2011 Tour of America’s Dairyland Summary

Posted

in

What a great race series the 2011 Tour of America’s Dairyland was. I’m already looking forward to next year. This year featured 9 criteriums, 1 road race, and 1 time trial. The criteriums were a mix of hilly technical courses and flat, fast courses. This was my first time to race more than six days in a row. By the end of two weeks of racing and riding, I had ridden/raced 824 miles (383 miles the first week and 441 miles the second week). To put that in perspective, that is 15 miles longer than our drive home from Madison, WI to Birmingham, AL. The 441 mile week is my sixth 400+ mile week of the year and most likely the second longest week of my entire racing career. I had a 500+ mile week in college.

All of our criteriums were timed at 90 minutes and depending on the average speed worked out to be around 45 miles in length. The race was so well organized, thanks in part to having a nearly identical schedule very day. I didn’t have a lot to do besides race, so I would frequently start warming up during the pro women’s race and continuing warming up during the masters 1-2-3 race before checking out the course for a few laps during the downtime that was scheduled between the end of the masters race and the start of the pro men’s race. That down-time meant that every one of our races started on time because any kind of delay earlier in the day was worked out by the time our race started.

The road race was an excellent course through the Kettle Moraine state forest area. The hills and crosswinds combined with some rain during the first half of the race made for a challenging course. I was disappointed that I put so much effort into an early break that was brought back and then missed both the break of the day plus a large chase group. I was stuck in the field until the last lap when I bridged to a solo move and worked together with the rider I caught to finish just ahead of the field. It was a good finish to an otherwise disappointing race performance.

Favorite picture and favorite video… the picture is Lapham Peak where I rode to on my rest day in lieu of the Ripon time trial. The video is the last lap sprint of the last race of the series in Madison, WI.

Panoramic view from the top of the Lapham Peak tower (click to enlarge)

Here is a summary of all my results from the races. I was hoping for more top 20s, another top 10, and a top 5 in the road race. So my results weren’t quite what I was expecting, but it was still great experience, great racing, and the longest race series that I have ever done!

RACE PLACE DIST SPEED HR WATTS
Day 1 – Shorewood Criterium 46th 42.6mi 28.0mph 177/191 291/891
Day 2 – Thiensville Criterium 33rd 40.2mi 27.4mph 169/189 291/1242
Day 3 – Grafton Criterium 51st 39.9mi 27.8mph 168/187 281/1360
Day 4 – Waukesha Criterium 20th 40.7mi 27.3mph 167/186 259/845
Day 5 – Greenbush Road Race 17th 79.0mi 24.2mph 148/179 199/1100
Day 6 – Schlitz Park Criterium 19th 37.8mi 24.8mph 158/177 266/939
Day 7 – Ripon TT (rest day) 61.7mi 14.1mph 116/151
Day 8 – Sheboygan Criterium 26th 40.9mi 27.6mph 158/180
Day 9 – Fond du Lac Criterium 26th 43.1mi 29.0mph 158/183
Day 10 – Downer Ave Criterium 16th 49.0mi 28.1mph 160/183
Day 11 – Madison Criterium 9th 43.6mi 28.3mph 159/189

Finally, here a few maps to help illustrate the scope of our fun summer bike racing adventure…
Annotated map showing our entire trip.

Annotated map showing all the places that I raced.

Map showing all my races and commutes to/from awesome host housing in Brookfield. I saw quite a bit of southeastern Wisconsin frequently opting for side streets and country roads instead of interstates.

Comments

3 responses to “2011 Tour of America’s Dairyland Summary”

  1. Kristine Avatar
    Kristine

    Love hearing your adventures in my homeland:) well done!! We loved being with you for the last 4 days!!

  2. Kevin Murray Avatar
    Kevin Murray

    I finally found your blog. It was great meeting and hanging out with you at Mike and Martha’s. Still can’t seem to find you on facebook.

    Congrats on the top 10 finish on the last day in Madison. My legs were done with me on the last 200 meters, finished at the back of the pack. Though my overall finish was 11, which I’m very happy with. I’m looking forward to doing this race again next year.

    If you guys are ever coming out towards Nebraska, let me know and I will let you know of any races going on. Also, I have room if you need an overnight stay.

    Take care.
    Kevin Murray

  3. kartoone Avatar
    kartoone

    Thanks Kevin! I’m already looking forward to next year … hoping to race Mt Hood out in Oregon in early June and then Dairyland on the way back to Alabama. Maybe we’ll swing through Nebraska on the way! Good luck at your next races.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *