Aug 23 Cannibal Special

As Joe Cocker predicted, the Drafters Came Together

Here come old Cannibal, he come grooving up slowly
He got gin-gin garden drink, he one holy Drafter
He got quads down to his knee
Got to be a Drafter he just aimin’ to please

He wear no green shine, he got purple road ride
He got ruby red bike shoes, he shoot watt-wattola
He say "I know you, you know me"
One thing I can tell you is you got to drink free
Come together right now over me

He bag fresh produce, he got arugula
He got red solocup, he one cocktail master
He got quads down below his knee
Hold you in his slip stream you can feel his back breeze
Come together right now over me

He roller-crusher, he got every Strava
He got muddy water, he one cocktail maker
He say "One and one and one is three"
Got to be good-looking cos he's so hard to see
Come together right now over me

Oh
Come together
Yeah come together
Yeah come together
Yeah come together
Yeah come together
Yeah come together
Yeah come together
Yeah oh
Come together
Yeah come together

23 Drafters turned out in fairly equal distributions for an Epic Ride. Or maybe it was for the long awaited Garden Party, with Cannibal's famous arugula and gin drinks? We even had a Newbie all the way from Green Bay show up for the Garden Party. Welcome to our Garden, Eden.

Eden, Ninja, Duracell, Pipes, Loose Screw, Special K, Footer and Speedy

Busch Latte (front wheel), Booker J, Captain Joe, Rimshot, BrickO, Z Wrecks (bike), LuLu, SuperQ, Columbus, Badger, Gopher, Vintage (Skipper and Cannibal late to the party)

Vintage suffered some flat tire issues over the weekend. His spirit a bit wounded, he rode with a very not-aerodynamic bag on his handlebars, assumed to hold spare tires. When questioned, he admitted it was full of Charmin. Not sure if that's to wipe tears or other? It would have been more practical to fill it with tubes and a tire, as he double flatted before we were out of town.

Not so safety pin= Flat One. Flat Two soon to come.

The Drafter Code required waiting for Vintage. The code does not specify helping, just waiting. LuLu dutifully took on that role for flat #1. Flat #2 ended any grandiose thoughts of a Garden Drink finish.

Captain Joe, Cannibal, Z Wrecks, SuperQ, Skipper, Rimshot and Busch Latte wait.

The Epic Loop was a bit confusing for some. Granted, we all were a bit uneasy riding by castles, dinosaurs, Hogwarts, and what appeared to be a dining facility in a prehistoric cave. But Eden was sure that it was a trick to keep Newbies circling about, endlessly. No trick. Just a little on going struggle with RidewithGPS, the program that notes "Turn left" and leaves you guessing where. Along with BrickO doing recon and making several wrong turns for our cartographer, Columbus, to reconcile.

The Epic Loop

Once the Drafters escaped the Epic Loop, the A Team continued to hang together. Busch Latte tensed up when he heard his Strava segment alert. Cannibal's alarm didn't sound for some reason, so there was no need to bust a move. Sometimes the win is remaining a cohesive whole.

Skipper, LuLu (catching flies?), BrickO & SuperQ

Captain Joe, Super Q, Cannibal Draft home

Cannibal needed to save his energy on the ride in order to make enough drinks for all 23 Drafters. It might be the first time in history that EVERY Drafter stayed for beverages.

"I didn't think we would run out of gin"

Tennille rode over (on flat tires) to share a garden drink with Captain. Dan-yelly rode for the first time this season (and first time post baby #3). Garden drinks bring out the green in all of us.

Garden Party: Gopher, Badger, Columbus, Booker J, Z Wrecks, Rimshot, Cannibal, Busch Latte, SuperQ, Speedy, Duracell, Loose Screw, Captain and Tennille, Footer, Eden, Dan-yelly, Special K, Pipes, Ninja, BrickO, LuLu (photo by Skipper)

In Drafter news, we are sad to say goodbye to Drone Master, who will be moving to California over Labor Day weekend. He plans to Draft responsibly in the sunny state, and hopefully one or two more times with us on Monday night.

Happy Birthday to our Tobacco City Boy (Friday Aug 20)! Happy New House to LuLu and Columbus. We expect a lawn warming party this fall.

Congratulations to Belle on her Steamboat Gravel race. She crushed it. As did Bomber, who supported Belle through the race. Sometimes, racing is the easier role.

Drafter Yoga was a huge success. Thanks to Pipes for keeping it real. Look for more of the same in September. Contact BrickO or Pipes for more details if you are someone you love needs to be more flexible.

Not to be identified in Savasana, but Drafter yogies included Sully, BrickO, Footer, Flash, Cookie Monster, Billy Boy, Queen Bee, Rocky, Queenie and Z Wrecks

The Draft next week will depart from Cannibal's house. See GroupMe for address, or text me.

RidewithGPS link

Looking ahead, we will Draft on Aug 30 but not the following Monday as it is Labor Day. If you are looking for a group ride that weekend, check out the Wright Stuff Century on Sunday Sept 5.

Lastly, there were a few stragglers who missed the Hincapie Store deadline for Drafter gear. It is open until Aug 22. Link to Hincapie Store here.

Draft responsibly,

BrickO