Mother Nature saved the best for last. A glorious afternoon, with no wind or threat of rain, sunshine and temps in the mid-70s. The only formidable tasks were capturing all 23 Drafters in a panoramic and avoiding the black walnuts on Paulson Road, just past Riley Tavern.

The group would like to recognize two outstanding Drafters. Or maybe two Drafters standing out 💚.

Skipper once again captured a beautiful photolog of the Riley Tavern route.

Turns out dancing around the black walnuts was only part of the challenge. Z had a hand signal for nuts that kept us all from harm. Vilks tried to facilitate the crossing in Greenway Station at the intersection of Deming Way and Greenway Blvd but struggled to press the right button. It’s a common issue. BrickO nearly lost her head waiting in the crosswalk at the intersection of Donna Dr and Century Ave. Note: electric buses make no sound and will hug the curb to pick up a rider at the cost of picking off a cyclist. All is well that ends well. And that end included a surprise attack and sprint of a life time by Booker J to take the yellow jersey for this year’s Drafter tour!

Perhaps the most exciting part of the finale was meeting our newest Junior Drafter!

Her big brother is happy to show her the ropes at Blackhawk.

It’s been an amazing season. I’m grateful for all of you, to all of you, for Drafting responsibly, together. For being kind. For being there for one another. For leaving no Drafter behind.

Here’s a quick recap of the season. The Drafters had an early start on March 9th, enjoying 23 Drafts (so far… maybe there will be a finale on October 17 or 18, pending many things) covering 689. 15 miles. 60 Drafters enlisted, including 9 newbies. Welcome Barkley, Dr. Dewey, Enrob, Clyde, Supe, Sparky, Denver, Gov & Magellan. The largest attendance was on August 3, with 25 Drafters riding out of Cross Plains on the Beer Float route.

18 Drafters earned their gold start ranking in the 10 and over club: Twinkle Toes, BrickO, Speedy, Duracell, Rimshot, Octane, Knievel, Car Wash, Shaq, Spigot, Cujo, Queenie, Skipper, Presley, Hawkeye, Vilks, Keez & Z. The highest ranking goes to Speedy and Rimshot, with 19 drafts!

We lost a honorable member of our cycling community on July 19. We will honor R.A. every ride buy savoring the feeling of wind through our helmets, putting power through the pedals, however great or small, and advocating for maintained roads and cyclist’s right to be on them.

WEEKEND HIGHLIGHTS:

The Super Club Gravel Series hosted the Wild Hare event in Viroqua on Saturday. The Drafters dominated the field for most fun had. And Herbie dominated the field! Congrats to Vilks, Speedy, BrickO, Spigot, Herbie and Tank on their Driftless adventure.

Congrats to Hawkeye and his little bird of prey on their Badger Challenge.

Hawkeye best keep working on his pace, as the junior known as the Drafter Blond Tornado is lighting it up on the XC field. She may not be the fastest runner, but she leaves no runner behind. At the meet last week in Waunakee, the Blond Tornado paused yards before the finish to wait for a teammate, holding her hand in victory as they crossed the finish line, together.

Footer held the field star for most drafts in 2019 and 2020. She only made one appearance this year on the road, but many on the river. Best of luck to Footer in her upcoming Barefoot competition!

Let the DIRTY DRAFT begin! Monday Oct 5 will kick off the first dirty draft of the season at Blackhawk East Chalet. Membership required. Warm up lap up top (Pine, Twist & Shout, Roller Coaster) at 4:45. A final sweep of the parking lot at 5PM to wrangle late comers, and then meander around and about over to Middleton Bike Park (or not- your ride). There is a fire pit, should anyone think to bring a match and kindling along with your cooler of refreshments. Vilks is in charge of nuts. JUNIOR DRAFTERS: you are invited to join! Vintage and Thing 1 have their A team ready to shred (see video above). Rumor has it that Badger and Gopher also have a Junior Drafter who has been rippin’. ALL NOTIFICATIONS WILL BE SHARED THROUGH GROUPME DIRTY DRAFT (separate from Drafters).

Keep an eye on GroupMe for an impromptu Drafter 50 Finale on Oct 17 or 18, pending weather, interest, and a dozen other variables. This concludes the blog until 2027.

Draft responsibly,

BrickO

This time of year, the numbers fall off as quickly as the leaves, a sign that the Draft is nearing the season’s end. Unlike the leaves, the Drafters stay green. The team looked PRO with 5 in new kits and 4 in Quads We Trust kits. The risk of rain was small and didn’t dampen the enthusiasm to visit the Bridge to Nowhere . Hawkeye was a bit reluctant to get his new Cervelo Aspero 5 (code name Twilight) dirty, but the gravel steed was made for these conditions.

Skipper captured the essence of the Draft beautifully.

The sky started to spit at a key point in the route, where a decision had to be made to beeline home on the bike path, or stay the course. It is unclear if the decision to stay the course was unanimous, or simply made by the lead rider. Either way, Rauls Road ahead was the right call.

Things got a little dark on the homestretch, but the Drafters were able to finish the ride mostly dry.

Cold beer, salty nuts and laughs were shared around the kitchen table. A good sign of a successful draft.

WEEKEND HIGHLIGHTS:

The Chequamegon MTB Festival was a little wet and a lotta’ fun. The Drafters likely accounted for the the majority of female competitors. With less than 100 women in the Cheq40 field, the Drafters represented >5% of competitors! Congrats to Belle, Bomber, Footer, Spigot, Midas, Squeak and BrickO on committing to the mud fest. Bomber set a PR, Spigot shed 30′ off his fat bike time from last year, and Squeak was 2nd on the podium in her first MTB race! Footer accomplished a base, peak, taper and competitive ride all in 40 miles. Well done, Drafters!

Congrats to Cookie Monster, E$, Momma Monster, Sweeps and the BABES , our MN cohort, for crushing the Short and Smart.

Speedy was on the podium, although not until after the awards ceremony when it was ruled that third place Eric was in the wrong division. The Canadian not be denied her Maple Leaf.

Momma Monster had her own sort of podium. Kudos to Belle for creating and arranging with Lifetime to have this 70th birthday banner on display for all to appreciate.

And most impressive, congrats to the Lil’ Monsters of the Junior Draft Team on their Little Loggers race. Both girls raced with serious grit and big smiles.

A little less further north, congrats to McGritty and Barkly on representing the Draft at the Peninsula Century. And a belated congrats to Barkly on her 70.3 WISCO the week prior!

UPCOMING GRAVEL EVENTS: there is plenty of Drafter fun to be had in the weeks to come!

Wild Hare Gravel Sept 26

Hibernator Gravel Oct 3

ONE MORE FOR THE ROAD: Sept 28 will likely be the last dance for the Drafter road season. Wheels up 4:45 to Riley Tavern, 25 mile route.

RidewithGPS Link Drafters | Riley Tavern

With permission from the weather gods, the Dirty Draft will commence the following Monday, Oct 5th and continue through to the Draft Draft season. Meet at BLACKHAWK East Chalet (membership required) at 4:45PM to warm up on the upper loop (Pine, Twist&Shout, Roller Coaster). There will be a final sweep of the parking lot at 5PM and then we will be off! Plan to ride the upper loop (again) and then head down Howling Wolff, over to MBP, and back to BH. Bring beers to enjoy in the chalet or fire pit afterwards. All information will be communicated through the Dirty Draft GroupMe app, no blog posts due to limited staffing.

Draft responsibly,
BrickO

The threat of rain kept the Drafters from facing the Beast of Barlow. Except for Spigot, who bravely challenged the beast on his own. Coach Arms glanced at the Beast, but then took an alternative route. The threat of rain was not going to rob her of an opportunity to enjoy another ride on her loaner bike.

The Beast will have to wait for next year. The Drafters will face Black Widow on Monday, September 21. All wheels up at 4:45 from Middleton Hills for this 27.5 mile adventure.

RidewithGPS link: Drafters | Black Widow

2 WEEKEND HIGHLIGHTS

Welcome to the newest member of the Junior Draft A-Team! Congrats to Vintage and Thing 1, who now holds the QOM at St. Mary’s for the contractions to finish line segment.

In a different kind of Labor Day weekend, the Wright Stuff Century had lots of the right stuff in spring green. Congrats to Tank (freakishly tall in the photo), Herbie, Cujo, Shaq and Barkley on their labors.

Spigot conquered 111 gravel miles in the Gray Duck Grit in MN, giving the event a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating. More appropriately, Spigot was representing the Green Duck Grit.

Labor Day Weekend gave way to Ironman weekend. Congrats to Squeak on her 70.3 National Championship in Nice, France and Gopher on his 70.3 right here in WISCO!.

Congrats to Herbie on P2 position playing in the dirt at the Silver Creek CX race.

The Drafter season will likely conclude at the end of September, giving way to the DIRTY DRAFT!!!! There is a separate GroupMe for those wanting to play dirty. All you need to do is ask, and you shall be added to the list.

Draft responsibly,

BrickO

18 Drafters all in a row. Point them to Missouri Tavern, and away they all go. Welcome back Griz and Maverick! Since her debut appearance back in June of 2025, Maverick has been MIA. Maybe not missing, but definitely in action.

Missing from the line up is Coach Arms, who was eager to Draft with her new demo bike. Coach Arms was shocked to learn bikes can roll down hill without pedal assist. Alas, she was T-boned en route. No bodies or bikes were damaged, but her car required towing. Since hockey season is underway, this might be the closest thing to an action shot off the ice.

Duracell and Speedy missed the photo, but didn’t miss the roll out. The machine of green rode in tight formation north towards Dane. Rimshot tossed out the idea of stopping at The Ranch Saloon, but with Vilks missing from the line up (excused absence, celebrating 30 years with Chief), there was nobody to reinforce bad choices. The group forged ahead to Missouri Tavern.

One small rest stop before Missouri Tavern came at the intersection of 113. A hay truck had a line of cars backed up for a country mile. For once, cars weren’t angry at us. How nice.

At last, Missouri Tavern. Trouble ahead, trouble behind. And you know that notion just crossed my mind 

This is the notion that just crossed our minds.

Forget the stork. Goose made a special delivery. Welcome to our newest Junior Drafter! Congrats Goose and Maverick.

Keez and Twinkle Toes battled it out for the neighborhood KOK/QOM. Twinkle Toes earned bragging rights this week, but did confess that he sand bagged the entire ride in order to win the title.

Every one is a winner when Spigot spends time baking. Snickerdoodle cookies for all. And for our GF Drafters, Spigot went the extra mile and brought treats from Bloom. What a sweet guy.

NO RIDE NEXT MONDAY (LABOR DAY).

On special request from Spigot, the Draft on Monday Sept 14th will include Barlow. Still think he’s sweet? Departure will be from the foot bridge onto Bourbon Street (the one we crossed leaving Crossroads) at 4:45. Recommend parking near Remington’s Tavern at 1821 Main St Cross Plains. Stay after for pizza and beer! This will be a hilly ride so buckle up- full strength 25.8 miles, short pour 21 miles.

RidewithGPS link: Drafters | CP2 Beast of Barlow

RidewithGPS link : Drafters | CP Beast of Barlow Short Pour

Draft resonsibly,

BrickO