The Bells of New Hampshire

Sorry ladies, one hates to be the bearer of bad news, but it is official, one of our own Rapha Continental riders, Mr. Pierre Vanden Borre is officially off the market. This past weekend saw Pierre marry his lovely lady Erin in a fantastic ceremony hidden away in the New Hampshire countryside. Everything about the wedding was fantastic. Fellow Continental riders Cole Maness and Peter Rubijono were there to help celebrate (and Pete made his tie out of an innertube in case you were wondering). Since summer was in full swing we decided to make a full go of it and hit up all the best riding, swimming and roadside eating spots found North of Boston.

Sunday morning was your typical post-party hangover- cure ride. Cole, Rubi and I were our customary 30 minutes late and readied ourselves under the watchful eye of the Embrocation Cycling team in the middle of a hi-way turnaround. Again, not out of the ordinary but still not ideal none the less.

If anyone was curious, the road riding in New Hampshire is fantastic this time of year. With pleasantly shaded rolling hills and the promise of the best swimming hole in NH we circumnavigated Lake Sunapee. There is a road race of the same name that uses these exact roads and with James, Kyle and Linnea of Embrocation (who have done the race numerous times) we used the ride as part training route and part catch up to all things New England. And while the crew looked their Sunday best in their baby-blues it was Joy who stood out smartly dressed from head to toe in the Rapha Women's range.

Congratulations to PVB and Erin on their lovely wedding. And if you need a further reminder on who this character is, check out the below video from the Tour of California. This clip from Stage 5 shows the true extent of Pierre's humor - dry - and spot on at 6:45 in the morning. It has been a pleasure riding with this guy for the past few years and wishing all the best to he and his bride in their new life together (and many more sweet rides as well.)

2011 Tour of California — Stage 5 from RAPHA on Vimeo.