Tour of America’s Dairyland pt. 1
After a fun day with the kids I headed as far as I could toward WI. I ended up at a pretty scary EconoLodge near WI Dells but I was so tired that I didn’t care and slept well. I woke up and did an easy ride around Mirror Lake before heading the rest of the way to the race. Shoreview is a great neighborhood on the north end of MKE. I raced a Superweek stage hear last year and loved the scene: the front stretch is lined with cafe’s, shops, and restaurants and the back course is lined with beautiful homes and old growth elm and oak trees. The course itself is flat but really bumpy and not too technical. Of course the pace as fast but I had not trouble sitting in. However, getting to the front was really a challenge for me. I have never been able to hold position in front of “the bubble” and, unfortunately, Shoreview was no exception. Kevin wasn’t feeling too well and the few times I tried to usher him near the front he lost my wheel or decided not to go. Matt was riding strong too but getting the front was really difficult with all braking in the corners. Anyway, John Acker ended up 21st and the rest of us were further back out of the money.
Day 2 I had a great morning riding the bike trails through Wauwatosa discovering the village and Cafe Hollander. I had a nice meal, tried to fix my squeaky, squeaky brakes, took a short nap and headed up to Thiensville for stage 2. Shortly after checking in, the rain started and I wished that I had raced the master’s race instead. The roads were dry and the field was pretty mellow. TK was looking great and a small break of three rolled off the front and held it all the way to the finish. It looked like a good race for me, safe, fast and some significant attrition. The pro race was entirely different, of course. Within a lap or two the rain increased and the turns were very slippery. There were at least three crashes and I was nervous. At 6′ 3″ my center of gravity is pretty high and turning on wet brick is a real challenge. I decided not to race my carbon tubulars and was riding low pressure clinchers but I slid out anyway on turn one and completely lost control. Both wheels were sliding and I went careening off the course and, luckily, into the grass. I was fine but a little freaked out so I didn’t even bother with a free lap. I was going backwards through the field anyway, losing position in almost every turn. A few laps later I was off-the-back and rode for another few laps before bailing altogether. It’s nver fun dropping out of a race, especially after traveling so far, etc.. As soon as I finished I got in my car and drove all the way back to MN. I needed a few days away from the high anxiety race scene before heading back. I’ll spend a few days at home working, hanging with my kids and then head back Wednesday for the Waterloo criterium near the Trek factory, one of our team’s sponsors. This time, I’ll be in a better place mentally and I’m going to ride at the front! Tonight I have to clean my bike. It’s still dirty from racing in the rain on Friday!
