Mother Nature vs Black Widow
The forecast does not look conducive to riding the Black Widow route. I am rarely quick to pull the cancellation trigger, but I am making an exception on this rainy day. Mother Nature has rain in store for the entire day and I fear this would be the scenario:Incy Wincy Drafter went up the Black Hill routeDown came the rain and washed the Drafter outOut came the sun and dried up all the rainSo, Incy Wincy Drafter went out Black Hill againI take comfort knowing that many Drafter younglings were out this weekend.
A few important announcements:
- The RIDE is coming up on Sept 22. Sign up if you are interested. Link
- Capital Off Road Pathfinders (CORP) is hosting movie night at Capital Brewery on Wednesday Sept 11 from 6-9PM. If you ride trails in southwest WI, please come join me to support this group. Link COPR Movie night
- And if you like riding trails, please join us for the inaugural DIRTY DRAFT at Cam Rock park on Wednesday Sept 18, hosted by your Skipper. Details to follow, but dirty drafting will include beer afterwards. All you need is a mountain bike and a sense of adventure. No skill required (I will lead by example on that front).
- Getting dirty not your thing? Namaste. Yoga Master Pipes is leading an 8 week yoga session on Wednesdays from 2:30-3:30 starting Sept 11 at Quarry Arts on Hill St. Cost is $10 per class. Benefits are priceless. See Pipes for details. She is easy to find- big muscles, friends with Bambi, rides a unicycle.
- There will be NO Labor Day Draft. As we start to lose daylight, our Monday night rides will become progressively shorter. The following week (Sept 9) we will re-visit the Black Widow but I will likely shorten the route. Historically, we have Drafted through the end of September. The annual post-season party date is TBD. There is still time to send in your Drafter photos for the competition. In-door season to start late Oct or early Nov. Joy.
Draft responsibly,BrickO
August 27: Black Widow
17 Drafters dared to face the Beast of Barlow, including one Newbie. PDQ was drafted over a year ago. His idea of taking immediate action isn't exactly Pretty Damn Quick. Neither was the pace set by the 4 post-RAW finishers (Bond, Booker J, Z Rex and BrickO) who faced the Beast with a few less ATPs in their pedal stroke. The Beast had more climb in 33.6 miles than RAW did in 225!Bond sightings were reported by many Drafters for the first time this season. The stealth rider was overhead saying, "I think I will find a new group (read: not lead with Tick Tock, Vintage, Cannibal and Thing 1) to hang with today." Despite fatigue from claiming the Titletown road sign at mile 220 on Saturday, Bond did not relinquish the yellow jersey. He made a signature pit stop at the bottom of Barlow, as if to taunt the Beast.Cannibal's strategy for taking on the Beast was to look less like one. Legs were meticulously shaven for maximal aerodynamic capacity. His plans were foiled, however, when he joined the Equipment Failure Club (otherwise known as the failure to bring equipment club). C-Monster offered up her no-show dress socks, but after calling his fashion consultant, Cannibal decided upon knee-high cashmere socks compliments of Billy Boy. Lawyers apparently spare no expense on footwear.
Sandlot joined the antithesis of the Equipment Failure Club. She humbly packed her cleat covers in preparation for Barlow "de-feet", but victory was hers. Barlow and Duchess were merely specks in her rearview mirror.
It came out during post-Barlow banter at Longtable that several Drafters were Barlow Virgins. Sandlot, Vintage and Thing 1 have been fully deflowered by the Beast. I lost something arguably more valuable on Barlow... my damn chain. There is nothing flowery about starting on a 19% grade at 0mph.
Thanks to Longtable for hosting our post-ride libations. We said goodbye to Bond as he heads to France to face another Beast, the Alpe d'Huez. Please note: winners of the yellow and other jerseys must be present at the Drafter banquet to claim their award. This late in the season, I doubt anyone can make enough pit stops to steal the yellow jersey away from Bond.
Our last route to close out August will be the Black Widow. Why not? We survived the Beast. This is a 34 mile ride and despite the name, is nothing compared to the Beast. If daylight is an issue, please consider the short cut on V, immediately after Black Hill.
Download PDF: Black Widow 34Garmin link (from Middleton Hills not Free House): MH Black WidowGarmin link (from Middleton Hills) for short cut: MH Black Widow Short CutDraft responsibly,BrickO