Ronde 3.0 important details and waiver form

Important details for Sunday:

1. Show up with your waiver printed and signed in advance: waiver

2. Show up with $10 cash for entry fee
3. Show up with a helmet, multiple tubes, a mini tool, ID, money, and food
4. Parking is limited in the area so either carpool, or ride over.  You can leave a small bag securely at the Tavern if needed
5. First teams leave at 8:15.  All teams need to be at the Tavern by 8am to hear critical route instructions

I've ridden much of the southern half of the loop yesterday and today.  It is supremely dry and one could get by with a big (28+) commuting tire, though I still suggest cx tires.

The trails are marked with pink ribbon, the roads are spray painted with "R" and an arrow indicating turns.

I'm working on a cue sheet, but mileage will not be 100% so you'll want to rely on the route markings primarily.

Ronde 3.0 Strava collaboration

We already shared a link to the course via Strava.  Now the kind folks at Strava have joined in to provide prizes for the fastest segment riders on April 15th.  We have 6 month premium membership rewards for the fastest male and female on the following segments:

1. Railroad bed
2. Lincoln (dirt) road

We were out there today to mark the start and finish of each of these segments, but we suggest you study them a bit in advance if you plan on going for it.  A word of caution about the railroad section.  In addition to a few road crossings, the areas where you'll cross over the tracks can be slick.  If you crash and burn, you won't get the Strava award, so be safe first, fast second.  Also, you'll have until Tuesday the 17th to get your data loaded to Strava and then we'll mail the rewards.

Ronde 3.0 team list

Sign up is closed

Here are the teams and the start times

• Everyone needs to arrive by 8am to hand in waivers and $10 cash per rider
• The route is being well marked this week
• Cue sheets with rough directions will be available too

30 teams

If you're not on the list for 2012, be sure to watch here for an opportunity to join the ride in 2013.

Ronde 3.0 sponsors piling up

First off, thanks to everyone who has committed to Ronde 3.0. The ride is full already, which is awesome. More riders than v1 and v2.

We organize the Ronde:
1. to have a fun excuse to ride cx bikes in April
2. to raise lots and lots of money for Bikes not Bombs

To help us achieve #2, the following sponsors have already committed support to the staging, on course assistance, and raffle prizes

Hammer Nutrition: These guys sent a ton of fuel for riders. There will be stuff at the start, there will be a mid ride fueling station, and there will probably be enough left over to go into the raffle and for anyone arriving in Zombie-like condition.

The Washington Square Tavern: Our staging spot, our host for the post ride raffle, and the spot for our post ride drinking/eating. Gerry has selflessly allowed us to take over his restaurant each year and poured lots of beer all to benefit Bikes not Bombs. He's doing the same in 2012, so be sure to thank him, be nice to the staff, and tip generously!

Ride Studio Cafe: A big list of goodies from the fine folks at the Ride Studio Cafe. Here is a list of what I know will be in the raffle:
2 - Coffee Tastings for 6 people - Each $250 value
2 - Get out of a Nap Free Card - 10 Free Drinks from the Cafe (each card) - Each $35 value
1 - Race-Ready Tune-up - $70 value
You'll be passing by RSC on the route so maybe you should stop in, slam an espresso and then be charged up for the last 50 minutes of trails and roads back to Brookline. But save at least a few bucks for the raffle.

Mad Alchemy: Pete has offered up a variety of embrocations and chamois cremes for the raffle. We all buy his stuff anyway, so enter the raffle and get a chance to win some instead.

Firefly: No, they're not donating a frame to the raffle, but Boston's hottest "new" framebuilders are putting some classy swag into the raffle. You can sport the Firefly t-shirt until your frame is built by Tyler, Jamie, and Kevin (all of whom are going to be out there riding with us too).

Newbury Comics: They'll be out there riding the course and suffering along side the rest of us. When it comes to raffle time, they've thrown in gift cards to enjoy.

Zanconato Cycles: I may be a little partial to Mike Z, but once you meet him, you can't help it. There will be some sweet Zanconato gear in the raffle. No frames, but show your support and win a Zanconato logo'd hat.

Twins 47: They may not be a cycling specific company, but these guys are pumping out super slick designs and products. They created the Ronde logo and are putting it on cycling and baseball caps that will be part of the auction. Serious love for the sport, even if it's not what keeps the lights on at the office.

From up north, Adam St. Germain is coming to crush the Ronde 3.0 route. Afterwards he is going to make up for the pain he causes you through his donation of Camelbak and Clif products to the raffle. If you're bonking really hard, he might even share a Clif blok or two out on the road. Just don't expect him to slow down and wait for you.

This is what I have confirmed so far. I'm still accepting offers/donations, so keep an eye out here as the list will surely grow before 4/15. Remember to bring your cash in addition to your A game so we can raise lots of money for Bikes not Bombs.

Following the Ronde v3.0 route

The warriors will be out in the coming weeks preparing the battlefield for April 15th. In the meantime, if you want to get the route loaded on your Garmin, go here and enter this link: http://app.strava.com/activities/4074045

I may not have a written cue sheet this year, so you'll be well served to load the route to your GPS and pay extra close attention to the road and trail markings

Ronde 3.0

The route for Ronde v3.0 is taking shape. Fair warning, it will be the longest one yet and will feature old and new trails. If you took part last year, you are invited again this year. Start gathering your teammates and then contact me at cxronde@gmail.com.

The ride will go off on April 15th, starting as early as 8am due to the added length. Same as previous years with teams of 3-5 riders, required to stay together. Small entry fee will go to charity once again. Dust off your cx bike and start logging trail miles. This year's edition is not for the faint of heart.

TCC Mansfield video

I doubled up at Mansfield, so I'll use that as my excuse for the slow start...

Also, skip forward to 1:20 or so to see where we actually start racing.

Lastly, I didn't have enough battery life left to catch the whole lap. I missed two of the more enjoyable sections, the slightly off camber spiral turns and the uphill/downhill collarbone section that Colin Murphy has vivid and painful memories of.

your loss

Last year I was a fool and sat in hours upon hours of traffic to race for 40 minutes at Granogue instead of driving 1.25 hours to the Thread City Cyclist's Mansfield Hollow CX race. This year I smartened up and stayed closer to home. This race is so much fun, and the promoters really enjoy hosting the event. I hopefully have some barcam footage still to come but in the meantime, here are some links to pictures and my lap info from Strava.


Not only is this race deceptively close to Boston, but you can eat your entry fee's worth of baked goods and wash it down with apple cider. And if you happen to be anywhere near the front at the end of the race, they pay very well, and give great merchandise prizes too. Heck, they hooked up DFL in the 1,2,3 race with a $30 multi tool. So next year, when you're sitting around listening to horrible music and not talking to all the unfriendly MAC people you don't know, you can remember that you could have been hanging out with #NECX and enjoying yourself in Mansfield Hollow. Maybe next year.