The Ronde de Rosey 2014 was a huge success. For the last three years I have ridden a Honey bike on the RdR. This year I had the pleasure of riding the All Roads. I can't say enough about how well it shined. The Ronde is a long ride: 50+ miles of mostly dirt with a lot of singletrack and rocks. To be able to ride 90% of this terrain you need a bike up to the task. The All Roads was confidence inspiring to say the least. It shredded the technical stuff but was fast and comfortable on the road connections. The perfect bike for this type of ride. The Ronde is an underground mixed terrain CX race/ride/adventure that winds through secret trails and paths all over the Metro Boston area. It was created by its namesake Scott (Rosey) Rosenthal as a benefit for Bikes not Bombs and as an excuse to get us all together to have some fun getting dirty on CX bikes in the Spring. I have had some very special rides at the Ronde. This year was one of the best. Great team. Great time meeting and riding with friends I haven't seen since cross season. Its the type of ride that forms bonds with friends and teammates alike. It brings out so many of Boston's CX and mtn bike riders. Its always so great to see everyone at the Washington Square Tavern. This year we raised over $1,000 and donated lots of spare parts for their recycling program.
Adam's Farm Short Track Series
Boston has been hoping for a short track mountain bike series for a while. Short track is a perfect way to get a mid-week training ride in and have some fun. Short track typically is a shorter course and shorter duration than a typical mountain bike course. The Blue Hills Cycling Club found a gem of a venue at Adam's Farm in Walpole for a mountain bike race last year. The race was called the Barn Burner and was a blast. It had so much going for it. A mere 30 minutes from Boston, it had a fun mix of terrain, plenty of parking, a Barn, beer garden and food trucks. Last year's race had a great turn out and the racing was fantastic.
The Barn Burner will be held on July 13th this year. The short track series will be held at Adam's Farm on four Wednesdays over the summer. May 21, June 18th, July 23 and August 20. There will be two heats each Wednesday evening throughout the series.
The A Race will be held at 6 pm and will be 30 minutes. The A race is Cat 1 and Cat 2
The B Race will be held at 6:35 and will be 25 minutes. The B race is Cat 3 and first timers
Honey will be sponsoring the Barn Burner and the Adam's Farm Short Track Series so look for some sweet Honey primes each Wednesday! We are really excited to be a part of this local grassroots mtn bike race. The Blue Hills Cycling Club took a park that wasn't being used by mountain bikers at all and cleared trail, repaired sections that had damage and created a loop that all of us can enjoy year round.
The venue is great for all levels. It has a true mix of terrain. Lots of nice twisty singletrack as well as a few rock gardens and stream crossings. Pauly's Pass is a funky little DIY wood bridge that makes riders choose between glory and potential skin loss.
For more information go to Blue Hills Cycling Club's website.
Allroads
The Allroads bike is exactly what it is named after. We designed this bike to ride on all road conditions=paved, broken, carriage trails, and even singletrack. We have spent the last year testing the bike in the most extreme conditions imaginable. What started out as a "do everything" bike is quickly replacing all our other bikes for the types of riding we love to do the most. You can easily transform the bike to adapt to the type of ride you will be doing with a simple tire change. It is very hard to clearly define what "type" of bike the Allroads is. It really is what ever you want it to be. With 28 slicks it is a great road bike, with 33 file treads it is a fantastic CX/Gravel bike, and with 40 mm tires it becomes a very capable woods and singletrack shredding machine.
What makes it so capable at so many different types of riding?
• Disc brakes enable us to open up the rear triangle to accommodate tires ranging from 23-41mm. This means you don't have to be limited in tire selection and can easily fit studded winter tires for all year riding.
• Hand-picked, custom-drawn and size-specific tube selection creates a bike with a stiff drivetrain as well as plenty of vertical compliance keeping the wheels on the ground.
• A low bottom bracket provides rail like handling in corners on the road and confidence inspiring stability through tight turns and off cambers off road.
• A long front center provides more toe clearance for big tires and more stability on descents similar to a classics road frame.
• There is generous room in the rear end for fenders. We know that the Allroads will be ridden in all conditions so the bike comes standard with fender mounts.
• The bike is probably one of the most versatile bikes available. It not only can accommodate a wide range of tires but can be used with either 700c or 650b wheel sizes.
The bike pictured is a limited edition Allroads called the Hammer and Cycle and was inspired by the Rasputitsa gravel road race held this past April in Northern Vermont. Rasputitsa means "mud season or quagmire" in Russian. The bikes was designed specifically for the mud, snow and ice that we knew would be awaiting us.
After riding and racing the bike for 6 weeks it lives up to its namesake. Riding it back to back weekends in rain, mud and snow at both the Rasputitsa and Diverged ride it passed its test with flying colors. Both rides shared a similar brutality but could not have been more different. The fact that the All Roads shined at both events is a testament to its versatility. I knew the All Roads would be great in Vermont. I was most impressed by its ability to descend 35 mph sketchy dirt roads with absolute confidence.
Two moments stand out for me from the Rasputitsa. One was the descent after cresting Cyberia. Cyberia was a 2 mile stretch of rocky "road" disguised as a stream bed that was still frozen in snow and ice. The downhill sector of Cyberia was snow, mud and ruts. I saw so many people hit a rut and go flying into a ditch. Even riders on mtn bikes were riding it tentatively. We were able to get back off the saddle and fly down this mud roller coaster ride with smiles on our faces.
The second moment that will be forever in my memory was following a rider into a covered wood bridge a little too hot. Actually I was going in way too fast as it was dark under the bridge and I couldn't see that the surface of the bridge was a bunch of uneven raised wooden planks. This could have ended horribly. Instead I trusted the bike and hopped one plank and got in between the next plank and rode out through the groove. You need a very nimble yet stable bike to pull that off without crashing.
The Diverged ride on the other hand was truly a mixed terrain ride. Wet wood bridges, slick roots, mud bogs, real singletrack, boulders everything you could imagine. Parts of this ride would push a cyclocross bike way beyond its comfort zone. The Allroads shined. I never felt out of control or in any way in danger. A lot of this goes to the disc brakes and ability to run big tires but the geometry played a big part in this as well.
As the Spring mud season begins to end I am looking forward to putting 28 slicks on the Allroads and taking it on dry dusty dirt roads for more adventure. Western Mass, NH and Vermont are all calling my name. We have a long list of dirt rides on our calendar I am looking forward to all of them!
Hammer & Cycle
The Rasputitsa gravel race came to our attention last winter. The promoters Heidi and Anthony held a great dirt road race called the Dirty 40 the following summer. As we learned more about the Rasputitsa we knew not only did we need to be a partner of the race but that we needed to build a bike specifically for the race. Thus was born both our sponsorship of the Rasputitsa and the Rapsutitsa-inspired All Roads.
Heidi and Anthony promised to put on a classic early spring VT gravel road race. And they delivered. Held in Newport, VT on a great mix of gravel, dirt, mud, snow and ice the race was one of those that stick with you for a while. Over 300 hundred riders including a fresh from Paris Roubaix Ted King, Tim Johnson and Lyne Bessette descended upon this quant town on the northernmost reaches of VT. In true spring classic fashion the weather report was for rain and 50 degrees. We rolled out of town with a police escort and to cheers from all the locals. Drizzle turned to hail at a few times but nothing could dampen our enthusiasm for riding these amazing roads.
We had heard lots of rumors about a very special feature on the course dubbed "Cyberia". It was supposed to be a class 4 road that was still covered in snow and ice. Reports varied widely in both its distance and makeup. Frankly nothing could have prepared us for what we were about to be subjected to. It started out simply enough. Just a patch of crusty snow mixed with mud. Oddly people seemed to be having trouble. Score one for proper tire selection and cyclocross skills. Once through this section it turned into what I can only describe as a river bed. With actual running water coming down it. I laughed out loud. I love this type of stuff. It became a hike-a-bike/russian roulette/test of who can ride the furthest between the group I was riding with. We all crashed so many times I lost count. But it was such a great way to get this adventure going! At the top of Cyberia we were met by a Yeti and handed maple syrup shots in ice shot glasses. I have never been more happy to see a large furry beast in my life.
After many selfies with the Yeti and probably too many syrup shots we got the pay off for all our suffering. The other side of Cyberia was a snow and mud covered descent that was like an adult slip and slide on bikes. We railed the downhill dodging crashed riders and mud holes. At the end we regrouped and picked up a few riders who had already had a ton of flats. These rides to me are great because they reward good bike handling as well as good bike/tire selection. I personally would rather have a slightly bigger tire than 4 flats 20 miles into a 47 mile epic.
After our descent we punched up a pretty nasty muddy incline. This would be the order of the day. Tough incline, ripping dirt bomb descent, rinse and repeat for 47 miles. I can't say enough how impressed I was by the volunteers and their support on the course. They were everywhere. They marshaled the courses like pros. We were able to descend through tricky road descents without having to brake at all. All thanks to the great marshaling throughout the day.
My personal favorite part of the ride was of course Cyberia but the roller coaster descents were a close second. We stayed together as a group of 5 for the whole ride. Sharing food, lifting each others spirits, sharing stories. It was a great day on the bike. WIth 3k to go we hit a paved run into town and put it into the big ring and flew into town where were greeted by locals cheering us for our hardwork. The town really came out to support this ride and all its riders. It was so nice to see so many people loving cyclists. After checking our bikes in we indulged in Poutine and Switchback Ale. Two bands entertained us. One of the highlights of the after party was the moment when the announcer called out that the final rider was heading into the finish. He then encouraged us all to get out onto Main street and cheer her on! It was a beautiful moment and one that more rides and races should encourage. All the riders matter and their efforts should be celebrated!
What an amazing event. A great video of the event can be found on Dirtwire.TV. HUGE tip of the cycling cap to Heidi and Anthony and the entire area that supported the race! They will be holding the Dirty 40 at the end of August. Do not miss out. I know we will be back and with a few more tricks up our sleeves!
Double Diverged
Last year's Diverged ride was so much fun we decided to do a double weekend of Diverged rides held at the Ride Studio Cafe this year. Ok maybe the weather played a factor in our decision to hold Diverged rides on both Saturday and Sunday this past weekend. This Spring in New England has been very un-Springlike. But that is how the weather goes in New England. Looking at the weather forecast we decided to hold a full weekend of riding. Saturday looked to be the worst weather for the ride and was coined the "Belgian" Diverged. Sunday looked to be a bit nicer and was code named "Italian"
A small group of ride leaders, Honey and Ride Studio staff got together on a beautiful Friday afternoon before the weekend of the Diverged ride to do recon of the route. Honey founder Rob Vandermark put together an amazing route. The whole idea of the Diverged ride grew out of Rob's extensive trail knowledge and the idea that taking the path less travelled can lead to adventure right out your backdoor. I have ridden by most of these trails a hundred times and never knew they existed. How he finds these special trails that are a mere stone's throw from the Ride Studio still boggles my mind. We wove in and out of path and trail, trying to hop logs and jump off rocks. Playing on bikes and discussing the route made for a very fun evening. The route was 47 miles of mixed terrain all within 5-10 miles of the Ride Studio in Lexington. There were times when it felt like riding in VT. But 15 minutes from home. Amazing.
For the hearty 40 plus riders who showed up on a rainy Saturday morning and rolled out with smiles on their faces and a sense of adventure in their hearts I salute you. Saturday was rainy and 40 degrees, weather that scares off even the hardest of riders. I honestly believe riding in 20 degrees and snow is much easier than 40 and rainy. You really have to plan ahead and choose your clothing wisely in these conditions. But rides like the Diverged bring out the best in riders. I was scheduled to lead a group on Sunday so could only live vicariously through all the tweets and instagram photos of the "Belgian" Diverged ride. From the photos and all the stories it was clear everyone had a great time.
Sunday couldn't arrive quickly enough. While we didn't have the pouring rain of Saturday it was certainly not "Italian." Let's call it Belgian-lite. Drizzle and 40 and plenty of mud and muck. It certainly made the boardwalks and roots "interesting". One of the great things about these types of rides is the huge range of bikes people show up on. Picking the "right" bike, tires and set up for a mixed terrain ride is never easy. It is a very personal choice. It reminds me of how cyclocross used to be before you could buy a a race ready CX bike with French tubulars at your local bike shop. Not too long ago half the fun of cyclocross was all the energy, thought and DIY set up that went into getting the proper CX bike race ready. Mixed terrain/adventure riding is very much that way right now. And one of the reasons I love it.
I opted to ride the Rasputitsa-inspired All Roads with Clement MXPs. I had a group of 20 riders in my group. It was a great mix of mtn bikes, riders on fender-style commuters, and CX bikes. I was really happy with my choice. A mtn bike would have been overkill for me and a fender-style bike or CX bike with file treads just wasn't confidence inspiring in the muddy or technical sectors. The All Roads for me is the perfect bike for these types of rides. It handles as well or better than a CX bike in the woods but is lively on the road. And with the disc brakes you can fly down rutted out rocky singletrack without fear. Ok with a level of fear that is much more manageable to me compared to a CX bike with cantilever brakes.
This ride wasn't a "gravel ride" by any means. Yes, we rode some gravel and dirt roads as well as pavement but there was a lot of challenging singletrack and rocks and roots. Not to repeat myself but it is still mind blowing how much fantastic singletrack surrounds suburban sprawl in the metro west Boston area. I live for these types of rides. I was so impressed by all the riders enthusiasm and positive energy. My group split up at about the midway point. And some riders had to peel off to get back to family etc. I had set out with the idea of doing the whole ride. Not at the fastest pace or in a way to drop any riders. These rides are "no drop" rides. We leave no one behind. Unless they opt out and are able to find their way back to the start.
The last half of the ride we rolled as a group of 5. After spending 5 hours in the rain together you begin to really get to know each other. It really became a zen like hour flowing over roots and rocks. The climb up Snake Hill in Belmont was one of those climbs that just make you laugh. Or cry. So steep. But it was the gateway to one of my personal favorite trails in the Belmont/Lexington area. We hit the Greenway and climbed through Gnarnia all the way back to the RSC. Total ride time was around 6 hours. I can't thank enough all the riders who shared this experience, Rob, Patria and the entire staff at the Ride Studio and Honey for their tireless efforts. What a fantastic weekend of Diverged rides! I can't wait to go back and ride some of these sections again!
