Join us at Beloit Bicycle Co. Wednesday, October 2nd at 7p for our  Fall Kickoff Meeting with a swap meet and crazy deals on in-stock items at Beloit Bicycle Co. All are welcome! A ‘swap meet’ means we will have space for you to sell your stuff to others or buy some of our stuff as well.

Some social rides have been added to the events section.

I hope you’re enjoying the beautiful weather. September is my favorite month of the year and that’s simply due to my birthiversary is the 26th. Birthiversary you say? Yes. When your fiance wants to get married in September and the only opening at the venue she prefers is your birthday…..poof. You are suddenly buying things for somebody else on your birthday. Thus, birthiversary.

“Hey, what do you want to do for your birthday this year?”

Wait a second, that’s not what we’re here to talk about. You’re curious about Ironman Wisconsin, our club meeting and swap meeting, and what the heck happened at the end of the Iowa vs. Iowa State football game.

Okay, two out of three ain’t bad. It’s not like this is a triathlon.

Our club meetings resume after taking a break for the summer. We start off BIG with our swap meet. What’s this? We buy pizza and provide drinks. You bring your stuff that you don’t want anymore to sell. Come up with asking prices and probably label them ahead of time. We have tables, bins, boxes, etc. for you to put your stuff on/in. You try to sell your stuff to others there. You can also buy other people’s stuff there. It’s a great chance to get ride of things you don’t use or get great deals on stuff you could use. It’s open to everybody. Bring one thing to sell or bring one hundred things. It’s up to you! Bike parts, running gear, nutrition stuff you aren’t going to use……anything goes. 12″ sliding miter saw that can go out to 60 degrees would be nice too. Our host for the event is Beloit Bicycle Company. The event starts at 7p, but feel free to come 15 minutes earlier to set up your for-sale stuff.pin
Beloit Bicycle Company is at 110 W Grand Ave, Beloit, Wisconsin 53511.

What else is in it for you?? Beloit Bicycle Co is doing a crazy sale for us. 20% off in-stock items (except bikes) and most inner tubes for $3.50 each. Side note: If you haven’t received your club t-shirt, inventory will be on hand for you to do so.

So IMWI? I never really figured out what to write about this and a couple of weeks have gone by. Several local people and club members signed up. Most of them started. Most of those finished. It’s a really freaking tough day and everybody had their own journey getting there and trying to get through it.

The volunteers and fan support are amazing. The only reason I signed up was because of how much I enjoyed the volunteer and spectator enthusiasm while I was also spectating last year. It’s unbelievable to have hundreds of people cheering along the bike ride, especially in the toughest parts. It’s even better to have so many more than that cheering and helping on the run section. You’re never alone. The start/finish and the turnaround parts of the (two lap) course are astoundingly fun and loud. It’s impossible to be focused on feeling bad with that many people lifting you up. The volunteers were amazing. I hope I said “Thank you!” to all of them, but there were probably quite a few I forgot.

I’m not sure what else I have to say about that day. We’ll start at the beginning. I should have gotten to the swim start way earlier. A lot of people in the ‘faster’ swim corrals should not have been there (I’m not saying I’m fast, I’m saying a lot of people made a bad experience for themselves starting at the front and getting passed non-stop). The bike was mostly what I expected and not having to worry very much about vehicles was awesome. It wasn’t as crowded as I would have thought. Maybe I could have drank slightly more, but 120oz in such cool weather seemed excessive going in to it. I worry the most about the bike, so it’s always nice to have that out of the way.

It’s hard to have expectations on the run when you have already been exercising for several hours. If you remember me discussing the ‘MAF’ heart rate numbers for running back at one of the winter meetings, that was pretty much my goal pace for the marathon. Just stay around 151 bpm as long as possible. It felt slow going out, felt right until mile 17, cramps started, they mostly went away after ~20-25 minutes, and then trying to stick around that number through the end seemed to work. Once I was a couple of miles out, there’s really not a plan any more. There’s really nothing left to mess up your day, so you empty the tank. The State Street section was amazing. It was pretty packed by then and the screaming was intense. That’s where I spent most of my previous spectating and I imagined running up State Street in the middle of that noise on pretty much every training run of the year. Seriously. The amount of time I spent this year thinking about those couple of blocks on State was more than reasonable. That’s what I was thinking about when I finally signed up (after getting to the cart and then exiting the browser every few weeks for half a year).

Sorry there aren’t any pictures up to this point. I wasn’t up to paying for them when I know what I look like. Jeremy Heeren caught me right after I recovered from the cramps and was feeling like a million bucks again. I pretended to take off my trip top while running up to him. That’s the only picture I have. It’s pretty creepy. Plus I jammed the zipper and had it stuck around my belly button the rest of the run.

It felt really good to get to the point where they turn you around for your 2nd lap of the run and tell the volunteer ‘Nope, I’m done!’ as they relay your number to run special needs. What do people put in run special needs anyway? There’s a buffet every mile of the course!

140 down and 0.6 to go! I saw some familiar faces and started rounding the corner to the finish chute. I never saw my wife, parents (they finally came to their first race!), or heard my name announced…….but that’s fine. I was so caught up in the moment, that it was hard to really see anything else. The big Capital building in the background is pretty neat too. There was a finish line. I got to stop. I received some stuff I looked at a couple days later. Will Hoff said I would get two T shirts if I beat a certain time. I only got one shirt. He received two medals. He also didn’t have to put up with me staying at his Airbnb because I had to leave right away for some family stuff. Not sharing a room with me was basically like a third medal, so extra congratulations to him.

I apologize to the rest of the finishers that I couldn’t stay and cheer you on. I was really looking forward to it. I’m okay that I 100% missed all of the rain though. Kudos to those that stuck it out and finished in cold, wet conditions!

It’s amazing how doing the same course on the same day can be so many different experiences for so many different people. I’m super happy for everybody that finished. I hope those that weren’t able to finish are able to stay positive, stay hungry, and take care of unfinished business later. I hope those that are thinking about taking the plunge do it. The hardest part is believing in yourself. 12 years ago I would have never believed I could do it. I had never even run 2 miles! Again, the hardest part is believing in yourself.

I don’t believe you can do it. I know you can do it.

Have a great week!

Patrick McIntyre
Rock River Multisport

By Katie Totz

Ah, Ironman Wisconsin 2019.  After finishing, I strangely equated the whole experience to having a baby. I signed up in December so I had 9 months to think about, plan and train for the big day. As time got closer, the training got longer and tougher. On race day, once I hit the water, I endured a little over 13 hours of “labor”. It started out not so bad but as time went on, the pain got worse!  Towards the end I kept feeling like I wanted to quit but I couldn’t. I had to finish. I kept telling myself I’d never do this again but once I got to the finish line, I was elated. The next morning I woke up and somehow forgot all the pain I endured during the race and just focused on the accomplishment and thought, hell yes I’d do this again!!

All joking aside, doing my first Ironman was beyond tough but an amazing experience.
The swim was difficult because the water was choppy and the bike was on the cold side since I didn’t dress warm enough.  The run was just plain tough because, well, it’s a marathon!  I had an awesome support crew of family and friends and even though I ended with running the last 3 miles in the rain, I wouldn’t change a thing!  However, this race changed me!  Loved it and can’t wait to tackle it again!

Thank you Katie! If anybody else is reading this and I didn’t ask for your pictures and write up (or I did and you ignored me), please hit ‘reply’ to this email and send them my way!

Club member Ryan Satterlee made a big list of most of local bike related events for 2019. You should check it out at http://nicyc.com/.

Email him at rsatterleeniu@gmail.com if you have any additions. Pretty cool resource!

Saturday, October 5, 2019 at 9:00 AM
7111 McCurry Rd, Roscoe, IL 61073

It wouldn’t be fall without a social ride to Edwards Apple Orchard! Here’s how this shakes out: We meet at the Ledges Golf Course in Roscoe, ride to the orchard where we eat pie, caramel apples, donuts….whatever you like, then we ride back–all the while we socialize and have some great laughs. Good and (mostly) wholesome fun! Departure time is 9 AM and the pace is casual.

Also, if you haven’t picked up your club t-shirt, they will be available at this event. 

Note: This is a no-drop ride. You will not be left alone as long as you can stay moving. This is open to all.