cheval

OK my training dairy for 2010 already had the Dairyland Dare marked as one of my top two events. I"m not sure , however, that I want to invest a year's worth of dieting, riding and lifting only to end up lost in the Wisconsin countryside due to bad road markers or cue sheets.

CyLowe97

I think this is something Stewart will really need to look into next year. To the ride's credit, there was a person at the Upper Wyoming / Weaver split in the morning letting riders know to go left. At that point in the ride everyone goes left.

Riders easily get confused on which color they should follow. Wait... am I on the blue or the yellow loop? And I follow the red arrows back? Plus the arrows on sticks route markers are easily screwed with.

Roberts Rd was not marked the first time through. Lots of people blew right past it. The second time there were arrows and the road was painted to indicate the turn.

The first time out of Tower Hill one of the blue markers was thrown over in the trees and the yellow marker was pointing right. Both should have been pointing left and by the time I got back around they were corrected.

If it's possible, there need to be painted road markings, whether a symbol or DLD or something like this where all routes turn:

DLD
--->
ALL

This could easily be done in tune with the route colors to make turns look like this at a split like Upper Wyoming / Weaver:

DLD
100 / 200 (first time)
<--------

DLD
200+ (second time)
---->

Other rides do this and it's very effective and more vandal proof. Just thinking out loud...

SMH707

Actually, I did think of the broken shifter possibility. One guy we approached the bottom of Roberts with sounded more like the kind of person you described (I doubt it was him as this guy had a triple). At the base of the approach, he pulled out a screw driver (or a tire iron), reached down while pedaling and 'derailled' down to his easiest front ring (actually kind of clever, I thought, when I saw it). This person clearly understood shifting and riding in general.

The individual that I was referring to just gave all sorts of visual signs that he didn't seem to know what he was doing (buy hey, he was riding the Dare, so maybe I'm wrong?). Of course, I could be wrong--maybe this guy had mechanical problems as well.

I'm pretty sure, based on what you've described, this guy wasn't your buddy. I could give more of a description of what the gentleman looked like, but I'd only do it in a PM as I'd be describing a non-Caucasian person which is bound to somehow not come off correctly...

There's also the possibility that his derailleur worked fine, and he just had it in his mind to do the whole ride without using his small front ring--who knows. It just left me scratching my head a bit, especially after seeing it the second time. To each his own...

SMH707

I was thinking the same thing--should have just been painted on the road. I'm used to watching the road for my turn directions, so looking off to the side of the road was a little 'unnatural' compared to other rides I've done. I still don't know if we just blew past a sign that the three of us all missed (we were actually attentive for signs at that point), or if someone had yanked it. In either case, I'm glad I got a shot at riding such a long climb (looking over my data, it was twice as long as anything else in the Dare).

I also found it confusing to ride the 'blue' loop for most of the ride, then switch to the 'red' to 'return' and pick up the 'black' to do the extra 33k. I realize what they were trying to do, and it does make sense, but I really wasn't paying attention to anything other than the 'blue' signs...

I forgot to mention: while I was geared just fine for the ride, one of the two guys I rode with had a standard 53/39 and only had a 26 cog on back. He motored up Roberts (and everything else) like it wasn't much work (he really is a beast of a rider).

Wiswell

Does the ride come with cue sheets or just maps?

I've always relied on cue sheets with road markings as back up. Maybe you guys don't like the extra 5 grams from the little velcro clip. ;-)

I'm not sure that they are permitted to mark permanently on the road in that area. I know for the Wright Stuff Century they have previously used signs (and this year are using some sort of removable tape).

However, I have been on a ride or two where one route goes left and the other right which if poorly marked can confuse riders even consulting their sheets.

larue

My ride was plagued with problems before I even started. The day before I apparently over did it working out, namely the leg curls and presses, and my hamstrings were very very sore. It didn't effect spinning so much but any time I got out of the saddle I was in so much pain I couldn't last more than a few seconds which obviously doesn't bode well for a ride like the Dare. To top that off I got a migraine about 15 miles in which wrecked my performance completely. Luckily they had Advil and Tylenol at each stop but as much of it as I took it never went away until bedtime and the whole. I vomited in my mouth a few times, got pretty dizzy and felt like I was overheating the whole ride and my HR felt like a racing horse on steroids. I had to stop more than once on each of the major climbs and it's a pain in the ass to get clipped back in mid hill but I just had to wait until people passed and went sideways or back down a bit to get pedaling before I could finish the climb and I honestly had to walk up three of the major hills. I felt like quitting several times and then about 1 or 2 miles before Pleasant Ridge I saw white spots and felt like I was going to faint to I stopped suddenly and my girlfriend was right behind me and I didn't signal I was stopping so I made her run into me, she made me take the SAG wagon to the rest stop to wait and get a ride back to the finish. I just laid out at Pleasant Ridge and drank lots of water and cooled down, popped a few more Advil and waited until my girlfriend made it to Pleasant Ridge and decided to finish the ride and felt like I attacked the rest of the hills and finished strong if not very very late at somewhere around 9 hours. So I wouldn't call the ride a success for myself as I walked up a few and the SAG ride skipped about 2 miles of the ride I'm still glad I didn't quit but I do feel bad for slowing my girlfriend down. She was really attacking all of the hills and would often just wait for me at the top as I had to stop a few times, I think she would have finished a hour or two sooner if it wasn't for that. I tried to tell her to go on ahead at her own pace but she wanted to do the ride with me and would rather not worry. I guess my poker face wasn't very good and she could see I wasn't feel well the whole ride.

I do feel a sense of accomplishment but it was a real eye opener for me. I moved to Wisconsin from Florida on January 1st 2008 and due to some personal things that were going on in my life I had a sort of mid-mid life crisis and sold my road bike (the Klein) and the Litespeed I was building up and completely lost interest in "serious" riding. I still commuted by bike on my cruiser but that was about it. It wasn't until this year that I my interest was renewed due to my girlfriend and I got another road bike about 4 months ago but I realize I've been too lackadaisical about training up for this ride. I've done some decent mileage rides but not in any sort of terrain like the DD and I was completely unprepared. Even if I was 100% on Saturday I still would have had a hell of a time getting up those hills. The first 20 miles alone were harder than any century I did back in below sea-level Florida. I had planned on going from the 100k DD to the full Wright Stuff Century but I'm going to scale back to just the 30 mile WSC and do the Bike the Barns and train from there until next year and I'll be ready to tackle the Dairyland Dare again. Maybe even the 300. Not!

Whew, sorry for the extremely long post and giant run on sentences.

I'd also like to say that the majority of riders on the DD were very nice and helpful and extremely courteous and encouraging. There were plenty of hardcore ******bags and I did hear plenty of crap come out of peoples mouths but for the most part the other riders were all great.

CyLowe97

Wiswell: Both maps and cue sheets for the DLD. I usually rely on the maps. Cue sheets make my head hurt.

I need to go back and check, but CC mentioned that at one split the cue sheet was marked left when it should have said right (or vice versa). Need to verify that.

One of the tricky things about the DLD is that the 200km+ route doubles back on itself after the Pleasant Ridge stop. Riders end up back at Roberts, Amacher Hollow, High Point, the Tower Hill rest stop, and then on to Upper Wyoming again before splitting to the Clyde loop. After a certain amount of time in the saddle, thinking about this color route versus that color route can be rough for a sun-toasted brain.

I remembered that turn onto Hillside School from rides past, but I can easily see where folks riding on 23 with more traffic than the rest of the route that riders would be paying attention to cars whizzing by more than to the route markers off to the side.

In all, though, this is a brilliantly organized ride. The route is super tough. The stops are stockpiled with all the goods. The volunteers were cheerful. The swag is useful.... socks!

One other thing... I need to thank Jester for the spot on the ride. Next year we'll see you there, too, right?!?

aham23

wonder what makes you say this and/or what you mean by hardcore. did you have an run in with someone? curious, because this is a hardcore ride and a lot of riders show up prepared to ride it aggressively with specific time goals in mind. later.

ColorChange

Alright, I didn't suffer as much as Larue but I still want to complain. My knee is better, still limping, but definitely better. Only minimal tingling in the pinky, no numbness.

CyLowe97

I know the ride messed me up. I spent all Sunday on the couch watching golf.

5stone

First time riding the Dare and ended up doing the 200k route; had wanted to go for the 266k but didn't trust myself to do that big Highland loop in the heat, with Shop Hill twice. Overall it was hard but I really liked the area and thought the ride was well put together. The part I hated was late in the day past Shop Hill where the road surface was all chippy and my rear wheel kept spinning out when I stood up on the hill, can't remember the name of it. Was so happy to return to solid pavement.

Also made the HUGE mistake (b/c I registered late and couldn't find a decent priced hotel room) of tent camping. Not smart and next year I'll most definitely be getting a hotel room. People partied late and getting up at 4:30 in the dark to get ready is just not a good way to start the day. Another mistake was allowing my 'friend' at my bike shop to talk me into keeping my existing gearing ("you'll be fine!") Compact 34/52 up front with 12-25 in back. I *really* could have used something a bit easier....

larue

I don't mean hardcore by how they rode I meant hardcore by how hardcore of a jerk they are. Comments such as "oh doesn't look like the girls I passed are going to make it up the hills but big surprise right, we are talking about girls..." and excessive fake grunting with remarks such as "oh yeah oh so hard oh my I won't make it" make you a hardcore ******bag. I know that many use this ride for Ironman training and whatnot but belittling other riders who might not be in your league is not necessary unless you really have confidence issues in other aspects of your life.
I would like to clarify that in my use of "you" I don't actually mean you yourself aham23.

sekaijin

I hear you. Trying not to leap to conclusions till I see the official results, but I don't think my wristwatch lied ... I hear you.

Hey, did your co-worker get a ride? Sorry I was not able to help out due to my travel logistics.

aham23

i would agree with you. no matter how fast or slow i am always impressed with anyone and everyone who attempts a ride like the DD. it is no small feet. later.

sekaijin

I did the 100K. Maybe one of these years I'll suffer with you 200K+ heroes.

Now whenever I do Roberts Road, I think "if smokin did this on the big ring, I can do it!"

Actually I didn't find Roberts Road such a killer this year. Maybe because I felt mentally prepared for it. The hardest climbs were the ones that seemed to come out of nowhere and surprise me. Like Weaver Road. I got to that and it just kept going up, and I was like, "where TF did YOU come from? how come I don't remember YOU from past years?"

BTW did anyone else see the vultures circling over Roberts Road? Literally.

rck

But it was really exciting golf!

With age (59 next mos) comes a limited amn't of wisdom, so I chose only to do the 100k. Additionally, I measure performance not in how fast the bike and I go but in how fast my heart does-max of 181-not that I had targeted and specific number.

In spite of much liquids and food, I cramped badly on cty Z and had to stop and strech for a few minutes. I'm sure everyone could hear me whimpering like a lost puppy! I think I was most impressed by the one armed guy who blew by us on the rosy ln hill.

We had no troubles with signage being mis-placed or removed. I only checked the map once as there was a turn I did not remeber from the 2007 ride reflecting a route change. Much as it pains me to say it-I'm sure I'll be back next year. Hopefully with a few more miles and a few less pounds under the belt.

larue

I didn't have any issues with the signage either. The only turn I missed was due to a deer crossing the road in front of me and I stupidly paid more attention to it galloping off than the actual road. A mile or two later I realized there were no cyclists in sight ahead of me nor behind me and realized I missed something. It was right after that one turn where there is a stop sign but it was very hard to see traffic around the bend, I'm not quite sure what the road was called. That is one place where it would have been nice to have someone stationed to call out for oncoming traffic.

I added the ride to Yelp if anyone wants to review it. https://www.yelp.com/biz/dairyland-dare-dodgeville

Psimet2001 

I'll bet the locals have forbidden the rides that are from marking the roads. There are so many rides over the year that it would end up looking like a contruction zone all the time (looks like somebody called julie again...")

sekaijin

I didn’t have any issues with the road markers, but I only did the 100K.

I do several events like this and overall I have to say, this is hands down the best organized, best supported one.

CyLowe97

They spray painted the living daylights out of the road at the Roberts Rd turn the second time I got there.

And there were some pretty bad potholes that were marked.

Just a little DLD--> on the road 100 feet before the turn, at the turn, and a ^ DLD ^ after the turn would be perfect.

nietsmas

maybe stewart should rent everyone a garmin edge

CyLowe97

What happened to you after second Tower Hill? Did you ride the rest of the way back to the start? I rode back via the 100k route, but didn't see you. I was at Pleasant Ridge for quite a while just chilling in the shade, so maybe you went past at that point.

SMH707

I want to also echo that this was the best organized, well supported ride I've done so far!

One of the two guys I rode with had just taken apart his cassette the night before to clean it thoroughly. During our drive up, he mentioned he had only tightened it 'hand tight'. At the first rest stop, one of the mechanics gladly took his wheel off and torqued it down for him--that was great to have the support! Later, before the second rest stop, I had a poor downshift in the front which ended up knocking my Fr Der out of kilter so that the 34-25 & 34-28 combos were rubbing the Der. Next rest stop, another mechanic fixed me up nicely while I ate. What a treat! Normally I'm the one wrenching on everyone else's rigs..

Scummer

There was one scary pothole on the right side of a decent right after a blind corner. Blowing by that marked hole at almost 40mph was somewhat unnerving.

cheval

Thanks, that makes me feel better.