Arcadia Brute

The Arcadia Brute.  Over 100 km of hills.  And more hills. And for masochists out there, there were options to ride 150km (over 90 mi) or 200 km!  But this was more than enough for me.  I haven't had the opportunity to train the I wanted to. 

And to be perfectly honest, I was a bit nervous about having the legs to do that much climbing.  I wasn't worried about the distance - I had done a couple of 50+ mile rides before this event.  But I hadn't done anywhere near this much climbing in one ride.  The most I had in me was a couple of 2200-2400' of climbing.  Well short of the advertised 6500'. (Note: I haven't seen two sources of data have the same amount of climbing.  Even though they all use GPS data.  See my Strava report linked below - it says I did 5300' of climbing, not 6500'.)

So, on the morning of the ride, Saturday, May 18th, I woke up at 4:30 a.m. at home (just north of Madison) and got ready and then drove more than 2-1/2 hours to Arcadia (30 min north of Lacrosse), arriving at about 7:30.  Time to check in and finish getting ready.

I think I'm on the right road.  It turns out the red car was my daughter's 4th grade science teacher!  We chatted in the parking lot when we arrived.  (Yes, I followed them into town.)

My goal for the day was to ride the 65 miles in about 5 hours of riding (not including rest time at the stops), 5-1/2 total time.  I rolled out at 8:00.  Riders were sent off from the start line every 5-10 minutes starting at 7:00 (or was it 6:30?).  When I left it was a small group that gathered to start their rides.  All distances started together.

 

Let's roll!

It was clear pretty quick that this would be a challenging ride.

Early miles outside Arcadia

Just 2-1/2 miles into the ride, we started our first climb - about 500' over 1.75 miles.  It was a steady climb.  The kind that this old man prefers (relative to the sharp, steep climbs).  After a nice downhill (crawl up, fly down!), we hit the second hill just after the 11-mile mark.  This was another steady climb... until....  Until the last 1/2 mile.  We made a sharp right hand turn and immediately went vertical.  I stopped, but was able to continue up.

Once at the top, I was greeted with the following scene:

Clearly, something was wrong.  When I caught up to the stopped riders, I learned that someone had crashed on the descent down from this hill.  Some riders had been there for a half-hour or longer.  I was there for about 25 minutes.

MedFlight coming to medevac one of the riders.  I learned later that he was ok, but was going to be kept overnight for observation.

There were three injured riders, from two separate incidents.  One rider was MedFlighted out after hitting a sink hole in the road.  Not a pothole.  A sink hole.  The other two were riding together and hit a second sink hole not far from the first.  One had a bad road rash, the other broke a bone.  I'm spo glad to hear that they are (relatively) ok.

Once the MedFlight and two ambulances cleared out, we proceeded on the route.  We went down the hill very cautiously.  Ride volunteers were marking the area and warning riders.  It would have been easy to hit (and crash on) one of the two holes.  The hole in the pavement was small (size of a softball and a baseball), and if you're flying down the hill, you'd be on top of it before you could react.

The descent where the riders crashed and were injured.

I blew past the first rest stop at the 17-mi mark, having just spent some time on the side of the road as the first responders did their job.  This was the point where the riders doing the 50K route would break off from the route and start heading back to town.  I was feeling good after two tough climbs.  And felt good about taking on five more (plus a couple smaller ones).  Besides, I didn't drive 2-1/2 hours one-way to only ride 2 hours total!

 

Of course, I think I regretted that (not really) on the next climb.  I actually stopped and walked a bit.  And I "slalomed" up (weaving back and forth across the road - which actually worked!).  Hill three was brutal, and the steepest of the hills.

 

Over the next few hours, I met and rode with a few different people as we climbed and descended.  It was great working with other and chatting with them.  I rode with an older gentleman from Minnesota, doing 150K with his son; a woman from the Milwaukee area; a guy from the Chicago area here with a friend and his wife; and a couple other guys from Wisconsin.  (And, no, I don't remember their names.)

 

Working on conquering the most brutal ride I've done.



The next stop was in Fountain City, a river town on the banks of the Mississippi.  We descended from the bluffs to the highway just south of town.  The rest area was at a park along.  Of course, when you go down, you have to go back up.  In the downtown area, we turned right to climb back out of town.  I noticed as we rode up the hill that Fountain City reminded me a lot of some parts of my hometown, another city on the Muddy Miss.

 

When we cleared this climb, we had five big (aka "category") climbs, and over 35 miles, behind us.  There were two more big climbs, plus two more that would test the riders.  At least they did me.  My legs were weak.  I could have ridden up these final hills if my legs were fresh.  But after 50 miles of this madness, I couldn't hammer it out.  On the last climb, I stopped twice on the way up.  Just for a minute or so each time, but I had to stop nonetheless.

 

It was a tough ride.  The toughest I've ever done.  But, I finished.  I completed the Arcadia Brute. And I can't wait to go back!

 

So, here's my ride stats from Strava.  You can see how I did on each of the climbs here.

 

And here is the official timing from the race organizers.  I finished 165th of 256 on the 100K course.  No idea how many ahead or behind me were also caught behind the ambulance.  But scroll to the bottom.  Look for Robert Tschabrun.  Humbling and inspiring. 71 years old and his start-to-finish time was 4:33:50.  Blew my ass out of the water!  Well done, Robert!

More photos from the ride.  GORGEOUS scenery.  Look forward to returning next year!

Along the Mississippi River at Fountain City.  Hello, Minnesota.

100 Miles of Nowhere

I'm stealing an idea from another cycling blogger, albeit a more famous, humorous, and talented one. Several years ago, The Fat Cyclist (aka Fatty) started a fundraiser called 100 Miles of Nowhere. The idea was to ride a trainer, circle the neighborhood, go up and down a big hill (or mountain), all day until you ride 100 miles.

Crazy, huh?

Well, cyclists are kinda crazy. And this event is just another piece of evidence of that. To get in on the official 100MoN, you need to register the day it opens. There are only 500 spots, so it generally fills within a day. In return, you get to know that your reg fee goes to a great cause and you get some swag.  Like this shirt

Damn! That is a mighty fine shirt!

Then on June 1, you ride. And ride. And ride.

I missed this year's reg. It was full by the time I got to it. So I thought "Fuck it. I can still do this. And instead of Fatty's charity benefitting (a great cause, by the way, Camp Kesum, for children of cancer patients, survivors, or victims), I can do it to raise money for LIVESTRONG."

So, that's why I'm doing. I am riding around my neighborhood on Saturday, June 1st to raise money for LIVESTRONG. 100 laps. It is 1 mile per lap.


The red line is my route for the day.

So, here's the deal, if you're in the area and want to join me on the bike for a lap or more, please come by.

But what I need really need, and how you can really support me is by making a contribution to LIVESTRONG. You can also make a donation that day at my house. Or you go to my fundraising page on the LIVESTRONG website, either by donating on-line via credit/debit card or by printing a donation form and mailing it in with a check.

Donations will go towards my fundraising goal to ride RAGBRAI again this year with TeamLIVESTRONG.

And, yes, I do have Fatty's blessing.

MN Ironman Ride Recap

Sunday, April 28 was the date for this year's Ironman Ride near the Twin Cities. Longtime readers of this blog (do they exist?) will recall that I did this ride in 2011. A miserable day to ride a bike if there ever was one (temps in low-mid 30s and rain/sleet/snow). But, this is spring in the upper Midwest and earlier this week, the Cities got hit with 3.5" of snow.

Fortunately for the riders, the forecast was for warmer temps.... In the upper 70s / lower 80s! This didn't change much as the week progressed and the weather met the promise of the forecast. (If only the forecast talked about he winds!). I woke up to temps in the mid-50s and the skies were clear. It was a BEAUTIFUL day to ride a bicycle!

The Ironman Ride did not have a scheduled start time, just a window.  Register and hit the roads between 6:30-9:30.  There were four routes to choose from.  Do one, or any combination.  The cloverleaf layout worked great.  I came to ride the Scandia Loop, which, at 52 miles, was the longest route.  The others were a 28 mile Gateway Loop, a 26 mile Afton Loop and a 14 mile Afton Loop.  Had I more time (and not needed 4 hours to drive home after I was done), I would have liked to have ridden more.

At registration, there were 3699 preregistered riders.  There were A LOT of walk-ups too, no doubt thanks to the excellent weather.  I suspect that, all told, there were over 5000 riders.

By the time I arrived at the fairgrouds and got registered, it was nearly 9:00.  I was already an hour behind schedule.  I met up with a guy named Matt who went the same high school I did.  He was riding with his dad (who drove up from Dubuque to do the ride) and his brother.  Matt had already completed the 14-mi loop.  The four of us headed out.  First thing I noticed was the wind.  It was strong out of the south.  Of course, the fact that for the first 20 miles or so we were heading north meant that the wind was a non-issue.

We arrived at the first rest stop, about 22 miles into the ride, about 1h20m later.  We were moving along nicely at 17.6 mph.  I felt great.  Matt and I were ahead of his brother and dad by a few minutes.  After a quick snack (energy gel and almonds) and topping off the water bottles, we headed back out, full of confidence.

Ahh, the sense of false security.  The biggest challenge of the ride was in the second segment, the descent into Stillwater and the climb back out. Matt and I rode ahead again and took off downhill.  Descending on 199th St was FUN!  Trees all around as a wind block, a curvey road, and (of course) downhill. The descent continued after we turned on State 95.  Matt and I got separated at this point and rode apart until we go to the second rest stop (at the 39 mi mark). There he waited for his brother and dad while I took off to finish my ride so I could get on the road to go home.

Me and Matt

I finished the ride in just over 3 hours (3:11), averaging just over 16mph for the day, with 1422 feet of climibing (according to Strava.  According to the Map My Ride link from the ride's website, it was only 899'.)  All in all an ok effort. 

Meanwhile, Matt went on to ride a full Century on Sunday, completing he short Afton Loop, Scandia, and Gateway. He must've picked a few extra miles at he end to be sure to reached that goal. Well done, Matt! *hat tip*

A few observations.

1. It reminded me a lot of RAGBRAI - it was a more rural loop than the others, with rolling hills, and people of all ages, abilities, and body types riding.  This wasn't something limited to the mostly 20-something club riders and racers.  Hat Tip to those riders out there plugging away at this challenge!
2. You can tell it's early in the season when the club riders haven't shaven their legs yet.
3. The ride was, from what I saw, very well organized and supported.  Matt reported that traffic into the fairgrounds was pretty congested and chaotic when he arrived early.  They got that squared away by the time I arrived.
4. Another rider came up to me and asked where I got the Drake U jersey.  Another Bulldog!
5. There were a handful of riders in RAGBRAI jerseys. 
6. I was pretty tired at the end of 52 miles and my legs were sore.  I wonder how I'll feel in three weeks after the Arcadia ride (see my last post about that).
7. I LOVE CYCLING!

Thanks for reading.  As always, comments welcome!  -b

Ride Time!

On Sunday morning, I'll be rolling out to ride the 50 mile route of the MN Ironman Ride. This will be the first event of a busier season. No races, but more rides.

I'm a little nervous about Sunday's ride. I've only done one ride this year over 30 miles. But it was last weekend. And it was almost the same distance (50+). But I was sore and tired afterwards. (In a good way.)

I'm leaving for Minnesota in the afternoon tomorrow and will spend the night with my brother and his wife in Minneapolis. (Thanks, Chuck & Cindy!). Sunday morning I will get up and drive over to Stillwater, where the ride will be held.

The organizers have done an interesting job of laying out the routes this year. There are three routes, but you can combine them to create your own ride. Except the 50-mi route, which closes early. Since that's the route I'm riding, that's a non-issue. If, by (fat) chance, I'm feeling good after the 50, I may another loop to extend my day. We'll see. I'll still have a 3-1/2 hour ride home that afternoon, so it will also depend on timing.

In three weeks is my next ride... the Arcadia Brute. I've signed up for the 100km (~65 mi) ride. But it's hilly. 7 climbs of 300-400 feet each. 6500 total feet of climbing in under 65 mi.


HOLY HELL! What the fuck did I sign up for?!?

In contrast, this weekend's ride has 900' of climbing in 52 mi. Better up my training regimen. More hills in the next couple weeks. (My 50+ mi ride last week had just over 2,000' of climbing. Nice, but NO where near where I need to be!)

Well, wish me luck as I start my season. More after I return from Minnesota.

My Space

No. Not a blog post about a dead social media site. (Oh! Sorry! MySpace is still operational?!? Why?!?)

No. Just a chance to show off a room in the house. We've been here for 6 mos. and finally got around to decorating it and moving some boxes that were in there into the storage room.

So, as you know, I've kind of gotten a little obsessive about cycling. (No, I'm not apologizing for it!). And over the last 3 years I've collected a few posters. That have sat in the tubes and flats they were mailed in.

This weekend a chain arts & crafts store had their poster frames on sale. So, I (finally) spent the money to get the frames. Got home, unpacked the prints, and put them in.

Finally, I cleaned out the room and hung the prints. What do you think?


Vive Le Tour - set of three prints by Adam Turman (adamturman.com).  He is an artist out of the Twin Cities and has a lot of great work, not all of it cycling related.  These were a Christmas gift from the kids.



These two prints represent my commitment to LIVESTRONG.  The print on the left is by Shepard Fairey (of the Obama HOPE poster fame).  This was something I received from the Foundation for being one of the top three fundraisers for the RAGBRAI TeamLIVESTRONG in 2010.  The print on the right is by Austin, TX artist Bobby Dix, available on ETSY under the name Kollective Fusion.  He also some some real cool non-cycling posters as well (BACON!)



RAGBRAI posters from 2010 and 2012, the two years that I completed the whole route.  I did save space on the wall for the 2013 poster, as I am planning or riding all week again this year.  (Registered and, yes, doing my fundraising for LIVESTRONG already - help me reach my goal.)

And yes, that's my bike up on the trainer. I have tried to ride some this winter.

Update: 4/19 - Just ordered these two prints from Mark Fairhurst.  Can't wait to get them!


Ahh, the Spring Classics.  Where bike racers ride across the ancient cobbled roads of northern Europe.

This one reminds me of both LeTour as well as (surprise!) RAGBRAI.



Stomach of Anger

You may have noticed the logo to the right that was added to my page layout not too long ago. It's actually a linked logo, so if you click on it, you'll go to the SOA website. Which I strongly advise, if you want to order some really cool cycling-themed t-shirts. (Full disclosure, I own four of them already.)

The reason that logo is there is that the guys at SOA have agreed to sponsor me on my big one-day rides this year. Yes, me, a middle-aged slightly over-weight weekend warrior cyclist just trying to carve out enough time to ride so that my body can actually withstand the rigors of a timed 100-mi ride. Pretty cool, huh?

So the deal is, SOA is sending me a kit (that's what they call the jersey and shorts together) to wear at these events (the Ironman Ride MN, the Wisconsin Triple Crown, the UPAF Ride for the Arts (MKE) and the iGranFondo). I wear the kit and promote the brand (and hopefully don't embarrass myself or them with my performances).

And, while they haven't asked me to, I will be sharing information about any promos they're running, etc. Which, btw, they have right now: $12.00 t-shirts for 2011 & 2012 designs. Click on the link and happy shopping!

Maybe next year, I can get them to pay my entry fees to these rides, too.

You, too, can sponsor me. By clicking on the LIVESTRONG logo at the top of the page, you can donate to the Foundation and support my fundraising efforts to ride with the TeamLIVESTRONG on RAGBRAI again this summer. The Foundation does great work supporting patients and their loved ones at the start of their fight against cancer. Educational materials, connecting patients to clinical trials, assistance with insurance issues, etc. LIVESTRONG is there, in te corner for patients, when things are the craziest as they're just learning what hey are up against.

My goal this year is is to raise $5.00 for every mile of this year's RAGBRAI, or just over $2000. I appreciate your support!

World Cancer Day

 

Today is World Cancer Day. Seems to be an appropriate day to begin in earnest my fundraising efforts for LIVESTRONG as I prepare to join about 100 teammates and 20,000 other cyclists for a week long ride across Iowa this July.

For 41 years now, RAGBRAI has crossed Iowa from the Missouri to the Mississippi. This will be my third year of riding the whole week (I also rode the last two days in 2011). In that time, colleagues, co-workers, friends and family have generously donated more than $10,000 to the LIVESTRONG Foundation. This year, I am at it again, and am asking you to join my team in the fight against cancer.

I’ve been asked a few times about the impact of the Lance news on LIVESTRONG. My short answer is that LIVESTRONG is not about Lance – yes, it was his foundation, but he’s stepped away from it now – it’s about providing services and resources to cancer patients and their support teams (friends, family, loved ones) during their fig...ht. LIVESTRONG does not fund research for a cure – important work that others are doing, but work that doesn’t fit its mission of helping people now. (My long answer appears on this post from November (before the Oprah interview).)

I would greatly appreciate your support. You can donate on-line on my fundraising page.

If, however, you feel that you cannot support LIVESTRONG because of Lance, I understand. I only ask that you consider donating to another organization fighting the cancer war instead.

Thank you for your consideration!