Ironman Wisconsin - The Bike, Part I

The descent down the helix was fast and exciting, but it was a no-passing zone, so I couldn’t shoot down it as quickly as I may have liked to. The Wisconsin bike course is often and best described as a lollipop. You begin with the stick, a 14 mile trip to Verona, and proceed to make the candy, two 42 mile loops from Verona to Mt. Horeb to Cross Plains and back to Verona. After the second loop, you ride the inverse of the first 14 mile ride and head back towards Downtown. Easy enough, huh?

Immediately coming off the helix and departing north out of town, you spend a fair amount of the first 3 miles on paved bike trails and side streets until you get to the Alliant Energy Center, a premier Expo center for the city of Madison. I suppose you could compare it to the Sommet Center of Nashville. As I approached the center, I recognized a familiar cyclist. I doubt anyone out there will catch this reference, but just a few cyclists ahead of me, I saw Dave from “The Distance,” an amateur movie made about 3 people training for the 2008 IM-MOO. I pulled up next to him and talked to him for a little while. He told me that Josh had injured himself and didn’t train enough and that Tammy had made the opposite mistake and found herself overtrained for the event. He said he was feeling great, that his swim was better than last year and that he thought he would have a great day. Didn’t take long for him to ride away from me, but it was cool to talk to him all the same.

The first 14 miles were, in a word, uneventful. I was very excited to be on the bike and to be in the middle of the race I’ve had my sights on for 3 years. The roads connecting Verona and Madison were horribly paved and were very physically jarring to ride over. It appeared as if the whole road was paved with 12 foot squares of concrete, sealed together by asphalt, except that each square was set at a slightly different height. It was a rough ride. It went by soon enough, though, and I soon found myself in Verona embarking on my first of two loops. It had been obvious to me for some time that I had hyperhydrated the night before as I had peed a dozen times since my wake-up. I had to do so yet again ending “the stick,” so I stopped at the porto-potties at mile 15 to relieve myself; a volunteer actually held my bike up the entire time I was in there and handed it to me afterwards, which was awesome. Grabbing my first bottle of Gatoraid Endurance at the aid station, I knew I was once again racing a WTC race!

It’s unfortunate for me to say this, but the next 15 mile trip to Mt. Horeb was very uneventful as well. I got the first taste of Wisconsin’s rolling farmland and was able to familiarize myself with the idea of being on an Ironman bike course, but there wasn’t much to see or do. I concentrated on staying aero and pushing as hard as my legs would allow me on its rationed energy. I had packed two Larabars and a Powerbar Triple Threat, which I hoped would last me until the Special Needs bag pickup at mile 56. I started eating, kept drinking and took in all the countryside.

After the first true climb on the day, a very easy grade, gradual climb over a mile or so, we made it to the city limits of Mt. Horeb for some much needed excitement. I saw groups of spectators for the first time since leaving Verona and it was a chance to actually go through a town with houses, people, music and cheering. I scanned the roads for anybody I knew, but didn’t see anybody as I motored past. Exiting Mt. Horeb, we made our way to mile 30 and the first part of the course worth discussing in pre-race: Witte and Garfoot Rds. I’ve seen a YouTube video of the “roller coaster” that was this road. It was a stretch of 3 or 4 miles of peaks and valleys as high as hills, but in close proximity as rollers. The road went up and down and up and down again as you transverse the most BEAUTIFUL countryside. I truly, truly enjoyed this part of the course. Each hill I descended carried me up the next one, and the view was more than enough to get me through it. I think the Zipp wheels and the aero helmet helped a lot; I was noticeably faster on the downhills than anyone else around me. I didn’t pedal on a single downhill the entire ride. At the end of Garfoot, I saw another climb I’d seen before in last year’s pro-race recap, which was enough motivation for the nerd in me to get myself up it. Shortly thereafter, just before mile 39, we got to the part of the course I most looked forward to: a one mile descent on the other side of Garfoot Rd. It was much more technical that I expected, and everyone in front of me was braking, so I had to as well. You really needed to, though, unless you had the course memorized and are an incredible bike handler.

With that stretch behind us, we had another ten miles of boring before we saw anyone. This, in my opinion, was the toughest part of the course. This is after the first stretch before Mt. Horeb, so it’s not a new phenomenon. You were low before Mt. Horeb, than got on a high again going through it, only to have it drop you off in another low. Not only that, everyone knew what was coming next: the two hills on Old Sauk Pass Rd and Timber Ln. Watching the miles tick away on my watch and continuing my pace, nutrition and hydration plans, I prepared myself for what was to come. After what seemed like forever, we turned onto the very start of Old Sauk Pass and passed a tent with some people camped out around it. Not very many people and not much excitement, but the first sign of life we’ve seen in a while and the front bookend to the incredible challenge to come. Old Sauk Pass winds around and around as flat as can be for a while, building tension, before it starts to kick up. I don’t know how steep it was, but I’d have to estimate it’s between an 8 and 10 grade for about ¾ of a mile. After it begins to climb, you wind left and start to see spectators. Cowbells rang and people shouted. I broke out my camera to take some pictures as I climbed the hill. Every time I did this, either in the middle of nowhere country or in the midst of the most challenging climbs, EVERYBODY loved it. I got more encouragement than any other part of the course. Being a good climber relative to people of like pacing in most races I do, I ground up the hill in the smallest gear I had and flew past many people. At the top, you got a mile or so to catch your breath before you turned off onto Timber Ln. Not far from the turn was the steepest, toughest hill on the course, referred to by some as “the Rockstar” because of the number of people on it. It was, as promised, reminiscent of the great climbs of the Tour de France, with a 4 person deep wall spanning the entire climb. Talk about a sight; I took a quick picture and was greeted by the roar of drunk college guys in banana suits and drag. “Yeah, Patrick! That’s awesome!” I jumped out of the saddle and hammered up the hill, passing more of my like-pace brethren. The top of the climb came in good time and I relished the excitement, but more so the completion and a chance to catch my breath and pull down my racing heart. It’s going to be really nice finishing this section the second time.

A number of dull miles ensued as we left Cross Plains, bound for Verona. They passed quickly enough the first time, but I could feel the effects of the day thus far; I knew the second loop was going to be hellacious. As my watch ticked closer to 56, it became more and more apparent that we were headed back into town, as we saw more and more spectators and heard more and more noise. I had made a goal for myself to not get lapped on the bike by the pros. I had made it to mile 53 without this happening. If I could make it to the turnoff point where you finish your “stick” as you head back into Madison, then I would have accomplished it. Mile 53.5, a mile and a half from the turnoff, I saw a Ford Fusion with the official Ironman race time, right at 5:00:00. “Cool” I thought, nothing thinking of it. Moments later, the men’s leader comes rocketing past me. Not far behind him were the top 6 men, one of whom was defending champion Chris McDonald. I yelled encouragement at him as he passed, but was a little upset at not making my goal. Oh, well, it was kind of a random, stupid one.

Entering Verona (a bit before the previous excitement) was really a cool experience. The crowd walls got thicker, and they had blocked off the course from traffic with barricades and sponsor’s signs. Going through the Timex bike bonus was breathtakingly awesome. It was just a surreal experience; in that moment, I was experiencing the awesome power of Ironman. Going through the aid station in Verona, a couple miles from the turnoff, I was refilling my Gatoraid when I passed my cheering section. Half of them had missed me going through, and I had a full Gatoraid bottle in my mouth as I passed, so I couldn’t say anything or even acknowledge that I saw them. Worst spot possible to try to catch my attention, but I kept a mental note of where they were to make sure I’d get to see them the next time around.

Passing the turnoff point, I celebrated not getting passed by any of the women at least, and began to scan ahead for the special needs bags. Eventually, we got to them (around mile 59, actually) and I got another awesome experience, tearing through the entirety of it while people pulled off to get their bags. It was like a Tour de France feeding zone; it was mass chaos and confusion as people pulled off to get their bags and pulled back into the lane of travel. Everyone was shouting to get out of the way, or that they were passing on the left. My bag was all the way at the end, so I got through the commotion and picked up my bag. I stopped to use the closest porto potty for the second time on the bike and realized that it was the same one I had stopped at on the first loop. There was a line this time, so I took a second to stretch my back, which I wanted to do anyway. I didn’t really mind the rest all that much! After a quick break, I pulled out the additional Larabar and Powerbar Triple Threat, shoved them in my jersey pocket and shoved my Mom’s homemade chocolate chip oatmeal cookies in my Bento Box before heading out on loop two. I was already tired. I looked forward to enjoying the sweet vacation from energy bars, but I knew, as everyone else on that course, that the second loop was going to hurt like crap.