Dairyland Dare 2008 - I wimp out report.

Third year doing the Dairyland Dare (http://www.dairylanddare.com/). The wimp out was on distance... but I'll explain in a bit.

Rode down on Friday so I could stop in La Crosse... had a pleasant time. I can now say I've eaten at a Maid Rite, but did not have the signature sandwich. I was in the mood for a BLT at the time. Sat at the counter and had a pleasant lunch. Then went next door to The Sweet Shop and got a vanilla malt to go. The Sweet Shop still smells the same, after all these years and still has the same feel from when I used to go there as a kid. So quite fun.

Plan was to get up early on Saturday so we could hit the course by 6:00 AM. So B and I rode from the hotel (less then a mile from the start) at around 5:30. Got to the check in and picked up our timing chips. Then headed off with the 6:00 am riders. We quickly formed gaps... initially I was ahead of B and his brother was further back; but then I hit the first steep climb. The legs weren't feeling too good and worse the breathing felt off. I got off to walk and realized that the asthma was kicking in, mainly due to a spat of sinus infection from the prior week. So I hit up the inhalers, walked the bike a bit and rode the rest of the way of the climb. This is when the distance debate started in my head. This is also when B passed me... he stopped to check on my health and then headed on (he later finished the 100k in decent time, and his brother finished the 100 k too, first time for him.)

Mainly do I try the 100k (62 miles) or the 66k (41 miles) based on how my lungs felt. Well the second steep climb before Barneveld help to decide that debate. The lungs had the wonderful feeling of filling with fluid, so again I stopped, hit up the inhaler and walked a tad, then finished the climb.

Once I got to the first rest stop (21 miles in) I decided discretion was the better part of valor, as it were. I knew I was good for another 20 miles but another 40 would be a bit much (yes I'm a wimp.) But I also decided I would not 'sag' it back to the start. So I continued on the 66k route.

It was a pleasant ride, good weather, and quite nice with only one hiccup. I didn't have a map for the route. The turns are marked with color coded arrows, but a moment of inattentiveness means you can miss a turn. In the middle of nowhere Wisconsin, with farms to each side and no sign of life... I started wondering if I had missed a turn and was now lost. Fortunately just as worry was setting the next turn came into site.

Rest of the ride was good, but hard.

Hope they're able to put this on next year, there was rumor of financial issues, as I would like to shoot for the 133 or 200 k distance. Just need more prep.

Final Stats -
Dist: 46.1 miles
Time: 3:33:51 (h:mm:ss) (Ride time only, add 30 minutes or so for rest stops)
Avg. Speed: 12.93 mph
Max Speed: 38.13 mph

Pro Bar - an initial review of a protien/energy bar

If you have a need for 99% raw, 90% organic, etc. based energy bar. This is one for you. Costing just shy of $3.50 at the LBS I've now tried several of them.

Overall they're o.k. The flavor is subtle, in that they rely on the ingredients, so there's no strong flavor of what the package suggests. In other words the berry flavored ones are o.k. The chocolate one has a light chocolate taste to it, and the one marked "Kettle Corn" well.. it's sweet, I'll give it that.

Texture is good... since it's mostly raw ingredients mushed together it has a nice combination of chewy and crunchy (though the smaller seeds can get stuck in some bad places in you mouth.)
They are hefty in calories though ranging from 320 to 400 per bar. This is higher then a lot of other bars out there.

So overall o.k., good if you have certain needs (e.g. 100% vegan). On the other hand if you have mild allergies (look up oral allergy syndrome) like I do, this can trigger them.