Aug 16: Take Me to Church

Headlines should sound familiar: chance of scattered showers for Monday, likely to start at 5:30 on Parmenter Ave, and traveling 34 miles west over portions of the Horribly Hilly Hundreds course.  Looks like I will be forced into early retirement, spending every Monday on vacation so that the Drafters may ride without rain. Sacrifices must be made.This is a new route for the Drafters, so be sure to download the Garmin link or print the map to ensure safe travels.  We did a recon mission 3 weeks ago and discovered that several of the roads had received fresh gravel.  It should be settled by now, but use caution on the descents.  There is an easy cut off for a shorter 20 mile route by simply riding through Cross Plaines and heading back home.  If you choose to ride the entire 34 mile route, you will be treated to several beautiful and challenging roads, including Union Valley, Vermont Church, Moen Valley.Reminder that wheels up is promptly at 5:30 and bring a light.  We are losing daylight, so routes will continue to get shorter until we only have time to drink beer.Garmin Link to West HHH Route (note time not accurate as it includes 30min helping an IM chick change her flat tire).Last call for jersey orders is August 31.  The quality is the best of any jersey I own. We stopped into Hincapie Sportswear last week while in SC.  My agenda was to see George, but missing that opportunity, I settled for sealing a deal for jerseys next year.  They fit a bit snug.  Great for showing off guns, but unfortunately, also my post-vacation gut.  Here's the skinny:NEW TEAM MEMBERS WITH EXISTING HINCAPIE TEAM CENTER ACCOUNT:Click the link below to go to the Hincapie Team Center home page. Log in to your account, and then use the drop-down menu at the top right-hand corner of the screen to select Account. Scroll down to My Teams and enter the access code provided below. This will link your account to our team order.After you have done this, click Home at the top of the screen and click New Order begin your product selection.RETURNING TEAM MEMBERS WITH EXISTING HINCAPIE TEAM CENTER ACCOUNT:Click the link below to go to the Hincapie Team Center home page. Log in to your account and click New Order begin your product selection.TEAM CENTER LINK: https://teamcenter.hincapie.com/Access Code: BrickOsDraftersSeth WithersCustom Inside Sales | Hincapie SportswearMain: 864-400-3040 | Direct: 864-400-3051 | Fax: 864-298-261645 Pete Hollis Blvd. | Greenville, SC | 29601swithers@hincapiesports.com | http://www.hincapie.com

Aug 10 Route to Riley Tavern

In an effort to remain true to my scientific training, I must go on vacation (again) next week.  It would appear that my former precipitation hypothesis has been challenged.  I showed up Monday and it failed to rain.  Therefore, in order to rigorously test the BrickO= rain hypothesis, I will be absent for the Riley Tavern Route on Monday.  Jim and Matt will be your tour guides.Due to the rapidly disappearing daylight, routes will become shorter.  Sigh.  The Riley Route is approximately 25 miles.Jersey update: they arrived today and look spectacular.  If anyone is interested in placing an additional order, I think Hincapie Sportswear will honor the current pricing through Aug 31.  Shoot me an email if you are interested.Newbie update: Welcome Kaiya and Tom to the illustrious ranks of Drafter.  Apparently, Tom has another ranking... that of Cat 2 racer.  He was humble and tried to hide his quadzilla legs beneath bike shorts, but after the first climb, his secret was out.  Allegedly, Kevin baited him to sprint up the hill, but I think he is incapable of generating less than 500 Watts.  Just a guess, since I don't have a power tap (not that power tap training was a topic of heated discussion over drafts and dinner).   Kaiya was so exhilarated by the riding experience that she purportedly stayed up until 1am, ordering new bike shorts and shoes (borrowing Tom's pair 2 sizes too big with 10 years of wear warrants an upgrade, I think).  Welcome to the Draft.