Elite riders in attendance.
Stage 1 course map from my GPS. All on Hwy 79.
There was a 1-mile climb up to the turnaround in Dover. That proved to be the splitting point. I hung just onto the back of the front group at the top. As we made the sharp turn at the top, the guy ahead of me took it very tentatively and let a gap open up. I was having shifting problems as apparently my Reynolds wheels were not agreeing with the 9-speed cassette I had put on them to fit Shannon's bike. I had lost my bottom three cogs, which proved to be a problem when trying to close a gap on a descent. I wound up chasing not only the 1-mile descent, but also another mile across the bottom before I rejoined the lead group. I was completely maxed out on heart rate when we hit the next climb. Attacks began immediately and out the back I went. I was already dropped at mile 17. It was going to be a long ride in the rain by myself...or so I thought.
Climbing in heavy rain that darkened the day.
Less rain falling now as the front group nears the top of the big climb into Dover. You can barely see my shoulder sticking out near the back.
I continued to chase as I could see the main group was blowing to pieces up the next climb. This road was so annoying! There was always another climb coming. I was joined by two chasers after 4 miles and we began working together, eventually getting across to the line of cars that was following the group ahead. We worked our way through the parade of cars and got to the group at mile 27, just as we reached the bridge to cross back over the Tennessee River to Paris Landing. I was cramping, but had made the junction. It was so weird that I was cramping. I was hydrated, rested and not hot, yet my calves were cramping like crazy! My goal began just to hang with our group to the finish.
At the final turnaround we got a glimpse of who was ahead of us. There was a break of two riders, followed by a chase of 13 riders, then our group of 15. We would not catch anyone else and wound up sprinting for 16th overall. I barely hung onto the back of the group over the last three climbs. We went up them fast and my legs were toast. I wasn't able to produce much of a sprint, but still finished ahead of half my group in 23rd overall, giving me 15th in my class. It was a day I was glad to finish. We were water-logged and tired. I don't think I have ever been that tired from a 45 mile race. I went home, cleaned my bike and slept on the couch. My body was exhausted! On clean-up I found the source of my shifting problems. My cogs had come loose. Yep, that'll cause some shifting issues.
Me at the back of our group near the last turnaround.
Loose cogs will definitely disrupt your shifting.
Sunday brought the second and most ominous-looking stage. The route was supposed to first go to Paris, then go to Dover and loop through Land Between the Lakes before ending back at Paris Landing. We had sunny weather today, but were still confused. Apparently, the promoter did not apply to LBL for help with traffic control, so we were not allowed to enter the park. So, it became yet another Tour of 79. Yipee. More boring road. This time we went to Paris first. We actually went all the way to Paris and made a loop around town before heading back to Paris Landing on 79. The pace was tame for 8 miles. I think the guys were tired from yesterday and scared of what today might bring. Then a break went clear. Five riders went up the road. Nobody chased until we got to Paris, then the two Smart-Stop/Mountain Khakis riders decided to crank up the pace. We went around Paris at over 30 mph. Finally, once back on 79, the group split and the fast guys went up the road. I had no legs, so I stayed back with the main group. I could not do 60 miles in a break. That would be suicide for me.
Stage 2 course map. Very similar to Stage 1.
Riders on the start line awaiting the singing of the National Anthem
Our group worked well together all the way to Dover. We didn't drop anyone over the hills like yesterday. It was a nice pace. I actually started feeling better and decided to do a lot of the work at the front once we passed Dover just for the workout. We went even farther down 79 today, passing by Dover and going out to Papa Rock before turning back. Things got ugly once we got back to Dover with 15 miles remaining to race. There was a steep 0.8-mile climb out of Dover that was a good launch pad. Many attacks went, but we were still a group at the top, only losing one rider from the pack. From there to the finish there were constant attacks on every uphill. I only went with the ones that contained a rider in my class. I actually made the split up the last big climb and found myself to be the only 19-39 rider in the split. Then again, the group pulled us back. With five miles to go a group of six got clear. They got a sizable gap. It contained a rider in my class so I felt the need to assist with the chase. David Briggs was chasing hard with me taking turns with him. We also got assistance from Martha Lowe, the lone female in the race. She's a Dover local and sometimes rides with us in Clarksville. I already knew she was strong, but today she showed me that she is indeed beastly. She answered all the attacks and put in some massive pulls at the end.
Martha got us to within striking distance as we hit the bridge over the river. It is uphill at the beginning as the bridge gains height. I pulled as hard as I could up the hill and got us to within a few seconds of the break. Then the attacks began, which is what we needed to speed us up enough to close that last little bit of gap. I hung on for my life as the speed increased dramatically coming into the park. We made the catch coming into the sprint, but were unable to pick off any of the riders that had been ahead. We finished in one big group. I wound up taking 14th today. I actually was less tired from this hard 80-mile ride than yesterday's 45. Yes, it turned out to be a bit shorter than expected at just 80 miles. I took 15th in the GC. They were supposed to pay top 15 overall, but I didn't think they would considering the low turnout. Not only did they pay me $100, but they also paid 16th! They went a spot deeper than expected even with a lower turnout than needed to meet purse requirements. When was the last time you heard of a race doing that?!!
It was a strange race, but I'm glad I came. It was fun, great training and great people. The police and officials did a great job working traffic and seemed like they actually enjoyed being there. The park was very welcoming and even treated us to a wildlife show at the awards area. I hope they do this again next year and get a much bigger turnout.
Owl that was part of the wildlife show
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