July 22: Spring Valley with a Northern Twist (and hopefully no closures or pea gravel)
The full moon spawned a wild ride for 18 Drafters. We were a smooth blend of new and old: C Monster, Tobacco City Boy and Z Rex retrieved their circa 2014 Velo jerseys from storage while new additions Pipes and Thing 1 cut off the tags from their recently arrived 2019 Hincapie kits.
Fashioning neither vintage nor brand spankin' new Drafter kits, Cannibal opted for the Peter Sagan look. The green jersey wasn't the only striking similarity to the Tour de France sprinter phenom. It is hard to ignore (or stop staring, for that matter) Cannibal's tree stump legs. But, let's not focus on the superficial. Hell, some of us can't focus at all. Pipes arrived early only to realize she had left her water bottles on the kitchen counter. Back in the parking lot with minutes to spare until wheels-up (or wheels down? I don't know if the flight analogy works), the Drafters were amused as she unloading her bike, one sock on, one sock off. Preparations seemed to working in reverse, as the other sock came off and helmet dropped to the ground. And that's when I realized what else was amiss... the front wheel. This is a first for the Draft. Tough Girl has forgotten shoes, BrickO her sunglasses, but never a front wheel. The annual end of the season awards ceremony may have a new category. In fairness to Pipes, when she does focus, you best step aside and let the woman kick ass. See Humbled podcast below. You will truly be humbled.
Link to Humbled Podcast: Karen Kraft Rigsby
The Back Door to Church route threw us a curveball. Actually, not so much a curveball as freshly laid pea gravel on the Blue Mounds Trail. Similar to Stage 10 in the Tour, the group split, half deciding to take the long clockwise way around the Blue Mounds Tr loop and the other half taking the shorter counter-clockwise direction. Technical note: unlike the Tour, the longer way is always the correct route on Monday night. This caused a serious gap between the lead group (lead group being singular, Bond), chase group and those Drafters who were off the Peloton (namely Pipes and BrickO, due to aforementioned Unicycle debacle 20 min delay).
The ride was hot and dry and the support vehicles weren't able to navigate the pea gravel on Blue Mounds Tr, leaving the Drafters thirsty. Ask and you shall receive. The back door to Church provided water from the holy hose.
Duchess needed more than water from a hose to rectify his physiological situation. Sandlot had her medical kit, and rendered aid, once again. As I came across the dynamic duo in Cross Plaines, Duchess looking 3 shades of pale begging for an IV as Sandlot dutifully wiped his brow, the Paul McCartney song "Maybe I'm Amazed" came to me.Maybe I'm amazed at the wayYou pull me all the timeAnd maybe I'm afraid of the wayI draft youMaybe I'm amazed at the wayYou pulled me out of timeYou put me on the lineMaybe I'm amazed at the wayI really need youMaybe I'm a manMaybe I'm a bonking manWho's in the middle of somethingThat he doesn't really understandMaybe I'm a manMaybe you're the only womanWho could ever help meSandlot, won't you help me to understand?Maybe I'm a manMaybe I'm a dehydrated manWho's in the middle of somethingThat he doesn't really understandMaybe I'm a manAnd you're the only womanWho could ever help meSandlot, won't you help me to understand?Maybe I'm amazed at the wayYou're with me all the timeAnd maybe I'm afraid if I don’t get an IVMaybe I'm amazed at the wayYou help me ride alongYou right me when I'm wrongMaybe I'm amazed at the wayI really need youWhoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,Yeah, yeahWhoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoaYeah, yeahAll is well that ends well. 18 Drafters made their way safely back to the Free House, in the hood of darkness, guided by an eerie and magical full moon. Songs were sung. Two, in particular. Happy Birthday was sung out of tune but with enthusiasm to celebrate Speedy (and MegaWatt, who aged up the day before). The full moon inspired Bond to break into Bonnie Tyler's iconic "Total Eclipse of the Heart".
Not to get too sappy, but I appreciate all of you. The Drafters are much more than a group of people who ride bikes together on Monday night. We are a family who celebrates the simple joy of turning the pedals, understands the overpowering drive to hammer to claim the town sign, waits for those who bonk or forget their front wheel, share in births, birthdays, graduations, deaths and everything trivial in between that is the essence of life. Thank you all for joining the Draft, for being the Draft.Let's see if I can buck the trend of proposing a route that includes road closure or pea gravel. No promises. We are going to do 38 mile route, Spring Valley with a Northern Twist. The Pine Rd short cut lops off 10 miles.
PDF map to download: Spring Valley with Northern Twist Cue SheetGarmin: Garmin link FH Spring Valley with a TwistDraft responsibly,BrickO