revchuck 

Rouge-Roubaix is next Sunday, and the forecast is temps in the 60s-70s and showers. There are about 20 miles of dirt/gravel/probable mud roads (out of 106 miles total), including the major (up to 18%) climbs. All I can think of is to use a taller gear than usual in those sections. Any additional wisdom?

Thanks!

gsteinb

Yes. Stay home.

revchuck 

Not a chance. I've been training towards this since May.

echappist

find a local tow path or trial and go ride it after it rains

MrTuner1970

Have, um...fun. Fun, yeah, that's it.

I avoid those situations in training, so have no clue.

I'd avoid drafting in the mud unless you've acquired a taste for dirt.

hank0604

It's Louisiana. If you don't like the weather, wait around 10 minutes and it'll change. At least it won't be cold. I don't mind riding in the cold, and I don't mind riding in the wet. But cold and wet, forget about it.

caloso

Avoid the Death Grip on the bars. It's counterintuitive but the lighter you hold the bars, the more control you have. Trust the bike: it wants to go straight and stay up so don't get in its way.

grolby

Have you ridden many dirt roads? In my experience, they don't tend to turn to outright mud in the rain. They're designed not to! So you probably won't be dealing with true mud, and lets be honest, if you encounter serious mud it probably won't be rideable. Anything I suggest will hold true for mud as well, though. The major effect of rain on a dirt road is to make it really messy and slippery. The traction won't necessarily be much worse than when dry, as a wet dirt surface may hold together a bit more. Try to stick to the hardest parts of the road surface and avoid soft spots. You also want to minimize any changes in direction, especially at high speed. Choose your lines carefully with that in mind. As Caloso said, stay loose, don't hold the bars in a death grip, and let the bike move around a bit. Just keep your body going in more or less the same direction. Pedaling a higher gear might help on the bouncier sections, but it doesn't help at all if you're tight. The whole reason for doing it is to float over the bike, you won't be floating if you're all tense and wrestling the bike. And keep your weight back. Good luck!

gerundium

watch Evans on the strade bianche in the giro '10 to get a taste. literally.

Creakyknees

I remember watching that stage live... that was an ugly, messy day from start to finish and he won by pure power.

echappist

and good bike handling, too. i remember he almost ate it 2km before the line or something. mtb skills save the day

getaklug

https://www.youtube.com/results?searc....2.uHLrrW8hhgo

First 3 were good

botto 

one would hope - rain or shine - you were already planning on using a "taller gear than usual" on those sections.

60s is cold?

carpediemracing 

I used to search out dirt roads for training, love flying over them. Slogging over them not so much. For all of my "weight front wheel" and "forward" position stuff when I'm on dirt roads it's a bit different.

Sit back. Tops are best, loose grip, let the bike move around. Big ring if the road is bouncy - this helps tension the chain so it doesn't bounce off of the cassette or the chainring.

In loose stuff the front wheel will actually steer, sometimes even rooster tailing some mud/dirt.

Avoid parts with more tire tracks, aim for less tire tracks. Soft = tracks, firm = no tracks. This holds even if it's not the shortest line or whatever, the firm parts are better.

Wider tires help. I don't have any pressure advice but in a regular 20 mile "fun race" we used to do with about 1-2 miles of dirt (including an extremely steep climb) I set up the bike for the pavement because I'd be spending more time on that vs on dirt. I think I even used TriSpokes and Scott errr aero bars ...RAKES I just remembered... because I knew I'd be chasing after the steep dirt hill (and there's dirt on the way back too). For the limited amount of dirt I ran 21mm tubulars at 110-120 psi.

hank0604

Please. I remember entire summers in Chicago that didn't get above 65.

Brian Ratliff

I would rather ride a gravel road in the wet than in the dry. Traction and control tends to be better since there tends to be less loose gravel (gravel digs into the softer surface and stays put instead of rolling). Wear larger tires than normal. 25 or maybe even 28mm tires at somewhat lower pressure than normal.

revchuck 

All - Thanks for the input! FWIW, I'm using 700x28 Conti Grand Prix tires for this race (85 psi front, 95 back), so that part's covered. The weather forecast has changed somewhat, and in my favor; 30% chance of rain, down from 60% when I originally posted, so I may not need the advice given...but I'm grateful for it anyway.

Jancouver

Since we are on this topic, there is a rain forecast for this Friday/Saturday here in SoCal so anybody doing Murrieta can expect some mud for the opening TT as the one mile uphill finish is on unpaved dirt road. Should be fun

Perhaps I should bring a Mt bike in stead of TT bike

benajah

l:To us southern boys, yeah. You northern boys think 103 is hot

dnuzzomueller

I keep thinking of Battenkill.....Oh god.....Why the hell did I sign up for that again?

aaronechang

The chances of rain have gone down, but the wind is forecasted to be about 19 mph. That will be fun - bombing downhill on gravel with high winds.

revchuck 

Yup...and they added another gravel section due to unexpected road work.

gsteinb

every time I see this thread I think it says Road Racing on the Mup

botto 

because you like to pay a stupid amount of money for a novelty race?

Racer Ex 

Watch it smarty pants.

I decided against going BTW.

And yes, I'm doing Murrietta. Muddy buddy or aerobars. Oh the huge manatee.