Stage 1 of the Tour de Danes was a tribute to teamwork. Belle organized the joint effort of two Middleton teams, the Drafters and Stonefield Wheelmen, who worked together on Sunday to dominate the stage. Thank you to the N + 1 cafe for hosting!

Stage 2 of the Drafter Tour de Femmes was action packed, minus any wheel touches or crashes. 29 cyclists, including 3 new riders on the tour, lined up for what might have been the most glorious day in Tour de Dane history. Low heat and humidity, a gentle breeze blowing and protective cloud cover provided perfect conditions as the Drafters pedaled over some of the most gorgeous rolling terrain in Dane County.

The winners were decided before the stage began. Three generations of the Monster Family swept the podium.

A chase group of 13 Drafters, including first time tour riders, Sherpa and Pepe, set out to catch the breakaway group, a 15 min gap created by Duracell, Dan-yelly and Ditch.

Sherpa carried the Drafters up every hill, earning the polka dot jersey. Pepe carried the group past an inordinate number of odiferous road kill obstacles, weaving through the carnage as he bravely inhaled to minimize the collateral olfactory damage to his teammates. Nitro, usually in charge of noxious gas, was relegated to Lantern Rouge after accumulating 90 miles in the past 2 days. Her warm up for the tour may be considered excessive by some. Squeak gave it all she had, but her legs had just come off of turning 40 and finishing a 70.3 in Finland earlier this month. Cujo sprinted down the flat stretch of road along Crystal Lake, catching the dynamic duo and earning the green jersey. This was a huge sacrifice for her team, as she is cutting the tour short to race the Washington Island Ultra this coming Friday.

Keez made her 2022 Tour debut after switching teams from Iowa State to University of Wisco. The Drafters are happy to have her back home.

Huge thanks to Online Cycling Gear for donating the green and polka dot jersey to the winners of the Tour de Dane Femmes. The yellow jersey won’t be yellow at all, but rather a Hincapie Drafter jersey.

If you would like a jersey but don’t think you will be top on the podium, the Hincapie Store Link is open through the tour, closing Sunday July 31 at midnight. All non-custom Hincapie gear is 20% off with code SBRICKSON.

The Tour de Dane Femmes also awards a silver jersey. Similar to the white jersey which recognizes the top young rider, the silver jersey awards the strongest rider with the most years. Pending birth certificate verification and testing for PES (performance enhancing sunscreen), which apparently leaves skin flawless for decades. Congratulations, Nemo! You’ve inspired every single woman in the peloton put on sun screen and pedal harder.

A dozen members of the peloton had a 30 minute gap to the chase group. Sarge led the troops out Pheasant Branch, until UPH (unidentified pot hole) caused a rapid ejection of her fuel tank. Forging ahead, Sarge completed the stage without water, retrieving her water bottle on the last few meters of the Avenue des Champs-Pheasant Branch. Slim, making his 2022 Tour de Dane debut, moved up the ranks and assumed command alongside Vintage. Not having pedaled all summer beyond a 3 mile commute to work, Slim had fresh legs. The same could not be said for Vintage, who seem unscathed by his 50 mile gravel bike pre-stage warm up.

The breakaway, chase group and peloton all finished with a beer and a smile.

The next televised stage will be Wednesday, July 27th at 5PM from Wheel and Sprocket for the Women on Wheels event. And don’t miss the Lake Ripley Ride on Saturday, July 30th.

OFFICIAL RULES OF ENGAGEMENT AMENDMENT: The sprint for the green jersey and climb for the polka dot jersey will not be televised, as Tour de Femmes riders can complete those two stages anytime before Sunday July 31st. Individual stages and total miles for the yellow jersey must be submitted in one document by Sunday July 31st at midnight. The Tour de Dane Femmes committee convened earlier this week to modify the original stipulations set forth for earning the yellow jersey: a Femme Drafter is not restricted to completing the original 3 stages (Monday Draft, Wednesday W&S and Sat Lake Ripley Ride) in order to be in considered for the yellow jersey. Riders may substitute the N+1 Stage, or the Trek 100 on Saturday. Non femme riders are not eligible for the podium prizes, but their support of the Tour de Dane Femmes will not go unrecognized.

The post-tour ride on Monday August 1 will take us through the scenic 36 mile Spring Valley loop. A short pour 27 miler option is to cut off onto Pine Road (just before marker 15 on the map below) from Spring Valley, joining back onto KP (left turn).

RidewithGPS link Spring Valley

PDF cue sheet Spring Valley Loop

PDF cue sheet Pine Loop Short Pour

Draft responsibly,

BrickO

Time to turn up the volume on the Tour de France Femmes Let’s kick this off with a group ride from N+1 Café in Verona at 7AM Sunday, July 24. Belle is leading out the first stage, details to follow.

This is an exciting opportunity for the Drafters to support women’s professional cycling, encourage riders of all levels to enjoy this magnificent sport, and give back to our community.

The Drafters will be hosting a Tour de Dane challenge to meet those objectives and fulfill our mission as stewards of the sport.

Rules of Engagement: In order to participate, you need a bike and some reliable means to record your rides, preferably to Strava.  Please join the BrickO’s Drafters group to make it easier to track the Tour de Dane (https://www.strava.com/clubs/BrickOsDrafters).  You can go old school and send a screenshot of your data from Garmin or Wahoo.  Everyone is encouraged to participate, but only Femme riders are eligible for prizes (trophies, jerseys, or whatever non-cash prizes are available).

While there are 8 stages in the Tour de France Femme, the Tour de Dane Femme will host 5.

1. Monday July 25: Drafter Ride Crystal Clear (RidewithGPS link) 5 and 5:30PM
2. Wednesday July 27: Wheel and Sprocket Women on Wheels Ride 5PM (sorry, women only for this one). This is part of the Drafter mission- to support and encourage Women on Wheels, at all levels and abilities. (RidewithGPS link).
3. Saturday July 30: Lake Ripley Ride, register for the 18-, 40- or 62-mile route with BrickO’s Drafters. 50% of all proceeds will be donated to JDRF.  There will likely be swimming and adult beverages afterwards.

The other two stages can be completed anytime between the start and end of the Tour de France Femmes: July 24-31.

• Green jersey: The fastest time for an individual time trial (no drafting) on KP from Bourbon Rd in Cross Plains to Page Ln in Black Earth and back to Bourbon Rd (RidewithGPS link). The submission must also include photo evidence an espresso, coffee or other honorary French drink being consumed at Crossroads Coffee on Main St, open 6AM to 3PM. Photo does not need to coincide with the TT for those with work conflicts.
• Polka dot jersey: The fastest total time from Low Rd and Twin Valley Rd in Middleton, to the top of Deer Run Rd, around the cul de sac counter clockwise, and back up Cleveland Rd to the intersection of Old Sauk Pass (RidewithGPS link).

Yellow Jersey: a free Drafter jersey from Hincapie Sportswear will be awarded to the Femme cyclist who completes all 5 stages and accumulates the MOST miles (trainer miles count) over the course of the tour.  So much for rest days!

Prizes for GC and stage winners will be delayed several weeks after the Tour de Dane as names and sizes of the crowned Femmes will be required for production!

Draft responsibly,

BrickO

RECORD BREAKING ATTENDANCE, any way you count it. 30 Drafters went to Church at roughly the same time, with 3 more attending separate services. The Draft started early on with Thing 1 knock knock knocking on heaven’s door before heading out for vacation.

Tick Tock and Sarge were also in the air, landing too late to make the official departure, but were sighted on KP drafting responsibly.

The C for Can Do team was suited up and ready to rock early. Dan-yelly was still buzzing from her finish at the Door Country Triathlon. Her last swim was two years and two children ago, so she was thrilled to have completed with event without water wings. So thrilled in fact, that she decided to keep her race number on in case she races again within the next two years. Hopefully, #253 will still be appropriate. “What I can do once, I can do again.”

Pipes was able to fit into her Drafter shorts, no small feat after being stung by a staph infected bee last Monday. Her quad was nearly the size of Cannibal’s hind quarters and required antibiotics to normalize.

Charlotte delayed her move to NC for one more Drafter ride, a little warm up for her 70.3 on Saturday. Belle, recovered from her 200 Unbound Gravel feat, was back in the saddle, flashing her ring bling and 10th anniversary jersey (thanks for supporting the Draft).

The B for Bad Ass team had a strong showing. T-Bone staked out his first 2022 ride, also sporting his 10th anniversary kit (thanks for supporting the Draft).

Z Wrecks and T-Bone beefed up and rode the full 40, while the remainder of the B Team confessed to skipping Blue Mounds Trail and proceeding directly to Church.

The A Team started with a dozen and picked up two more in Cross Plains, Super Q and a newbie, Taquito.

Elton John’s Bitch is Back and the Drafter’s Bomber is Back.

Bomber, Bomber, oh, the Bomber is back
Stone-cold healthy as a matter of fact
He can climb, he can pull ’cause he’s stronger than you
It’s the way that he moves, the things that he do, oh-oh-oh

He’s the bomber, he’s the bomber, oh, the Bomber is back
Stone-cold healthy, as a matter of fact
He can climb, he can pull ’cause he’s stronger than you
It’s the way that he moves, the things that he do, oh-oh-oh Bomber, bomber, bomber is back

Bomber, bomber, bomber is back
Bomber, bomber, bomber is back
Bomber, bomber, bomber is back
Bomber, bomber, bomber is back
Bomber, bomber, bomber is back
Bomber, bomber, bomber is back
Bomber, bomber, bomber is back

Watching Granny and Super Q climb was a heavenly experience. The Drafter handle committee is in session, voting on a name change from Granny to GrrAnimal. She’s the wolf disguised as Granny, innocently riding an ancient heavy bike with a single water bottle, waiting to swallow you up. The Drafters are pitching in to buy Granny a second water bottle cage, made of lead, to keep the wolf at bay. Nobody complained when she requested to stop at the church to refill her single water bottle. Everyone welcomed a breather.

While we are giving thanks and praise, Cannibal brought back (several times) the Drafters who would have otherwise been lost and forgotten. And Kirk earned the Blurple Heart award for coming back on Schneider to pick up BrickO and Granny and other lost souls too numerous to be listed. These Drafters were exemplary drafters, following the code, despite tired legs from the Platteville Road Race on Saturday.

Vintage floated the idea of stopping at Quik Trip for Slushies. This was a Drafter first, and certainly won’t be the last. Def Leppard’s “pour some sugar on me” was the theme song. With that incentive, the pace line to KP was fast and furious. Granny went nuts and took her first pull. Too bad Squirrel missed the nuts action. Super Q took a big pull, and BrickO had the misfortune of being next in line, mustering up all the watts she could and still couldn’t compete with those quads. My what beautiful quads you have, Super Q. The Drafters took the travel time to Quik Trip literally.

The sugar high gave way to more substantial recovery beverages. And to birthday song for Badger.

Not all Drafters went to Church on Monday. Cookie Monster and Co did some session-ing in the driveway.

CHAMOIS SHAME: none for this Drafter.

Chamois are encouraged for the Dirty Drafters. Shred responsibly.

There were Drafter sightings as far as McKee farms for the Dane County Boys and Girls Ride on Saturday and the W&S roll on Sunday. Huge thanks to Sandlot for rolling on that urban adventure, and for her weekly support of the Wednesday W&S Women on Wheels rides.

And way up nort’ in Minnesota, Coach Arms was representing the Draft.

The route for Monday 25 is Crystal Clear.

RidewithGPS link to Crystal Clear

PDF cue sheet

Remember to tune in this Sunday for the Tour de France Femmes! Prizes will be awarded for the best photo submission of yourself IN DRAFTER GEAR WATCHING THE TOUR.

Draft responsibly,
BrickO

Recon for the Pleasant Getting Old route (named for Pleasant Valley Rd and Old Indian Tr) proved fruitful. The 40 mile route for July 18 is mostly void of chip seal. There is a 3/10 mile section on KP just before the turn onto Moen Valley with a sign that notes gravel, but there was none. Blue Mounds Trail was chip sealed in mid-June, and there is still a bit of loose stuff in between the tire tracks, but the road is firm if you stay in the lane. Use CAUTION approaching the stop sign where Blue Mounds Trail and Pleasant Valley Rd meet. The gravel is piled up at that intersection.

If you are nervous about riding Blue Mounds Trail, or would like to knock off 10 miles, please confess using the Back Door to Church. This route includes all the same roads as the full strength route, with the exception of the loop on Blue Mounds Trail.

RidewithGPS link to Sneaking in the Back Door to Church

PDF cue sheet

Congrats to K2 on her summit. She claimed 1st place female at the Summit700!

Hope to see many of you on Saturday at the Boys and Girls ride.

Draft responsbily,

BrickO

“Two hills my gluteus maximus!” Perhaps that hill count was misleading, Gopher? Two hills not yet pedaled this season may have been a more accurate description for the Rockin to Roxbury route. 2400 feet of climbing over two hills would have been par for the Tour de France, and suitable for our polka dot jersey rider, LuLu. It is no coincidence that Gopher chose gluteus maximus as the title for his Strava post, as butts were the hot topic of conversation, in a purely physiological sense. There is no butt shaming allowed, though marginalized butts observations (Vilker) are fair game. The metric was less about W/kg and more about W/glute. Power from the backside is a thing of beauty, and the main reason that skinny jeans should be banished.

A sole Drafter broke away from the peloton (left an hour early) and rocked Roxbury without being caught. Dan-yelly will look stunning in the yellow jersey.

The B for Bad Ass team had full roster. Midas showed up thinking this was the JV team, but soon realized this group is anything “butt”. Pipes came prepared with two pairs of glasses: one to block the sun and the other to read the map. This is a dramatic improvement from a few years back when she forgot her glasses, water bottle and front wheel. Nitro came equipped with a medical kit full of anti-bonk remedies. Medical records are HIPAA protected, but all suspect that Pipes finished the Draft thanks to our staff anesthesiologist.

The A team (this could go so many ways with the butt theme and B standing for Bad Ass, but let’s keep it clean) had a slower start with Skipper coming in hot (who knew you could do a tail whip on a road bike?) and without water bottles. Vilks, leaving no Drafter dehydrated, scrambled into the house to fill up Skipper’s borrowed bottles (hence missing from the starting line up photo), leaving his sunglasses by the sink and spending another few minutes hunting the down. He should have taken a page out of Pipes’ book and brought two pair.

Vilks, BrickO, LuLu and Skipper were late out of the gate. Following the Drafter code, the A Team soft pedaled until the foursome caught up before the ascent to Ashton. To be clear, that ascent was not one of the two hills on the tour.

Despite the blue skies, Booker J’s new bike was rumbling like angry thunder. “I had the chain waxed two years ago”, says the man who still has the screen sticker still on his Garmin so that the same faux data appears every ride.

Dunlap Hollow was one of the two formidable hills on the route. Skipper captured the anticipation of the Drafters rounding the bend, and the agony of the climb.

With 10 miles left to go, both Drafter groups merged and came to rest before the final climb on Woodland (nope, not one of the two advertised climbs), ironically at the cemetery.

The post-draft draft was wonderfully void of Strava segment downloads, although we were all in awe of the purple heat Blurple rained down on Hwy V for Victory. Vintage was in hot pursuit, but clearly his leg hair hygiene game was off (compounded by his post-WORS race legs from Sunday).

Granny, our dermatologist on call, has been kept busy with all sorts of Drafter skin and hair issues. While helping BrickO keep hers from falling out, Vintage has solicited her help in having his legs achieve the same smoothness as Vilker’s. Smooth legs may be Vilker’s jam, but his “paramecium” is growing, along with his mustache envy.

Cycling Events: Hope to see many of you this Saturday for the Boys and Girls Club ride from McKee Farms. Sign up for the BrickO’s Drafters team, which gets you nothing in the way of swag, but tons in the way of camaraderie. The Drafters also have a team lined up for The Lake Ripley Ride on Saturday, July 30. There are rumors of a party to follow at an undisclosed cabin location on the lake.

The Dirty Draft hasn’t had much traction with organized rides, but it is great to see so many Drafters getting dirty. And Vintage is shredding the WORS series!

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS this week to Speedy and Special K! And happy BIRTH to E$ and Cookie Monster as they welcome our newest Drafter.

The July 18 route is tentatively Pleasant Getting Old, a 40 mile tour of the west. Wheels up with water bottles filled and sunglasses (and readers, if needed) secured at 5:30PM. It will require recon as some of the roads were chip sealed a few weeks ago. Check GroupMe for updates should the route need to be rerouted. 5PM SHORT POUR: knock off the most westerly loop, which is ~8 miles. Stay on JJ, skipping the right turn onto Blue Mounds Trail (the road in question for chip seal), and returning on Vermont Church Rd.

RidewithGPS link to Pleasant Getting Old

Cue sheet PDF

Draft responsibly,
BrickO