No Labor on Labor Day
The cumulative fatigue in Drafter legs from the Horribly Hilly Hundreds on Saturday didn't slow the pace much on the Pine Loop. 18 Drafters drafted, almost 1/3 of them fresh off the 10k climb over 200k event affectionately known as the HHH.
Congratulations to all Drafters who completed what many believe to be the hardest single day event in North America. Thing 1, Ninja, Eden, Octane, Vintage, LuLu, Footer and Booker J went green to represent the Draft. Might as well.... everybody turns green at some point on the HHH.
Our B for Bass Ass team could be supermodels for the Hincapie kits over the past 3 years.
As the Drafters set out for Pine Loop, some of the green race arrows from HHH were still visible on a few choice hills. Counselors were on hand for those still traumatized by the 10k feet of climb. For those who needed comfort food, Gopher stepped up with a dozen home made chocolate chip cookies.
Blurple was on a mission to capture some Strava KOMs, but each acceleration resulted in a cleat-pedal interface failure. "You pulled out too early" seemed to be the theme. Drafting and Planned Parenthood agree there are safety concerns with this method. Tick Tock bided his time while the rest were Strava hunting, and left all in the dust on every climb. The human metronome strikes again.
September 13 the Drafters will show Brains and Braun, headed out west to Cross Plains. If daylight is limited, we will discuss a shorter route.
Look for an email with a Drafter Party survey. Oct 2 and 9 are in the running for a 50 mile ride to Mazo, with awards and beer to follow.
Draft responsibly,
BrickO
Aug 30: Pine Loop
A huge thanks to Cannnibal for hosting the Draft and giving Drone Master a wonderful send off.
They crew rolled together, with an eye on the prize (garden drinks).
Queenie captured a classic Wisco "moo"ment just as the sun was setting. Octane, Coach Arms and Speedy celebrated a left turn, avoiding the hill ahead. Quite sure there were others on the route as to conform with the Drafter motto: when in doubt, climb.
Drone Master is one of the original Drafters, so it is only fitting that he reach the pinnacle of his career, joining the flat tire club before moving to sunny California.
Good luck to all the Drafters who are bravely setting out to conquer the Horribly Hilly Hundreds tomorrow. Footer and Ninja are newbies to the HHH, so there should be good war stories to share on Monday!
In other Drafter news, congratulations to Keez for a second place podium finish at Collegiate Conference Championships in MN. A Hawkeye took first, but this Cyclone blew away the Badgers and Gophers.
Not exactly a feat, but BrickO managed not to lose life or limb encountering an Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake, the most venomous snake in North America.
As we reach the last Monday in August, the sun is setting earlier and we will start to shorten our rides. Pine Loop is 27 miles and includes the freshly repaved segment on KP. For anyone looking to go longer, feel free to skip the left on Pine an continue along Spring Valley to Turkey Road.
Stay tuned for details on the end of the year Drafter ride and party, likely Sat Oct 2 or 9th.
Draft resonsibly,
BrickO