the Classic Report

i now have a new favorite 30 mile loop. well, with my wrong turn it was 43 miles on the first loop, but it was still awesome.

the Saturday warm up ride with Tim was 24 miles, 3000 feet of climbing, 25 mph wind & a 50 mph decent. it was fantastic. seriously, i loved every minute of it. Tim is this master of everything. this means he can navigate his way in a strange land without maps or fancy electronic devices while keeping an entertaining conversation the entire way. i learned two things on this ride; if you are wearing a number 7 diaper its time to start potty training AND if you say "Last one to the top buys the first Spotted Cow" you better be ready to go, because Tim will be gone.

Saturday Stats

Sunday did not let us down. it was sunny, clear and calm at 7am. sure it was cold, but once properly geared up i barely noticed the temps. like anticipated the ride blew up quickly with the first hill. it was an in your face violent wake up call.

five or 6 guys formed the A group and shot up that hill. i was off the back of that group with Tim and a couple others. my legs knew it was April, but my head wanted to play like it was August. i chased and that was my downfall. i was chasing guys that if i did catch i wouldn't be able to stay with. we did meet up with them again due to some construction blocking the road, but my time with them was short lived. then i fell off the wheels of Time and Jose which left me solo. i had hope and direction though as i had them in my sights through the beautiful peaks and valleys of the route.

i was hurting and eventually lost sight of the guys in front of me. out came my map, i mean que sheet. i didn't bring the map. it appears i am a poor navigator as i made a wrong turn. about two miles the wrong way i decided to turn back. i did, but there were two riders coming my way. they had the map and felt we were on track. three of us couldn't be wrong? uh, we were. we descended into a small town on hwy 92 and quickly determined we were well North of New Glarus. we asked some locals for directions and with their help and that map decided on an approach. we didn't back track as we tried to pick the shortest route to NG.

we added 8 to 10 miles to the first loop and two kick arse climbs with this detour. i rolled into the park to see the A Listers still there waiting. i felt kind of bad that my miss turn may have delayed there departure, but then figured they would take much joy in dropping me again anyway.

i rolled out for the second loop with the mountain goats & jack rabbits. this loop also starts with a pretty nasty hill. guess what, i was off the back. at the bottom of the decent i spotted Tim slowing up and waiting for me. we made an executive decision to take the offered short version of the second route to avoid complete spontaneous combustion. lucky for me Tim had the map and was able to guide us effortlessly.

short didn't mean easy. this short version of the second loop had several decent hills including a killer one at the end. one i had struggled up yesterday as a matter of fact. however, i took this last challenge fairly well and felt good as i made the final decent into town.

for me it was 60 miles, 5000 feet of climbing, lots of suffering and lots of fun.

Spring Classic Stats

New Glarus, WI is a great location for a ride. totally different from my normal flat rides amongst the cornfields. i look forward to getting back up there.

today, the legs are still pretty sore. for me, this was a pretty violent early season effort. the trouble maker (left IT band) is pretty tight, but livable. i need to log a run or two this week and plan to be back on the bike this weekend.

later.