22mph westerly winds gusting up to 35 didn’t discourage 13 hearty Drafters from enjoying an otherwise beautiful night to play bikes.

Shaq and Speedy faced the biggest challenge from a wind to weight ratio. Gutsy in the gusty, these two pedaled fiercely to Martinsville and then called it good. Only a blur of high vis yellow was seen as these two flew home.

Gopher was the first of the A Team to arrive, and made his mark (literally) as he locked em’ up, leaving a sweet streak of rubber on the pavement. Conversely, Vilks rolled in casually at 4:44. With a full minute to spare, he let out a streak of comments about Gopher’s beard, earning him a trip to HR.

Many of the A Team opted to saddle up on gravel steeds, a good stable choice against the ravaging westerlies.

Note LuLu’s salute LuLu to the open window above, where Z Wrecks is on the trainer, pedaling his way back to the Draft.

Given all of the recent shenanigans with federal grant cuts, LuLu is considering a career manufacturing and distributing his cycling ear muffs (patent pending). These carefully crafted muffs were the envy of all the Drafters, who were deafened by the wind as they entered a scene right out of the Wizard of Oz. Please submit payment directly to LuLu Wear, Inc.

Despite being in the company of other WIDE bodies (reference to the model of bike), BrickO’s OPEN seemed to be a bit more sluggish compared to the rest of the herd. Further investigation into the matter raised suspicion that her recently painted OPEN, compliments of NYF Paint, must have been done in lead paint. There was no evidence of power outage due to old age or poor training. Common sense and the powers of deduction lead to this conclusion. Speed is a small sacrifice for going green.

No one dared to take their hands off the bars to capture action photos along the route. There was one image in particular worth a thousand words. As the group rode dutifully in single file down Pheasant Branch Road, BrickO could appreciate the straight line of red lights blinking ahead in the distance (review green lead paint memo). A tractor pulling a large farm implement emerged from a driveway, taking first position in the peloton. The image was glorious and hilarious. The title of this photograph: Sharing the Road

Ruby was grateful to Vilks and LuLu, who earned MVD (most valuable Drafter) honors for pulling the group out Schneider Road, and then going back several times throughout the ride to pull those who fell off the train back to the station. “I have an extremely large rib cage”, Ruby confessed, as she climbed Rauls Rd out of her saddle, turning over the pedals at a blistering 40rpms. Ruby went on to describe other biking battles that she has lost. Ruby vs Stan only lasted one round. Stan’s Tire Sealant was the crowned victor. Not the facial she had hoped for. Vilks had more colorful commentary, but HR restricted the transcript from being released.

Slim drafted most responsibly, opting for a tail wind from Cross Plains to Middleton Bike Park and onto the back porch where he had the fires burning.

A member of junior drafter, dressed appropriately in green (beneath the jacket), brought more heat! Check out these big steps.

A few other big steps to report:

Apex Cycling Team took 1st place at RoughRoad 100 USAC Team Event. The cumulative time of each team’s first 4 riders qualifies them for the podium. Keez took 8th overall, with teammates taking 1st and 3rd. Due to an unfortunate math error, another team took home the 2K cash prize. But hey, money can’t compare to the experience, right??? The smile says it all.

Slim stepped up to instruct some femme gravel grinders in a cornering clinic on Sunday. Everyone left more confident on crushing gravel corners, and scones at Crossroads Coffeehouse. Drafters will have more opportunities to experience these scones as we move towards departures from Crossroads the first Monday of the month starting in May.

Hammer Time wasn’t able to attend, given her bike trip with the Colonel in Mallorca, but has made special arrangements for a tutorial.

The City of Middleton stepped up to answer our pot hole and bike path on Century Ave inquiries. Thanks to all of the Drafters who stepped up to report these issues. Please continue your efforts to improve the cycling infrastructure in our community.

Please reach out to your alderperson. For many here in Middleton, District 6 Alder is Lisa Janairo at district6@cityofmiddleton.us.

So that someday, we can look a bit like this community as described in this article in the New York Times

On tap next week: Backdoor Riley Tavern. This is a 30 mile route past the historic Riley Tavern approaching from the south. Warning: do not follow Gopher’s lead. Historically, this has lead to missing the key cue. Vilks, please note departure times are at 4:30 and 4:45.

RidewithGPS link: Backdoor Riley Tavern

Draft responsibly,

BrickO