What Was Old Is New Again

What began this afternoon as, frankly, an aimless road ride turned into a very solid 37-mile effort that included 6 miles of the Cheesehead Roubaix route.  I don’t often visit the gravel sections of St. Augustine and Blue Goose—1.5 miles total—and today I was happy to find them in much better condition than they were in April.  Before today’s ride I switched back to my 700x25 Continental Gatorskins, very tough tires that give me a lot of confidence on gravel.  The Gatorskins were my tires for Cheesehead Roubaix and for most of my road bike miles this year.  I switched to lighter, narrower Bontrager R3 tires prior to the Kirke Vei Time Trial and I liked them a lot … so much so that I now will preserve them for racing in 2012.  The Gatorskins will take me through the remainder of 2011 and the early miles of 2012 when there’s still a lot of winter debris on the roads.

For me, it’s never too early to think about next year.  You might be surprised by the number of races and rides that have set their 2012 dates.  Yesterday evening WORS announced its race schedule to mixed reviews.  I think it’s good news for Washington County mountain bikers that the Sunburst Showdown is back on the schedule after a one-year absence.  I expect to be in Kewaskum on Aug. 12, at least as a spectator but perhaps to race the Sunburst Showdown as a tune-up for the Reforestation Ramble in Suamico on Aug. 26.  Many WORS racers have reacted negatively on Facebook, citing dissatisfaction with the Sunburst course.  The fact that it’s not an endless ribbon of technical singletrack is exactly what might make it a good fit for me.

The Tour of America’s Dairyland (June 21-July 1) and the International Cycling Classic (July 6-22) will be back for 2012 and I expect to enjoy both as a spectator; we’ll see what the ToAD road race and TT breakdown looks like.  I’m definitely not a criterium racer.  WEMS, Wisport and the WCA have not yet announced dates for 2012 and it could be months before they do.  Cheesehead Roubaix will return but the date is somewhat dependent on those schedules.

There are exciting possibilities in 2012 but let’s enjoy what remains of 2011.  I’m working on some cool stuff that I will share with you soon.