Boston Racing Independent Cycling Team
If you read the small business blogs, they all say that it's important to share "behind the scenes" pictures and information to help people connect better with you. So along that vein, I'm excited to share a new project that Alex and I are a part of. As some of you know, Alex has been racing bikes since high school. Over the years he's been part of several different teams as well as just raced on his own. Back in college, Alex was part of the Junior National Team and went to France to represent the United States. Of course this was all well before I knew him. When we met, he was more involved in racing cars. But over the years, he's recommitted to cycling. He rides year round now - often over 80 miles on a weekend day in the winter. He commutes to work on his bike as well and a good amount of time goes into training for races throughout the year. It's been really fun to watch him get back to something he loved - and excelled at - as teenager.
It hasn't been all fun & games though. Last spring he was hit by a car leaving our house & broke his hand the following day in a crash on a training ride. Like the real trooper he is, he joined me at our friends' wedding that night before getting his hand checked out the following day.
Then last fall crashed in a race that left him with serious road rash over a large part of his body. Once again, ever the committed athlete, he raced the following weekend.
Cycling is a team sport and after a couple of solo years of racing, last year he joined a team sponsored by Ride Studio Cafe in Lexington. We met a bunch of really great people through the team and most of our weekend between April and October are spent at bike races in the area. Alex got to race with a group of really fun guys as a Cat 3. They finished up their road season last September at the Mayor's Cup race in downtown Boston.
Sometimes Alex travels out of state for races. I try to go with him if I can but the dogs often keep me at home. When the races are nearby, the dogs and I pack up and head out to cheer for him for the day. If there are any dogs boarding, I like to bring them along as well. At most cycling races, especially the Cyclocross races in the fall, there are any number of dogs. It's always fun to let them cheer for the bikes. Lola has a special harness for this upcoming season. She gets very excited at the races and often pulls so hard to join the bikes that she makes herself throw up. Oh Lola. :)
This year, Alex is starting up a new team with teammates both new and old. The team is Boston Racing Independent (BRI) and I'm excited to say that Beantown Hounds will be a supporting partner! All of the supporting partners of the team are teammate owned businesses. There are some great partners here and I'm thrilled to be included in the company of these other fantastic local businesses! I've included links to the other partners at the bottom of the post and in the "things we like" section. Please check them out and give them your support!
We're really looking forward to a fun season of racing!!!
Other BRI Supporters: Gracenote Coffee - Coffee Roasters based in Berlin, MA Trade - Fantastic restaurant on Boston's waterfront rOti Cycling - Personalized cycling repair and service Planet Nutshell - Cambridge based animation studio