From 90 degrees and humid to arm warmers. August is full of surprises. 19 Drafters made their wardrobe selections and headed north towards Crystal Lake. Welcome back, Octane! He broke is wing 6 weeks ago. It is good to have him back in flight.

Gopher saw his shadow and decided to go back home. Vilks had some subtle thoughts to point out.

The northerly winds blew Skipper into prime photography position as the flock flew out Pheasant Branch Rd.

As expected, the climb up Woodland broke up the band. Vilks, Rimshot and the Iowegian Aviators, Gopher and Hawkeye, did the lion’s share of the work for the male division. Hammer Time was tasked with keeping BrickO in tow. Skipper hung in there, dutifully capturing the carnage.

The white caps (more like green caps) on Crystal Lake confirmed the ferociousness of the northerly wind.

Birds take flight: Goose and Hawkeye with a great blue heron off to the right (not pictured) in echelon formation, withHammer Time and Rimshot in flight formation. Vilks migrated to the back to capture the migratory pattern.

The flock turned onto Mussen Rd and finally got a tail wind to ruffle their feathers.

One particular bird really stood out. A rare bread, this Parfait is to be celebrated.

Cujo and Skipper discussed a “hybird” (hybrid bird) with Skipper’s calves and Cujo’s quads. That might put Goose off the podium for most exquisite bird.

WEEKEND HIGHLIGHTS:

Congrats to Keez on finishing Gravel Worlds, her first gravel race with the Pros!

Keez wasn’t the only one to hike a bike over the weekend. Shaq conquered her longest gravel race yet at CoonFork40, opting to walk the sandy sections. What better time to eat a waffle with sand between your toes? Smart fueling strategy. Congrats to Spigot and JRad for also completing the CoonFork40.

To the north, more dirty drafter action. Congrats to Momma Monster on the Pre-Fat!

Sweeps understand the importance of having her Junior Drafter get an early start to follow in the pedal strokes of these fierce women.

The highlight reel from the previous week was missed due to a rainout. Here’s a recap:

Spigot let it flow at Race the Lake.

Air Bourne lived up to his name.

Almost as exciting as clearing that gap is the arrival of his Drafter jersey!

Tour de Dane Femmes Standings:

What a week in women’s racing! With only 5 days left in the tour, there are still points to be won. Cujo once again racked up the highest grand total of 243 miles, with Keez enduring the longest single day on a bike with 151. BrickO achieved the greatest elevation challenge, living up to the motto, “when in doubt, climb”. But what about POINTS??

Hammer Time is in the polka dot jersey, with epic Alp d’ Blue and horribly hilly hundreds stages.

Speedy held the TT record up Stagecoach early in the week, thanks to a jolt of caffeine, but Cujo stole green later that day. But showing her spirit wasn’t broken, Speedy and her Junior Drafter crushed Stage 6 and two ice cream cones.

Cujo has been frothing at the mouth to earn the yellow jersey. As this point, it will be hard to accumulate more miles without a motor.

Shaq continues to look pretty in pink, although dutifully wearing green.

Strong work, Femmes. Let’s wrap it up! ALL 8 stages need to be completed in order to be in the running for a points jersey. Should one person hold more than one jersey, the Femme next in line shall be crowned. Be sure to turn in your data sheets by Sept 1. GO GET IT!!!

IMPORTANT UPDATES

** NO DRAFT NEXT MONDAY DUE TO LABOR DAY HOLIDAY

** FINAL DRAFT & PARTY SUNDAY SEPT 28 IN RIDGEWAY. Please note, pending weather that weekend, back up date Sunday October 12.

**NEXT DRAFT SEPT 8th LEAVES FROM CROSSROADS COFFEEHOUSE at 4:45. Please text pizza orders by NOON on Monday. Cheese, pepperoni, delux or veggie.

Full strength 34 mile and short pour 24 mile options.

RidewithGPS Drafters| Crossroads Coffeehouse Short Pour

RidewithGPS Drafters | Crossroads Coffeehouse

Draft responsibly,

BrickO

21 Drafters set out for Indian Lake. Reconstruction of Parmenter to Hwy 12 was easily navigated, but the deconstruction of Indian Trail and Matz Road only benefited Hawkeye and other dentists. Hold on to your fillings. Holy cobbles, Bat Man.

This game day report will be relayed through Skipper’s photos, as the blog editor is recovering from hypoxia. Cogent content is unlikely. Although the reader may not notice a change in mentation for blog shenanigans.

Divide and conquer. The A Team established itself after the climb up Church. Perhaps they filled their bottles with holy water?

The cobbles of Matz Rd split the A Team. Vilks, Hammer, LuLu and Hawkeye burned up the road. Or was that smoke coming from the candles on Hawkeye’s cake? HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Hawkeye !!! Z, Twinkle Toes and Skipper looked toward the silo, the Dane County version of the Giant on the Col du Tourmalet in the Pyrenees.

Where are Keez and Rimshot, you might ask? The hills were not calling to them, as they wisely opted for the scenic bike path down Highway 12. Sounds like a Bob Dylan song in the making. The rationale behind their strategy will be revealed shortly.

The B Team bravely bypassed the short pour bike path option, charging full strength ahead to climb Rauls Road. And Woodland Rd. And Pheasant Branch. The trifecta of pain otherwise adverted on the bike path.

The boys hit the home stretch on Pheasant Branch. Just minutes away from a rehydration station.

My, how these boys have changed. Vintage lost a few feet of hair and his Junior Drafter has grown about as much. Curious selection of toys….

WEEKEND HIGHLIGHTS:

Representing our Junior Drafter MTB Team, Minnow Monster let er’ rip on the CAMBA trails. Cookie Monster captured this footage while drafting responsibly behind her daughter. E$ is priming Mellow Monster for the same.

No stranger to podiums, congrats to Squeak on her USA Triathlon Age Group National Championships success! I’m sure the Midas touch didn’t hurt.

Congrats to Keez on her longest gravel grinder yet. You know you are from Wisco when your 135 mile weekend ride covers the “Cheese Triangle”.

And you know what goes well with cheese? Beer. These two Drafters conquered the Great Taste Midwest Beer Festival. Strong work, Skipper and Rimshot.

A special shout out to Rimshot on his humanitarian work. Giving selflessly, Rimshot worked tirelessly to help set up the beer function. It is no wonder he was out of gas for the ride. In other humanitarian and beer drinking news, the Drafters are honored to have been selected to display a bejeweled and bedazzled beer bong. This work of art was hand crafted by Ruby’s wife during her college years at UW-Madison and is a revered family heirloom displayed proudly on the family refrigerator. Ruby does caution looking but not touching the work of art, as the beer bong is not BPA free.

Tour de Dane Femmes Standings:

They GC battle is heating up. Total mileage for last week went to Keez with 276, just nudging out Cujo with 201 miles. Keep in mind- those data are only for one week. The yellow jersey will go to the Femme with the most total miles in the month of Aug.

The battle in the mountains for the polka dot jersey currently is uncontested, with Sweeps in the lead!

The speedsters are racing for the green jersey, with Hammer Time taking the QOM on Stage 3 Cross Plains Time Trial by 0.1s over Cujo, who currently holds the QOM for Stage 4 Stagecoach Sprint.

The Femme in pink is currently Shaq! She made her attack this weekend. Let’s see if she can hold on!

On tap for Monday Aug 18 is Crystal Lake (dubbed Crystal Cat after the heroic rescue of a farm kitten by Squirrel and Keez years ago). Full strength 35 miles, short pour 26 miles. Departure time 4:50 for both groups. I know, I know. The TimesThey Are A-Chanin’. More Bob Dylan Trying to be respectful of those with less flexible work hours.

RidewithGPS link Drafters | Crystal Cat Short Pour

RidewithGPS link Drafters| Crystal Cat

Draft responsibly,

BrickO

21 Drafters came out to play with the Beast. This route likely tapped the most elevation gain of the season. Sweeps developed a “special relationship” with the Beast of Barlow. When asked how she did on the beastly climb, her positive response, “Well, I didn’t tip over.” That’s an award winning attitude, and one not shared by several drafters. You know who you are. Keez. “But, Mom, why would we climb Braun when we could just take KP back to Crossroads?” Because, my love, “When in doubt, CLIMB!”

Crossroads has vexed Nemo and Sherlock. Last month, it was a forgotten helmet that delayed the mother-daughter. This month, it was a forgotten car. In for repairs, the two realized too late that they needed to bike to the start. This action photo gives a sense of the speed Nemo is generating. She’s the Flo-Jo of cycling.

Their faux pas was appreciated by Ruby, who came in hot and was able to connect with the tardy duo. Jumping to the end, the finish photos say it all.

Ok, back to what happened in the middle for the rest of the Drafters. Pretty simple. Vilks, despite 124 miles and 11k feet of climbing on Saturday led the way. Hawkeye and Gopher, the representatives from Iowa, baited him with a few break away maneuvers, but Vilks wasn’t taking the bait.

It was good to have Car Wash back in the line up after a shoveling incident messed with his low back. Never let gardening chores get in the way of cycling! This route was not exactly a gentle return to the Draft, but he hung in there. Fully charged, Duracell made his debut with the lead group.

A huge thanks to Abby and her crew at Creekside Scoop for hosting us each month. The pizzas were hot, the ice cream was cold and the beer au jus was fabulous.

The Michelin star was only in part awarded for the fine au jus. The pizza is also worthy. Vilks, having stole a slice of pepperoni from Coach Arms last time, was prepared to share his pie. Alas, the Coach was celebrating in Canada with her family. HBD, COACH ARMS!

WEEKEND HIGHLIGHTS:

Tour de Dane Standings:

Pretty in pink, Speedy is out front. Not only did she complete Stage 7 Mountain Momma and Stage 2 LBS Love in the same day, she exceeded expectations by delivering treats to Trek West, which was beyond the tour route.

Nobody has entered the mountain stage, but our speedster in green is Shaq after hammering Stage 3 Cross Plains Time Trial. She also picks up some pink points by enjoying some coffee at Crossroads Coffeehouse.

RACING OUTSIDE OF THE TOUR

Congratulations to the Drafter Finishers at Dairyland Dare. Vilks dared go under 7 hours for 124 miles and nearly 11,000 feet of climb. Cujo was right on his wheel for the first 75 miles and broke the 8 hour barrier. Spigot and Tinker has a strong 100 mile finish as well!

In other endurance events, Shaq conquered the Best Dam Bike Tour, riding 150 miles over the weekend.

Switching from pavement to water, CONGRATULATIONS to Footer on two silver medals at Barefoot Nationals in Florida!! One medal for each foot. And CONGRATS to The Legend on being National Champion!

An Ironman Simulation was happening down at Law Park. Midas and MultiSport were there to support Tree of Rown on her next Iron challenge. Go get em!

On tap for Monday Aug 11: one route to Indian Lake 31 miles, with an option to take the bike path home 29 miles. Highway 19 has been repaved, with a VERY wide shoulder and rumble strip for protection.

One departure time of 4:45PM. The bike path home isn’t exactly a short pour. Given that Missouri Tavern is on the bike path, you may find an extra pour on that route.

RidewithGPS Link Drafters| Indian Lake

RidewithGPS Link Drafters | Indian Lake Bike Path Home

Draft responsibly,

BricKO