Harpoon Indoor Time Trial 2.0
The second annual Harpoon Indoor Time Trial was bigger and better than last year. Hundreds of racers competed in many heats throughout the day and night. Up to 24 could race at a time, in groups of 8 surrounding a three-sided techno-center of digital race readouts. Racers and viewers could see real-time speed, distance, wattage and other stats for each rider as each race progressed. Little cyclist avatars also played out the action in real-time. Winners of each heat (male & female) got a free case of beer and overall winners (male and female) won free entry into the Harpoon Brewery to Brewery ride in June.
This year's race was a lot of fun, and more crowded. The layout was expanded with more bathrooms and larger changing areas. Since the brewery was open for tours this year (with racing on Saturday instead of Sunday), they also setup a bar down near the race warm up area. Uncle Ted's BBQ food was also available from the Forza-G racing team who were raising money for this year's PMC ride.
Boston's WBUR radio station was also on hand, interviewing various folks for its show It's Only A Game. The Harpoon ITT show should air next Saturday.
BBQ and Bikes and Beer
Harpoon announced another nice addition to next weeks indoor time trial event at the brewery - Bar-B-Q1
Award Winning BBQ for a Cause
Forza-G is a charity cycling team dedicated to the cause of cancer care and research. Each year they ride and fundraise as a team in support of the Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC) and The Jimmy Fund at Boston's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Some members of Forza-G are also part of the Award Winning Uncle Jed's BBQ Team! They are cooking up a great menu for Harpoon ITT racers and spectators that includes: Bratwursts with peppers & onions, hearty chili (beef or pork), chili cheese nachos, red beans & rice (vegetarian) and veggie burgers. Each item will be $5 each. 100% of the money you donate will be dedicated to helping DFCI find a cure for cancer, and all donations are tax-deductible. Thanks in advance for supporting Team Forza-G in the fight against cancer!
Harpoon does it right. This year's event is sold out, but check out the event web page (www.harpoonbrewery.com/itt) to peruse some of the details and get ready to sign up for next year. It's a lot of fun!
Photo Credit: thebittenword.com
Harpoon B2B Ride 2009
Whew! What a ride. 148 miles and 8000+ feet of climbing is a long way to go for a beer, but it sure tasted good when we got there.
The Harpoon Brewery to Brewery ride is an excellent adventure. It's a ride from the early dawn in downtown Boston to the late afternoon in rural Vermont. It's also a ride from "I think I can" to "I know I can" to "I'm glad I did." At least that's how it went for my inaugural ride this past Saturday.
Thankfully all the weather forecasts of rain, showers, thunderstorms and the like were wrong. The sun was shining brightly in Boston as we arrived at the start. The ride was very well organized and every detail ran smoothly - from bike and bag drop off, to registration, to corralling riders into groups and launching them off. There was even an optional registration & packet pick up Friday night at the brewery - compete with free beer!
The ride out to the first water stop at mile 46 in Townsend was smooth and enjoyable. Our group proceeded at a leisurely pace through the more densely populated areas of Boston, Cambridge and Arlington, and then picked up the pace through Lexington Bedford, Carlisle and along Route 119.
After that, the climbing began. Up through Willard Brook and into Rindge, NH, climbing about 1000 feet over the course of nearly 10 miles. From there the route became more rolling until the big climb of about another 1000 feet, this time condensed into about 5 miles from Ashuelot up into Hindsdale. The hills continued to roll on from there with a few good smaller climbs thrown in for good measure.
Along the way there were food and water stops that seemed to run smoothly with plenty of port 'o potties at each. Designed to keep you rolling along, each seemed to feature either simple food choices or just a water refill. Some riders (including my group) also stopped at one of the many convenience stores along the way for additional nourishment.
At the end, the prison-style shower setup for the men offered a quick refreshing clean up before heading to the bar-b-que (good food!) to listen to live music and enjoy some well-earned Harpoon beer. Bikes were loaded on trucks and riders onto buses for a two-hour bus ride back to the start.
For more details on the course, check out the Map My Ride site:
Also, check out the event's official web page.
Also to get a feel for the ride, check out "Skip & Dan's B2B Adventure" YouTube video:
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