Ironman Wisconsin : Official Thread (Page 20)

IMHO, this kind of "they should feel lucky to have us" attitude pisses the community off more than a few cyclists littering and riding on closed roads. I feel lucky that Madison is such a great host city. The fact is most average citizens probably don't consider the economic benefit of an event like this, and we should not expect them to agree with that sentiment. 

Let me know if I am misinterpreting what you're saying. 

Yes I completely agree. I was stupid and should have brought a map with. My smart phone is useless when trying to look at a map outside. This had only been my 2nd time on the course, but I should have payed more attention when there was talk of construction on the course. Next time we will NOT be going down closed roads!

I understand the position you are in with wanting to ride the course in it's entirety before hand, but sometimes that is just not possible. This has become such a concern, Verona requested the route be changed last year as it was becoming such a problem over the past few years. The sad truth is the IM loop is a very insignificant part of the beautiful and challenging roads that surround the area. The 2016 Olympic road race was supposed to be around Blue Mounds, check out that ride! IM athletes are ribbing themselves of some great riding by limiting themselves to a 40 miles loop.

As for the economic benefit, well unfortunately Madison host several larger events yearly, I think the dairy expo is the largest, Ironman is just a small speck that really only benefits Madison and not Verona, Cross Plains, Mt. Horeb, etc. Plus there is a little thing called Badger football that brings in well over 80,000 people into town for 7 weekends in the fall. 

As I stated before I am not trying to point fingers, and or blame certain people, but respect must be given. Every year the course is littered, abused, and locals grow more and more angry. Is it really worth riding a 5 mile stretch that has one false flat, and one small hill into Mt. Horeb? Pre-driving the course does virtually the same thing as pre-riding. 

On a side note I talked to a friend that lives in Mt. Horeb. Her commute into Madison the day of Ironman is extended by almost 90 minutes. yes this is once out of the year, but that is the sacrifice they make to let us have our race on their roads. All I ask is the laws be followed an respect be given, no one is above anyone else here so lets all just play by the rules. 

What is the significant problem?  The sheer number of riders on the weekend?

I might not be in-tune to what the real problem is on the loop?  I can't speak for the cities or what their specific complaints are about the cyclists, but if we are talking about issues like littering, urinating in public and illegal automobile parking in order to accommodate riders of the loop, I can definitely understand their concerns and I would hope most of us are diligent and use common sense on these things.

In this particular post I was talking about a short strip of detour that was being ridden by some of us who have never ridden the course.  My point is that this particular act is probably not causing anyone any issues or any type of hazard to the community.  In fact I doubt the communities are raising any concerns about that at all.  If you want to loosely consider that a violation of the law like j-walking then let's call it that.  However, I do think if some of those offense I mention above are causing issues than they definitely need to be addressed and I would hope as a group, we are respectful and careful with how we handle ourselves out on the course.  I do believe most cyclists are very cognizant of obeying traffic laws and are very respectful to the various communities. 

Unfortunately on the flip side, I also think the communities, motorists & law enforcement need to have a mutual respect for us as a group and realize that most of us are not causing many problems.

I know this has come up before, but I can't find the answer in the archives...

Any recommendations on places to OWS in the Madison area?  I'll be spending some time on the bike course next week and would like to try to squeeze a swim in as well.

Depending on where you're staying, the options I would consider are 1) the quarry in Verona at Fireman's park which is close to where SN is set up-very low weeds and no boats, 2) Wingra at Vilas park which is part of the arb.  No motor boats, but weedy, 3) Governor Dodg State Park which is convenient if you're in the Milddleton area, 4) Picnic Point on campus.  My last resort would be Lake Monona if you're alone because of the early morning boat traffic or late afternoon ski practice.

The detour below is marked Well with RED paint and arrows saying Detour. The Detour is a much better workout than actually riding on 92. You will not be missing out on any hills, but infact you will be riding more hills on the below detour.  Enjoy and be safe.

FYI Uphill Grind and coffee,which is located on the course in Crossplains has a mobile repair van if you need assitance while riding on the course call    608-413-0068

Messerschmidt to Hwy 92.
Right on Hwy 92 about 100yds to Town Hall Rd.
Right on Town Hall Rd. to Cty Hwy S.
Left on Cty Hwy S to Witte Rd.
Right on Witte Rd. to Cty Hwy J.
Right on Cty Hwy J which puts you back on the route.

Thanks for the info!  I love the AAA for bikes.   I had no idea they offered it.  So given the route, we totally miss the Mt Horeb BP water stop.  Is there a way to get back to water?

Suzy

Following the above detour, if you do not turn on Whitte Road but continue straight on County S until that ends then turn left on 8th Street you can get to the MT Horeb BP at the round about. It is only about 2 miles to the BPgas station from Whitte road.  Other than that for water, Uphill Grind in Crossplains is the next stop. They are fabulous, ice/water, all types of powdered sports drinks, bathrooms, tea, snacks, etc.

Yes the AAA for bikes is terrific. Last year I had the misfortune of getting 2 flats (only carried 1 tube), at separate places, while riding the loop, called Uphill Grind and Michael came to  the rescue.

Nicole

this isn't exactly related to the issues as hand, but as far as going around baracades on closed roads...you are potentially causing much more drama than it is worth.

Feel free to read this court case, and note all of the drama that was a result of people taking it upon themselves to ignore the closed signs.

you might not think it's a big deal, and you are just going around a small barrier, but... what happens if you get injured?

anyway just an FYI.

http://mn.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.19570510_0005.MN.htm/qx

but hopefully we can move past this topic, and get back to the Race Information. less than 2 months - Get Stoked!

This will be my first IM so I'm really hoping so since the swim is my weakest part.  I'm from out of town too so I don't know anything about lake monona but according to the usgs site the water temps so far look on par with last year.  Need to some cooler Aug nights to cool it down.

http://nwis.waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?cb_00065=on&cb_00010=on&format=gif_default&begin_date=2010-07-18&end_date=2012-07-18&site_no=05429000

Selfishly, I sure hope it is not wet suit legal. I hate wearing one, and I'm a good swimmer without, so if it's illegal, I get a bigger lead out of the water than I would otherwise. 

On the other hand, I'd be very surprised if it is not wet suit legal. The midwest always gets hot in the summer, and IIRC I don't think it's ever not been legal in the past ten years. 

I feel as though I haven't had enough "Mental Toughness days" during my Ironman training, so I decided to kick up a notch and ride 4 1/2 hours in the rain yesterday. (FYI I checked the radar, and it was just overcast, NOT raining) I was actually doing really good, welcoming the rain but with the temperature in the 60's and the wind picking up during the last half I was starting to turn sour. I couldn't look at my smartphone once again, because of the rain and I didn't have a dry spot on me to wipe it off.

After a kind lady asked me if I needed help and brings me into her nice warm, dry house. At this point I want to run into her shower and warm up.

Me: "Yes, I'm looking for County RD T, but apparently it just ends here?"

Her: "Yes this turns into School Ave. Where are you trying to go?"

Me: "Back to Fond u lac, where my car is parked. I thought Co Rd T would take me right back to my car."

Her: "Oh! Well you're not headed to Fond u lac!" Her Husband: "This is Sheboygen County, not Fondulac County, there are 2 County Road T's."

Me with a confused look on my face: "oh?"

Anywho the kind women loaded me and my bike in her car and drove me the right Co. RD T, which was 10 miles in the opposite direction.

Paper Maps!!! When will I learn?!

50 days until IRONMAN!!! ARE YOU EXCITED??

Walinda

Also, I would recommend my route I took yesterday, minus the cold and rain. It's called the Birky Challenge. Starts in Fondulac and heads out into the Kettle Moraine area, beautiful and some fun hills.

David - I actually laughed out loud when I saw your profile pic - nice

Just an FYI, a lot of counties have duplicate hwy names.  That is why they are called Cty hwy and will often change names as it enters a new county.

If I have a really awesome day on September 9 and all the stars align then I might make it though the bike path section on the second loop before the end of civil twilight (around 12:45 into the day).  There is a good possibility though that I will not make it through this section by that time.  I think my finish time will likely be between 13:00 and 13:30. 

So this question is for the course veterens that finished after dark - How dark does the path get?  Does it get dark enough to need some other sort of light?  If anyone has done florida, how does it compare to the state park?  That portion of florida on the second loop was horrible.  So dark, rough roads, I was terrified of stepping in a pothole and ending my race 7 miles from the finish line.  For Florida, I bought a little light that clipped onto my visor.  Not great, but I was definitely happy to have something.  Would something like this be necessary for the bike path? 

Hi everyone, I don't post much on BT and have never posted on this thread but thought I might as well start now. I am looking forward to this race. It will be my second IM, with Louisville 2011 being the first. This is my re-do at the distance since I got sick and was throwing up at Louisville, ended up walking the marathon to a 12:28 finish (but still a finish). 

Anyway, I am planning on heading to Madison next weekend to ride and run the course. If anyone lives in the area or is planning on being in town next weekend let me know and maybe we can meet up for a ride or run. I am looking to get into town Friday evening (maybe camp in a nearby campground), ride the full course on Saturday morning, then do a short run off the bike. Sunday morning I am planning on running 1 full loop of the run course plus an additional few miles (16-17 or so?). I am flexible on pace if someone wants to join but I am thinking roughly 20 mph average bike and a 7:30-8:00 long run pace. But as mentioned I can go slower to accomodate or am always willing to go with someone faster to push the pace. Thanks and I look forward to meeting some of you soon.

Next weekend will be a VERY busy weekend on the course. My coach has a camp going on the course all weekend as well as EN i think. Toss in all the others and it should be a party. I will be doing a 6 hour ride over in the Blue Mounds area, might run on the course Sunday. 

The path has big flood flights at certain points so it didn't pose a problem for me.  It is fairly dark in certain other points of the course (e.g. Picnic point) and I did see people wear headlamps both times I did it.  I did not wear one and was fine.