Mother Nature has intervened. When it rains, it hails. She has been kind all Drafter season. We had one cancellation in March, due to 40 degree temperatures and 40 knot winds. I’d say she was overdue for some inclement weather on a Monday night. She kindly provided sunshine for two outdoor weddings (Congratulations to Coaches Cindi and Steve who were married last Saturday).
We will try again next Monday, Sept 26 to wrap up the outdoor season. Spin starts Monday Oct 10th. Please email me if you are interested and haven’t signed up.
Lyrics to “Celebration” by Kool and the Gang, cannibalized by BrickO for the Drafters
Celebrate good times, ride on!
(Let’s celebrate)
Celebrate good times, ride on!
(Let’s celebrate)
There’s a triathlon goin’ on right here
An Ironman in Madison every year
So bring your wetsuit and your goggles too
We gonna celebrate, swim, bike and run with you
Come on now, celebration
Let’s all eat GU and have a good time
Celebration
We gonna hydrate and have a good time
MadPower McKaylah takes 6th place in her 1st IMArmed and DangerousStevie 8th Wonder smokes his 1st IMDr. M-Dott earns his letter and joins the IM family (literally, his daughter-in-law went to Kona)
Not pictured: Bare Ace in his umptienth IM
It’s time to ride together
It’s up to you, is a century or LoToJa your pleasure?
Everyone around Door County, Utah and Wyoming ride on!
Yahoo!
It’s a celebration
Yahoo!
Tobacco City Boy, Dan-yelly and Human Metronome conquer the Door County CenturyBrickO at LoToJaTeam InCompetition LoToJa Relay: friends sharing 208 miles and lifeZ provided superb sag support at LoToJa and also spent time in the saddle
There’s a Drafter party goin’ on right here,
One last ride before we Spin throughout the year
I know there are still events on the calendar. Good luck to Speed Skater Susan and Chalex on The Ride Sept 18. Link to register for The Ride Dr. Dreamy has an IM in St.Louis and KiloWatt will kill her first triathlon in Lake Geneva on Sept 24.
Last call: the weather continues to cooperate but day light is fading fast. the weather continues to cooperate but day light is fading fast. I would like to sneak in one last very short ride to celebrate a wonderful Drafter season. The Hyer Loop is 20miles, with a bike path option for an even shorter journey home.
Who do you think of when you hear the names Sean Connery, Pierce Brosnan, Roger Moore and Daniel Craig? The name is Legs. Long Legs.
Arms and Legs bond on the Edgewater Pier
007 was the riding style for the Draft on Monday night. B2 Bomber and Billy Boy McC were warmed up from their damp 175 mile Ride Across Wisconsin and ready to rumble. Blue Hare Lucio put down the hammer (she would like it noted for the Drafter record that the max speed achieved this season was 46mph), sharing pace line pulls with the Bomber, while the remaining dozen agents tucked in for a long summer’s draft. Billy Boy was looking for more adventure than what the 27mile Easy Street route had to offer. He was sighted riding on 113, en route to I90-94, dodging in and out of traffic with help from his aero bar end mirrors, compliments of Q. When asked why he didn’t have a helmet mirror as part of his navigation system, the 6’5″ Irishman said that he couldn’t afford the extra drag. He’s a special kind of agent. NBA recruit Cliff could have used help from a secret service agent after locking his keys in his car, along with his bike. Doc T-Wall rode in silence to honor his bikeless friend and promised to write him a long overdue prescription for a statin. The battle against cholesterol can be won with exercise (and a whiskey chaser), which is why Slow Cow might also need a Rx for a statin. Once again he shorted the ride, making his debut just south of Dane. Slow Cow is one of the organizers for The Ride on Sept 18. Be prepared for well marked short cuts, complete with fueling stations. Entry fee includes a bumper sticker “Almost 100 miles”.
There will be NO RIDE on Labor Day, Sept 5 or the following Monday, Sept 12. Enjoy your family and friends, and take a break from the saddle. Quads can feel crappy on rides at this point in the season. It happened to me (a first). Don’t let it happen to you. Let the taper for Ironman begin. It is the best part of training! Good luck to the IM-WI Drafters: Arms, MadPower McKaylah, Scrubs’ beau (you really need your own nickname- I will work on that), Bare Ace, GoGo Groshek, Dr. M-Dott. There isn’t much fitness that can be gained between now and race day, so trust in your physical preparations and get geared up mentally.
Angry Bird makes for a crappy ride
Lastly, on Sept 5, I would like to honor our friend and fellow Drafter, Anne Flaten. Two years ago on this day, we said goodbye. Embrace each day, it is a gift, even the crappy ones. Live to the fullest extent possible. Treat others kindly. Call your Mom. Hug your kids. Pet the cat. Watch the sun set and the moon rise- these are jewels worth treasuring. Feel the wind blow, listen to the birds, walk barefoot in the grass, ride your bike. These are the magical moments in life. I’m thankful for all of you, and proud to Draft along side you.
Fire House 50 with best friend Pam
Living fully 1 week Post-Dx
Anne and Pam make friends at a bike stop in Amsterdam
There is nothing easy about the weekend ahead for the Drafters signed up to Ride Across Wisconsin. B2 Bomber and Billy Boy McC will be pedaling 175 miles from Dubuque to Kenosha with Jens Voigt and 1200 other cycling enthusiasts. Check list: chamois cream, sunscreen, chamois cream, beer tickets.
And there was nothing easy about last weekend’s Wisconsin Criterium Championship in downtown Middleton. Blue Hare Lucio claimed fourth in the women’s open. In an exclusive interview, Blue Hare shared her strategy of pulling ahead in the technical “down” town portion of the race- it was the “up” town segment, particularly Parmenter, that kept her from gold. Welcome to the hills of Wisconsin, my Floridian friend- although you did take up residency in CO prior to WI- did you only practice biking down the mountain or is it something in the water here?
Blue Hare Lucio’s bike set up. Notice the WI race day hydration selection.
The Drafters Dance Team made a debut on the Edgewood Terrace Sunday evening. There was talk of a dance off with the 2005 Badger Women’s Hockey team, but the largely Canadian contingent seemed off balance without ice under their feet.
With all of that excitement combined with the post-dog days of summer rapid loss of daylight, we will be doing a short and sweet ride down easy street in Waunakee. CAUTION: there is a short stretch on 113 that is nasty, and can be avoided by crossing the highway and getting onto the bike path. Please consider this option, which requires 10 yards of riding across grass. It’s worth the cross country adventure to get off of 113.
What a week to celebrate. In cycling news, B2 Bomber averaged 26.0 mph for the 90mile race around Lake Winnebago on Sunday. There was no evidence of fatigue during the Monday night Draft, however, causing some to speculate that he is part alien. Despite a wet start, several Drafters braved the Dairyland Dare on Saturday. Congrats to Dan-yelly, Tobacco City Boy, Z and the Human Metronome on a spectacular finish. And ON WISCONSIN in Rio, as Gwen Jorgensen took gold in the Olympic triathlon. A shout out to Cindi Bannink, a world champion, drop-in Drafter and coach for the gold medalist in her formative years.
Shifting focus to the social scene, Arms and Legs are tying the knot on Sunday. We are anticipating a jump in the national height average for the next generation. Another Drafter aging event to celebrate: Happy 30+ to Tobacco City Boy (TCB). Cycling is an forgiving sport with respect to age, as we saw in the Olympics with Kristin Armstrong taking gold a day before her 43rd birthday. Billy Boy just celebrated his 60th, and despite being 2x the age of TCB, motored up Matz as if age didn’t matter, and notably faster than last year. The term “Golden Years” is taking on a new meaning.
This week we will head west to tackle Union Valley. Please put on your head phones and “Let it Be”
When I find myself on Union Valley
Jackie and Tim won’t be there with me
Speaking vows of wedding, let them be.
And in my hour of climbing
B2 Bomber is miles in front of me
Speaking words of cycling wisdom, let him be.
And when the rain soaked cyclists
Riding the Dairyland Dare agree,
There will be sunshine eventually, let it be.
And though we may be aging there is
Still a chance that we will see
There will be a finish line, let it be
Let it be, let it be.
Kristin Armstrong’s 3rd consecutive gold medal in the Olympic Time Trial at age 42 and 364 days old is inspiring, and a reminder that our body only adapts when we make demands on it do do so. Hurting and being hurt aren’t synonymous. If you want to be better, it’s gonna hurt. Coach Jim Bruskewitz, who provided workouts for the Olympian, offers this insight, “The body, with mental assistance, will launch itself well beyond what it has come accustomed to.” No matter what level you hope to achieve, shoot high. You won’t know your full potential until you fall short.
With that, good luck to our competitors this weekend at the Dairyland Dare and Race the Lake events.
The route for Monday is one of the more tame rides, both in terms of distance (30 and 25mile options) and terrain. The last time I posted this route, I may have inadvertently directed riders the wrong way on Lodi Springfield, creating a third longer option. Right on. The routes will get shorter commensurate with the length of the days. Hopefully, we will lose a bit of heat along with the daylight. If you are feeling a bit of hyperthermia, I suggest you strategically position yourself close to Loose Screw, who is two for two on spilling a pitcher of water on Drafters sitting in his vicinity at Free House. Must be a function of becoming a sexagenarian. Happy 60th Birthday to Loose Screw and Billy Boy McC.
Download this PDF for info on Coach Jim Bruskewitz EP Coaching He’s not just a coach for elite athletes. He’s effective for all level of cyclists and triathletes. I can vouch for that.
Name of a movie about 6 MIT students who were trained to become experts in card counting and subsequently took Vegas casinos for millions in winnings
The 2016 winter solstice falls on this day in December
Tim and Jackie are getting married on this day in August, 2016
Legal drinking age
The average mph for B2 Bomber’s recovery ride
They match the all time high number of Drafters…21! We welcomed 3 newbies to our largest ride of the season (actually, ever): Thing 1 and Thing 2, representing a new crop of PT students, and Dr. Dreamy, significant other of 3 Square.
Can you see the resemblance to the girls on the right?
CONGRATS : The Wright Stuff Century last Sat was an extraordinary event, with roads I’ve never traveled and Wisconsin weather that doesn’t get any better. Congratulation to Billy Boy McC on completing his first official century, along with Dr. Watt, Z and Vilks. Rumor has it that Dr. Watt went sub-6 since trading in his 20 pound steel Surly for a carbon fiber Orbea, but I am waiting for official Garmin confirmation. Vilks gets a special award for wanting to finish the event after being T-boned at mile 86 by an inattentive driver. Unfortunately, the bike had 2 tacos for wheels. Thanks to Z for providing medical attention. Note to self: it is nice to travel with a surgeon. Congrats to Christa on her 50mile Time Trial relay finish- a team that included her mom!
How cool to finish a 50mile TT relay with your Mom!
The route for Monday is a solid 40 miles (Garmin from my house, so probably 42ish) and includes Black Hill (emphasis on Hill) and Crystal Lake. I’ve included a short cut home on the bike path in case the Human Metronome starts making demands. I’m also posting a 32 alternate route “South of Lodi” for those who are looking to avoid darkness. PLAN TO BE BACK BY 8PM FOR SAFETY REASONS. This is a good reminder to have a tail light.
A record setting evening: 40 miles covered, 20 mph averaged, 19 Drafters drafted.
3 new riders were largely responsible for the blistering pace. Welcome Floridan phenom, Luci. When I think of Florida, blue hairs come to mind. The tortoise doesn’t stand a chance against this Blue Hare. Welcome Badger sports nutritionist, Rachel. I’m not sure that changing my diet would decrease the gap, but I am requesting the recipe for her 3 Squares. Lastly, accomplished Birkie skier, Brandan B, serendipitously intercepted us on the route and committed to the Draft. The B2 Bomber definitely gave Blue Hare and 3 Square a target to chase down.
Shakespeare once said, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet”. Two roses are up for a name change. Quinoa has transformed into Chrissy Kilowatt. Her soccer legs (which scare the crap out of me) have made the transition from kicking a ball to kicking butt on the bike. Freezin’ for a Reason will formally change her name in Aug when wedding bells ring, so it seems a fitting time to upgrade her Drafter handle. Several of the newbies referred to Coach Freezin’ as “the one with arms”. While all of the Drafters have 2 arms, only Coach has biceps , triceps and deltoids chiseled out of stone. Kilowatt and Arms are officially registered in the Draft log.
I struggle with numbers. Just ask my banker. But I thought it would be fun to look back over the season and give you a numeric review. These data were not collected via survey, but are based on my personal communication and therefore are subject to misinterpretation and underestimation. I’m quite sure I missed a few things, but for sure, I am not exaggerating.
There have been 15 rides from mid-March thru July, with only 1 cancellation due to 40 degree temperatures and howling wind. 42 have joined the 2016 Draft, 18 women and 24 men. Slightly over half are return Drafters from 2015. The range of riders per night has been 6-19 , 12.3 on average (the 0.3 must include Slow Cow since he usually takes a short cut and therefore doesn’t count as a full rider). I don’t know the average age, but the youngest are college students (early 20s) and the oldest are in their 60s, including 2 retirees (or at least semi-retired). The dominating profession is health care: 7 PTs, 5 orthopedic surgeons, 2 sports medicine physicians, 2 nurses, 1 cardiologist, 1 RD, 1 chiropractor and 1 pharmacist. We have 4 engineers, 3 attorneys, and 3 pilots (if you include a Drone pilot). Nearly a dozen Drafters are former collegiate athletes from soccer, tennis, rowing, ice hockey, cross country and basketball (including a NBA recruit) teams along with elite speed skaters and Jr Olympic X-country ski racers. We have 6 Ironman finishers (majority multiple IMs), with 3 more to be added to that list in Sept, and 6 multiple Birkie finishers (probably more than I am not aware of), including elite and 2nd wave guys. We have 3 folks who are committed commuters, choosing to pedal instead of guzzle gas. Most impressively, we have a group committed to getting better instead of staying the same, pushing their envelopes rather than sealing them.
When I finish a Monday night Draft, I have a feeling of pride, happiness, fulfillment, connection and exhaustion. I want to thank all of you for sharing your energy for cycling and passion for life. In this grim state of humanity throughout the world, I am thankful for the time we spend together, pedaling, gasping for air, drinking beer and laughing (listed in chronological order, not necessarily order of importance). Thank you for taking care of each other on the road and in many cases, in life.
In this spirit, I propose a ride taking us back to a simpler time. We will travel under Dane’s historic viaduct, built with two distinctly different types of stone, limestone and sandstone. According to Bridgehunter.com, “It was built in 1881 by the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad and modified in 1896. The datestone on the west side reads, 1896 while the datestone on the east side reads, 1881.” I’m getting a bit fluffy with this blog (blame it on the whiskey), but I do find riding under this bridge to be a magical experience as I think about the amazing people who have done so before me for the past 135 years. I hope that I can leave a mark on the world as positive and structurally sound for those who pass through after me.
Short options: out and back to Dane 20miles, or stay on Viaduct direct to Duroven 30miles
Two of our Drafters are currently enjoying trip with Cyclesport Travel in the Alps and were inspired to comment on my previous post in French: “Bonjour Mme. Stacey! Mauvaises directions? Toi? Jamais!!!”
With a little help from Google translate, I’ve come to appreciate that Billy Boy might have made a valid point: “Hello Mrs . Stacey ! Bad directions ? You? Never!!!”
True that. On further inspection, it seems that I forgot a key turn right turn onto V, erroneously directing you to proceed straight onto Loper, which would have been impossible and likely resulted in poison ivy. Please see correction on PDF map below. And, there is a much more straightforward option to come home early. When on Breunig and attempting to cross 12, you could, should the spirit move you, just head home on the bike path.
If you chose to join Bill and Tim in the Alps, follow these directions for the Col de la Madeleine
If you are not in France, download this PDF for directions to the ride Monday: Enchanted to Church
Here are three opportunities to tour some beautiful WI terrain in July, Aug and Sept. Not excited about riding a full century? No problem. All have shorter (and longer for the DLD) options.
brickosdrafters 
You must be logged in to post a comment.