Brattleboro, Vermont to Burlington, Mass. 92 miles and 4530, Burlington to Revere Beach, Mass. 15 miles
My apologies to everyone who has been reading this blog. Back on Thursday of this week, we rode from Brattleboro, Vermont, to Burlington, Mass. It was our last day of long-distance riding before yesterday's 15-mile ride to the beach in Revere, Mass.
After Thursday's ride from Brattleboro, we had a final banquet where awards were presented, and riders were told to "settle up" for all the tires, tubes, cables, and other bike items they purchased from the company over the last 7 weeks.
The awards ceremony was every bit as cringe-worthy as I expected it would be, and the "settle up" process culminated in Tom, the tour director's son confronting me about talking to his Mommy in a way he didn't like. I guess Mommy can't stand up for herself? In reality, he wanted to provoke me because he knew I had a very low opinion of the way this tour was run. His mommy held him back as he came at me. It was a scene right out of a bad movie. A fitting end to a trip that featured a lack of qualified staff members, a surprisingly tone-deaf attitude toward many of the rider's concerns, and an overall lack of professionalism.
After my dust-up with Tom, I retired to my room, took a deep breath, and waited for my wife to arrive from the airport.
Yesterday morning we all gathered for the final 15-mile ride to the beach. The tour director had specific instructions for us to regroup at a Dunkin' Donuts shop a mile or 2 from the beach for the final triumphant cycling parade to the ocean's shore. It was yet another unnecessary production number that she enjoys. It allows her to snap endless promotional photos for her website.
During that final 15 miles, one rider, Lisa from Maine, took a fall as her husband's front wheel clipped her back wheel and sent her down on the pavement. I saw her go down, and I thought for sure she had fractured her shoulder at least and perhaps worse, but Lisa shook it off and continued on. I have no doubt that she will need to have her shoulder looked at. The route also took us down a one-way street the wrong way. We all survived that adventure, and I thought how fitting it was that no one had bothered to check the route before we started that morning.
At the beach, I was met by my friend, Matt, and my wife, Chris. I dipped my wheel in the ocean, put on my sneakers, brushed the sand from my bike wheels, and then handed my bike to Fred from the tour staff. They will transport my bike to the bike shop, where it will be packed and shipped back to California.
I took a few pictures with 3 or 4 riders, and then we got in Matt's car and headed back to the hotel. After Thursday night's episode with Tom, I just wanted to be away from the entire Crossroads crew. I don't fault their intent. I believe they sincerely want to deliver a good rider experience to every client that signs up. Unfortunately, I think they lack some of the most basic skills needed to run a successful touring company.
All of my fellow riders were delightful people to be around, gracious and fun. In the coming days, I will email them all and say goodbye. I just couldn't do it yesterday on the beach.
I will write a post-ride blog entry once I have a chance to wind down from the whole experience. As I mentioned in my last posting, despite all the difficulties that arose during this trip, it was still a largely enjoyable and worthwhile experience.
More in a few days.
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