It’s not the heat. It’s the stupidity. Too hot to ride? Not for 21 Drafters, including 3 newbies. Two Drafters came in hot (read: late) and two others put on a steamy gun show. Boom, boom, firepower. Z Wrecks vs Coach Arms. The winner?

Coach Arms brought incredible fire power for her gun show display. A more PC (physiologically correct) Drafter handle would be Coach Deltoids.

The 3 newbies signed up for the A Team. Rightfully so as all of them earned bragging rights and mitochondrial density at the Horribly Hilly Hundreds on Saturday. Hammer finished her first 200K HHH, and had enough heat left in her quads to crush Hillside. Car Wash also was fresh off the 200k HHH course, for the 18th time. He is a refreshing Drafter to draft, as his “glistening” skin provided ample cooling for those fortunate enough to be in his wake. Spigot would have done well to Draft Car Wash, but his trusty gravel stead was a bit too slow to catch any spray. Once back at base, our newest Drafter was issued a Draft Responsibly water bottle. As he extended his arms to catch the bottle, he anticipated it to be full of refreshing cold water. His expression was one of incredulity as he caught the empty bottle. Spigot now knows to FYO (fill your own).

The Drafter cartographer has been put on probation. Attention to detail on the section between Hillside Road and Brewery Road was lacking. Many U-Turn notifications were heard as the group rolled through Cross Planes. Vilks kept the group from panicking, “Hey, no chance the Drafters can’t sniff out Brewery Road.” The 4-fisted King of Beers and Milk (we are in Wisco) was not wrong.

Delighted to finally have GPS coordinates, Vilks, Keez and Slim put down the hammer on Stagecoach Road. Their 35mph pace was too much for the rest of the team. Sweating and swearing were the only things happening at a high rate of speed. Car Wash had plenty of competition for claiming his Drafter handle. Skipper made his first high heat index Draft, and decided to sweat his jersey clean off. Never leaving his wing man, Vilks was standing by with refreshments.

Plagued by dehydration, many Drafters congregated in the driveway, waiting for somebody to turn on the spigot.

Those who made it to the backyard were relieved to find the Solo Stove not burning brightly.

Shaq brought some magical high protein cookies that were responsible for reviving many of those Drafters who lost energy through blood, sweat and tears. There were many requests for the recipe, posted below.

There might have been additional ingredients…

WEEKEND HIGHLIGHTS: Congrats to all those Drafters who finished the Horribly Hilly Hundreds, from their first to their twentieth, the event never gets old (although we do): BrickO, Z Wrecks, Gopher, Vilks, Octane, Hammer, Spigot, Car Wash, Puma, VonQ, Squeak and JRad. Tremendous thanks to the many Drafters who volunteered for the April climbing clinic put on my Madison Multi-Sport (way to go Coach Midas and Comet), the May pre-ride and Thursday packet pick up at Erik’s: Bomber, Belle, Octane, Cannibal, Z Wrecks, BrickO, Shaq, Vilks, Thing 1.9 and Gopher. And to our creative Drafters, Pepe and Duracell for helping with the slogans, “Ride the Rise” and “This Hill Socks” for the jersey and socks, respectively. This is arguably the toughest single day event in the Midwest (hell, the country), and is certainly the flagship local event. To volunteer time and energy (literally, during the climbing clinic and pre-ride) to support the Friends of Blue Mound State Park is one of many qualities setting the Drafters apart. Thing 1.9 didn’t think twice about volunteering at 39 weeks pregnant, but did send Vintage out with a honey to-do list unrelated to the HHH. You are a pretty special and unique group. Thank you. Hope to do it again in 2025 (HHH is always the weekend of Father’s Day, for those who want to put it on their calendars now). Car Wash says it is the best gift to be able to ride and have his family at the finish. Awww. Cannibal and Vintage, will this resonate next year?

ROUTE FOR MONDAY JUNE 24: There will be full strength (35 miles) and short pour (26 mile) options for next week. The short pour heads out the same direction, but doesn’t travel far enough north to view Crystal Lake, and returns home on the bike path (saving a few hundred feet of elevation). Departure times will be at 4:45 and 5PM. Now that daylight hours are long, for those who have work conflicts that preclude them from making a 5PM departure, please feel free to start a bit later. The full strength route to Crystal Lake is to commemorate the 2021 rescue of a kitten by Keez and Squirrel.

Full strength link: RidewithGPS Drafters | Crystal Cat

Short pour link: Drafters | Short Pour CC

REMINDER: the Draft will leave from Crossroads Coffeehouse in Cross Planes the first Monday of every month. Look for a route from Crossroads on July 1.

Draft responsibly,

BrickO