New England Randonneurs

The Boston 300k was a success! We had 36 starters and 26 finishers on one of the hottest days of the year. Full results are posted on the 300k event page.

This was a hard ride, weather aside. In 193 miles riders were expected to climb 13,000+ feet with only a short section of flat terrain to give a break. This is 5m/11k further then 300k and that doesn’t include the bonus miles some riders managed to find. The weather was hot and humid without a cloud in sight. It got as hot as 94F/34.5C according to my thermometer. This extreme weather is especially notable as the previous weekend it was freezing and raining — riders living in northern VT and NH even had snow.

The cause of most DNFs were digestion issues as riders unaccustomed to the temperatures struggled to find the right things to eat in the heat and humidity. A few riders suffered from unexpected mechanical failures (derailleur failure and broken spokes) but to their credit they managed to find replacement hardware and finished the ride or continued for as long as they could.

I want to give an extended THANK YOU to the excellent volunteers on the event: Walter Page (Sunderland), Bruce Ingle (Petersham) and first time volunteer Ashley Lanoue (Petersham). It is thanks to the dedication of these people that the ride was such a success and I can’t thank them enough for tirelessly helping exhausted riders during the day and even shuttling riders back to the finish who were unable to continue on their own. You guys rock!

This was a mostly new route which used the first two legs of last year’s 300k (thanks Pamela) with the new western points of Northfield and Sunderland and a slightly easier return on Rt. 62 and back roads. The response so far has been very favorable but I’m eager to hear what riders liked and what they’d like to see changed. Keep in mind the only alternative to Blackington Rd (dirt) is Rt 202/140 which is a higher speed state road. Some prefer major roads and some prefer minor dirt roads but only one route can be offered.

Thanks again to everyone who came out. I hope to see you all next year.

Jake Kassen
Boston 300k Ride Organizer

I’ve posted lots of information regarding the MA 300k taking place this upcoming Saturday, June 1st. You’ll find the preliminary cue sheet, links to online maps, and details about each leg on the 300k event page.

Online registration is now closed but you can still ride the event by downloading the MA300k DOE form (PDF) and bringing it with you to the start with $40 in cash. If you don’t have a printer we’ll have blank forms at the start but we prefer printed copies when possible.

This is route is mostly new and covers ground not seen by NER for many years. It’s a challenging ride though some of the most scenic parts of eastern and central MA.

Note that the ride starts at 6am — 2 hours later then in previous years. Reflective gear is still required as most riders will arrive after sundown at 8:14pm on Saturday.

Important: Due to the security incidents currently affecting the Boston area, we have decided to postpone the 100k until April 27th. We apologize to anyone who was planning on riding our season opener on April 20th but we can not be assured that our start location of Hanscom Civil Airport parking lot will be available and accessible for the event with the heightened security in the region. This is only the second time in nearly 20 years NER has had to postpone an event.

Please check back here during the week for more information regarding the 100k on April 27th. The start location will be Hanscom Field Civil Parking lot at 8am; same as it always has been. If you preregistered for the 100k and can not make the rescheduled date, please contact us for a $10 credit toward a future event. Everyone who registered for the 100k will be automatically registered for the April 27th running of the event.

Some riders have expressed an intrest in having an informal social ride to Stealing, MA tomorrow (April 20th) starting from an alternate location. Check out our google group for more information.