By: Melissa Hall
The twentieth Tour de Mad Dog begins soon: March 1, 2025. But don't worry if you are not ready then. You have plenty of chances through the end of November to ride your ten centuries and earn one of the coveted finisher jerseys.
First, a short history of the tour. The Tour de Mad Dog is not to be confused with the Mad Dogs or being a Mad Dog. The Mad Dogs were started by Tim “Choo Choo” Chilton, Mike “Sparky” Pitt, Bill “Cisco” Pustow, Anong “Mrs. Mad Dog” Pustow, Eddie “Waldo” Doerr, and some man named Jay who never rode with the club again but did that first Mad Dog Century, BMB, with the founders. The group's goal was to help people complete their first century and to emphasize group riding. If you completed one century, you were considered an official Mad Dog.
Tim Chilton was responsible for designing the Tour de Mad Dog which grew the group in ways nobody imagined. This was is 2004. This year will be the twentieth anniversary of the tour as for two years it was not held because of the Pandemic that swept the country. The tour has changed in many ways since its inception, but continues to be a challenge and to encourage group riding.
The current rules for the TMD are as follows:
To be an official finisher, one must successfully complete 10 stages. This year there will be 21 stages. There will also be a time trial that will be organized by David “Bam Bam” King that will count as a stage.
Anyone who is an LBC (Louisville Bicycle Club) member who finishes 10 stages will be a finisher and will earn one of the coveted finisher jerseys. When enough sponsorship is obtained, the jersey is provided free. At other times it is provided at a minimal cost. Please let one of the Tour Directors know if you are aware of a business that would be willing to sponsor the tour.
There will be a male and female “winner” each year, but winning is limited to every third year. Since this is the first year for this change, last year's winners are eligible to win in 2025. The winner will be determined by points at the end of the season.
The points awarded are as follows:
- 2 points: captaining a TMD stage
- 1 point: successfully completing the ride
- 1 point: finishing with a group of 5
- 1 point: for each member of a group over 5 (ie. Group of 6, 2 points, group of 7, 3 points)
- 1 point: bringing a new rider
- 1 point: being a new rider
- 2 points: if the new rider you bring finishes the series
- 1 point: stopping to help another another rider who has a mechanical or a physical issue on a ride
To receive credit, you MUST sign in legibly and be an LBC club member. No attempt will be made to determine who you are if your signature is unreadable. If you forget to sign in following the ride, please notify us within a week to receive credit. Also, to earn credit for bringing/being a new rider, you must email the TMD directors at Tourde...@LouisvilleBicycleClub.org within one week. Same thing for stopping to help a rider with a mechanical issue or who is having problems with heat, etc.
Stages may be anywhere from 95 to 110 miles in length unless approved by the Touring Director with the exception of the overnight. This exception is for if the overnight is the traditional Mammoth Cave which has higher mileage but is a longstanding Mad Dog tradition. (68 percent wanted an overnight this year).
Cancellations will be announced a minimum of TWO hours prior to the advertised start time. The cancellation announcements are the responsibility of the ride captain and will be at their discretion. The cancellation should be announced on the Mad Dog email list https://groups.google.com/g/tour-de-mad-dog and on the LBC calendar. In the event there is a conflict of information between the Event Calendar and the ride calendar, the ride calendar will be considered correct.
All canceled stages will be made up. This make up should be the next day or the following free Saturday. The Ride Captain should let the Directors know his/her preference. If this won't work for some reason, the Ride Captain should let the TMD Directors know immediately.
All stages of the tour will have a Ride With GPS file, a cue sheet, two rest stops, and a lunch stop. Rides should be swept by the ride captain. If a rider feels he/she cannot reasonably keep the pace advertised by the ride captain, he/she MAY leave early after obtaining permission from the ride captain. If the ride captain says no, you will receive no credit for the ride if you leave early.
The Current TMD Schedule is as follows and should be available on the club ride calendar along with the GPS file:
- March 1 Five Bridges Century
- March 29 Suburbane Centry
- April 12 Tour de Hanover
- April 26 The Harrison
- May 10 Highlander 100
- May 24 Story Century
- May 31 Muscatatuck Century
- June 7 Pottershop Century
- June 21 French Lick Overnight (Get Hotel Reservations at host motel now)
- June 22 Return from French Lick
- June 28 Fort Harrod MD Foray
- July 12 Old Gigal
- July 26 Salem a Different Way
- August 16 Two Bridges Century
- August 30 A Good Second Century
- September 6 BMB
- September 7 MD Time Trial
- September 20 Twice Boston
- October 11 Medora
- October 18 DeFongman “Paraquet Springs” Hundo 100
- November 1 Seven Springs
- November 8 Buckner Riverdance
Challenge yourself. I can't promise it will always be easy. I can't promise that it will always be fun. But I can promise you that you will feel a sense of accomplishment if you stay the course and that you will meet people whose company you will enjoy. Most things in life that are worthwhile do have a degree of difficulty. As Nike says, “Just Do It.” Come out and play!
