Dairyland Dare - when the going gets tough

Ahhhh Wisconsin Riding - Endless Cornfields, hills and green all around

I love riding in Wisconsin and Dairyland Dare is one of my favorite organized rides. Dairyland Dare is a ride that can best be described as "lets climb every possible hill there is in Southwest Wisconsin" It starts and ends in Dodgeville, WI and offers riding distances from 50K to 300K, with great support and the typical Wisconsin views and hospitality. In the past the ride was timed in a grand fondo style, but this year for some reason it was "just" a ride (meaning no timing).
   

This year the plan was to ride the 200K route on my tri bike as a long ride training for Ironman Chattanooga. Simple plan, or not really that simple. I got my tri bike all ready, with new aero wheels (Reynolds 58/72 mixed wheelset), had the bike all tuned up at a bike shop. I knew I could handle the hills on my standard crank, realizing it would be hard and slow on some hills; but manageable, as I did this ride on the same bike (different wheelset) 2 years ago training for IM Wisconsin. I was excited for this ride and for testing my fitness on a hard hilly course, especially after riding in Colorado for 1 week in July.

Ride Day

On Sunday morning, we met early for a 6:30am start and were greeted by a foggy cool start. The day was expected to get warmer but stay overcast. We had a small group and the plan was to start together until we each go our merry way, as we were all planning doing different distances.

Foggy Start to the Day

Less than 5 miles into the ride and we hit the first hill. My quads start screaming and burning, my cadence drop to almost zero and I could barely climb. OH NO, this is not happening, was the first though that goes into mind. I took a look at the wheels, no flats. What's wrong? I think. This was so much easier two years ago, am I in such a bad shape? This is not good news when IM Chattanooga is rapidly approaching. I start to panic. I keep spinning very slowly, half panicked and half in disbelief. It can't be, I shake my head, I still have a long way to go. After what seemed like forever (but probably close to just a few minutes, because after all we are in Wisconsin and the hills here are not that long) I reached the top. I decide to stop and check my bike, hoping its not me but the bike. Sure enough the rear brake is rubbing big time. Phew, it's not me, I was just getting some "help" from my rear brake. I relaxed and quickly fixed the rear brake and got on the bike. A few pedal strokes, ouch, it's rubbing again. I have to stop again, fix my wheel, but on every climb the brake rubs, making the hills harder to climb. My legs feel so tired an3d we are not even at mile 20. My friends on the ride are very patient and understanding but I feel bad, having to stop so much and being so slow on the climbs. Finally at around mile 30, after multiple stops to fix (or try to fix) the stubborn rear brake, it is finally fixed (well at least for now).

Thank you VQer friends Lynn, Saman and Michelle for the company and support on this ride 

We are only at mile 30, my legs are so tired and we wasted so much time on stopping to fix my mechanicals and others mechanicals. I have decided that the 200K is now out of the question and the 150K looks like the better option. That is when we realized that somewhere along the way we must have taken a wrong turn and are missing about 20 miles somewhere. oops. After a short stop, and thanks to Saman, we are back on the route making our way back to to ride the lost 20 miles (basically, at one point on the course there are a split that creates a 2 loop turn, we were supposed to go straight the first time but instead we turned left, I am glad to report we were not the only ones).

Finally everything was going as planned, we were back on course no more mechanical issues with my brake and it was time to enjoy the ride and the views. The endless green of the corn fields with flowers. I was finally having fun and enjoying my day. We got to the point where the course split to the 100K and 150K and Michelle and I continued toward the 150K enjoying the ride.

At around mile 70, I hear the annoying squeaking sound coming from my wheel again. Yes, the brakes are at it again and rubbing my wheel. I try to fix them and no go, I keep climbing and it feels like I am barely moving. Then this guy passes me by and made a comment I just hate "good job, almost at the end" I totally lost it. I hate this comment even on a good day and on a bad day when my bike is giving me hell, I hate it even more. It took everything I had to channel my inner Zen (and those of you who know me, know that I don't really have one, but I was trying real hard) and not to yell back at him. On a side note - guys: what's up with that comment? Why can't you say something else like "hi", "good morning", "nice socks" - really?

Finish line sore legs

That comment put me into an even worse mood, it pushed me into an even darker place. Those of you who have ever trained for an Ironman know what I'm talking about, that breaking point in your training that you feel like you can't do this, where you see those 140.6 miles slipping away. This is where I was. At mile 75 that day, and with lots more climbing to go.

Thanks to Michelle who has lots of practice talking me out of those dark places, we kept going, very slow fighting the brakes, fighting the dark thoughts.

This is when we see 2 guys stopped at the side of the road holding a map. I stop next to them and ask to borrow a map. My legs were so sore, it was getting late and I wanted to see if I could cut a few miles and finish this ride. We were able to find a road that would cut about 4 mile of the course and went for it.

After 88 miles and 7,300 feet of climbing we made it to the finish line. Finally.

During the ride I spent a lot of time thinking about my choice of bike and setup and whether I was setting myself up for failure from the start. Maybe. My goal was to spend time on my tri bike, which is a challenging choice for a ride like this, especially with a standard crank, but I have done that before. Thinking about it, I probably should have stayed with my old wheelset that is lighter and better for a ride like this. I usually joke when I say "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" but I do believe that. I could have thrown in the towel and turn around at the 50K or the 100K points, but I didn't, I kept going. I might not have had the ride that I wanted or ridden the distance that I wanted, but I made the best of the situation. Same as on September 27, I may not have the race that I want and planned (it happened before in Mont Tremblant), but I will push to keep going, to get to the finish line smiling.