Race The Lake

I prepared all summer for the Race the Lakes.  It was one of my goals in life to ride my bike around Lake Winnebago and on Sunday I did it!  I wasn’t as fast as I would have hoped but I’m still very happy, excited and proud that I finished the 90 mile bike race.

Before the race I was very nervous.  I’ve never ridden that far or with that many people.  There were great fans sprinkled around the course cheering and ringing cowbells.  My parents even went from stop to stop cheering me on. 

Riding right in the pack for the first 20 miles or so was a blast…and really easy.  I barely had to peddle and we were flying.  I just had to make sure I didn’t run anyone over.  All the other riders throughout the race were super considerate.  Once we got to Oshkosh I ran into my first issue.  I hit a man hole and my water bottle fell out.  I should’ve just left it but I stopped to get it.  That’s when I lost the group which was upsetting.  I tried really hard to catch back up but only caught the tail end so instead of riding with 150 people I was with 12.

I stuck with that group until we got to Hill Cliff State Park, which is the half way point of the race. That’s where I pulled ahead with a different group of riders.  After training to go up the ledge and going up Hill Cliff for the Tour De Fest I knew what to expect.  A different group caught up to me and I tagged along with them after the climb.  I was feeling really good, strong and fast until it was my turn to be the leader of the group.  I’m not strong enough to do that.  I took a short pull and fell back in line but my legs were starting to die and I lost the group.

That was about the point of the race where we crossed Hwy 151 and headed east.  Up until that point I’ve ridden pretty much all of the roads.  I was tired but was having a great time, riding with all of the groups.  However, I was not really for the final 20 miles.  Farmland and hills after farmland and hills is what I encountered and I was all by myself.  I tried a few times to keep up with some groups passing me but couldn’t do it.  Then I had to stop again because I had to take care of a bloody nose.  I really didn’t have too much left in my legs for the home stretch but was happy because I knew I was going to make it.

Once I got back into town my parents and girlfriend were there to cheer me to the finish line with 1 mile to go.  When I got into Lakeside Park I could see and hear people cheering and the announcer calling off finishers’ names.  I was so happy and proud to have finished in 4:35:20, even though I could barely walk back to my car.

I need to thank all of the volunteers, organizers, and supports along the way.  It was a great event.  I also need to thank the guys at Attitude Sports.  What they taught me throughout my Summer Ride with Attitude Sports really helped for the race.  I really did have a great time Racing the Lake (especially the first 70 miles.)