We snuck in 15 dry miles last week, and enjoyed the storm safely from our table inside the Free House.  We welcomed two new Drafters, Sarah and Sheila, hereby known as the S Factor, given the storm that ensued.  As I contemplated our string of bad luck with rain on Monday nights shortening our ride, I started to obsess over the odds for a THIRD STRIKE next Monday night.  I found comfort in the words of the great Babe Ruth:

“Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.”  And, “Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game”.

Babe must have had the foresight to sooth my next angst:

“Sometimes when I reflect on all the beer I drink, I feel ashamed. Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery and all of their hopes and dreams. If I didn’t drink this beer, they might be out of work and their dreams would be shattered. I think, ‘It is better to drink this beer and let their dreams come true than be selfish and worry about my liver.”

Let’s hope third time with the Viaduct route is a charm. The 20 mile short cut is to Dane and Back.  Sully will lead the bike path charge around 5:45.

Best of luck to Drafters Dan-yelly and Jackie on their Door County Half Ironman and to K2 on her marathon this weekend!  Kick some butt, Ladies.

The forecast threatened rain but 14 brave Drafters, including newbies Tom and Brad, decided to ride. We definitely felt better with a Cardiologist at our side.

Cut the route short was the plan agreed to by all.  We convened back at the Free House dry and before night fall.  2 Drafters headed home, the remaining dozen engaged in conversations which made for an interesting sound bite.  QUIZ: Which of the following absurd ideas was discussed that night?

A) A Drafter from Ragina (rə-ˈjī-nə) was asked to retire her hockey skates and pads in exchange for fish net stockings and roller skates. Badger to Mad Rollin’ Dolls transformation would be a sight.

B) Three Drafters conjured up a plan to travel Down Under to do a cross country ski marathon race this month.  Training is apparently optional, unless they anticipate Z’ forecast for snow tonight?

C) A Drafter suffered near suffocation when she found her nose buried deep in the bosom of the waitress.  Keeping her cool, she regained her composure and said the Spotted Cow selection was alright.

D) All of these conversations occurred at a volume just below exploding dynamite, which gave the other patrons in the Free House some excite.

The correct answer is D.  Thanks to all who make it out to ride on Monday nights.  A group that enjoys riding hard and laughing harder, drafting responsibly on the bike and at the tap, is a group I am proud to be a part of.

The ride for July 13th will be (pending rain) the Insane Dane ride posted for last week.  It is relatively short (30ish miles).  The 20 mile option is an out and back to Dane.

Draft responsibly,

BrickO

Sometimes it is nice to live with a pilot who has access to really cool radar.  I mean, it is nice to live with him all the time, but when it comes to weather related ride issues, it is REALLY nice. The radar shows RAIN but I think if we leave promptly at 5:30pm (read: we will not wait for stragglers), and shorter the ride to an hour, we might stay dry.

This map shows a longer loop on Kurt.  We will go right on Hyer, which cuts off even more miles.  Never mind that the cue sheet says Left on Kurt.  It should say right, but we are going right well before it says to go left.  Got it?

We ended June with a bang… literally.  13 is my lucky number, but somehow, only 1 of the 13 riders on the Roxbury route last Monday made it home dry and it wasn’t me.  Kudos to Jim for the fastest (and driest) split.  For the rest of us, we were riders on the storm for the last few miles home.  I think we all agree (although no vote was cast) that the route was well worth the wet finish.

13 wasn’t lucky with respect to weather, but it was lucky in bringing an old friend and new rider to bump us up from a dozen.  Welcome outstanding racquetball player (we are going back a few years), accomplished Ironman and overall amazing woman, Karen D to the Drafters.

Tomorrow we hope to ride north through Dane and then head east through the circa 1880 Viaduct towards Wanuakee.  A spectacular ride and much less challenging than Roxbury.  Many shortcuts are available.  Out and back to Dane is 20 miles.  Sully will be leading the bike path charge at 6pm.  The weather is threatening to be nasty.  Anybody up for riding Tue if we have to cancel?

Insane Dane Garmin Link

You pick:
Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things!

~ Julia Andrews, The Sound of Music

OR

Sunshine on my shoulders and bikes that aren’t cheap
Wind at my back and hills that are steep
A ride that ends with beer and chicken wings
These are a few of my favorite things!

~ BrickO, The Sound of Drafters

Please consider sharing in the latter by signing up for TYRANENA’S OKTOBERFEST BIKE RIDE (30, 50 or 70 miles).

Register for Tyranena Here

Confession: I was actually doing a rain dance on Monday in hopes of a justifiable, legitimate Drafter cancellation.  When that failed (seems as though my kids aren’t the only ones who don’t appreciate my dance moves), I settled for the gusty wind excuse.  Truth be told- I was just out of gas. The tank is now full of high octane fuel (chocolate stout, mostly).  Let’s rock the Roxbury Tavern route on Monday.

Garmin Link

I guess you can’t technically cancel a ride that isn’t officially sponsored.  So, ride at your own risk.  I will not be there.  Drafting at gusts of 24 mph is not drafting responsibly.

New flash: Hell froze over and Jackie consumed a draft at the Terrace on Friday.  Known for her love of iced tea, she surprised us all with this “mug”.  Jackie also rocked the Horribly Hilly Hundreds on Saturday. I interviewed two HHH riders. One gave me this: “It was awful.  There was hail, torrential down pour, and wind.”  Jackie gave me this: “It was actually pretty good.  It rained and then let up.  I’m not that sore so was looking forward to the ride tonight.”

Sorry, Jackie.  Mother Nature won this round.  Let’s convene next week for the Roxbury ride.

BrickO

What better way to honor the summer solstice (albeit a day late) than a long ride to squeeze every last drop of sunlight out from the sky?  I can think of none.  This new route flat out rocks.  Dr. Corr, in anticipation of missing the Draft while driving back home to NY on Monday, rode recon today.  PLEASE be careful on Indian Trail… it needs some love.  Riding on Hwy 19 sucks, no two ways about it.  Fortunately, we aren’t on it long.  As always, ride at your own risk and draft responsibly.

The Roxbury route is 40 miles, with a shorter 25 mile loop.  Hopefully, the Garmin link will work.  If not, see map below.

Garmin Link (if it works….)

Z’weather cooperated beautifully.  Seven Drafters convened as the skies cleared to enjoy 40 dry, gorgeous miles past Lodi Marsh.  We are very happy with our two new draft picks.  We welcomed the last NBA draft pick from Davidson College since Stephan Curry. How’s that for a double entendre?  Riding behind Cliff provides a unique draft experience, sort of how I imagine riding in a vacuum.  Representing the XX field, we had a ringer.  Cindi is an eight-time USA Triathlon All American and a two-time Hawaii Ironman World Championship finisher AND, she has golden hands. You won’t settle for less after a therapeutic massage with Cindi.  I speak this truth from the heartstrings and the hamstrings.

Enjoy this draft:

Here’s the deal…. the forecast is never 100% accurate.  Take Saturday, for instance.  Three Drafters set out on a 50 mile quest from a cabin up nort’ with promises of no precipitation from our trusted meteorologist.  5 miles in, the drizzle started.  With 10 miles left to go (most of those unintentional, thanks to BrickO’s inability to read a map), we were smitten as the rain pelted at our unsuspecting and unprepared bodies.  Luckily, our fuel source (peanut butter, oatmeal, M&M cookies compliments of Drafter Christa) were safely stored in ziplock bags.  If I could have crawled in to the ziplock, I would have.  Let this be a lesson to bring rain gear this evening, or at least a bigger ziplock.  The forecast looks pretty green (not grim), with very little weather in the yellow or red zone.  Unless there is thunder, lightening or an absolute downpour, I will likely be there in my new George Hincapie rain booties to ride. The booties were on close out.  You can be the judge of why they were nearly free….