Wisconsin Citizen Road Racing
By Charlie Melk The main thing about bike racing isn't necessarily the competition – it's the fun |
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If you are interested in road racing and live in the upper Midwest, you're definitely in luck. From the beginning of March through early October, there is a full calendar of racing events for someone just like you. Whether you are just getting your feet wet or have been racing for years, the
Wisconsin citizen road scene has a lot to offer.
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Firehouse 50: Anyone can experience the thrill of the pack in a citizen bike race.
Kelly Randolph photo |
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So, what exactly is a citizen race? Averaging around 30 miles, but going up to 100 miles in this area, citizen
road races are usually one loop routes, as compared to the multilap, circuit race format that is more popular in USCF sanctioned road races.
The routes are designed to give the riders a great view of the surrounding area. At the start, expect to see over 100 people at the smaller races, and upwards of 1,000 at events like the Firehouse 50. Another unique feature of citizen races is that many of them have either parallel or shortened routes for tourists, which means
that if you get there and don't feel like dropping the hammer from the initial cracking of the start gun, you don't have to; you can still take in the beautiful scenery, and probably better than if you were racing. But if it is racing that brought you there on that day, you'll find yourself settling into a furious pace very soon after that first report of the start gun. The first pack usually averages right around 25 miles per hour when all is said and done.
Citizen races are races, as the name implies, for everyone. There is a special emphasis placed on providing a depth of potential experience for people ranging from childhood through retirement age,and beyond. The difference between racing and touring on these courses is mental. The dividing line between racing and touring on any given day is well defined by this question: Do I feel like riding with my family or friends at my
own pace, or do I want to mix it up in the pack at its pace. If you should decide to race, you can race within yourself and still finish in a pack.
Packs at citizen races, especially in the bigger events, are amazing to watch. There you all are at the start. The starting gun cracks. Everyone takes off behind the pace car – and a strange thing starts to happen; the race begins to sort itself out. Ten miles down the road there will probably be three to four packs!
These races afford you the chance to race within a pack of riders that you are roughly on par with fitness-wise. As you gain in experience and fitness, you will slowly see yourself finishing higher and higher up in the rankings. From a third pack finish in your first race, you might be able to move up to a second pack finish later on in the summer. From there, you might aim to stick in the lead pack. From the lead pack, you
might aim to be there for the final sprint, perhaps aiming for the top 10 or 20. My point is that there is an evolving continuum of experience and fitness levels within the race itself, a continuum that you will be able to measure yourself against. Sure, the pack and the course will change from week to week, but you'll still be there, and you'll be able to judge your own progress without any pressure other than that which you put on yourself.
Besides the actual racing experience itself, citizen races are a great event to look forward to every weekend. Most of the time there is lots of food and drink set out for the racers upon their weary arrival. After a quick towel-off and change of clothes, you can count on lots of excellent food waiting for you somewhere nearby. I've certainly never had any problems finding the food after a race. Some of these races even serve
homemade cookies, which I seem to be able to smell from miles away for some reason. Along with enjoying the excellent food, you can walk around, find the people that you rode with and compare stories. There is usually no shortage of things to talk about after a race.
If you were able to ride to a top three placing in your age group, you'll probably want to hang around for the awards ceremony and collect your medal. Or if you were top man or woman, youíll probably want to
stick around for your trophy. Even if you didn't officially win anything, you still had a good time racing, sharing your stories, and eating lots of delicious food. On top of all this, you will usually receive a race T-shirt with your registration fee. I must have about 30 of them, and every one of them evokes a different set of memories from each of the particular races it represents.
By far the biggest influence on citizen racing in Wisconsin is the WiSport Series. For the past eleven years, this series has sought to connect many separate races and establish a season long schedule of racing. From late April through early September, WiSport has at least one race every weekend; there are 24 events in all. By joining WiSport, a racer has the potential to score points in all 24 of these events. At the end of the
season, age group points are tallied, as well as overall top man and woman, and awards are given out. Last year more than 300 people were active WiSport members. Included in the series are races such as the Dairy Days 30 in Greenwood; the Firehouse 50 in Grand View; and the Real Wheeling Bike Race in Mauston.
There are also many other races in the upper Midwest that are not associated with WiSport. Two such
races in the La Crosse area are the Catfish 50, a 50-mile road race and 25-mile tour that travels through beautiful Trempealeau County, and the Oktoberfest 100, a grueling 100-mile race that traverses the Coulee Region mostly in La Crosse County. The Catfish 50 is usually held on the same weekend as The Dairy Days 30, and is run in conjunction with the local Catfish Days. This year, that date is July 8. The Octoberfest 100
is usually held during the last weekend of September in La Crosse, in conjunction with the Oktoberfest Festival. Rest assured, a good time will be had by all who would attend both of these events and the periphery of noncycling events that are waiting for you when the race is over.
In addition to the citizen races, there are many USCF races all over the Midwest. USCF races, at least in
the Midwest, are primarily criteriums, or short lap races (not to be confused with circuit races, a form of road race). The courses are usually between one kilometer and one mile long, and the races usually last from between 45 minutes to an hour. The pace is fast and furious, and good cornering skills and pack savvy are a must. As a citizen racer, it is difficult to find criteriums because the prevailing format of citizen races is
the one-loop road race, with several time trials included, as well. If you feel that it might be fun to try one of these exciting races out, it may be worthwhile to purchase a USCF license for a day and go for it. There used to be quite a division between USCF, or sanctioned races, and citizen races, but with the advent of a season-long point series, like the WiSport Series, and the ability to buy daily licenses for racing, as opposed
to having to buy a yearly racing license, these two forces in road racing no longer seem as diametrically opposed as they once did. There is no reason why you can't do both.
The main thing about citizen racing is that it's supposed to be fun. For the majority of participants, the concentration is less on results one garners from racing and more on the pleasure one feels from being
around other sports people of like-mind and pushing yourself to your sporting limits, whatever they may be. The racing community is made up of people who love cycling just as much as you do. Expect to meet many people who will remain friends for a long time; this has definitely been the case in my experience.
I've been out on the road quite a bit this winter due to the lack of snow and unseasonably warm
temperatures. I enjoy the solitude of early season solo rides very much but look forward to group rides, once we have more daylight to work with, and soon after that, racing.
Racing is something that has been a part of my life for 15 years; many of my best memories have been made in citizen races. I look forward to making new racing memories, seeing my racing friends from different parts of the Midwest once again, and sharing in the camaraderie and mutual support that helps make up the
Wisconsin citizen racing community. Oh yeah, I look forward to those cookies, too. Don't worry though; I won't eat them all.
For more information about WiSport:
HYPERLINK http://axle.adp.wisc.edu/~alv/Wisport.html
http://axle.adp.wisc.edu/~alv/Wisport.html
Comprehensive Event Listing for the upper Midwest, USCF events:
HYPERLINK http://www.umcycling.com
http://www.umcycling.com
Minnesota Cycling Federation:
HYPERLINK http://www.mcf.net
http://www.mcf.net
Wisconsin Cycling Association:
HYPERLINK http://www.wicycling.org
http://www.wicycling.org
United States Cycling Federation:
HYPERLINK http://www.adventuresports.com/asap/uscf/uscf.htm
http://www.adventuresports.com/asap/uscf/uscf.htm
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