Worcester Mixte

Photo by Lesli

So sometimes you have to turn lemons into lemonade. And while the #CBL through the intertubes seems all adventure rides and cold beers by a secret swimming hole it is in reality trying to find the time to ride with good friends. And sometimes when one opportunity gets scuttled due to SAT subject tests you make the best out of it. I am a good husband and dad. I would do anything for my family. Doesn't mean my knee jerk reaction isn't  "wait you scheduled SATs in Worcester the day before I was going to go to Vermont for an adventure ride?" Papa Smurf while in general a happy go lucky Smurf he sometimes had an edge. As I have aged I have mellowed. I only have so much energy. So fighting over something that is a fait complete is a waste of everyone's time. So I caved quickly and had a brilliant idea. I would use the trip to Worcester as a way to ride with my great friends out there. It literally had been about a year since I had ridden with them. Sure we race CX together. And I saw them at the Ronde. But that is a blur. The thing I love the most right now is just riding with good friends on their trails. At a chill conversational space discovering stuff and catching up. 

Ok so a plan came together. The 3Cross/Fritz crew were so great. They Agreed to meet me at a cool coffee shop called Acoustic Java at 8 am on a Saturday. That means a lot to me. Friends who will drop everything and meet you for a ride are literally the best. So I won't lie I was pretty nervous. I am as most of you know a solo dad. I am not on my own. I am not Danny on Full House. My wife is incredible. But she is the provider for this household. I am the stay at home parent. So things like this fall in my bucket on the org chart. I do stuff like this all the time. But I don't leave my kids alone. Zoe was doing 3 subject tests for the SAT. That is about 3-4 hours of testing. I dropped her at the High School and made the sign of the cross and went to meet up with the 3 Cross crew. Worcester reminds me of Providence when I went to art school in the late '80s. It is part Industrial, part college students and part a really diverse mix of ethnicities. It is authentic and has a real soul. I won't lie. I love it.

Brian hopping a log. Photo by Lesli

I found the coffee shop and was about 20 minutes early. I had jitters but did some meditation in the car and relaxed. You think I am kidding. You would think after 18 years at this job I would relax. But I can't. New parents I hate to say this but everyone who tells you it gets easier is a fucking liar. It gets way harder. I know when your three year old is having a meltdown it feels like the end of the world. And it is for the two of you at the time. But the teen years it gets real. Stress levels go through the roof. So I got my shit together. Josh was the first one to show up. I know all of these riders but we are all still pretty new to each other. I love making new riding friends. To me it is so simple. Do you have a sense of humor, do you ride well (and by well I do not mean fast. I hate riding with fast people) and are you cool. Josh is all of the above in spades. So rad. The rest of the crew show up and we get coffee and snacks. We share stories. I catch up with Dave and Jess about D2R2. They have some epic tales indeed. Sorry I missed that one.

Big stretch Photo by Lesli

Lesli plies me with Swedish Fish. I hit my inner timer and hope I don't die on this ride so Zoe isn't stranded in Worcester for the rest of her days. Again, for those unfamiliar with Worcester. It is the classic New England Industrial City. So many factories and warehouses. It is vibrant. A great energy. And no lie great for cycling. Honest to god we rolled out from an area that in Boston would have you on high alert on a bike. People were so chill. We took the lane. No one honked. We basically shut down traffic to take a left. No one tried to run us over. I have never felt so safe in an urban environment in my life on a bike. I don't know if people just aren't in a rush or are used to bikes but man it is nice. We quickly made our way to the first pave sector. Worcester has great riding. Especially for a city. We hit so many rad trails. I would say the ride was 60/40 dirt trail to pavement. And a lot of the pavement was literally dirt road or pave. How much dirt road still exists in Boston? 

Lesli, Jess, Dave, Josh and CB Photo by Lesli 

So many highlights from the ride. Seeing an Ice Cream Truck graveyard was tops, FLYING down a paved descent following Josh and knowing we missed the turn into a trail but not caring as the descent was so rad. Josh was so funny about that. I knew we overcooked the route. At the bottom of this huge hill (did I mention how hilly Worcester is?) Josh says "I hate what I am about to do to you?" I laugh and say umm we have to climb back up that hill right? He just starts laughing. Such a great guy. I love this crew and love riding in Worcester. I promise it won't be a year between rides my friends. If you get a chance make the trip. You will be happy you did.