Giddy-up.

As jack frost loosens his ice grip on New England, a few things are most certainly around the corner.  For throngs of bike racers across the region, one of the most eagerly awaited among these – perhaps more so than DST or even the spring classics – is the Northeast’s own perennial spring monument, the Tour of the Battenkill, formerly known as Battenkill-Roubaix.

Not sure about racing through one of these...

In preparation for April 18-19 two-day event, I headed up to Cambridge, NY, to preview the parcours and gather valuable intel on the various dirt roads, gravel climbs, and myriad of other technical elements that can bring an early end to a race as challenging as Battenkill.

After pulling up in at the Cambridge Hotel a little after noon on Sunday, I kitted up and marveled at the fact that I was embarking sans booties, leg warmers, or even full-fingered gloves.  55 degrees in mid-March is a rare treat for a ride through the hills of upstate New York.  Fearing the worst – more specifically ankle-deep mud-bogs previously considered roads – I left the Madone in the stable and rolled out on the cross bike.   Needless to say, after two weeks on the Trek, I was immediately disheartened at first pedal stroke.

Exiting the town center, the course opens onto route 313 north, and the first 5.7 miles should prove an all-out drag race by riders looking to get the the front and perhaps a little over-eager for the day’s festivities.  Avoid the middle and sides, heavily pock-marked by a winter of freeze/thaws, and take careful note to steer clear of the particularly nasty bitumen at the road’s center ahead of the course’s first foray off the pavement, Eagleville Road.

Though not dirt, the hard-packed gravel leads into the day’s first obstacle:  a wooden covered bridge with a hard right turn immediately upon exiting.   Be near the front to clear the bridge without incident and carry momentum into the day’s first riser, immediately after turning:  this will likely cause the first separations and lead to some serious pain.  After cresting, heads up for a downhill right-hander onto Robertson Road, the first truly dirt track and a nasty, soupy, trail on this particular Sunday in March.

Fortunately,  Robertson will likely prove mostly as a warm up, as the bulk of riders should re-group after a few miles of the paved relative haven of County Rd. 61 / Camden Valley Road.  When Rachel’s Sugar Shack appears on the right, however, be prepared for some more fireworks.  A nasty series of hills starts at mile 10.2, capped off with a particularly oppressively steep wall at 10.7.

Following the climbs, the road plummets in a welcome relief from the labor.  The preceding climbs will likely be too short to truly break apart the field.  A HARD, gravely left onto Juniper Swamp, however, might cause some consternation.  This second dirt stretch is flat and should be fast, and leads into the course’s first truly decisive moment:  a hard and sketchy left-hander immediately ahead of a ridiculously steep quarter mile wall.  BE AT THE FRONT:  somebody(ies) will go down here, and having to slow or re-start into the ascent will seriously impair your chances of hanging with the leaders.

The top of Juniper Swamp Road. Yikes.

Following the crest, a fast dirt downhill leads through some currently awful mud, though pavement awaits at mile 14.3. Use this as a brief chance to recover, as the course dives back off the tarmac onto Rich road.  The sweeping left at the end of this stretch is coated in gravel, and might make for a nasty tumble to those not paying close attention to the terrain.

The course briefly descends into the town of Shushan for what will undoubtedly be a sketchy feed zone, and the exit onto County Rd. 64 leads into a tough, rolling half-mile climb.  Though decently paved, the long haul on 64 was tough, constantly pitchy upward into a nagging headwind – don’t be isolated, or you may blow through the whole matchbook getting back onto the field (or what remains of it).  The road abruptly drops back to Route 22 in a somewhat harrowing switchback.  Nothing too disconcerting, but be on the lookout for anyone showing signs of less-than resilient mental acuity.

The attrition relents a bit before rolling through Salem, which seemed like it had been evacuated on this particular Sunday.  A hard left out of town and some more precious asphalt precedes the next key feature:  Joe Bean Road, a STEEP quarter mile wall preludes a bit of flat, which gives way to another brutal pitch,  a serious climb with nearly a full mile of punchy, upward shooting dirt in total.  Visions of Frogger danced through my head on the ascent – too far back in the field and you’re bound to end up with some dirty cleats.

The worst part about the Joe Bean smackdown comes a few hundred clicks after the crest, where a hard, fast left onto Ferguson Road leads into a long stretch of rough, fast dirt.  The leaders will nail this corner and gun it for the next 2.5 miles.  Assuming you make it through the turn in the field unscathed, avoiding the myriad of holes, ruts, and washboards will surely thin the peloton.  Be towards the front if possible, or at least in a group where you can pick your line carefully.  The exit onto CR 49 marks the start of 10 miles of tarmac, so burning a few more kiloJoules here so save your skin, wheels, and family jewels might be the best strategy.  The end of Ferguson is particularly horrific, so heads up and stay left.

mmm... quicksand.

For the next 10 miles, suck wheels, bottles, gu and recover.  The pavement has some tough risers on the roll-into Greenwich, but the wind should keep everyone together.  The roll into town is notable for a technical, downhill pair of left turns that might cause some rubbin’ in the bunch.  The technical aspects continue, with a tricky chicane across a one lane bridge and under a train trestle.  Seriously.  Hopefully, all that recovery and refueling will mean you’ll have access to full mental resources to navigate these jewels.  The road slopes upward immediately afterwards, so maintaining momentum could be crucial as the course approaches another round of off-road action.

After turning onto Eddy St., get ready for the second feed zone – at this point, you SHOULD need a bottle or two.  If not, well, time to catch up on your fluid intake.  This pickup shouldn’t be too nuts, as the road runs uphill and gives no clear incentive for attacks or surges.

After stowing your goodies, get ready for a dodgy spot at the left/quick right onto Easton/Mountain: a sweeping left coated in gravel is immediately followed by a hard right onto dirt, the inside of which is the only line not coated in carnage.  Chaos will ensue, so use the preceding feed as a chance to work your way into a spot that lets you take the outside/inside line or pick your own.

The three miles on Mountain are mostly innocuous, though worthy of keeping your head up.  The exit onto Valley Summit, however, offers a steep paved pitch for a few hundred meters before the course dives back for more dirt on Beekman, which itself has a tough wall and plenty of soupy mud on the backside descent.  All this, however, is only a warm up to the true beast of the course that will crush those hanging on by anything less than a firm grip:  Meeting House Road.

Meeting House starts out paved, then heads straight into FOUR hard rollers.  The first stares straight down the ruler-straight road in menacing, though the second pitch, waiting in hiding behind the first, is by far the worst and will require something left in the tank.  Following the third and forth rollers, the road curves and gives way to a sketchy descent and hard right onto Browning, followed by an immediate quick sweeping left onto South Cambridge.  I suspect to be pretty shot at this point, but am planning on keeping some sanity in reserve to make it through these gems unscathed.

The good news:  plenty of pavement awaits (almost 5 miles worth).  The haul along 74 and 59 are flat and should be a good chance to recover.  The bad news: with Stage Road, the organizers have thrown in a nasty, nasty last hurrah of dirt ahead of the run-into Cambridge.  Blow right past the covered bridge, and get ready to hurt.  A lot.  A hard left right after leads into several steep pitches, about a mile in total, which abolish any hopes of establishing a rhythm on what is a serious climb.  Some heinous ruts at the end of the two miles sans pavement add to the excitement, though let’s hope that these will have been smoothed out by race day.

Stage Road is the last decisive element, and gives way to pavement and a little over four miles until the finish line.  If you’ve opened a bit of daylight, the fast opening downhill should offer a bit of a chance to close the gaps.  The final clicks are fast, flat, and on decent tarmac.  Keep an eye out for the “Cambridge” town sign on the right, which signals a little over 1 Km to go.  Positioning into the final corner will be clutch, as the finish lies only around 200 meters later.  Second or third wheel out of the turn and full gas to the line, assuming there’s anything more than fumes in the tank at this point.

See the full route at:

http://www.mapmyride.com/route/us/ny/cambridge/533123717683887570