Last year I rode an unsupported 400 mile bicycle race from Pittsburgh, PA to Philadelphia, PA called Crush the Commonwealth. http://ctcpa.blogspot.com/  No prizes, no support, no sag wagon, no registration.  Just a diverse group of laid back people wanting to ride as fast as they can.  While
I expected the race to be rewarding and challenging I was not expecting it to
be so much.  People helped each other out
with repairs, stopped for lunch and were just generally cool.

All this got me thinking that we should have something like this here.  An unsupported race linking the four great cycling cities of the Midwest, Minneapolis, Madison, Milwaukee and
Chicago.  The bonus is it’s easy and
fairly cheap to take your bike using Amtrak between these cities.  The route would roughly be the Adventure
Cycling route along the Mississippi to Winona, MN  and than follow the Wisconsin bike route, http://www.wibikeroutes.net/Winona-Milwaukee_files/Winona-Milwaukee... , all the way to Milwaukee.  I’ve done
Milwaukee to Chicago a bunch of times and I think I’ve found a great route for
the last leg.  Total is about 480 miles.

My idea is to run the race over  three or four days.  Group camp sites are booked a head of time and everyone meets up at the campsite.  When you arrive you call in from a public phone with your time.  The next morning everyone who wants lines up
for a start.  Person with the best time
in Chicago wins.  By doing a stage race
it makes it more social, more fun and I think it increases the safety factor
quite a bit.  If you’re a bit pokey it increases
the amount of time you have riding partners and if you’re fast you have a
chance to win a stage if not the race.

I moved to Chicago from Minneapolis four years ago so I have a lot of connections and riding experience in both cities.  I am also posting this on the Minneapolis bike forum.  I could arrange places to
crash in Minneapolis for race participants and maybe us Chicagoans could extend
the favor if you have the space.  Let me
know if this sounds like something you’d be interested in.  I have no trouble spending time and money on this
if people want to take part.  I’m open to
suggestions, in particular what time of year. 
I just think it would be a hell of a lot of fun.