Pine Hill Park: An Easter Ride.

Come Easter Sunday all of our friends near and far come together to ride Pine Hill Park.  We roll ourselves out of bed early, only to be herded like cats in the back parking lot of Onion River Sports; to finally collect ourselves and make our Easter pilgrimage.  This year was no exception and we had some new and old faces along for the ride, with some Spring-like flurries and colds temps that followed us all the way to Rutland.

One thing that was apparent was the widespread destruction on the way down Rte 4 to Rte 100 and beyond.  Still a year later after Hurricane Irene hit Vermont much remains to be done.  The Governor's exclamation that "The landscape of Vermont will be forever changed," was all too painfully true. Last year - and still today - Vermonters have been helping each other out.

When I was a child I spent the better part of twenty years up early on Easter, inside doing other things. For the latter part of my life, though, I've found myself on Easter doing this....

Enter the PHP photo montage....

One of my favorite airs: Aaron's Air.

Dollar Bill!

Darn Tough socks on a Darn Chilly ride...

Sarah feeling the buffed-out turns at PHP.

Jonti.

Quinn on the grill.

I can't quite tell if Kip is impressed with himself or disgusted...

Aaron's air.

Biting off a bit more than Snack can chew?

 That's one tired dog.

Well enough about Easter; here's to the great state of Vermont and Pine Hill Park. Now get out and ride your bike - it's dry out there! (Just check and make sure the trails are open, first.)

T.

Easter; one of our favorite times to ride.

Easter Sunday is becoming a traditional first ride of the season for us, getting together with good friends and getting outside - on bikes! The last two years the Onion River Sports crew has made the trip to Pine Hill Park, a network of trails for walking, mountain biking, running, or taking the dog out. It's a destination that always has us chomping at the bit to ride our first singletrack of the year. With over 16 miles of trails and 300 acres there is more than enough riding in a day for any rider. If you haven't been there yet, you're missing out on some of central Vermont's best singletrack. The folks at PHP put an amazing amount of hard work into these trails which is evident the second you start riding; and thankfully they've been noticed: park creator Michael Smith was recently given an award for his work in Rutland.

From the smooth flowiness of Svelte tiger to the rough techiness of Stegosaurus, PHP is worth your attention. A lot of people think trails like this just pop up or materialize out of nowhere. But PHP's trails are a testament to many hours of hard work by volunteers and one man's vision and guidance, Michael Smith and the Pine Hill Partnership. If it were not for this partnership PHP would not be what it is today. So what are you waiting for? check PHP out at
http://www.pinehillpark.org/php/Pine_Hill_Park_Welcome.html ; their website gives you more than enough info to find your way down to where hours of single track await you. And there are maps at the trailhead!

Chris sharing his Easter candy!

Jason ripping it up.

Sarah with her new bike and a great smile!

A great example of how Snack got his nickname that fateful day in Stowe.

The Kipper

PHP has made some great improvements even since we were there last year, and we were impressed by the workmanship. The next time you find yourself on great singletrack on a beautiful day with good friends, think about that trail after you ride. Ask yourself about volunteering one day this year to help maintain and give back to a place that brings you so much, so that maybe someone else can feel that same way. Plus, we can all help Vermont maintain its reputation as having some of the best single track here in New England! Or...maybe we should keep that a secret.

Oh and be sure to find Aaron's Air during your ride for a little air time!!

Happy spring everyone, now go get outside. - T.

Happy Trails! - S.

Airing out the laundry.