Training Day - Madison, WI

Remember these statements…

“…no mechanical issues…that’s all I want…” – Machina
“I think the course heads out over there…” – Tommy Boy
“Dewd, if it rains, I’m not going to be happy…” – LaceDog

Other than a few expected travel delays, we made it to Madison without incident. Unlike Racine two weeks ago, I booked a hotel that HAD NOT been featured on Court TV. Tommy and I took the Machina around downtown to give him the lay of the land and his eyes were lighting up like a kid on Christmas morning. We were all pumped to race Friday night…let’s just hope we feel the same way September 8th!

Saturday morning, as we’re getting ready to roll out, Machina utters the first statement above. At the time, it seemed like a nice well-wish for the day and seemed innocuous at best…You’ll see what I mean…read on.

We rolled out from the Sheraton, which is located directly across from the Aliant Energy Center. The plan was to roll through the parking lot and pick up the bike course like we would on race day.

Tommy Boy, 6 time Ironman and two-time veteran of Madison, uttered the second statement above as we rolled out from the hotel parking lot. Well, we found the bike path, the bridge under some overpass and some nice neighborhoods – but not the bike course. After about 20 minutes of aimless meandering, we flagged down a cop who pointed us in the right direction…kinda. We came to a corner looking for Ridgerock Road and pulled out our course map from the website. (Note: Not to scale) Fortunately, the riders who rolled up behind us knew where they were going and came well after my profanity laden tirade – they got us going in the right direction. We were AT Ridgerock Road and didn’t know it…a RH turn was all that was required to get us on the right path.

From that point on, all we needed were the green arrows to pilot the course. That was very nice. Whoever did that is top shelf in my book. Navigation was a lot less stressful with the green arrows.

We made it out to Verona and lost our way again. The arrows were a little confusing because of the out and back nature of the roads to that point. Tommy Boy was convinced we needed to go North through Verona. Since my 2003 experience was a blur, I said nothing…Until I remembered 2004 – when I was a spectator and took pictures. We rolled by the School and the area where they hold the carnival and I distinctly recall riders going in the opposite direction. After riding out of town, I convinced Tommy to trust me and we headed back.

We got back on the course, headed past where the special needs section will be set up on the bike, found the green arrows again and headed out on the first loop.

The first half of the loop went well. The hills are all that I remembered. We were taking it easy and the weather was about 72, humid, but overcast. Comfortable. Machina mentioned that race day conditions like this would be ideal. I agreed…then looked to the North and made the third aforementioned comment. Great timing.

It rained for the next hour – pretty hard at times – then it happened. We turned onto a freshly resurfaced road that had been covered in gravel. Psssssssss…Machina’s front tire went flat. We stopped and changed the tube and it was kinda like race day. We got passed by a dozen riders, all asking if we were good.

We finished the climbs into Verona and were about to make the final left turn towards town when I looked for Machina to tell him where we were. He was no where to be seen. It seems flat #2 – rear tire this time – happened about a mile back. He yelled, but we kept rolling and didn’t know. Tommy and I went back and we got him rolling again. Two tubes between the three of us…nice planning, eh.

We roll through Verona and are about to stop at a park to refuel and I get a flat tire. No tubes, but 3 more CO2 cartridges…nice planning. We walked about half mile out of Verona to an Oasis. (bike shop) We bought 4 tubes, one tire (Machina’s was shot), one Clif Bar and two packs of Perpetuem. Of course, we had $30 between the three of us and had to call Machina’s wife for a credit card number…$95 out the door.

At this point, we have about 4 hours of ride time in, but we’ve been out there about 5 hours. Did I mention the rain stopped…and the humidity kicked up a notch…oh, and the freakin’ wind started blowin’? We headed out on the second loop.

For the first half of the 2nd loop, things went well. We were all feeling pretty good, but Tommy started running on empty around mile 80. Then, after the hills into Verona, it was my turn at mile 91. We were toasted, but the Machina was still rolling strong. By strong, I mean he had 18mph speed, while Tommy and I were struggling with 15mph speed. (Note: the hills are no bigger on the 2nd loop, they just appear to be)

We stopped at the park in Verona for some water and a rest. I seriously considered waiting there for the two of them to get the car and come back to pick me up. We weren’t 100% on the wind direction, but we set out towards Madison hoping it was at our back. By the Grace of God, we had it at our back the whole way. Otherwise, that little tester back to Madison would have seen a LaceDog and a Jade crumpled up in a ditch on the side of the road.

Tommy and I reached the stop light intersection where we started the morning…where the other cyclists told us which direction to turn…and realized we could see our freakin’ hotel from that intersection. Had we simply rolled out the front door and not attempted to find the course via the bike path, the day would have started out a little better.

My timeline may not add up if you’re keeping track at home, but this I know…We rolled out at 7am EST, and got back in the car for home at 5:05pm. That’s 10 freakin’ hours for between 7-8 hours of riding…120 miles total. A long, yet valuable, training day. BTW…when we unloaded Machina’s bike at home, his front tire was flat.

It’s great to be home…and I can’t freakin’ wait until RACE DAY!!!