The Dairyland Dare 200K

RIDE: 125 miles in 8.5 hours of saddle-time. Not sure of chip time yet.

I'd like to start by saying that this will be my longest ride ever to date. It will top my previous record of 110 miles by a long shot. And such Epic rides are worthy of Epic blog posts. So this might get long.

After yet another night of short sleep, I was up before the sun and downing the first of many bananas with peanut butter. The hotel breakfast was lousy, at least in terms of what I consider a good breakfast, so I'm glad I stocked up on grapes, bananas, and PB the night before. It seems I can ride on most any breakfast, the tummy doesnt seem all that picky.

At the event site, we picked up our timing chips, packets, and maps. I'd decided against buying the event jersey when I registered, but upon seeing it in person I was unable to resist. Any jersey that proclaims me to be a "Daredevil" in large print across the front speaks to me. The start was in waves, whenever a group of riders were ready to roll the volunteers would ring a cowbell (a real cowbell!!) and cheer us off. There were 6 in our group, and 4 of us doing the 200K distance. Off we went with optimistic smiles and bikes equipped with granny gears. Not a tri bike in site.

Miles 0-19.2: Those granny gears came in handy by mile 1.7, a sure sign that this ride was going to really be Epic. No warm-up, no easy coasting. Instead of 'Off and Running' it was more like 'Off and Climbing'. One of the riders in my group, someone I don't see often but had met on previous rides, recognized me in the hotel lobby as "the one who loves hills". He reminded me of this again, asking if I liked the hills so far. I did, but I joked that I might want to go on a hills diet after this. In previewing the route maps, I noted that the rest stops were only 15 or so miles apart. It seemed excessive at first, but I soon learned why. We hit the first rest stop in 1 hr--we'd traveled only 14.6 miles! The rest stops weren't timed by distance, but more like by time. A quick mental calculation told me it was going to be a long day.

Miles 19.3-50: Just miles after the first rest stop, I heard the dreaded POP-PPPPFFFffffffffff..... of a tire going flat. Luckily I was on a flat area near shade. It was the rear tire, and it was a substantial but not fatal cut to the tire. It would need some support to prevent the tube from pushing through, so I dug out the best repair I had: money. A dollar bill folded just the right was was strong enough to keep the tube with 100+ psi from pushing through the tear. Problem was, I didn't have a $1. I just had $10 and $20. I'm cheap, so I opted for the $10 repair option. That and I've heard that even money can fail under the pressure and a hole could be blown through the bill by the tube flatting again. I don't know if that's a myth or not, but I didn't want to find out. A quick repair and I was off, trying to catch up with my group that didn't know I'd flatted yet. Hills, more hills, and more hills. I caught up with the group at the next rest stop, and we took off again.

Miles 51-77: The hills were relentless. Sure, there were some flat areas, but even those where white-knuckler rides in the shoulder of a highway. I have to comment at some point that cycling in Wisconsin's traffic was wonderful, apparently drivers there are more accustomed to cyclists, we had few if any problems all day long. But the really scary parts were the 35+ mph descents in curvy hills shaded with trees. The curves keep us blind to oncoming cars and the dapply shade creates a flicker effect that keeps your eyes busy and disrupts a clear view of holes and road debris. To say the least, I'm a chicken of a descender, I'd rather climb a hill that fly down it. I use the brakes to scrub speed until I can see around the corner, at which point I tuck down and rocket off. This also means I'm dropped by more confident riders on downhills. So we spent a majority of the day descending at 30+ mph then immediately climbing at 4-7 mph. The best hills were spray painted with the grade for us. 12%, 14%, 16%, 18% 16% 18%...seeing those numbers only made the hills harder to climb, but all the more rewarding. More on that word later.

Miles 78-84: Just after the 150K route turn off, we hit yet another long hill. Same as many prior, it just went up-up-up then around a corner for more up-up-up. (The next day my Dad asked, what was at the top of the hills? I answered Another hill.) Midway up a climb, my fellow rider and IM Big Brother DC stopped riding and got off the bike in pain. I was behind him a bit, but seeing this I picked up the pace to catch him. Cramps. Awful cramps. More awful than I know, likely, and at this point he had to turn back to take the 150K route home. Seeing this was a wake-up call for me. He's a much better cyclist than I am, so it was humbling and scary to see him turn back. Also a good lesson for me to see, if I'm going to find any positive aspect to it, as I don't know if I could turn back. I'm so stubborn I might have kept going?! At mile 84, another rest stop. This one had potato chips. So good, so crunch and salty, but the tummy said Stop after just 2. Nuts. Getting ready to leave the rest stop, a mechanic noted that I had a flat tire. If that doesn't tell you anything about my mental state at that point then nothing will. I had a flat and didn't even notice. I thought it was just the soft mud I was riding in. This time it was the front tire. So another delay while the tire and tube were replaced. While we were at it, we had another bike looked at too. The 15 min or so rest was good for all of us, but the mechanic confirmed some of our fears--the next few miles were bitchin hard. But he described them as "Rewarding". AH! I LOVE that term for hills! Rewarding!! With our bikes having a good once-over and our legs a bit recovered, we set out again.

Miles 85-99: The warnings about these roads were all true. Long, slow, steep climbs that just didn't end. Granny gear was getting all the less useful at this point. I'd be climbing along and think "gosh I need to shift down" only to find that The Bird was already in the lowest gear. The bike was giving me all the help it could, the rest was up to me and my legs. The speed on climbs got slower and slower, but none of us were ready to quit just yet. BG modified my new phrase to "rewarding in a sucky sort of way". LOL. Then the sun came out. Til this point, the day was cloudy and very comfortably in the low 80's. The extra heat only added to the stress. All day long on the climbs we'd be going so slow that sweat would just accumulate on our skin, run out of our helmets, and soak our clothing. Then on descents we'd get a bit of a chill as the wind hit us. Now were were losing all the more water, even though it wasn't all that hotter out. By now my sunscreen was probably worn off but I didn't replace it. The day was getting into late afternoon, and the sun wouldn't be a problem for much longer. At mile 95, we hit a great rest stop just before a 6 mile loop. A conditions report from the stop volunteers told us that the next 6 miles were hard and hilly. Very hard and very hilly. At this point, we lost another rider in our group to a pained IT band. There was no reason for her to get hurt on a tough hill, so she turned back. Two down, two to go. It was another eye-opening moment. So me and PS headed out for the 6 miles, and were surprised to find it mostly flat or down hill. (One thing we've learned about downhills today: they're fun and they feel good, but they're never free.)

Miles 100-101: So while enjoying the easy ride, we started talking tri training, nutrition, coaching, and more. I love these conversations, so it brightened my mood. Which was good, because I needed it upon sighting Robert's Road hill. The name is embedded in my mind. Holy shit. MapMyRide estimates it's just short of a mile and peaks around 17% grade. For the first time all day, I had to stop on the hill. I was going so slow the bike would barely balance and I had to put my feet down. I stood there in shocked fatigue, watching my fellow rider dance right by and up the hill. I wouldn't say he made it look easy, but it sure was hell was frustrating. I would NOT walk, I decided. There is NO WALKING on this hill. So I caught about 60 seconds of oxygen and stepped back on the bike. I was worried about getting clipped in on such a steep hill, but had no troubles. Once at the top, we arrived again at the rest stop. Holy cow, after only 6 miles I needed another banana. I think it was my 9th one of the day.

Miles 101-115: After refueling, off again. A report from other riders familiar with the route said it was a kinder section of the course with only a few hills. I've learned that people from Wisconsin have a different definition of "a few hills". More on this later. We cruised though this section, going slower but in good spirits. The hills were tough but after climbing so many already what was a few more? At 115, another rest stop. The sun was setting, we were worn out, and I'd eaten enough Banana Sandwiches to make me sick. I had my ~10th banana smeared with PB and we set off again. A volunteer said only one big hill and we were done. Sounded good to us.

Miles 116-125: One big hill my ass. Yes, there was one big hill, but there were also about 6 more big ones to go with it. By this time my mind was fuzzed over and my fellow rider's sense of humor was starting to fail. When I suggested going back to the rest stop to correct the volunteer's statement of "just one more hill" he wasn't up for it. lol, neither was I. One fun thing about a ride this one is that I never knew what was ahead of us. A curve? A hill? A cow farm? Being it was the first ride, it was all new and exciting. This changed during this segment of the course. Now all I wanted to know is where the finish line was. Around the next curve? Over the next hill? Each curve and hill only revealed yet another curve and hill. The end seemed nowhere to be found.

Finish line: Finally, we topped a final hill and saw the finish. There was a finish arch for us! And the two riders we lost on the way were right there waiting for us! What a great way to end the ride!

I thought for sure my legs would be toast and my feet would hurt, but I just had severe fatigue. I think it says a lot about my training so far this year. Nutrition, hydration, and endurance were all spot on and I finished this ride with no issues. Even later that night I felt good! Weak, but good. This ride was definitely the hardest thing I've ever done. I wonder if I'll be saying that in one month, after finishing IMWI?