Dot Bike

Being apropos of little related to DotBike or Dorchester – although I did meet a rider who lived in Savin Hill and know another DotBiker who has previously done this ride but an injury sidelined him this year – here is a brief report on my experience doing the Harpoon B2B ride on June 20th.

This ride goes from the Harpoon Brewery in Boston to the one in Windsor, VT.  That’s 148 miles  for those who are counting.  They tell you that you need to be able to average at least 16 mph over this distance.  And there are a couple of pretty significant climbs involved.  So this is no ride in the park.

I had been training quite a bit prior to the ride but with the chilly and damp spring and a late April vacation (that did include some riding but not tons) I was worried that I might be under prepared as  this was certainly the longest ride I have attempted.

At the start at 5:00 a.m. for the briefing and queuing up at the gates I managed to get in the second 16 mph group to start.  They start you in order by predicted speed with the 16 mph riders leaving first and the 22+ mph riders departing three hours later, the idea being everyone finishes around the same time.

The weather was overcast the entire time but not a drop of rain so it was actually ideal riding weather.  The start was very organized and our group of 25 stayed together for the first 15 miles or so.  After that people went at their own pace and I managed to latch onto a group of five or six others who were going at near my speed.   Riding with a group paceline for much of the ride was key.

The hills were indeed hilly and the course was long but the main thing was that the ride was really well organized with well placed rest stops and fun people.  And the best part was the finish.  There is a short climb right before you turn into the Windsor Brewery and boy was it a joy to crest the hill and see the Brewery grounds appear before me.

Your entry gets you free beers and BBQ and boy were they appreciated after a day of goo, energy bars and powerade.  And they had showers and massages were available.  So after a shower, a few brews and some food I got on the charter bus back to Boston.

So if you want a challenging ride you should definitely give this ride a try and sign up for the B2B next year.  Registration is limited and sells out fast (within hours)  but it is well worth it and get’s you a very cool jersey too.