It was pretty chilly (low 20s with some wind) and the course was pretty tame (we skipped the monster hill), but overall a twisty, flat, quick fun course. Because I didn't know how I'd feel, nor how the weather would be, I didn't register ahead of time. This turned out to be a mistake. Riders were lined up six wide in the order they registered, so I was almost dead last. I'm 99% sure I in the last or second to last row of guys. With 70 or so people in the race and a short starting chute, followed by a fairly large amount of tight turns, the first lap was a total mess full of little passing and lots of traffic. After that though, it opened up a bit and I started passing scads of people. Eventually I worked my way up to 11th which is where I would finish. Other than keeping it upright over the sketchy gravel corners, the highlight of my night was catching a couple guys down the finishing straight towards the start of the second to last lap, and another shortly thereafter in the twisties, and the announcer said something like "and a good ride out of Mark Fiddelke, passing a couple three guys right here in front of us, he started well at the back." Not only did he say something cool about me, he pronounced my last name correctly. Awesome. One thing that stuck out as I talked to other people was that a local area junior racer finished 4th. He was the second person registered so he started front row. I am a bit faster than this kid, and if I'd registered a week ago, I coulda been in contention. Nothing I can do about it now and due to my lack of training and general not fastness I figured I had next to no chance to even be more than packfill, but mildly frustrating.
More about the course: it was mostly flat and twisty, with some dicey corners around the gravel paths/roads in the fairgrounds. The stairs/ramp/overpass thing was awesome and really tricky. I was sad we had no barriers other than that, and the Cat 4 skipped the big hill (dubbed Mt Krumpt), which is what they've done every year, but I could have made tons of ground on it. Plus I rode it once in my warm up laps and while slippery and bumpy, it wasn't unreasonably hard. It got worse later as the temperature dropped and the ground firmed up with an almost icy top layer. Verdict: fun but coulda been a little more technical.
After the race I hung out with the guys from World of Bikes in Iowa City. Both the guys from the shop and a few of their customers, all kinds of fun yelling at the other racers (including the pros), and drinking a few beers. Great buncha folks, glad I was a part of it.
I currently have no photos because I obviously couldn't take any during my race, and after my hands were too cold to use my phone to take any. Plus everyone else did a great job of it I'm sure, and most of them aren't back yet from the three day event. That said, check out the little coverage VeloNews did about Friday's night race, with some photos: go here.
One thing I do take pictures of: beer.
New Glarus's Wisconsin Belgian Red. It's a classic Belgian style ale with a bunch of tart cherries in it. Bordering on a sour, this beer is tart, fruity, and utterly drinkable. Sadly, unless you're in Wisconsin or are passing through, you will not find this beer. They only distribute in their home state, and have no plans to up production to meet demand.
Anchor Brewing has released their 2010 Holiday Ale. They change the recipe up a bit year to year, and as always, this one is a good one. Spicy, rich bodied, smooth, malty, everything a cold weather, and particularly a christmas, beer should be. Out now until mid-January, grab some if you see it. Totally worth it at $9-10/six pack.
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