Tour of America's Dairyland... I'm Back

I made it through 6 intense races up in Wisconsin, and am now recouping at home....

-TUESDAY-FON DU LAC ROAD RACE-
I hopped out of my car Tuesday to be greeted by intense heat. It was a record breaker, in the high 90's and heat index probably in 100's. Hmm... this could be good for me, as have been doing better in 'harder' races. I decided to race in the advanced Cat 1,2,3 Master's category, as the money was much better and I wasn't really up here looking for upgrade points, though the Cat 3 field was tough as well.

We were doing 6 laps totalling 10 miles. Some rollers, but the heat was really causing everyone to race cautiously. I took a sip from my waterbottle... it was boiling. Riders weren't really attacking as much as sort of slipping up ahead. After about 4 laps I was really feeling the fatigue from the conditions. Good news, however, was that I seemed to be handling the situation better than some of the field.

A few riders were slipping up ahead and with 1 lap to go, only about half our field was still on board (22 riders). I plotted my move over the course of the next 9 miles. I knew that most of the field was merely in survival mode, just not sure, being new to racing with such a 'wise' group of mostly Cat 1's or 2's.

I decided to try a solo flyer with about 1 mile to go. I hit it hard and was happy to see that the field wasn't interested. I got a comfortable gap, though I was anything but comfortable. I turned the last corner which then meant an uphill grind then a downhill finish. I smiled as I seemed to have timed it perfectly.

Crap, the field was charging up the hill quickly, as they were now sprinting. I gave it all I had. Unfortunately, the front of the field caught me, but just at the line, so only 4 people got around me, which ended up being good enough for 13th place (7 people had made the breakaway earlier) and in the money.

I was on the verge of heat stroke as I veered into the medical tent area and used the sponge buckets to cool off. Many were submerging themselves in the portable pool. It was hot but I felt some measure of success against this respectable field of accomplished riders.

WEDNESDAY - FON DU LAC CRIT-
Ok, still hot as hell. Facing two crits today, as I entered both Cat 3 and the Cat 1,2,3 Master's events. The 50 minute, 4 corner, cat 3 race was first. The field was soft, again due to the heat. It took me a few laps to get a feel for the roads and corners, but I was feeling very calm. I meandered at the back, and waited for the group to settle in a bit.

Midway through the race, as things slowed down, I went to the front and pushed the pace a bit, as a rider was up ahead. A break formed with Jonathon Cook (Team Wheaton),Matt Howe (Team Geargrinder) and myself. Awesome, I felt great.

We caught the rider up ahead, and then rotated through a bit. I was determined to make this break stick, so I ended up pulling the group most of the final laps. Ok, it gets a little rude at this point, because this tour has some sweet primes. The announcer called a $100 prime and a $40 prime while we were in the front. I lead it out, still worried about getting caught, and Jonathon and Matt then went around and sprinted. Jonathon won both of them, nice cash.

Then they settled in behind me and we continued. That fourth guy was with us as well, just never saw him. Finally I saw the field up ahead, which meant we had well over a minute gap.
I eased up a little, but Matt and Jonathon were 'sprinters' and not interested in leading.

I came around the last corner and hit it hard. Deja Vu of the prime sprints, they came around me at the line, but I had a strong finish to get on the podium. I was really happy with this result, as I have never been on a podium before. Miss Wisconsin came up to the stage and gave the winner some chocolate milk to chug.

Now, I had to step up to the longer, faster, wiser Master's race... Well, I was obviously a little tired and discouraged that I didn't see anyone from my earlier Cat 3 race in this race... were these guys all Cat 1/2's or just saving their legs by doing only the one race?

This race started fast, but then again settled down as the heat was intense. About 5 guys had already slipped up ahead, as I decided to try and make something happen. The announcer's primes were tricky to work with, because the field would surge accordingly. I was trying to dangle off the front to entice some strong riders to bridge up and make a second group, but the field wasn't going to let anyone else go.

I was exhausted from trying to slip up ahead and didn't contest the field sprint, so finished at the back. 55 miles of crit racing... time to rest, but not until I watched a great Pro 1/2 race.

THURSDAY - SHEBOYGAN CRIT-
The temperatue was back in the 80's so it felt cool. The course had four corners, seperated by long straights. I wasn't sure what to expect from the Cat 3 race, but soon found that they were much 'snappier' with the improved weather conditions. A breakaway just wasn't going to happen today, for this field.

I decided to roll the dice and go 'all or nothing'. With about 3 and a half laps to go, after I felt the announcer was done calling prime laps, I attacked hard.... foam was coming out of my mouth. No reaction from the field, as I picked that time in the race when everyone was starting to save it for the sprint. I went around and saw 3 laps to go, then 2 laps to go, as I hoped to make this stick, or maybe have a strong rider or two bridge up.

Nope, the field caught me, and I just hung in the pack to finish with the group.

I was again tired from the effort, as I lined up for my second race. This race started out fast and really never let up. Basically around 27 - 31 mph on the back straightaway. Sometimes it dipped down to 24mph as the group braced for the next attack.

There were some strong team efforts at these crits and lots of primes which made things seem helpless. About half through the race, after really just hanging on to the back, amazed at how relentless the pace was, I began to ride agressively and bridged up to a few breaks. A group with an IS Corp rider was ahead, and his teamates were shutting everything down.

I gave up the fight towards the end, but still felt strong, so decided to give the sprint a try. I got boxed in the last half of the lap, and cursed myself for the poor position. I still sprinted well, though mostly just following the pace of the group (which was over 37 mph) as we were all bunched up.

Later I checked out Lake Michigan and a girl on a bike and I talked for about an hour. The rumors are true about people being friendly up in Wisconsin.

FRIDAY - GREENBUSH ROAD RACE -
Another 60 mile road race with the Master's Cat 1,2,3's. I was very disappointed with the course as we made our first lap. So much descending and blind cornering. It actually was a great course in a thickly wooded state park, just didn't suit me as well as the other 2 RR's I had done.

Today the breakaways just weren't working. Didn't matter to me much, becuase I stayed at the back and hung out with the 'silver fox'. This guy is famous for being in his 60's and still very strong. Unfortunatly, he was always forcing his way behind wheels, so I plotted to make my way to the front at some point, so I could free myself from his tyranny.

I thought about quitting the race often, as I didn't see much opportunity to break away due to all of the descending. I realized that was probably just mental burnout from being in my 11th race over an 8 day period, so I persisted.

I very tactifully planned to slip away after the 5th lap, feeling that the group wouldn't mind. There was a group of three up ahead, but by now, I believed the group had softened up enough.
Sure enough, no response as I very slowly moved up ahead. As soon as I was around a corner and couldn't see the field, I picked up the pace and sort of attacked. Bingo, they were out of sight due to the corners.

Ahh, this was awesome, finally some freedom from the silver fox, and some much needed alone time. I descended fast and smooth (42 mph, compared to 39mph with the group). In all I spent 7 miles enjoying my possibly successful move, hoping that the group wouldn't try to reel me in.

Unfortunately, on an extremely long straight section, the pace car could be seen. Yes, I was almost briding up to the lead group, but I looked behind and could just barely see the field. This was just the motivation they would need to pick up the pace.

Sure enough, with about 2 miles to go, Peter Anderson (from a super strong team in California) had bridged everyone up. As soon as he got to me he pleaded with the group to help pull in hopes of catching the leaders. No one responded so I went to the front again, moments after just being caught. I turned around and I had another large gap, everyone was saving it for the final two hills, I suppose.

Finally I was caught again. I settled in for a bit, and couldn't believe it as I attacked again on the second to last hill. In retrospect, I should have saved this burst for the end, but I was amped up. A team mate of the California team came around and set the tempo as we approached the final 'wall'. Everyone charged hard up the hill which crested with downhill sprint to the finish.

I saw Tracy Thomspon, and got around him to see if maybe I could sling shot him up into the pack, as we were just out of the money spots. Unfortunately we ran out of roadway, so I just finished strong for a respectable 18th place out of about 45 or so starters.

What a great experience, I will most likely attend this event next year. I had some success, some failure, but overall just a good time racing in Wisconsin. I look forward to seeing how this experience will shape my future efforts in Iowa races.