Back Door to Church... Have Faith?
Legal drinking age. ____ Pilots. ___ Jump Street. That's the number of Drafters who conquered Black Hill, or as Speedy renamed it, Black Hell. 21 is a record high for 2020, virtually and really.The Draft inducted 3 new members: jRAD, Special K and the Rock. Captain Joe brought along his buddy, jRAD, a humble man of few words but many watts. Special K introduced the concept of snack time. We rivaled any kindergarten class for the number of snack breaks. Granted, Special K's fuel stores were depleted after 60 miles earlier in the week, training for her Aug 1 century ride run, but a full stop for trail mix every 5 miles? The jury is out on her membership status. Verdict, Judge?
E$ and Cookie Monster were tempted, but Audia had barely finished her first day of life, so they decided to wait at least another week before Drafting. It is also apparent that smaller headbands need to be ordered. CONGRATULATIONS!!!
The Back Door to Church route for next week is brought to us by the late John Denver.Almost heaven, West of MiddletonMound View Mountain, way of Moen ValleyYou feel old there, older than the treesYounger than the mountains, draftin' in the breeze.Country Roads, take me homeTo the place, I belongWest of Middleton, mountain mamaTake me home, country roadsBack Door to Church 40ish miles is pending ongoing chip seal and other random acts of road repair on JJ and H/HH. The Drafter recon crew has been furloughed, but volunteers have stepped up to pre-ride the route on Saturday. Stay tuned. An alternative route might be required. 5PM departure and post-draft fesitivies will resume at our normal spot on Glacier Ridge Road. Pizza will be ordered. $5 max donations will be tolerated. BYO beers and lawn chairs. GPS link: Back Door to Church GPSMap and cue sheet download: Back Door to Church
Draft responsibly,BrickO
The Back Door to Church route for next week is brought to us by the late John Denver.Almost heaven, West of MiddletonMound View Mountain, way of Moen ValleyYou feel old there, older than the treesYounger than the mountains, draftin' in the breeze.Country Roads, take me homeTo the place, I belongWest of Middleton, mountain mamaTake me home, country roadsBack Door to Church 40ish miles is pending ongoing chip seal and other random acts of road repair on JJ and H/HH. The Drafter recon crew has been furloughed, but volunteers have stepped up to pre-ride the route on Saturday. Stay tuned. An alternative route might be required. 5PM departure and post-draft fesitivies will resume at our normal spot on Glacier Ridge Road. Pizza will be ordered. $5 max donations will be tolerated. BYO beers and lawn chairs. GPS link: Back Door to Church GPSMap and cue sheet download: Back Door to ChurchDraft responsibly,BrickO
Back in Black (to honor Kermit's cycling attire)
Monday felt like the hottest day of the year. Do not bother verifying the weather data. Rely on the scientific data point of dropping 4 pounds of water weight (yup, I weigh myself post-Draft and do a little victory dance, knowing full well reality will return in back-lit digital numbers the following morning).19 Drafters left their sweaty mark on Spring Valley. The sweat beaded early on Kermit's brow. It could have been the 117 mile ride he did the day prior. Or the challenge of riding and carrying two bikes from home to the Drafter starting line, a distance of several miles. I'd sweat that challenge, too.
The real question in, what does the frog say?Dog goes "woof"Cat goes "meow"Bird goes "tweet"And mouse goes "squeek"Cow goes "moo"Frog goes "croak"And the elephant goes "toot"Ducks say "quack"And fish go "blub"And the seal goes "ow ow ow"But there's one soundThat no one knowsWhat does the frog say?Ride it. Ride it.And that’s exactly what Footer did. Check her out on a new Parlee from Cronometro. SAWEET. Footer takes an early lead (and an early departure) with Speedy, Pipes, Belle and the Draft Queen (DQ).
Note the Newbie riding with the ladies! Borrowing from Queen's Killer Queen:He's a Drafter QueenCO2, SPD shoeDynamite with a red Trek bikeGuaranteed to blow your mindAnytime
Footer on the Parlee was like watching SpaceX's Falcon 9, as she rocketed by fellow aerospace engineer, Drone Master. In an exclusive interview, Drone Master recounted, “Footer kept looking back, like, ‘hey, are you coming or what?’ The engine boosters on the Parlee were just too much for me. I've giv'n her all she's got captain, an' I canna give her no more.”Belle wasn’t on a Parlee, but she too felt the engine boosters kick in. “We’re on Schneider Road, almost home, it’s a straight away slightly downhill. Let’s go!” And the four were no more.
Dan-yelly surprised the group by being on time, and finished ahead of schedule, due to an inadvertent short cut on Turkey Rd. At least, that is her story… Other characters making an appearance included Cliff, Hit-the-Wall and Cannibal. Each forgot something vital. Hit-the-Wall forgot his beer, Cliff forgot to bring any water and Cannibal forgot to bring his power booster, running out of fuel after chasing Bomber and Kermit. The pace was blistering. Only the strong survived. I was not amongst them. Tick Tock was wise enough to keep enough in reserve to see the finish line with the fuel gauge above E.Billy Boy took the king of cut offs, bypassing the ride altogether and showing up for the cold Draft. Good to have him back from Sanibel Island in one piece.
Skipper skipped the Draft Monday to build his new mountain bike machine, anticiating that the rain would foil out Dirty Draft plans for tonight. Look out for the Yeti shredding next Wednesday during the Dirty Draft. Z Rex and BrickO will be shredding (or getting shredded) in the Blue Ridge Mountains, so take your dirty cues and updates from Skipper on GroupMe.
On the topic of next week, Drone Master will be hosting the Draft. Departure from GLACIER RIDGE ROAD AND JOHN MUIR ROAD at 5PM (6 houses up from ours, just before intersection of John Muir). Or park at the Pheasant Branch Conservancy and grab a wheel as the Draft goes by. The 35 mile route is Back in Black (should suit Kermit's cycling attire- though he did sport a green Drafter headband last week- see photo above). Same deal: bring a lawn chair and beer to relax post-Draft in Drone Master's backyard.GPS link: Back in BlackDownload map and cue sheet: Back in Black
Draft responsibly,BrickO
Footer on the Parlee was like watching SpaceX's Falcon 9, as she rocketed by fellow aerospace engineer, Drone Master. In an exclusive interview, Drone Master recounted, “Footer kept looking back, like, ‘hey, are you coming or what?’ The engine boosters on the Parlee were just too much for me. I've giv'n her all she's got captain, an' I canna give her no more.”Belle wasn’t on a Parlee, but she too felt the engine boosters kick in. “We’re on Schneider Road, almost home, it’s a straight away slightly downhill. Let’s go!” And the four were no more.Dan-yelly surprised the group by being on time, and finished ahead of schedule, due to an inadvertent short cut on Turkey Rd. At least, that is her story… Other characters making an appearance included Cliff, Hit-the-Wall and Cannibal. Each forgot something vital. Hit-the-Wall forgot his beer, Cliff forgot to bring any water and Cannibal forgot to bring his power booster, running out of fuel after chasing Bomber and Kermit. The pace was blistering. Only the strong survived. I was not amongst them. Tick Tock was wise enough to keep enough in reserve to see the finish line with the fuel gauge above E.Billy Boy took the king of cut offs, bypassing the ride altogether and showing up for the cold Draft. Good to have him back from Sanibel Island in one piece.Skipper skipped the Draft Monday to build his new mountain bike machine, anticiating that the rain would foil out Dirty Draft plans for tonight. Look out for the Yeti shredding next Wednesday during the Dirty Draft. Z Rex and BrickO will be shredding (or getting shredded) in the Blue Ridge Mountains, so take your dirty cues and updates from Skipper on GroupMe.On the topic of next week, Drone Master will be hosting the Draft. Departure from GLACIER RIDGE ROAD AND JOHN MUIR ROAD at 5PM (6 houses up from ours, just before intersection of John Muir). Or park at the Pheasant Branch Conservancy and grab a wheel as the Draft goes by. The 35 mile route is Back in Black (should suit Kermit's cycling attire- though he did sport a green Drafter headband last week- see photo above). Same deal: bring a lawn chair and beer to relax post-Draft in Drone Master's backyard.GPS link: Back in BlackDownload map and cue sheet: Back in BlackDraft responsibly,BrickO