Cedarburg, pop. 11k, is a small tourist town on Lake Michigan north of Milwaukee. At the last census it was 98% white and had a median age of 39 years.

Today was a good example of the mild smarminess of Superweek. The race series is run for profit but in getting to a positive cash flow they have to cut a few corners here and there. A heavy dependence on volunteers (course marshals, medical services) is kind of sleazy, and then there are the split days, where the high-volume but low-appeal amateur categories race in an uninteresting part of the city in the morning, the proceeds of which bankroll the more lavish pro race in the historic business district later that evening. I have no legitimate qualm with this. It makes sense and I imagine that it's an economical way to get the public interested in bike racing, but still. Who wouldn't prefer a downtown race to one in the suburbs?

Our race was a .7 mile loop (on paper at least, I'm pretty sure it was closer to a mile) around an elementary school in a burb outside Cedarburg. I knew the day was going to be about cost-cutting when I asked about using the restrooms in the school and I was given a firm no and directed to use one of the 2 (!) portas nearby. The lesson here is that one should never, ever ask before doing anything. The course was really pretty hilly, with what seemed like a long protracted climb up 2 of the 4 legs.

The day went badly for me. I wanted to go on the offensive today, but the race was fast from the gun and my legs were full of a heavy lactic acid tallow that kept reminding me that bike racing was last on the list of things that they'd like to do. Our race was something like 70 minutes long, and I got popped with 2 laps to go. I kept peddling at 5mph for the last lap and finished for 22nd, which speaks more to the attrition rate of our race than it does the attendance.

Tomorrow is more crit racing in Green Bay. Earlier today I was feeling like I had crawled through a wood-chipper, so I decided to drive up early, get a motel, and see about getting 12 or more hours of sleep before the starting whistle on Wednesday.