June 24: Vintage Velo Night. Spring Valley to Springfield to Bike Path
The Four Seasons may have summed up the night best. The lyrics worked even better when I had miscounted 23 riders. Giddy with the thought of reaching an all-time high Drafter attendance of 23, I revamped the lyrics "late December back in 63" from Oh What A Night. Alas, math skills have eluded me for half a century. Wait, maybe I miscounted and I'm only 49? I didn't have the heart or energy to find a new song to celebrate a tie for the record high 22 riders, so this will have to do.Oh, what a rideLate June summer we had 22What a very special time for meAs I pedaled on, what a nightOh, what a night, you know I didn't even know the routeBut I was never gonna be left outI’m a Drafter, what a nightOh, I, I got a funny feelin' when we turned onto MeekOh my, as I recall it ended much too soonOh what a night, redirectin' GPSing meLodi wasn’t ev'rything I dreamed she'd beSweet surrender, what a night
The best laid plans often go awry, and they did just that on the Lodi Canning Company route. My reconnoissance mission noted the stretch of gravel on Meek Road, which has been left unattended and unpaved for several years. My recon did not decipher the county's plans to dig it up and insert culverts on Monday, June 24 at 6:30PM. I'm sure at their core, the construction crew is a lovely group of men, but their sympathetic overtones to our impasse predicament were unmistakably lacking. Oh what a night. With perfect temperatures and little wind, we were content to reroute and still capture 40 of the finest miles Dane County has to offer.Drone Master was feeling his full watt potential, hanging comfortably with the lead group, and visibly disappointed when Meek ended much too soon. A bit mystified by his new found quad powers, he admitted, "I don't know why I feel so good, but I don't want to turn around yet. Who knows how long this will last?" Sandlot was also feeling the force as she stuck with the lead pack for 11.5 miles. Aware of my propensity for math errors, she was pretty clear that is was 11.5 and not 11.4. Hubby Duchess chimed in with the collective "we". They may stand side by side in marriage, but on a bike, for better, for worse, Sandlot is out front pulling her weight and his for 11.5. You're killing me, Smalls.Kudos to those Drafters who pumped the wattage into their quadage at the Horribly Hilly Hundreds on Saturday, and showed up Monday to Draft: Z Rex, Billy Bob, Loose Screw, Booker J, Knievel and a Newbie, Bond. As in James Bond. Q must have rigged up some sort of metabolic device in lab, cause Bond showed no signs of fatigue on the HHH. And he has stealth mode, unlike the rest of us who give away our position on the climbs with heavy breathing. He did show one sign of weakness. Suffice to say the moniker "Pit Stop" has already been assigned. Although not a MI6 agent with access to Q's R&D, Booker J's legs seemed curiously void of lead. He rode hot into the staging area, not slowing down to drop his book bag into a sag vehicle. Booker J opted for the extra weight as we headed, misguided as it turns out, to Lodi.Kudos to the smarter cohort of Drafters who rode the HHH and elected not to ride on Monday: Bomber, Hundo, Zeno and Rumble. A big thanks to Thing 1 and Vintage, who dutifully made more PB&J sandwiches in one afternoon volunteering at the Graveyard than they have collectively made over their life times.The HHH wasn't the only event on Saturday that deserves recogniton. Drone Master signed up for the Comfortably Flat 25. Not familiar with it? We are currently consulting with Race Day Events and Cronometro, and all the sponsors who made the HHH an epic event experience, to gauge their interest in becoming official sponsors of the Comfortably Flat 25 next year. Other sponsors may include Advil, Evil Twin and Pizza Brutta.
VINTAGE VELO NIGHT: our group has grown dramatically since 2013. To honor our original members, please wear your VINTAGE VELO jersey, the first Drafter jerseys we created. Free beer at the Free House to anyone sporting that jersey.
Next week we will retrace our steps from 2 weeks ago, headed out Enchanted Valley to Spring Valley. Instead of heading back via the Bambi route, we will go north on KP and ultimately wind up on the bike path in Springfield.Garmin Link from Middleton Hills: FH Spring Valley to Springfield to Bike PathNOTE: When we did this route last year, I inadvertently stayed on County Road V, missing the left turn onto Loper (see incriminating evidence below). While this makes for a nice little short cut, I turned back and finished out the ride north on Loper to the intended right turn on Lueth. Be aware of this as your Garmin Link will tell you to do the same. Tick Tock must have been in charge, because we took the bike path home (40miles). Again, this is how the Garmin Link will direct you. Feel free to add on two miles by coming home Baltes to Kick-A-Boo.
SHORT OPTION 38 miles: From Hwy 19, skip going north on KP and travel east past Indian Lake. Then finish with the Cocktail Ride, heading left up Matz Rd to Collins Ridge.
PDF map to download: Spring Valley to SpringfieldDraft responsibly,BrickO