May 13: Stuck in Lodi Again
The Cocktail Ride brought a 2019 record high attendance of 16 Drafters, including 4 Newbies.
So many Newbie tales to tell. Vintage (husband of Thing 1, who briefly enlisted in the 2016 Draft) stood out right from the start. His old school drop shifters gave the appearance of a guy who wasn't up to speed. Appearances (or in this case disappearances) can be deceiving. Vintage disappeared from the middle of the pack and continued to "stand out" front for us to Draft.
The only thing more visibly out of place than vintage shifters was the bulge in Knievel's shorts. The bulge was coming laterally from his hip- don't think this blog has gone naughty. This Newbie has a penchant for connecting with the pavement. Nothing says "I'm a cyclist" more clearly than road rash, and in Evel Knievel's case, a greater trochanter the size of an orange. Knievel's hip fruit garnished our Cocktail Ride beautifully.Not that the Draft promotes the competitive spirit ... but you can't squelch the natural desire to suffer. Like beer, more is better, within the loose framework of moderation. With that, Han Solo went out hard and suffered with the best of them, namely Bomber. On a mission to make his daughter's band concert at 7PM , Bomber was motivated to push the pace (on his gravel bike). Being a smart young man (I know this first hand, as he was one of my former students), and confident in his Drafter manlinesss, when Han came to the fork in the road, he took the one less long. Han headed solo down the bike path, and the force was with him.I waited for our final Newbie at said fork. And waited. And waited. Who knew there was an equivalent to the Bermuda Triangle right here in Dane County? It apparently swallowed him up and spit him back out at the Free House as though he'd just come from a beach vacation- relaxed in flip flops, cool white sunglasses with cocktail in hand. Bermuda really embodied the Cocktail Ride. Meanwhile, Klutch (as in the German term Klatch, describing his indefatigable capacity for conversation modified to a more suitable English spelling) was gracious enough to backtrack with me in search of Bermuda. I now have verification that Klutch is 1) a nice guy, 2) can talk at the same rate at any aerobic intensity and 3) that I cannot. All is well that ends well, and our night ended with wonderful celebrations of Coach Arms and the Women's Badger Hockey Team National Title and birthdays (Nurse Sully and Pipes). 
A few announcements:
- Hincapie Drafter 2019 kits on on their way. If you won't be home Friday to sign for your package, please go to the FedEx website to manage your delivery.
- If you did not order new Drafter gear and would like to, let me know. If there are at least 10 pieces (shorts, bibs, jerseys, jackets, vests, etc) I will open up the store.
- If you ride, please be sure I have your cell phone number and you have mine. While I am not liable for your safety, I won't sleep well if I think you've been swallowed up in the Bermuda Triangle. May no Drafter be left behind. I strongly encourage riding with a buddy whenever possible. And please text me if you do a U-turn so that I know you are safe.
- We will be imbibing at Longtable after the Lodi ride on May 13.
- Two more ride opportunities that are really fun, and unfortunately fall on the same date, Sept 28. Registration for both will be opening soon.
Bike the Barn Quilts Info LinkOur next Draft will find us stuck in Lodi again. There are shorter options, including 25 and 35 mile routes. The full route is 40 miles, pending being swallowed by the Bermuda Triangle.PDF Map: Lodi Marsh 40 and Hyer Loop 25Lodi GPS (these GPS coordinates start from Middleton Hills vs Free House)
Draft responsibly,BrickO
Cocktail Ride
When I advised showing up with more Brawn than Brains for the ride, B2 Bomber and von Diesel took me seriously. They met up for a pre-ride 12 mile "warmup" (no doubt with VO2 max intervals), finishing just in time to lead out a dozen Drafters. Side note: they did not take Mother Nature serioulsy last week, choosing the old school method of sniffing the wind for rain instead of relying on modern radar. Mother Nature rewarded them with a shower, but luckily not a jolt of electricity. Too Hip did an extended warm up as well, biking to work at 5AM in the rain, and then biking from work out to Cross Plaines as he missed us at the start. He blew by the Draft on Timber donning a seemingly heavy backpack. Drafter officials were suspicious and confiscated said backpack. While body mass to power ratio was not hindered by the pack (all show, no go), it did not contain EPO or other performance enhancing drugs. Too Hip is too awesome.
We welcomed our first Kiwi to the Draft. It is too early to tell if he can hold his own on a bike, but there is no doubt he can hold his own in a conversation. The Kiwi met C-Monster and Footer while out riding Wednesday night, and chatted them up long enough to learn about the Draft. This Kiwi can Klatch. Pipes, brandishing her new Scott bike, was intrigued by his discussion of grinding cat food with mortar and pestle, but could offer nothing in return as no oxygen molecules could be sacrificed for the sake of coffee klatching.We changed up our beer drinking venue a bit, and were delighted with the selection at Longtable. Bomber didn't get the pre-ride memo regarding venue change- one of the perils of "warming up". First off the bike, and the last to the table. I'm not sure how long he sat at the Free House, or how many beers he had alone, but he did finally join the Draft across the street. There is something for everybody at Longtable. Pipes, BrickO and Footer went to the dark side while C-Monster kept it light. Pipes spilled $4 worth of her ClusterFudge. She can hold onto an oar long enough to win two Olympic metals but not a damn beer????? Clearly, more training is required. I'm just the coach she's looking for.
Happy Birthdays to Nurse Sully and Pipes this week! I'm happy for company in the half century club. Sully has been a "long time" card holder and paved the way for us into the club. With those celebrations in mind, let's ride the Tom Collins cocktail route. This is a moderate 30 mile route with a shorter 25 mile option that can be achieved by taking the bike path home.
PDF map for download and print: Tom Collins 30 25GPS link Tom CollinsA reminder that University Ave is under construction between Park St and Parmenter, so allow extra time to detour to the start.Looking for an event? The Wisconsin Gran Fondo series is under new management, but SAME ownership. Enough said, for those who rode these 3 events last year without much in the way of food or water. This Driftless area event just popped up on my radar and we are giving it a go. We would love your Drafter company.Link: 17th Annual Syttende Mai Bicycle tourFor those who like their rides dirty: The Bear Gravel RideDraft responsibly,BrickO