Quad Cross

Great job by Quad Cycles with the new venue.  Here's video of the first lap of the 3 race.  Yeah, I have some serious work to do.

Sutton mtb trails, aka, Matt Myette's backyard

Oh man, these trails are sweet.  They are almost reason enough to live in Sutton.  Maybe, if you ask nicely, you'll get an invite to ride them later this summer.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/91369880

Mill Pond mtb

http://connect.garmin.com/dashboard?cid=5107671

I don't get to ride my mountain bike nearly enough.  Even though it's how I got hooked on bikes, I no longer make the time to ride in the woods as often as I should.  So this past Wednesday, when I had a window to ride new trails in Woburn, a little tornado wasn't going to keep me away.  If you haven't explored the Woburn trails yet, you should put it on your list.  Fun trails, close to Boston and pretty easy to navigate, even without a guide.  There's a link to my GPS file at the top.  We doubled back quite a few times because none of us knew the trails very well.  I'll be back.  From my office, it's only 10 minutes further than Bedford Paint Mines, and 15 minutes closer than Harold Parker.  A good alternative for a weeknight or early morning spin.

Unsanctioned

I think of any event/race put on without the constraints of USAC to be an unsanctioned event.  Maybe that's using the term too loosely but it feels right to me, so I go with it.  As of late, my interest in sanctioned events (excluding cx racing) has really decreased.  Road races seem the same every year and the time and cost associated with them doesn't rank high on my satisfaction scale.  MTB racing is fun, until you start sanctioning it and people take it too seriously.

I've really enjoyed putting together the Ronde the last two years.  I've also really enjoyed taking part in other unsanctioned events like the Rapha Gentleman's Ride, D2R2, and SSapalooza.  So, I challenge you, Boston area racers/riders, to create other fun, unsanctioned events.  Give me more reasons to put off buying a USAC license this year.

Some ideas:

- mtb tt (3-5 mile loops)
- 3-4 person ttt (50+ miles)
- invite only, mass start road race (60+ miles)
- 2-3 person cx style ride (like the Ronde, there are lots of trails out there yet to be exposed)

Ronde v2.0 sponsors

We couldn't have raised $1300 without the awesome contributions from:


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Chip Baker
Harpoon
Landry's
Mad Alchemy
Mike Zanconato
M and M Racing
Pedros
Raleigh
Rapha
Wayne Dubb

Again, big thanks to both the sponsors and the riders.  I've already got some good ideas for v3.0...or maybe v2.5...

Ronde v2.0 results

First, a big huge thank you to everyone who came out on Sunday morning and braved my less than ideal cue sheet and often-missing trail markings. I had a ton of fun organizing the event and riding it this year.

Second, a big huge thank you to the volunteers that helped out. Chip Baker who worked tirelessly in the background to round up sponsors, mark trails, spread the word, and be a helping hand in nearly every part of the planning. David Wilcox and Cary Fridrich, both on the IR with foot injuries drove all around the course, checking in teams, keeping riders going, and even sharing some sorely needed calories. Eli Levine for manning the checkpoint at the top of Prospect Hill Park. That water and those fig newtons helped a lot of people carry on after the climb. Gerry Finnegan (and his staff) for letting us take over the Washington Square Tavern as the host "city"

Third, a big huge thank you to the sponsors who made it possible for us to blow our goal of $900 out of the water this year!  You will get a proper post very soon, I promise.

The finish times are posted (complements of David Wilcox who stood at the Tavern to welcome EVERY team home). It's too early to declare a winner because the first team back has not produced gps proof that they (mostly) followed the correct route and there is some disagreement about whether or not their minor shortcut was valid. Oh, and they kind of sort of ditched their NH teammate to fend for himself so even though he was at the finish line with them, I think they are DSQ for not staying together as a team.

The truth though, is that Bikes not Bombs was the real winner on Sunday. Over $1300 raised which is awesome!

Send me your gps routes and I'll update the table below. Might even add some fun facts like who rode the furthest, longest time in the saddle, most lost, etc.

Ronde v2.0 taking shape

I'm scheming, plotting, and inventing some challenging upgrades to the route.  More trails, more climbing, more suffering with your teammates.  It'll be your own little taste of Paris Roubaix, but without the radios and team cars and with some much more challenging trails in place of the cobbles.

We raised over $700 last year.  This year, we have some really great stuff from Raleigh USA and Lazer already committed for our raffle.  We're looking forward to crushing last year's number to once again support Bikes not Bombs.

Make sure you're reaching out to me if you plan on taking part.  I've got 25+ confirmed so far and the limit will be 100.

It's coming

Ronde v2.0

April 10th.  Start training, find your teammates (3-4), and tell me if you're in for another edition.