HUP(re)United

It has been a looooong year to say the least. Not sure about you or your club but HUP United hasn't seen each other in over a year. Literally. A few of us certainly were able to see each other off and on. I remember those early days in the Pandemic when we were so afraid. I am not shy about admitting I was afraid. It was scary as hell. HUP as a collective decided early on we were going to take this seriously and respect health ordinances. HUP has always taken social responsibility seriously. This was nothing different. And while I really did enjoy DIY gravel rides and the creating a pod and sticking to that pod. Man, I missed my friends and teammates. HUP as you may or not know has been around for a while. We have such history in New England and beyond. One of the Legends of HUP is Jimbo. Or Jim. I like Jimbo. He is one of our OG. He exudes PMA like no other person I have ever met. I just love that man. 

Over the years he has hosted some amazing events. Tour of Henniker was a legit Gravel Road ride that he would host each year. It was mostly HUP but he would always invite FoHU and it was always a rolling party/sufferfest. HUP is not like any other team I have experienced or been around. One of the reasons for our success and longevity and why we all get along so well is one simple rule "no sponsors, no drama..." It is amazing how much drama is eliminated from a beer league amature cycle sport team when you don't have sponsors. Nothing rips a team apart faster than people trying to get better deals from their "sponsors" or the local shop that is your sponsor. It is just ugly. Just don't do it. There are lots of other reasons we have out lasted so many teams/clubs. One of the things that always blows me away is the lineage HUP has. The riders who started HUP still are involved and still want to be a part of it. And the new school riders who join do their part to take it to the next level. Whether it is leading rides, finding cool new trails or just hosting a rad get together. It is a family and after a year of being a part it was finally time for a reunion.

With travel restrictions finally lifted and even more important with vaccines going in people's arms we finally felt it was safe and responsible to get the band back together. Jim reached out and asked if we would be up for a more gravely ToH. He had me at gravel. And hangouts. And pizza. Jim worked really hard to dial in the route. And his wife Gwen was so nice to host a bunch of dirt bag bikers into her house. Jim and Gwen went above and beyond to make everyone feel welcome and fed us amazing food post ride! HUGE HUP high fives to both of them. They are the best. HUP on a good day is pretty much like herding cats. I am really the most guilty party. I am a Gemini with undiagnosed or treated ADHD. It isn't always pretty! After many emails and texts it was still a mystery about who would show up. There were rumors of a Yash sighting. Yash was the DS of HUP through the glory years. So many of my early HUP memories are thanks to Yash. He is a international man of mystery and one man house of style. I was very excited to see him to say the least. Roger and I got up to Pats Peak first. No idea how this happened. I am usually the last one to arrive and am more often than not a total dumpster fire.

 We had a great chance to catch up with Jim. Probably the best hug I have had in a while. I went from being kind of nervous being in NH and about to see a bunch of people to super chill and ready to get back to "normal" We talked a bit about how the ride would go. Jim sent everyone a GPX file so those who wanted to go full gas could do so and those who wanted to go Party Pace didn't need to worry. Roger, Jim and I had made a gentlemen's agreement to stick together. I mean this was not my first rodeo. When on a gravel ride it is best to stick with the person who curated it. That is the way to maximum radness!

Right around launch off everyone started to roll in. It was so good to see so many teammates. We rolled up to Jim's house and took a rad team photo. You can see so many versions of the HUP kit. And so many legends and new school riders. The funniest moment was when I was asked "who is that?" It had been a long year and we have had some new members join so not everyone knows everyone. But I was trying to figure out who the rider in question was. My friend says " the young hipster with the beard?" I started laughing. You mean PVB? PVB is a LEGEND on HUP and in the NECX. SO many great rides and races with Pierre. And like Yash he brings so much style to the team and to cycling. He is so smooth on a bike. It was so rad getting to ride and catch up with him after a year. 

We had a neutral roll out and all stuck together for about 2 miles and then the fast kids went off the front and us more mellow riders settled into our Party Pace. Now do not think Party Pace didn't include a TON of suffering. I would describe the course as VT Overland/mini-D2R2. It really would be the PERFECT course to train for either of those events. Having suffered greatly at both of those I intend to do this route a few more times before August rolls around! Oh one point about my riding. And lots of us on HUP. The Boston/MetroWest area is flat. As a pancake. NH is not flat. One of the great things about New England and why I WILL NEVER EVER MOVE AWAY (again) is the diversity in terrain and riding. I like where I live and the woods etc I ride in. But holy crap I am not a climber. I was paper boying so many climbs. 1x is super cute around where I live. In NH? Not so much. I am 2x curious. Going to need to sort that out before D2. We all were in the same boat. There was some gamesmanship going on even in our Party group. People keep saying "Chip, you have been riding a lot right?" Dude, IG is NOT REALITY. It is like Diamond Dave once said "it is all smoke, and mirrors" I have not been riding a lot. I have been taking it really easy. Yes, I ride 3 or so days a week. But none of my rides put me in any risk of overtraining trust me. This past year has taught me many things. Self regulating and staying healthy and well are top of that list. I enjoy riding. I don't enjoy time off the bike from dumb crashes or overuse. 

The route as I said was amazing. Some brutal climbs. Some very VT Overland Pave sectors. Some great dirt bombing. God I love bombing down a dirt road at speed. I will say we had a lot of different bikes on this ride. No ride bikes thank god but close. Yash was rocking slick Gravel Kings. I mean I have no idea how he was able to stay upright on those. I even saw him ride a creek bed in the drops. Impressive. PVB had a similar set up albeit his tires were super phat. He had a sick looking Ibis. I love my Stigmata but won't lie I had bike envy. We also had two riders on legit CX bikes with canti brakes and thinnish CX tires. They did not die. Which proves once again, the best gravel bike is a CX bike! We also had many super sick Titanium bikes and a couple of Diverges. I think the Diverge is the ugliest fully functional bike in the segment right now. There is not doubt it is purpose built for gravel. But god it is an ugly bike. 

The ride distance was perfect. And I won't lie I am about to sign up for the Kearsage Klassic purely because of the rest stop. Jim had us stop about mid-way on the ride at the coolest coffee shop I have been to. It was fantastic. Right in the middle of a cute little town. Grassy lawn under shade. I could have stayed there for hours. My comrades woke me up from my nap and we rode together back to JImbos. It was the best reunion I could have imagined. For those who couldn't make it we will get another HUP get together on the calendar asap. These rides and hangouts really to me are what it is all about. Will I ever race again? Meh. Maybe. I really honestly just can't imagine that. I think I am just going all in on dirtbag gravel for the foreseeable future. And I will be the happier person for it. GREAT seeing so many HUP! Thank you to Jim and Gwen! HUP start plotting and scheming the next ride!