Typical view when riding in Western, MA... Really!
Before I start I need to thank Lyne Lamoureux at Podium Insight for the amazing photos. I lifted all the photos in the article from her website. In case you don’t know, Podium Insight is the place to go for North American bicycle racing. Lyne travels all over the country covering as many races as her Honda CRV will let her (which is a lot).
Soooo… I know it has been a while, but I have been very busy fitting people on their bikes, bringing my children to their activities, and riding the Jeremy Powers Grand Fundo. If you follow my sporadic blogging at all, you know that professional cyclist, Jeremy Powers lives near my office and is patient enough to deal with me. Ever since I met him, he has always talked about giving back to “The Valley”. Apparently, riding bikes in the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts was an important step in his cycling career. While other pros moved to the mountains of California and Colorado, Jeremy decided to stay here. WHY?!?! Because it is awesome. This place we call home may be one of the best places in the world for riding bikes. We don’t have any 1 hour climbs (unless you are really slow), but we do have endless, barely traveled roads. These roads are paved and maintained, but don’t go anywhere useful… for cars. Five hour rides with only a half dozen cars is the norm for the locals.
Jeremy and his close friends, Alec Donahue and Mukunda Feldman put together a fund to support local riders in achieving their riding goals. They kicked off the fundraising effort with the Grand Fundo. Basically a fully supported charity ride with a pig roast and beer at the end. Three weeks of planning, 120+ riders, 64 miles of riding, 20 miles of dirt, an ice cream truck, 1 roasted pig, and all the glory of the Pioneer Valley.
Famous people were there: Jeremy Powers, Brad Huff, Jamey Driscoll, Lynne Besette, Tim Johnson, Jonny Bold.
The local Wheelhouse Racing Team was there…
Wheelhouse racers Frances Morrison and Brad Warren.
An ice cream truck was there.
Not models... typical cyclist girlfriends helping out by manning the ice cream truck.
I was there…
That is me right behind Brad Huff's butt!
Now this is the part where I digress about Brad Huff. Typically when pros are involved in a charity ride, they leave first and ride so fast that the “regular” people never see them. At the Grand Fundo, the pros were spread out throughout the group and stayed that way for the whole ride. I rode at the back to make sure no one was left behind and to help with mechanical issues while the SRAM support car was busy. Amazingly Brad Huff did the same. I spent about 5 hours on a 64 mile course with a professional cyclist. Brad showed up with a saddle bag full of tubes, two tires in his jersey pocket, a frame pump, and a great attitude. He assisted riders up the hills by pushing them, changed at least 5 flats, gave riding tips, overhauled a riders’ cleats and pedals (really), and just brought along his amazing attitude.
Lucky for me Brad’s flight was canceled and I was able to get him to the studio for a bike fit. It was more for me than him as he is pretty dialed in at this point in his career.
Nothing to change here.
If you are ever at a race with the Jelly Belly squad present, make an effort to meet Brad and Jeremy, you won’t be disappointed.
Carl
Frances
lauraraybould
