TdB2020: Boston Cycling History (CBTT)

Will the real Charlie Baker please stand up!

There is something about a photo like this that gets me fired up. Not only because it is steeped in cycling panache…but because it’s a real visual document of the past. I didn’t grow up a cyclist, nor did I grow up around Boston. However, I love seeing these kinds of pictures and hearing stories like the one that John Laupheimer (Treasurer of NEBC) has.

“When the start/finish was up in Carlisle, Charlie was a neighbor who thought it was a great event and stepped up to volunteer at the event. This Charlie Baker has passed away. I started doing it in ’77 when we started (and finished) at the Middlesex School gates and there was no 4 way stop on Lowell. The course was a bit longer as we turned left at the (now, but not then) stop sign at the T if Liberty and Barnes Hill.” ~ John Laupheimer

What stories do you have, what pictures are hanging in your basement or stuffed in a random showbox? Please feel free to reach out to me in the comments below or at turbeaucurbeau@gmail.com if you have some pictures or a story to share about New England Cycling. I would love to hear and see…and share with our community if possible. Please feel free to share on Instagram with the tag of #tourdeboston2020 either as a story or stand alone post. I would be more than happy to re-post to our community!

Your in all things cycling,

Matt Curbeau

(Credit to Jeff Dieffenbach who in his search for who was the real “Charlie Baker” dug up this great blast from the past. Thank you Jeff!)