10th Annual Hilly Billy Roubaix

My first Hilly Billy and gosh, the only way I can think to describe it is a “true adventure”. For those who aren’t familiar with the Hilly Billy, it’s a 74 mile gravel/adventure race with 7500 feet of climbing located just outside of Morgantown, West Virginia.

Gear

After watching some past videos of the race and looking at last year’s photos, I knew there were going to be some rough sections on course. I opted to bring my Cannondale Slate equipped with 650bX42 Rene Herse Pumpkin Ridge (extra-light casing) tires and Next Cycling carbon wheels. For the drivetrain, I was running a 34/50 combo up front with an 11-32 cassette in the rear.

About one third of the way through the race, my front tire punctured while bombing a fast gravel descent. I also passed several other riders who were on the side of the road and fixing flats. Rather than running the extra-light casing, there is no doubt in my mind that I would return with a more durable and puncture-resistant tire. I would also consider swapping the gears for more mechanical advantage. The hills on this course are STEEP. To make things worse, the gravel (sometimes large and chunky) killed all (if you had any left) of your momentum.

The Course and The Race

When I rolled up to the starting line, one of the first things I noticed was that there were just as many mountain bikes here as cross and gravel bikes.

The pig (Lucy) squealed and the race was off. A hard start had everyone’s heart rate spiking before catching a neutral roll out down the road. After the pace vehicle turned off, the riders entered the first gravel segment. A steep climb only offered two lines for riders to choose from. Eventually, some riders near the front slipped and had to dismount – this caused a domino effect for the rest of the riders and before you know it, two thirds of the field was hiking their bikes up the hill. After some more gravel and a little pavement (where drafting was certainly in play), we came to Little Indian Creek Road. The ground suddenly turned to mushy mud. Before I knew it, I saw “puddle” after “puddle”, which were really mud pits, just waiting to engulf riders as they came along. Since this road never seems to dry out, the mud is saturated, soupy, sticky, and even thick in sections. I talked to one rider after the race who rode the Dirty Kanza 200. His comment was that this West Virginia mud was stickier and harder to shed off in comparison to the mud out in Kansas. At one point, I attempted to skip the common line and cut through a “puddle”. My front tire immediately sunk down into the mud. After unclipping, I pulled my front tire out and the bike felt like it had gained two pounds! This mud sucked the watts out from under you and made for both a mentally and physically tough day.

After the mud, came a few sections of tennis ball sized rocks, just to rattle your bones a little more 😉

The last 15 miles were so mentally challenging. Seeing riders call it quits at the aid stations and knowing there was an “out”, didn’t make it any easier. The worst part was climbing a steep hill and finding MORE thick mud at the top of a plateau in the last 10 miles. I knew I could make it though – I didn’t come this far to quit – and I finished what I started.

After getting a flat tire one third of the way through and having to wait for race support (due to a faulty CO2 cartridge), I managed to pass some riders back and rally to 54th out of 115 in the open men’s category.

Reflections

For entering this event in my “rookie” year of training and racing, I’m really happy with my ability to fight through the mental and physical pain this course put me through. I know it never get’s easier, but hopefully next time I’ll be faster!

Overall, the race was extremely well run and very well marked. A rough and tough day overall, but yes, I would do it again! Bike choice is a real dilemma. There is enough pavement in the second half for a light cross bike to make an impact. However, the technical sections and mud will eat you alive if you’re not careful. I can see why so many riders were riding full suspension mountain bikes. I would probably bring a really light hardtail mountain bike with fast tires and some good climbing gears, like the Cannondale F-Si (which Ted King calls “the weapon”).