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| Recovering with chocolate milk. Photo by Tete Course. |
As the month of June winds down, the solstice has come and
gone, bringing with it the official arrival of summer to the Northern
Hemisphere. And that means TOAD! Tour of America’s Dairyland, that is – the
largest competitive road series in the US. Eleven consecutive days of fast
paced racing: ten 60-minute criteriums and one 53-mile (85-km) road race, all
based in towns scattered throughout southeastern Wisconsin.
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| Women's peloton on course at TOAD. Photo by On the Rivet |
Wisconsin is a huge dairy state, claiming the title of the
largest cheese producer in the US since 1910, pumping out fully one quarter of
the cheese produced in America, which in turn is the largest producer of cheese
in the world, accounting for 26% of the world’s cheese supply. I’d be willing
to bet that a good chunk of the cheese produced in Wisconsin gets divvied out
on the podium at TOAD each year!
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| Skylar Schneider (TIBCO) holding one of many cheese wheels won at TOAD. Photo by Tete Course |
The series started on Thursday evening. Thunderstorms
tailing on the back of a hot and sticky start to the week brought a hairpin
turn in the weather that threw everyone for a loop: temperatures dipped down
into the mid-50s (low teens), leaving many shivering in the chill air.
Vanderkitten started off the series with three riders: me, Liza, and Kate. A
decent sized field, early series jitters, and some seriously dodgy pavement
made for a squirrely race. Personally I struggled with the frigid air, the
chill enough to exacerbate the irritation in my lungs. In the end it was Erica
Allar (Colavita) taking line honors to don the leader’s jersey. Liza with a solid start to the series in eighth.
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| Liza, Kate, and me at the front at Shorewood. Photo by On the Rivet |
Friday the series moved to East Troy where temperatures did
another flip to give us hot conditions once again. I had a real breakthrough
today health-wise, making it—for the first time since late February—through my
warmup without feeling like I was struggling. I loved the fast, flowy course
and really enjoyed the race, finally feeling—and riding—a bit more like myself.
Tina Pic (Fearless Femme) nabbed the win to take over the series lead, Liza
seventh, and Kate right behind in eighth.
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| A tight fit on course at East Troy. Photo by On the Rivet |
Race 3 Saturday evening in Grafton turned chilly once again
as National Criterium Calendar (NCC) status attracted additional riders to the
line. The race was super aggressive from start to finish with 64 riders on
course. Liza, Kate, and I were joined tonight by Lizzie. The highlight of the
race was a $1000 prime that saw Liza, Lizzie tucked on her wheel, blast off the
front of the bunch on the back side of the course. I was perfectly positioned to slot in behind
Lizzie to deter any chase. Launching off of Liza's wheel, Lizzie was nearly to
the line by the time the field rounded the final turn in persuit. In the
finish, Sam Schneider (TIBCO) took the win and the overall lead, becoming the third
rider in the leader's jersey as many days. Lizzie finished off in fourth place and Kate hot of her
wheels in sixth.
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| Fast racing at Grafton. Photo by On the Rivet |
Waukesha offered up pleasant temperatures and another big
NCC field. A crash in the first 20 minutes of racing brought down Liza, who got
right back in the race despite a huge gash (later requiring six stitches),
massive bruising on her elbow, and two bloody knees.
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| Bloody Liza, post crash, riding a neutral bike. Photo by On the Rivet |
I lost position in the
restart after the crash and spent much of the remainder of the race fighting to
move up. With five laps to go, the pace on, riders strung out single file, the
rider in front of me clipped a pedal in turn 5. Her bike flew up, the back
wheel skimming my lips as it flipped through the air in front of me.
Wow. Needless to say I was a bit stunned. Somehow, I remained upright, but the
crash split the field. A huge chase
effort by me, Ash Duben (Guru), and one other rider saw us regain the front
bunch, now reduced by half, but the effort blew our legs for the finish. Erica
Allar took her second win of the series, Lizzie fifth and a bloody Liza somehow
pulling off thirteenth.
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| Me and Lizzie on course at Waukesha. Photo by On the Rivet |
After the race we said goodbye to Kate and Lizzie
who headed off to Boise, Idaho, while Liza and I tackled Race 5 in Beloit. The
race was fast but slightly less action packed due to the reduced fire power of
the smaller field size. At this point, my ability to
breathe is improving each day, but the successive days of racing is beginning
to take a toll and I begin to feel twinges in my diaphragm, no doubt
complaining about the unreasonable demands I’m placing on it. In many ways this
is good news because it means I am beginning to be able to breathe more deeply.
A mass in my abdomen, removed last year, previously restricted my breathing.
Last season was a lot about reconditioning my diaphragm. An early season lung
infection this year sent my deep breathing muscles into disuse once again, requiring
time to build back up. Another good sign: the race went by quickly. I was surprised to find the lap card reading 2 to go with lots left in my legs--way out of position though. Tina Pic took her second win of the series, but Sam
Schneider held on to the jersey, Liza tenth.
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| Ready to start. Photo by Jono Coulter |
Tuesday the series moved to the most technical and probably most
challenging venue: Schlitz Park, a tight course with a pinch climb and
technical descent. Thirty times up the hill over the course of an hour
whittled away the field. One of the men’s teams, Athlete Octane, spurred us on
by offering up often highly entertaining primes midway up the hill. Pretty awesome!
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| Diana Penuela (Columbia Specialized) collecting her prime from speedo-clad Athlete Octane riders. |
After lots of activity, a break of kiwi Jo Keisanowki (TIBCO), Jessi Prinner
(Colavita), and Laura Van Gilder (Mellow Mushroom) eventually disappeared off
the front to fill the podium spots, Jo taking the win. My diaphragm decided
enough was enough and really cramped up on this race. I hung in there though
and punched it hard the final time up the hill, but low confidence kept me from
carrying it through the top section.
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| Following Diana Penuela (Columbia Specialized) up the climb. Photo by Tete Course |
The bunch surged, riders scrambling. Liza
slotted into position in front of me for fifth wheel, giving her protection
from behind (since my leadout remains pretty suboptimal). Single-file, we
snaked through the descent, shooting out of the final corner toward the line.
Liza held her position in the sprint to take eighth. I lost few spots—due to my
current challenge of sprinting like I’m riding through molasses—with three
riders passing me nearly on the line to nudge me out of the top 10. Despite a somewhat
disappointing finish, I was one of only 19 riders to make the front selection,
suggesting good progress on the fitness front.
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| Liza and me climbing at Schlitz Park. Nicely placed VK banner Jono! Photo by Jono Coulter |
Wednesday gave us thick fog for the drive north to the Road
America Race Course for Race 7. As a NASCAR track, Road America offers the
perfect venue for a road race: no cars, good pavement, sweeping turns built for
speed, and a multitude of viewing locations around the undulating 4.4-mile
(7-km) circuit. Tiffany joined me and Liza to bolster Vanderkitten’s numbers
back up to three for the remainder of the series.
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| Me, Tiff, and Liza, ready to race. Photo by Jono Coulter |
Tracey Cameron (Fearless
Femme) made a gutsy move on lap 1 to go solo for half the race. Vanderkitten
put in a big effort to make the race aggressive with lots of attacks, but
nothing stuck. Sam Schneider triumphed in the uphill finish, Liza tenth.
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| Tracey Cameron (Fearless Femme) attacking on lap 1. Photo by On the Rivet |
By Race 8 in Oshkosh I was feeling pretty worn out. My
building fitness and healing lungs pushed to the limit by the multiple
successive days of racing, my lungs felt congested, my throat scratchy, and my
spirits downtrodden. I was ready for an early exit to the series. Teammates are
great when this happens because they help redirect focus.
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| TOAD pace car. Photo by Tete Course |
I began to feel
better over the course of the race and late in the race finally managed a sharp
enough attack to get a gap of the front. Another sign of improving form. After a lap and a half solo I was joined by Lindsay Fox (Cloud Racing). We worked well
together to build up a good gap for another five laps. A series of field primes
saw us reeled back in with only a lap and a half laps left to race. Tina Pic
earned her third series win. Late reshuffling put Tiffany and Liza out of
position for thirteenth and fifteenth.
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| Riders lining up for the start at Oshkosh, Photo by Katie Isermann |
I started the next day feeling much better, the hard effort
in my legs having turned things around. The short, fast course at Fond du Lac was well-suited for a breakaway; the winning break of three riders was gone
within the first 15 min of racing, before I even had a chance to work my way to
the front. Mandy Heinz (Fearless Femme), Laura Jorgenson (Mellow Mushroom), and
Amy Phillips (Pepper Palace) built up a 40 s lead by midrace. The gap was down
to 7 s by the end, but that was more than enough to give Mandy a well-earned
win, Liza ninth, and Tiff fifteenth.
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| Announcer Brad Sohner getting comfortable on stage. Photo by On the Rivet |
Downer Ave on Saturday, with a long reputation as a
spectacular venue, did not disappoint this year. Spectators lined the entire
course to cheer us on, and it was so awesome to hear so many cries of ‘Go
Jeannie!’ all throughout the race!
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| All sorts of racing at Downer Ave! |
Being a Saturday, the field swelled again to
over 60. Attacks went all throughout the race, but things really heated up in
the last 10 laps, where the prime bell rang every other time around. I was able
to counter an attack by Liza to jump off the front through the start-finish
straight, Liza in perfect position to deter any chasers. Just then, a $400
prime was announced. I went all in to stay away for the lap, holding off the
chase by barely half a wheel to take the prime. And blowing myself apart in
the effort.
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| Barely holding on for a big prime at Downer. The two catching are going much faster than I am. The rest of the field is approaching fast, just out of view. |
I dug so deep, I resigned to pulling out of the race after the prime. Funny
thing though. The field was so strung out that by the time the tail end came
past I was able to tag on long enough to recover and get back in the race. The
effort wasn’t enough for a top finish though. I still struggle to muster up enough wattage for a decent sprint. Erica Allar powered to win number
three, Liza eleventh.
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| Single file at Downer Ave. Photo by Philip Shama |
The final race in East Tosa on Sunday was just as fan-packed
as Downer, with a massive crowd out to watch the finale of the tour. The race
was aggressive from the start, with the front of the field shooting off the
start line like a comet, the field in a long tail behind. Tiff took a huge
flier but was eventually reeled in.
Lots of attacks later, Mandy Heinz
(Fearless Femme), Laura Jorgenson (Mellow Mushroom), and Amy Phillips (Pepper
Palace) slipped off the front. Liza led the chase in a small group that
eventually fell apart. I countered with a solo bridge attempt that lasted several
laps, but I didn’t have the legs required and eventually rejoined the field.
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| Attempting to bridge to the break. Photo by On the Rivet |
The trio stayed away, Mandy earning her second win of the series. Liza and I finished tenth and eleventh, with Liza finishing sixth overall in the series. Sam Schneider (TIBCO) took the overall win, retaining the
leader’s jersey for eight days of the series, her younger sister Skylar (TIBCO)
winning the amateur jersey.
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| Selection of jerseys for multiple different categories at TOAD. |
Some huge ups and downs emotionally and physically, but
overall incredible progress for me! Congrats to the whole TOAD crew to put on
an exciting, safe, and professional series. A huge effort goes into putting on
a series like TOAD, and the group at Midwest Cycling Series do an amazing job. Thank you to all the sponsors, officials, volunteers, riders, and supporters who make this series possible. I’m
grateful to my teammates, including team director Jono Coulter, and most
especially Liza Rachetto, who kept me positive throughout the series. Also to
announcer Todd Busteed for huge support from the stage—I’m still working on that
podium! and to Laura Van Gilder for being a wonderful person and supportive friend. A huge thank you to John Fleckenstein who was an incredible host,
wonderful travel companion, and generous supporter throughout the series. I am
so grateful for all the cheers and support I received over the course of the 11
days--quite possible the voices of Paul, Jake, and Josh Shilling the loudest among them. Thank you also to Jimmy Campbell at On the Rivet Photography for so many of the awesome photos included here.
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| Big effort at East Tosa. Photo by On the Rivet |
