Rockin' To Roxbury
Editor's note: there was a grave reporting error in last week's Drafter statistics. Columbus and Daisy rode the short pour, and were inadvertently missed during the head count. The tally has been corrected to reflect a RECORD HIGH 31 DRAFTERS!
The Garden Party attendance bloomed at 28. A good day to climb, and climb we did. 2000ish feet over 29 miles, including the Beast of Barlow. Slow Cow drafted alone in the late afternoon, sending periodic updates from the course, which also served as proof of existence!
Fresh from their wedding reception, LuLu and Columbus along with bridal party members Gopher and Daisy vowed to draft responsibly.
The B for Bad A** group was mighty. Apparently, garden drinks are an inspiration. Helios made his first drafting appearance since enlisting in 2020. Knievel, recovered from his last stunt, also reenlisted.
Coach Arms even took a break from the rink to cool off with a garden drink. Nitro, who had not yet met the hockey phenom was gassed, "Wow, I figured you must be Coach Arms. I would love to put a 14 gauge IV into those veins." The things anesthesiologists get excited about.....
The A Team was also in full force. BrickO and Z Wrecks feigned Garmin route upload failure, part of their ploy to keep the group together, knowing the brutal climbs would keep em' separated.
Par for the Drafter course, Booker J came in hot to the start.
The Hincapie jersey of choice was clearly beer and sprocket. It was awesome to see the train of green leave the station in single file, drafting responsibly. Well done, Drafters.
The drafting stopped and survival mode started at the bottom of Barlow. She's a beast.
But Barlow was no match for Granny and Cujo, who hammered to the top, while Z Wrecks claimed the KOM for descending with the most G (or Z) forces.
No good deed goes unrewarded. After drafting responsibly, the Drafters were treated to Garden Drinks, mostly arugula with a little bit of gin. The recovery drink of champions. Gatorade , HEED, LMT and Skratch are all scrambling to uncover the formula.
Without Strava segments to distract the Drafters, they focused their efforts on consuming the Garden Drinks in record time. Cannibal had to make a second batch to keep the Drafters recovering responsibly.
Age Group notifications: Happy Birthday to Flash and LuLu. May the force be with you and your VO2max. The Birthday Fairies are considering some special gifts. For LuLu, a new "more senior" Drafter handle, Kid Tron. Flash has been noting some equipment failure during high speed chases, and a new battery pack for her superhero outfit has been ordered from Amazon. It is on backorder.
Octane baked a batch of brownies, which were accented nicely with chocolate chip cookies and oatmeal bars made by the hosts (thank you, Cannibal and Jen). BrickO brought candles for his next birthday (bad math, good intention).
It was a weekend filled with Drafter cycling extravaganzas. Congratulations to Vintage on his performance at the WORS Red Barn Classic. Turns out Vintage can bring home the bacon and fry it up in a pan.
The Fitchburg Festival of Speed with never ever ever let Cannibal forget he's the man.
In triathlon news, Flash made a splash in Benton Harbor at the Steelhead 70.3. Keez found her way to the podium at the Ames Triathlon. Well done!
Not quite race pace, these Drafters worked to bring a Sunday Funday community ride to Middleton. Check out Wheel and Sprocket no drop rides on Sunday at 9AM.
A round of applause for our Drafter of the Month, SANDLOT. Recovering from a ski accident has kept her from pushing hard on the bike. But she brings her experience and enthusiasm every Wednesday to help guide the W&S Women on Wheels rides. And that is after a long day of delivering compassionate and competent patient care. Sandlot is the recipient of the 2022 Nurse Excellence Award. You're killing me, Smalls.
Since we have a week off for the July 4th holiday, legs should be well rested and ready to rock to Roxbury. This is an ambitious 42 mile excursion with some extraordinary roads and climbs, including Dunlap Hollow. The shorter pour option is to skip the turn onto Katzenbuechel Rd (mile 15) and stay on KP all the way to County Road V, turning right. This will remove ~5 miles and lots of elevation.
The Archies song "Sugar Sugar" may be playing in your head as you climb, with some modified lyrics.
Dunalp
Oh, hollow, hollow
You are my climbin’ hill
And you got me wanting you
And you got me f- wanting you
When I climbed you, hill
I knew how sweet a watt could be
RidewithGPS link to Roxbury (Dunlap Hollow)
Draft responsibly,
BrickO