Please mark July 6th and 7th on your calendar. It is one of my favorite weekends of the year. Of course, I am talking about the great Greenwood Road Race.

For those new to the Twin Cities Spoke, new to racing or new to the area, there is a Wisport series race in Greenwood, Wisconisn and the start of it is about five miles from my grandpa's farm. So, for the past five years we have sent a team and camped out in the farmyard, had a bonfire and a great time of fellowship. Last year for our fifth year racing as a team I put together a little history of the event (click here) complete with pictures of each year at the farm.

Wisport is a unique race series that takes place primarily in Wisconsin and it is not sanctioned by anyone except itself. The format is very simple with a single start -- everyone races together -- and then the results are broken into age groups. Thus, it is the one time of year when our Cat3's can race with our Cat5's and it is always fun. If you are thinking of tyring your legs at racing, this would be a great one to try. It is only 38 miles -- not too long for a beginner -- and since we can all ride together you can be coached and helped along through the first few miles. Usually, the group breaks up into many smaller groups and you find a small pack that is comfortable for you and you race in that group. Most people are there for the fun, fellowship and to challenge themselves, so you will most likely find someone in your group who has a lot of experience and will gently help you "race right" if you want that continued coaching.

We usually leave the Twin Cities sometime on Friday -- there are a few waves of people that come [some take the afternoon off, but most come after work since it is only a 2.5 hour drive from the cities.] The linked article from last year has more on what is available and what to bring.

Also, of note is that most high-tail it back to the Twin Cities for the Hopkins Crit on Sunday, but another option is the Greenwood Time Trial [same start as the Road Race, but is on a 25 miles course] the next day.

Finally, this is a family friendly event. Please consider joining us. Bring your family. Bring your friends. Bring a rival team [I have been talking to some of the Balance guys who aren't going to Iowa]. Contact me if you have any questions AND I will need a fairly firm headcount by mid-June so I can make proper arrangements.

Tim

Still looking for racers for this weekend.

Anyone? We are less than a month away.

I have to check with the war dept. at home but she might want to get rid of the old grump. I will do my best to talk her into a road trip. 80%

A

I am out; but in for a tree. My grandaughter from Africa will be with us that weekend.

DETOUR!

From the WISPORT forum:


So, a little tougher race and another couple of miles. Sounds to me like it was made for Slavs.

Greenwood is only a week away. Is anyone doing this?

Sorry, no.

I may be down to just being there the day of the race. We ended up dog sitting.

A

Adam,
I am very excited that you are still going to do the race. It also may open the door for others [Lovaas, for example] to hook a ride and be able to race even with a schedule that wouldn't allow for the camping. That is, providing you can accomodate passengers.

Thanks, bro. Can't wait to race with you.

Tim

Sorry I have been slacking on my response on forum. I told Tim awhile ago I was "in" for Greenwood, I will check in with Adam and see about car pool. are we the only 3 going??

RECAP:
This was a good race/ride for me. OK, it was more of a ride than a race. You see, my main objective this year is this coming weekend, so instead of training for Greenwood I put on some big miles in preparation for the Triple Bypass. Thus, with 340 miles on my legs in the seven days leading up to Greenwood, I wasn't sure how my "race legs" would respond -- and I was fine with turning this into a "timed training ride".

Here is the Strava link for my Greenwood. For the first 20:00 minutes of the race I was golden. I felt great, was able to mark all of the accelerations and wasn't even really working THAT hard. Right at the 20 minute mark on the Strava ride you will see a slowing -- that is the big crash. I was towards the back of the pack and all of the sudden half of the group in front of me disappeared -- like they had fallen into a huge hole -- and bikes/wheels and parts started flying everywhere. I was forced deep into the ditch and unclipped, but didn't go down. I got back on the road and looked up -- huge gap to a large group in front of me and about three riders behind including my friend Matt C. I knew that even if we worked together like clockwork there was only a slim chance any of us could catch the group and have anything left to actually race. It was at that point I decided my race was over and the ride had begun.

I told Matt to jump on and I would tow him to the group. I started the chase at 32mph and realized that was not going to work, so I kept stoking the fire and adding more gas. I worked faster and harder for longer than I thought I could. As I neared 42mph I was finally feeling like I couldn't hold that pace much longer and I was right. Luckily we had pretty much caught the group and felt good that I had delivered Matt to the pack, even though I was cooked.

Off the back I went as well as a lot of other people who were shredded all over the road from post-crash frenzy. I picked up a rider that was completely toasted. "Hop on" I told him as I went past. "Nothing left" he gasped. I slowed until he was on my wheel and encouraged him to just recover and let me work for a while. There was a group just ahead that was enticing, but I didn't want to leave my new friend. Another rider joined us briefly, but was too strong and finally bridged up to the next group. Heading almost directly into the wind, it was slow going as I would pull for two miles or so and the other guy would pull for a quarter mile, then let me take over again. Not a very equitable arrangement, but I wanted to really work -- even if I wasn't racing.

Finally we were joined by a group of three others who were all strong and were not going to stop for us. So, with encouragement from the guy I had been riding with, I jumped on to their train and we worked well together for several miles. As we turned south on Hwy O, I knew the wind would be more of a help than a hindrance. "Hang on!" I yelled to the three behind me and I stepped on it. Not fighting the wind felt so awesome I turned it up a little too hot. The corner was at the 27 mile mark on the Strava data and you can see a marked increase in tempo. I pushed 26 - 28 on the flats and tried to crest the hills at 20. Three miles later I looked back to finally get some help and there was no one there. One guy, Derrick, was not too far back so I waited for him and we worked together pretty much the rest of the way -- although he had hurt his knee in the crash and it was starting to really bother him by then.

As we climbed the last hill before the bridge, I felt my back starting to cramp, so I eased off and let Derrick finish solo. I was quickly passed by the two others that couldn't hold the pace on Hwy O and although they tried to get me to hold on to the back of their train, I didn't want to mess my back up so close to the Triple Bypass just to gain a few extra seconds on my "ride". I pretty much coasted home and was still on the first results sheet [51st overall] which I am very happy with, all things considered.

It was a most enjoyable ride and I had a lot of fun.

Awesome job Tim. I was surprized you had decent legs with the mega mileage in the heat you have been putting in recently. Best of luck in Colorado.

Glad to hear you stayed upright in the crash. I wish I could have been there to help out. Did anyone from our group go down? Where are the rest of the race reports?

Nice job Tim! I am so glad you didn't go down this close to your CO trip. I'm starting to ramp up for my CO trip next month.

Great race report. Tim, your willingness to ride for/ help and encourage other riders is a true witness! Way to represent. Look out Colorado!

It was awesome seeing a group of about 30 riders bearing down on Tim and he held them off to the line. All those miles are paying off, can't wait for the triple by pass report. Got a feeling the IC3 annual camping and racing trip will next year be changed from Greenwood to Colorado!