April 26th, 2015

It's hard to imagine it right now with 3+ feet of snow on most of the trails, but the Ronde Rosey 2015 will happen.  Get your teams together, get your fat bikes ready, get your money together for Bikes Not Bombs

#ronde2015 is happening

Coming back bigger and better for 2015, the 6th running of the Ronde Rosey to benefit Bikes Not Bombs once again.  Late April...

Bay Circuit Trail - introduction

The scheme was hatched back in the spring to tackle some 200 miles of primarily trails from Plumb Island to Duxbury, following the Bay Circuit Trail.  The mastermind of this trip was Paul Benson.  Those of us along for the adventure included * Gerry Finnegan, Steve Goneau, Adam Young, Keith Borgaro, and myself.  In our planning, it was decided that camping was out of the question, but accomplishing this in 3 (long) days would be possible.

Throughout the summer, we continued planning, scouting out as many sections of the trail as possible, relying on the less than stellar Bay Circuit website and waiting for their high resolution hard copy maps to arrive.  I rode sections from Soutboro to Ashland, others rode the beginning section, and the finish.  But we left a bunch of areas unscouted.

Additional planning included a shuttle to the start for 6 guys and 6 bikes, specifics on what gear to carry. securing hotels along the route, and dropping off some supplies at those hotels.  We ended up with a mixture of bikes, though all 29ers

Paul - hardtail
* Gerry - hardtail
Steve - single speed
Scott - single speed
Adam - dual suspension
Keith - dual suspension

Amazingly we only had one mechanical (a trashed rear derailleur around mile 20) and two flats.  But we had lots of adventure, plenty of bee stings, a few brief detours, and some really long days in the saddle.

Next adventure

http://www.baycircuit.org/traildesc.html

3 days
6 riders
150+ miles
probably some detours
definitely some good stories

Ronde 4.0 proper recap

Again, thank you to the many sponsors and participants for 2013.  The $2420 and the MOUNTAIN of usable bike parts have been delivered to Bikes Not Bombs.

All of the t-shirts have been delivered, and now it is time to sit back, relax, and wait until v5 in 2014.

Ok, you guys can sit back and relax, but I've already started my quest to up the radness in 2014.

I really felt this year's course was a significant improvement over the last three editions, with more trails, less road, and a more consistent flow in a mostly counter-clockwise path.  Believe it or not, there are even more trails in many of those areas, so expect 2014 to include more surprises.  Next year will likely include a more formal registration process to make it easier on me and more accessible to you as well.

http://ridewithgps.com/turer/1224898/full.png

While I continue to secretly plot 2014, here's a reminder of the many sponsors who helped make 2013 an awesome day.

• Washington Square Tavern
• Broadway Bicycles
• Hammer Nutrition
• 
• Lazer
• Strava
• Mad Alchemy
• Ortlieb
• Castelli/GPM Sport
• Cuppow
• Soulrun
• 
• Pedros
• Geekhouse
• Bob Morgan from Team Awesome who designed the awesome shirts this year

And here are some links to what others had to say (or show) about 2013 (post your links in the comments and I'll add to this list)

• http://velocb.blogspot.com/2013/04/all-along-watchtowers.html
• http://www.oninstagram.com/rondederosey
• http://agilefahrrad.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-ronde-de-rosey-13.html
• http://trigirlpink.blogspot.com/2013/04/ronde-de-rosey-2.html

Ronde 4.0 first recap

A huge thank you goes out to everyone who supported the 2013 Ronde Rosey and to all of you that took part in the ride, donations, and raffle.  I was blown away by the amount and quality of donations you all came through with.  There is a MOUNTAIN of bicycle parts to donate to Bikes Not Bombs and $2420!  I'll be at BNB on Thursday night to deliver both.

If you couldn't make it on Sunday, but would still like to make a donation, you can head here to do so

If you're doing some spring cleaning and have more bike parts you'd like to donate, go here to learn about how to do that

Ronde 4.0 final hours

Less than 72 hours to go.  The GPS track and cue sheets have been sent to the teams, the route is finalized, and the huge amount of goodies from sponsors is gathered.

Hammer Nutrition donated 100 gel packets, lots of HEED drink mix, and lots of endurolyte tablets to make sure people aren't bonking too badly out there

Soulrun made some special items that will be in the raffle

Pedros has come through with awesome items INCLUDING this tool kit

Lazer donated a sweet top of the line helmet! and a Lion of Flander helmet cover

Ortlieb donated a very nice bag

Cuppow and Geekhouse goods

Mad Alchemy goodness

T-shirts designed by the best

Other huge supporters helping us break last year's fundraising total include:

Did I forget to mention, the Strava folks, and their fancy new Sprinter Van will be there at the finish line?  They are also donating some jersey bins and clothing items for the raffle

Of course, The Washington Square Tavern and Beaver Brook Bottles who host us all and feed us delicious burgers after we finish

Mayflower Brewing for donating a keg of beer!

Even if you're not riding, join us for the post ride party starting around 2:30 and ending once you've donated every last penny to Bikes Not Bombs.

Ronde 4.0 shirts

Bob Morgan worked his magic and came up with a sweet shirt design for us to commemorate the Ronde and raise even more money for Bikes Not Bombs.

American Apparel t's, they are available now, for pre-order.  You can pick them up at the Tavern on April 14th, as long as you order before April 1.

If you are picking it up, be sure to select a country other than the US to negate the shipping cost.