Harpoon Indoor Time Trial
Cycling and beer go well together. Nobody seems to know that better than the folks at Harpoon Brewery in Boston. The Harpoon Indoor Time Trial takes place two weeks from Saturday, providing a great mid-winter goal for many competitive cyclists and recreational riders alike.
Though I'm not a competitive racer, I raced in the first Harpoon ITT last year. The event provided great motivation for off-season training and provided a good mid-winter personal training assessment and baseline.
It was a lot of fun too. The folks at Harpoon did a great job with all the logistics, from sign-up to warm up to the racing action. Fast Splits provided two 8-unit banks of Computrainers so 16 racers were able to compete in each heat. Real-time action was projected onto two large screens overhead. A DJ kept music pumping while a live announcer shouted play-by-play and encouragement for all the racers. It was a really great, fun scene, all taking place right in the middle of the brewery.
The brewery also has a working bar, and there's nothing better than a cold, fresh beer after an intense ride. Two free beers were included with each race registration.
This year the event is taking place on a Saturday instead of a Sunday, and the schedule is shifted to run from the afternoon into the evening. This format should make it even better. They've also organized the heats a little differently in order to group the most competitive pro, collegiate, and club teams together.
Find out the rest of the details by checking out the event web page here. Also check out my post on last year's event, which includes a photo from the race floor.
Photo Credit: bdjsb7
Boston’s Stolen Bike Network
There's a new Bike Sheriff in town! Well, not really, but something pretty darn close. The City of Boston has setup a pretty sophisticated system for dealing with bike theft.
You can register your bike online at www.stolenbikesboston.com. Then, if your bike is stolen, the system will alert the police, local bike shops, hospital and school security, and everyone who follows them on Twitter or Facebook. You can also become part of the network by following Stolen Bikes Boston on Twitter or Facebook.
There's even a Blogspot blog with a complete list of the bikes that have been reported stolen, with descriptions and photos. Check it out here: stolenbikesboston.blogspot.com.
Photo Credit: velcr0
Find A Safe Route Through Boston
Navigating the streets of Boston and Cambridge safely can be tricky, even for experienced cyclists and commuters. Many tips are shared via riding buddies, cycling clubs and around the water cooler. Now there's another great "Web 2.0" resource for getting and sharing tips in the Boston area - The Right Ride website at therightride.org.
The site is a nice little mash up with Google Maps that allows contributors to point out hazards and identify safe routes. Maps can be marked up by anyone who is a member (membership is free) and the implementation is very nice. Comments pop up for each hazard or safe route and each entry can be rated by subsequent visitors to the site.
Of course, all the information is unverified advice as the site's disclaimer points out, so use it at your own risk. Still, the site has a lot of potential to be useful and should certainly be better than just going out to chart your own routes from scratch.
Photo Credit: Hey Paul
Boston Cycling “State of the Hub” Annual Report
As you may be well aware, Boston has a dedicated, full-time "Cycling Czar." Nicole Freedman, former pro racer with two U.S. National Championships and a spot at the 2000 Olympics under her belt, took on the role a few years ago. Recently, she published a report "State of the Hub: Boston Bikes Year End Update." The report reviews all the progress the city has made through the Boston Bikes program since its official start two years ago. You can find the full report here.
The report covers what the program calls the five "E's" of bicycling planning for Boston - Engineering, Encouragement, Education, Enforcement, and Evaluation. The report is only 16 pages long and full of pictures, charts and graphs. It's an easy read and well worth reviewing if you are interested in the details of Boston's plans for cycling.
I also found this blog post to be very helpful. The author is clearly following the developments of the program very closely, and provides a good summary of the report if you don't want to read the whole thing.
Photo Credit: gkristo
Boston Mayor’s Cup Race
Exciting times for cycling in Boston... A great race this past Saturday around City Hall Plaza. It was very exciting to see pro peletons speed around the bend and up the hill by the old State House.
Many vendors were present with food and giveaways, and there was plenty of opportunity to see the racing action. With the entire course inside barriers and the event well staffed by marshalls and police, it was easy to get around and safe for riders and spectators alike.
The mascot race was great fun for the kids. Wally, Pat Patriot and others sped down the final stretch in an exciting show of spirit for cycling and Boston.
Would love to see more racing in Boston!
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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