I'm in Milwaukee, they suck here as well (and in Racine) it's more a statewide issue between being a Northern State, the snow/plows/salt chopping up the roads and inadequate infrastructure spending.

It can be rough but on the bright side you are always holding on to dear life (and prepared) while riding because you know a giant pothole or something lurks just around the corner.

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Roads here in Illinois just as bad. Cant all be salt/weather related as did Mont Tremblant last year and those roads were pristine.

The 70.3 course is well known for horrific roads, perhaps some of the worst in the area. I ride more north from Middleton and roads are awesome! Far better than faced in Illinois and every bit s good as when I ride in Florida. Weather is tough here, but we are really lucky to have so many great choices. I know you can't in races, but for training, simply pick better. After hearing from fellow athletes after the first 70.3 on that course, I will not enter it and it surely is a "buyer beware" course for sure.

"Did someone say bad roads? Hold my beer." -Santa Rosa

Roads in Maine are awful too. I was talking to engineer that works for the state on the roads. She said it costs about $1 mil per mile to do a road so that it will hold up against the weather vs. $50 k per mile just repave over the top and know it will go to shit in a few years and have to be redone.

Having a family home in northern Wisconsin allows me to ride the many miles of National and State Forested roads. Compared to Southwestern Pennsylvania, these rural roads are more enjoyable. Maybe it is the scenery that is blurring the road conditions.

I just moved away from Madison and lived in Milwaukee previously until 2010. The roads are indeed not the best, but it comes with the territory of being a midwest state with harsh winters and springs that continue to freeze and thaw the roads causing a lot of the potholes and cracks. The plows and salt do not help it at all.

That all said Dane County has done a great job in repaving many of the roads. For example the loop (IMWI circuit) IMO is much better than it was a decade ago. The road into Mt Horeb is great, they just repaved Stagecoach and have maintained other roads well. It's not perfect but a battle that many states cannot keep up with road maintenance I think Dane County has done an alright job.

What I find interesting is that I must moved to Alaska and the road quality here is far superior in my brief experience. Though they do not use salt on roads and I would believe they are built differently to handle the conditions, but I have been very impressed with the road quality here in Alaska. But it is no Europe.

x100000000

Santa Rosa full was the fucking pits.

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Next races on the schedule: none at the moment

That seems to be the sentiment across the US. I don't know why, but Indianapolis roads took an absolute beating this year. I commute on a motorcycle and I'm literally scared for my safety because of the roads.

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Roads are pretty good up around Appleton and Green Bay.

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Alan Stewart

I live in Verona. The roads are as bad as I've seen since I started riding. I think the 70.3 course is worse than the 140.6, but they're both terrible. I also have a place in Northern WI. The roads in most cases are a dream. Lots of funding goes into making them this way. No idea why it works that way.

Social services are largely a county government function, and road maintainance on the type of roads we ride as cyclists is also a county function. As local government aid has dried up in WI state budgets, counties have faced tough choices. I think it really is as simple as that.

Waukesha co has great roads from experience riding with the in laws; well maintained in the summer and great for riding, well plowed and salted in the winter. But the population demographics, makeup of the co board, and tax base look very different.

IMWI 70.3 broke my aerobars too! Broke my butt as well. I lived in Madison the past 23 years and have seen the roads deteriorate. The state has steadily decreased its contribution to local road repair funding and it shows. Now living in Florida where the roads are smooth, but most are too dangerous to even consider riding.

John H

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John Hollenhorst
St Pete Beach

no time to read all msgs, but anyone mention ....take a 3 day to Trempaleau (sp?0County...amazing roads..may not see a car for an hr. Lemond once said best riding east of rockies.

Colder doesn't always mean worse - weather than cycles widely across the water/ice freezing point is often worse for roads than consistently below freezing.


The other big cause of bad roads is lack of spending by local governments. This is due to economics and politics, with a long-term trend toward smaller local government in the US.

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