Far Far Farview was worth the wait. At last, Mother Nature didn’t do her rain dance between 4-7PM on a Monday evening. 26 Drafters, including 2 Newbies, danced on the pedals as they climbed to a view far, far away.

Shaq once again earned her “big girl” standing, showing up with a brand new solar powered Garmin, unafraid to face new technology. She stood like Lady Liberty with her Garmin held high above her head towards the sun, desperate for a quick charge. Hit-the-Wall made his 2024 Drafter debut fully charged. No bonk for this guy. Other members of the B team weren’t so fortunate. Watson arrived 20 minutes late due to traffic on University Ave (will that construction ever end?), only to discover that her shoes and helmet were not along for the ride. Shoeless wonders unite at the Draft. Watson is in the excellent company of Sandals and Twinkle Toes in those unencumbered by shoe wear.

And here’s a Drafter mystery requiring deductive reasoning to solve: a Drafter arrives early on Monday with a bike, helmet and SHOES but doesn’t ride. The only clue is 5 containers of blueberries. Who do you know that gets more done in a day than most in a week, commutes an hour (each way) to UW, is raising two beautiful girls, and makes a stop to drop off blueberries for Drafters before driving home to sleep off pneumonia???

The A Team convened with a little less kerfuffle. The group was focused on posing for the team photo and welcoming two Newbies, unaware of Twinkle Toes driving by. The group took off, leaving one Drafter behind. Unintentionally, of course. Seems as though both groups were guilty of forgetting something or someone.

The two Newbies made their quads known during the paceline down Schneider. 9 Volt came fully charged. A lesson in neuromuscular training was learned last week during her Devil’s Lake Century when her Shimano Di2 went DiDead. Every descent and flat found her legs spinning over 120rpms just to get some traction. Hard enough to keep up with on a single speed, impossible with a full charge and all gears accessible. The Colonel earned his handle after addressing Vilks as “sir” for the first 10 miles of the ride. The Drafters unanimously voted to promote him to rank of Colonel to avoid having to hear Vilks addressed as sir ever again.

The climb up Enchanted Valley quickly formed two grupettos. For those unfamiliar with the term:

Twinkle Toes, getting a late start (previous Drafter code violation noted), charged up Enchanted Valley and then got shelled by the peloton. Undeterred, he gutted it out for grupetto glory.

The Peloton waited on top of Farview for the first grupetto, made up of BrickO, Hammer and Cujo. A brief reprieve on the descent was met with another climb up Turkey Rd, where Rimshot was last seen pedaling. Out of gears with no place for his chain to go, Rimshot found his derailleur caught up in his rear wheel. Drafter code states, “No Drafter left behind”, but this requires oxygen being delivered to the brain to fully comprehend the code. As Rimshot’s mechanical happened at the steepest part of the climb, only the mosquitos had the gumption to stay behind.

Proof that Duracell and Dan-yelly do indeed Draft! Duracell may not be present for the team photo, but that’s not to say he isn’t in “charge”. Dan-yelly’s tardiness can be explained by the the high standard for fashion she must adhere to, requiring hours to pick out her Drafting socks.

WEEKEND HIGHLIGHTS: Speedy hits the half century mark in style.

IMPORTANT UPCOMING EVENTS: Tour de Dane Femmes! Please see blog from last week for details. All Drafters are encouraged to participate to show their support for the Tour de Dane Femmes, and local bike shops, coffee shops and taverns who support all cyclists in Dane County. There will be a pre-stage and 8 official stages throughout the month of August. Please join BrickO’s Drafters Strava group to complete the challenge.

The route for Monday July 29 is to Lodi Canning Co. Departures at 4:45 and 5PM, with full strength 38 mile and short pour 33mile options.

RidewithGPS link Drafters | Lodi Canning Co.

RidewithGPS link Drafters | Just Shy of Lodi Canning Co. Short Pour

Draft responsibly,

BrickO