It's a "Man Weekend" . . .

[BumbleBeeDave]

I was lucky enough to be invited to this (allegedly) annual gathering in deepest, darkest Massachusetts, at an undisclosed secure location in the heart of D2R2 country. Guests include employees of various bike companies including Serotta, Parlee and this year the entire staff of Firefly.

Most arrive on Friday night, then there's a cross ride Saturday, more merriment on Saturday evening, then an MTB expedition at a nearby state park on Sunday. My schedule only allowed me to attend yesterday for he cross ride, so I got up early and hit the road. I arrived to find everyone just getting up, some after sleeping in their cars. Our 9am departure time slipped just a bit as everybody got waked up, then we hit the road. Straight out of the driveway we were on a rather steep hill that quickly turned from pavement to slightly muddy dirt.

Here's the scene shortly after I arrived.

BBD

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . of appropriate hardware, and so--we're off!

This is one of the few photos I have from anywhere except the back of he pack. Fortunately there were frequent regroups so I had a chance to recover a bit. Serotta Scott was rocking his radioactive meivici--and those shoe covers to match. Several mechanicals on that first steep hill--and some walkers (including me)--made me wonder what I was getting into. I mean, after all, this is the FIRST hill! But after a regroup we got going again and I was able to ride ahead a bit and get the armada approaching.

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . then things headed downhill--literally. The road that started out great at the top of the hill changed to, uh, this. I'm not too proud to say I dismounted. Some rode down it on road bikes with skinny tires. They are either gifted, crazy--or both. Brian Smith demonstrated that he can ride with no hands, and I got somebody to shoot a pic of me at a regroup.

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . was stunning. Dirt roads beside bubbling streams, fields full of wildflowers, and you never knew when you'd encounter a pond or another vista.

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . from regroup stops. Chris smiles for the camera, as do Jamie (left) and Tyler from Firefly. At several points we passed D2R2 landmarks as our route criss-crossed that of the other route. I don't think after Irene they are going to be using this Green River Road bridge again.

[BumbleBeeDave]

Jared--our ride leader and host--thought there was a store in Colrain, where this church is. But we got there at mile 36 and no luck. So we continued on and finally found this small store/fruit stand. Firefly Jamie stoked his engine with the perfect recovery snack--a cherry tart, beef jerky, and an apple. Uh, OK . . .

Jared had no concerns about sitting under the "Pansies" sign. After all, WE all know we're REAL Men on THIS ride!

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . in attendance. Thin Kevin was riding Firefly #1. And Tyler and Jamie also had theirs. The anodizing is absolutely stunning when you see it in real life.

[tiretrax]

That looks for fun.

[Bob Loblaw]

Awesome! Thanks for posting. Looks like some great 'roads' out there.

BL

[nighthawk]

BBD... if you were riding that Redline through Greenfield on Sat... I think I saw you and Jamie on the Parlee and one other guy at one point. I was only looking at your bikes, so didn't see any faces... but I remember the beard!

small world.

[FixedNotBroken]

BBD...those Firefly's are some of the nicest looking Ti bikes I've seen. What's that paint scheme look like in person?

[BumbleBeeDave]

Originally Posted by nighthawk

BBD... if you were riding that Redline through Greenfield on Sat... I think I saw you and Jamie on the Parlee and one other guy at one point. I was only looking at your bikes, so didn't see any faces... but I remember the beard!

small world.

Jamie was on his Firefly. I was on the Redline, and Patrick (works at Parlee) was on his Parlee--I think it was an older steel rig. Disk brakes and an Alfine internal geared hub with 8 speeds. He was hurtin' real bad at that point and was lagging behind so we were stopping frequently to wait for him. The other guys did 60 miles and met us on 5 north of town, but we bailed from the lunch stop for 51 total and head down 112 to 2, then into town and back north on 5 to Jared's place.

You should have stopped to say hello . . . we could have used a ride at that point!

BBD

[BumbleBeeDave]

Originally Posted by FixedNotBroken

BBD...those Firefly's are some of the nicest looking Ti bikes I've seen. What's that paint scheme look like in person?

They were all bare metal and Jamie said the anodizing is done with electricity somehow--different voltages produce different colors. The net effect on Jamie's bike for those logos is like prismatic paint--but its not paint. He said they will paint the frame if you want it, but they don't do it in-house and have not sold many that way. After seeing the bikes, it's like Moots. The bare metal and the worksmanship is so beautiful that it seems a shame to cover it with paint.

The ride was amazing but exhausting. But some really nice people--frequent regroups, riding on totally strange territory but I knew I would not be left stranded. Exhausting but fin times!

But on D2R2 territory it solidified my resolve to do some bike mods before August. My lowest is a 36-26 and that's not enough. I'm going to get a long cage derailleur and an 11-32 pie plate and some Michelin Jets. Probably also replace the 36 on the front with a 34. This is not a bike I'm ever going to be doing fast club rides on, so I might as well emphasize the versatility.

BBD

[4Rings6Stars]

Looks like it was a great ride and an amazing collection of bikes.

Originally Posted by BumbleBeeDave

They were all bare metal and Jamie said the anodizing is done with electricity somehow--different voltages produce different colors. The net effect on Jamie's bike for those logos is like prismatic paint--but its not paint. He said they will paint the frame if you want it, but they don't do it in-house and have not sold many that way. After seeing the bikes, it's like Moots. The bare metal and the worksmanship is so beautiful that it seems a shame to cover it with paint.

The ride was amazing but exhausting. But some really nice people--frequent regroups, riding on totally strange territory but I knew I would not be left stranded. Exhausting but fin times!

But on D2R2 territory it solidified my resolve to do some bike mods before August. My lowest is a 36-26 and that's not enough. I'm going to get a long cage derailleur and an 11-32 pie plate and some Michelin Jets. Probably also replace the 36 on the front with a 34. This is not a bike I'm ever going to be doing fast club rides on, so I might as well emphasize the versatility.

BBD

Good call on gearing and tires. I've got 36-29 on my D2R2 bike right now but would like to swap the 36t ring for a 34. I also did the ride on Michelin Cyclocross Jets (assuming that is what you are talking about) last year and they were prefect. I saw lots of people riding skinny road tires but I'm not confident enough (if that's the right wording?) to do it on anything narrower than 28's.

I'm most worried about my fitness. I have not been riding enough hills or long distances. With grad school, work and studying for my CPA exam I'm not sure I'm going to find the time to get the miles in either... I'm planning a couple hundred miles up the Maine coast for next week or the week after, but that will be more leisurely / relaxing and not super hilly.

Here is my D2R2 bike for grins. ALMOST ready...just need to finalize the gearing, add cross tires and replace the FD I bent in half on my shakedown ride

[1happygirl]

wow BBD thx for posting and pictures. Its nice to 'man' up occasionally.

yr new bike and kit really pop