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:

Bike Tours Near and Far

from New England Sports Magazine

New England is fortunate to have so many active cycling clubs, races, enthusiasts, and great bike shops. And for those who seek a bit more adventure or opportunity to soak up history and information along the ride, there are many great bike tour companies. A variety of bike tours are available through local companies to explore New England or even to get you overseas to ride the legendary roads of Europe where the professional pelotons compete at the highest levels of the sport. Check out these great resources, right in your own back yard.

Urban AdvenTours offers a unique spin on cycling tours. Several unique tours are available that offer a variety of ways to explore Boston by bike. Their very popular signature ride, “City View Bicycle Tour” takes you by Fenway Park, Back Bay, Beacon Hill and the North End, with a ride along the Charles River to boot. It’ll cost you $50, but bike rental and knowledgeable ride guide are included. Snacks and drinks are not. Find more information on this and their many other tours at www.urbanadventours.com.

Bike New England will take you well beyond the city limits to explore the North Shore of Massachusetts or the Berkshire mountains in the outskirts of the state. Complete with van support, lodging at historic inns, and breakfast and lunch, these multi-day tours are a great way to vacation on bike. The North Shore ride covers all the great cycling spots north of the city – Jeffrey’s Neck, Topsfield, Gloucester and Cape Ann, Newburyport and Plum Island, with an excursion into southern New Hampshire – over 6 days of riding. The Berkshire trip explores Great Barrington, Umpachenee Falls, Lee, Stockbridge, and Williamstown with a brief excursion into Vermont over 6 days. Prices start at $895, double occupancy. Find more information at www.bikenewengland.com.

More serious riders may be drawn to America By Bike, an organization that offers longer tours with full mechanical support and a mult-van SAG support system providing snacks and water. Their Fall Foliage Classic will take you on a loop from Portland, Maine, down the coast through New Hampshire and into Massachusetts before looping back up to Portland through the back roads of New Hampshire. You’ll cover 319 miles in 7 days for $1,750, double occupancy. Find out more information on this and their many other tours – including cross-country adventures – at www.americabybicycle.com.

The most serious riders who want to explore the same roads that are used in the cycling grand tours – the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia, or Vuelta a Espania - should look into one of the many New England based companies that specialize in European cycling tours. Destination Cycling (www.destinationcycling.com), based in Marblehead, MA, Ciclismo Classico (www.ciclismoclassico.com), based in Arlington, MA, or DuVine Adventures (www.duvine.com), based in Somerville, MA are some of the many companies that can provide you with a complete cycling package, with full support, lodging, mechanical support and more for all levels up to the fittest and most adventurous cyclists. See their respective websites for further details.

A bike tour can be a great way to explore familiar territory from a new perspective, to see new countryside and soak in some history at a leisurely pace, or to challenge yourself to reach new levels on the bike. Start making plans to join in the fun. There are many rides scheduled for this fall, and some good goals you could establish for next year’s ride calendar to keep you motivated on the trainer this winter.


Tom Catalini is the author of Road Biking Massachusetts, a cycling guide book available on Amazon.com, and cycling blog www.RoadBikingMassachusetts.com.

Quabbin Area Riding - Simply Fantastic

The upcoming "King's Tour of the Quabbin" (Sunday, June 7, 2009) reminds me of the fantastic riding out in the Central/Western part of the state where numbered routes take on a whole new meaning (ridable, scenic).

The Quabbin Reservoir is a unique Massachusetts landmark. It is the former site of four towns that were "discontinued" in order to develop a resource to supply drinking water for most of the rest of the state. At the time it was built, it was the largest man made reservoir in the world, holding some 412 billion gallons of drinking water and stretching 18 miles from north to south.

In addition to the rich history, the area is full of spectacular scenery and great views from many nooks and crannys of the reservoir. The area is featured in a couple of the rides in Road Biking Massachusetts, including the "Quabbin Century Classic" which circumnavigates the reservoir. The upcoming tour by the Seven Hills Wheelmen provides three options to explore the area, each a "century" of sorts. A 62-mile metric century, a 100-mile century, and a 125-mile double-metric-century. I believe all (even the 62) circumnavigate the reservoir. This is a good chance to go out and ride in a great area. All riding out that way is hilly and challenging, but the effort is well worth it - stunning views, great little towns, and just as many exciting downhills as there are challenging uphills.

Memorial Day Weekend Riding in Greater Boston

Well, the weather looks to be quite fantastic for the coming weekend and there are many ride options from many of the local clubs.

CRW is re-hosting the CRW Spring Century route, albeit in a less full-fledged fashion, on Monday. This is a chance to do the ride on a nice sunny day versus the soaker we had on May 17th (which was still fun).

Also on offer from CRW is a great South Shore ride on Saturday - a tour of the beaches in Cohasset, Quincy, Scituate and Hull. Looks to be somewhat based on the Sunday South Shore Coastal route, which is a great ride. North Shore folks can do the Newburyport to Exeter ride, another great coastal tour.

Full details on these CRW rides can be found at http://crw.org/cgi-bin/calendar.pl/?thismonth=yes

NSC has two options on Saturday, according to their regular schedule, and a nice ride out of Andover scheduled for Sunday.

The Nashoba Valley Pedalers are offering a Massachusetts version of the Big Apple's famed Five Borough Bike Tour. This one goes through Marlborough, Southborough, Westborough, Northborough and Boxborough instead of the five boroughs of Manhattan. Check it out: MA 5 Borough Bike Tour.

Racing also continues at Wells Ave on Sunday mornings: http://bostonroadclub.com/wells_ave

For even more ride options, take a look through the MA Bike Clubs page on this site.

Build Power to Build Speed

from New England Sports Magazine

Improving the average power output you can sustain over the course of a ride or race is critical to becoming a faster rider. Incorporate this simple fact into your training and you can become one of the faster riders in your group. A great way to build power is to do time trial intervals twice a week. These can be done in short 1-hour workout sessions during the week so you can still get your long endurance rides in on the weekends.

When riding a time trial, you are essentially riding at or near your anaerobic threshold - the point at which you go into an anaerobic state and fatigue rapidly sets in due to lactic acid accumulation in your blood stream. The more power you can generate for sustained periods without going anaerobic, the faster you’ll become. The purpose of this workout is to mimic the time trial effort for two 20 minute intervals.

The workout is tough, but it can be done in less than an hour and the results are significant. Follow the workout faithfully for 8 to 10 weeks and you could increase your average power output by 10 or 15 percent, which would certainly reshuffle the pecking order of your favorite weekend group ride in your favor.

First, warm up with 10 minutes pedaling an easy gear. Then, change to a harder gear and pedal at your threshold steadily for 20 minutes. Take 5 minutes to rest by spinning in an easy gear, then go hard for a second 20 minutes, again at your threshold. The second effort will be much harder than the first because you are already a bit fatigued, but push through for maximum training benefit. Finally, rest with 10 minutes of soft pedaling in an easy gear. Repeat twice per week for 4 weeks. Take a rest week. Continue to train during your rest week, just skip the threshold intervals. Then, repeat for the next 4 weeks. You’ll see noticeable improvements in just a few weeks, but continue the entire regimen to maximize your power for the season.

To get the maximum benefit out of this workout, it's critical to get the intensity right. You need your threshold efforts to be at the all out maximum capacity that you can sustain for a 20 minute period. Go too hard and you'll "blow up" before 20 minutes is up. Go too easy and you won't be working hard enough to improve your power output. To get it right, you need to maintain a hard effort for the whole 20 minutes but have nothing left at the end. The effort should be very much like riding a time trial. In fact, a great way to find the right intensity is to ride an 8 or 10 mile time trial and measure your average heart rate over the course of the race. Then use that heart rate average as a guideline for your 20 minute interval efforts. A local club time trial race is safe, fun, and gets you to push yourself much harder than you likely would on your own solo training effort.

Having a good place for this workout is also important. Look for flat or slightly rolling terrain with minimal traffic interruptions, or use an indoor trainer.
Time trial interval training is a basic building block that should be the centerpiece of a good training regimen for anyone looking to get faster on the bike. As always, consult your physician before undertaking this or any other training routine.

Tom Catalini is the author of Road Biking Massachusetts, a cycling guide book available on Amazon.com, and cycling blog www.RoadBikingMassachusetts.com.

A Half-Dozen Great Options for Cycling in MA in May

The Massachusetts cycling scene is brimming with action, and things are really opening up in May. May is national bike month, after all.

Here's a quick rundown of some of the cycling action you may want to check out in May.

1. Bay State Bike Week. Tons of activities going on from May 11th to 17th. Commuter challenges. Breakfast specials. Police escorts for your morning commute. A special celebration in Boston hosted by the Mayor. You name it, bike week's got it. Check out all the details at the event's web site: www.baystatebikeweek.org.

2. The CRW Spring Century. A well-supported ride with three route options - half-century (50 miles), metric century (62 miles), or full century (100 miles). Rain or shine, this event goes. Expect to ride with at least a couple hundred companions. Being near the coast, the routes are generally flattish with some rolling hills. A good profile for early season touring.

3. North Shore Cyclists Weekly Rides. Something for everyone here. All rides ramp up during the course of May. See web site for exact dates. Plenty of weekday riding options in addition to weekend rides. I highly recommend the Wednesday night group out of Topsfield if you like paceline riding.

4. Wells Ave Racing. If you've got the racing bug, Wells Ave is the place to be. The Boston Road Club has already run the races for many Sundays and participation is sure to increase as the good weather settles in during May. There are races at all levels and an option to purchase a single day racing license. A fun, safe course with plenty of action to test the legs. Races are scheduled to run every Sunday in May (including Mother's Day!) with the exception of May 31.

5. Sharon Road Bike Club. A great group in Southeastern Mass. with weekly rides. Check the site for details. They are up and running.. in fact, I'm not sure they ever stop...

6. The Nashoba Valley Pedalers have a jam-packed calendar for May. Tons of options. Weekly fitness rides, weekend tours, the whole nine yards. Check this out if you're looking for rides in Central Mass.

For more ideas, take a look at the club listing page on this site and then browse around each of them for the best riding option with a club near you.

5 Reasons Why The Skull Cap Rules

Dressing properly for cycling can make the difference between a fun ride and a truly miserable experience. Riding in various conditions over time compels many cyclists to build an extensive wardrobe of cycling clothing, enabling a high degree of fine tuning in order to meet the exact weather and riding conditions of the day.

A successful clothing strategy for any particular ride (particularly longer ones) must also be flexible enough to meet changing conditions. It may be cool in the morning at a ride's outset, but hot and steamy by mid day. A bright and sunny afternoon departure may turn into a cold and rainy return.

The cycling industry has been very responsive to these specific needs, yeilding a plethora of highly specialized gear. However, one item stands above them all in many ways - the flexible, fun, and functional skull cap. Here are five reasons why this little item is great:

1. It's stylish. No two ways about it, the skull cap is good looking. Even prior to Micheal Phelps brining the look mainstream in the 2008 Olympics, the skull cap has always had a certain elegance and flair. The look says bold, athletic, and streamlined.

2. It's functional. The skull cap has a job and it does it well. It protects your head from wind and rain, and it traps body heat precisely where it is most aggressively trying to escape. Simple and effective. What's better than that?

3. It's flexible. Wear it on your crown, lower on the forehead, pull it down over the ears, or fold it any way you like and get just the amount of wind protection and heat capture you need.

4. It's cheap. Of all the peices of clothing, doo-dads and gadgets one puchases as a cyclist, the skull cap is a refreshingly inexpensive purchase. Great value for the money.

5. It's got a cool name. Some items need to go out of their way to crowbar in words like "skull" into their names. The skull cap has name is both hip and informative, with no crowbar needed.