Tour of the Battenkill

rottin'

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
It was a bucket list thing for me, and I was fat and slow when I did it. It was a blast, but as Mike said, it is a race, and has the race feel. Although that only lasted for about 15miles for me, the rest of my day was essentially a 55mile TT to the finish lol
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Although that only lasted for about 15miles

With the first 5 or so being a moderately-paced group rollout. At least the year I did it, that was the case.

Point being, at about mile 5-10 the fireworks start. If you are not ready, you will be shot out the back and left for dead, questioning your life decisions to that point. I lasted until about 10 to go, and then the support car slowly pulled past me and the sadness of reality ensued.

I did not think the race was as amazing as the hype. It was a race. Back in those days, I was doing these things to race the F out of life. So in that regard, sure, it was a race. But to me, it was just another race, albeit a much longer one. The "gravel" sections in many cases are far smoother than half the pavement in NJ. So really I think HOH has the nod in terms of "roughness" there. And friendliness, as far as I can tell. I have never done HOH, however.

If you are in love with the idea and want to cross it off your list, go for it. But if you are on the fence, personally, I do not think you'll go up and be blown away. People come from all over the country to race this. So you'll be lining up with people who drink raw eggs for breakfast, and so on.
 

merritt

Well-Known Member
Love Norm's raw egg line.... he's not lying. Its a serious race for most.
I missed the split at the end of my race but still finished in under 3 hours.
 

stb222

Love Drunk
Jerk Squad
With the first 5 or so being a moderately-paced group rollout. At least the year I did it, that was the case.

Point being, at about mile 5-10 the fireworks start. If you are not ready, you will be shot out the back and left for dead, questioning your life decisions to that point. I lasted until about 10 to go, and then the support car slowly pulled past me and the sadness of reality ensued.

I did not think the race was as amazing as the hype. It was a race. Back in those days, I was doing these things to race the F out of life. So in that regard, sure, it was a race. But to me, it was just another race, albeit a much longer one. The "gravel" sections in many cases are far smoother than half the pavement in NJ. So really I think HOH has the nod in terms of "roughness" there. And friendliness, as far as I can tell. I have never done HOH, however.

If you are in love with the idea and want to cross it off your list, go for it. But if you are on the fence, personally, I do not think you'll go up and be blown away. People come from all over the country to race this. So you'll be lining up with people who drink raw eggs for breakfast, and so on.
But I think he is talking about the Fonda ride they do, not the race.
 

wonderturtle

Well-Known Member
But I think he is talking about the Fonda ride they do, not the race.

I'd only be interested in the 75 mile grand fondo and not the 40 mile one. I'm not driving 9 hours to and fro just to ride 40 miles. LOL.

however the fact that the 75 miler is a race doesnt appeal to me much. I like the rides I've done so far (HOH, Gravel Fondo) because you can set your own pace and push as hard as your body will let you that day (without the pressure of having to keep pace with others). Is there opportunity to do that here? It says they group you by ability. Could I just start off with a grouping that looks to be my level and then proceed at my own pace?
 
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