27 Days of Drafters
On the first ride with Drafters
Pipes said to me:
a gold medal, finally
On the second ride with Drafters
Columbus said to me:
Just how flat is Spring Valley?
On the third ride with Drafters
Duchess said to me:
Hyer Loop, bad history
On the fourth ride with Drafters
Dan-yelly said to me:
I’m planning to ride early
On the fifth ride with Drafters
Special K said to me:
Barlow with one gear, watch me
On the sixth ride with Drafters
Flash said to me:
No chance Dark Knight will catch me
On the seventh ride with Drafters
Rimshot said to me:
3 flats one road Dane County
On the eighth ride with Drafters
LuLu said to me:
I ride with crazy socks high knee
On the ninth ride with Drafters
Coach Arms and Cookie Monster said to me:
It’s hard to Draft with a baby
On the tenth ride with Drafters
Thing 1 said to me:
Can we please rename Kermy?
On the eleventh ride with Drafters
Romeo said to me:
please push Keez up Bonetti
On the twelfth ride with Drafters
Booker J said to me:
Garmin mph always twenty three
On the thirteenth ride with Drafters
Drone Master said to me:
Got some cool photography
On the fourteenth ride with Drafters
Duracell, Slinger, Mario and Queenie said to me:
So many girls on Team B!
On the fifteenth ride with Drafters
Bomber and Belle said to me:
Leadboat is cancelled... YIPPIE?
On the sixteenth ride with Drafters
Tick Tock and Blurple said to me:
Commuted to work and back already
On the seventeenth ride with Drafters
Pit Stop said to me:
I could use a porta potty
On the eighteenth ride with Drafters
Billy Boy and Loose Screw said to me:
It’s flatter in Sanibell-E
On the nineteen ride with Drafters
Footer and Speedy said to me:
Cannibal’s drinks make us woozy
On the twentieth ride with Drafters
Hit-the-Wall and Slow Cow said to me:
Which road is this supposed to be?
On the twenty-first ride with Drafters
Surly said to me:
Barlow on a fat tire, it's easy
On the twenty-second ride with Drafters
Gopher said to me:
I make a wicked brownie
On the twenty-third ride with Drafters
Skipper said to me:
Let's get these Drafters Dirty
On the twenty-fourth ride with Drafters
Captain said to me:
I’ll host if there’s a debut by Sully
On the twenty-fifth ride with Drafters
Ninja and Octane said to me:
Funtathalon? Never met but we will see!
On the twenty-sixth ride with Drafters
Wampus and Yoda said to me:
Here comes the ortho PARTY!
On the twenty-seventh ride with Drafters
Hundo and Knievel said to me:
Love to ride but bed time is 7:30
One and done for JRad, Han Solo, the Rock, Pres, NBA Cliff, Vilks, Helios, Ditch and Daisy. Einstein came up with a new Drafter formula that calculated beer without a bike variable. Crazy.
Switching holiday themes....
You know Captain and Skipper and Bomber and Z Wrecks
Speedy and Footer and Sandlot and Brickson
But do you recall
The most famous Drafter of all (at least on Dec 25)?
Cookie the Monster-Wille
Has a very special day
And if you ever saw her
You would even say she glows
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Cookie Monster!
Merriest wishes, Drafter Family. Here's to health, happiness, hills and hops in 2021.
BrickO
Turn, Turn, Turn
The winds were howling on Monday, pushing the Drafters effortlessly north on Black Widow. The A team was restless, deciding to leave before the more "mature" (read: slow) riders. But apparently not as restless as Queenie and Duracell who left mid-afternoon.
Footer and Speedy looked around at the 4PM foreigners and stepped out of the line up to re-establish the B-team. The A team had a head start, and there was no chance of catching them as Speedy was not feeling so speedy. Well, there wasn't a chance, period, but who wants to post negativity in the blog?
Blinded by the fame of his Wisconsin State Journal front page press, Skipper was on the beltline before realizing he forgot his shoes. Honoring the No Drafter Left Behind mantra, BrickO waited patiently for Cinderella to retrieve his glass slipper. Honor was only part of the equation. A debt (or two) needed to be paid for times when Skipper was indeed left behind, not out of Drafter misconduct but simple age-related memory loss. Mid-way down Schneider Road two-weeks ago, it occurred to BrickO that perhaps she failed to mention leaving early to Skipper, who rolled in just as the A team was rolling out. Sorry, buddy.
"I'm going 25mph uphill and pushing 110 Watts. This isn't going to be good coming home." No sh*t, BrickO. With Skipper at the helm, the B Team was quickly caught. Granted, they weren't so speedy given the sinus infection limiting Speedy's oxygen intake just above survival threshold. She upped the social distancing boundaries exponentially, respectfully leaving Footer to do all the work into the headwind home. "I was downshifting and losing speed on the descent out of Dane. This isn't right." said the aerospace engineer, Footer.
Footer wasn't the only one doing wind calculations. Vintage rode clear to the opposite side of the road to politely launch a snot rocket to ensure it landed out of Drafter orbit. The cross-winds were so strong on Woodland that the echelon had to tilt their heads due west in order to keep fluids from draining unilaterally. Did I mention that I'm not good at math???
Despite the wind and blistering pace, Skipper found time capture a wildlife photo. Check out the eagle in the tree behind Skipper's left shoulder.
This is the first ride in Drafter history where the number of riders (11) was exceeded by the number of beer-drinkers! Belle and Bomber crashed the party bringing gifts of chocolate from Sweden. Or at least from as far away as Ikea. Octane brought a Newbie to drink only. Is that guy smart or what? Drafter handle: Einstein. Gopher brought his wife, Badger, and a couple dozen delicious chocolate mint cookies. LuLu went home to get warm clothes and came back with Columbus. With all the excitement, Skipper had a hard time staying put in his chair. Luckily, the fire stayed put in the pit this week.
The wind blew in some good memories for our last Monday night ride, and is much preferred to the rain the previous week which blew our chance to draft and to recognize a few weekend warriors.
The Draft was well represented at the Birkie Trail Run.
Footer and E$ were nominated to run two of the 6 relay-legs. With calves like these, the Birkie Trail hills stood little chance.
The other Drafter relay team had a rocky start, as they were registered under two different names: Ambassadors of the Cosmos and Ambassadors of the Clouds. Ultimately, they came together to win the Masters Marathon Relay. #oldladiescouldn'twalkfor2days and #took5oldladiestocover26.2
Nobody dared look to see if there were other teams registered in that division. Please don't mess with our illusion of grandeur. Pipes added a long-awaited Gold Medal to her collection. She attributed her success to the inspirational singing by her crew during the road trip to Hayward and the hospitality of the Wille Village.
[wpvideo X9H1pvWP]
5 Women could barely cover 26.2 miles, and yet a newbie Drafter and friends easily covered the Ultra Marathon.
Back in Dane County, the weather wasn't so favorable for The RIDE.
The Byrds were on to something when they sang, Turn, Turn, Turn.
To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time to every purpose, under heaven
A time to wear green, a time to climb
A time to pull, a time to sweep
A time to draft, time on a wheel
A time to laugh, a time to weep
To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time to every purpose, under heaven
A time to drink up, a time to break down
A time to attack, a time to get dropped
A time to ride all alone, a time to gather miles together
That time is Saturday, Oct 10. It is time to celebrate the season turn, turn, turn. The last official Drafter Fondo 2020 offers 3 routes: Gran, Medio and Picolo (borrowing terms from the Hincapie Fondo). A small gathering with social distancing is to follow. Please bring a lawn chair, beer and whatever sustenance you need. There are a few awards to be given, although to be honest, 2 of the 4 recipients of the "big awards" aren't able to attend, and the prizes for those riding more than 10 times have been delayed. So don't forget the beer as that will be the focal point of the gala. A large cooler with ice will be out back, if you want to leave beer to chill before the ride.
The Gran 53 mile Rock of Gibraltar will depart at 11:45AM.
Dounload map and cuesheet: Rock of Gibraltar
RidewithGPS Gibraltar link
The Medio 38 mile Retro Lodi Canning Co. will depart at 12:30PM.
Download map and cuesheet: Retro Lodi Canning Co
RidewithGPS Retro Lodi Canning Co link
The Picolo 30 mile Short Pour Lodi will depart at 12:30PM.
Download map and cuesheet: Short Pour Lodi
RidewithGPS Shourt Pour Lodi link
Every season turn, turn, turn... the Draft may be ending, but the Dirty Draft is still in season! Join us tonight at Blackhawk: 4PM family time, big boys riding at 5PM.
Looking for a capstone event (or any event) in addition to the Drafter Fondo to wrap up the season? Check out the Ironbull Gravel Grinder 140, 85, 50 and 12 mile routes.
Draft responsibly,
BrickO