The Dirt In Vermont

Time To Ride 2013

As I sit here listening to the rain fall, I think about the year 2013.  The last few years have been full to say the least but when I think about this past Spring, into Summer and then into Fall, I start to feel something  and I smile....

Last winter, while out skiing, I started thinking about the upcoming riding season. I decided I would ride and photographically capture, edit and share the entire riding season, then go out on a limb, put it all together and raise money for our local MTB clubs. Now when I think back on this I can honestly say I had no idea what I was really getting myself into.  I am by no means a professional photographer, I simply like the feel of a camera in my hand and like to share what I see. I also like to ride *a lot*.

In the end we raised over $800 for our local mountain bike chapters. This helps pay for tools, advocacy, legislation, beer....(after trail work of course), and helps chapters reach out to new avenues. I cannot thank all the folks enough who rode with me, spoke with me, laughed, let me share their moments on a bike with me. Thanks also to all the sponsors who supported the show with raffle prizes, who did not even hesitate to support my project and donated their products and time so that we could make TTR (Time To Ride) positively the best time we possibly could. Here's to VMBA (Vermont Mountain Bike Association), Vermont Peanut Butter (Chris Kaiser), Darn Tough socks, Forsake shoes, Vasque, MTBVT crew, The Alchemist, the good folks at Jackson's Lodge (Mark, Gloria, and Lu) who took us in, Onion River Sports, Muscles Not Motors, Dirt Rag Magazine, Cannondale, Specialized,, SRAM and the Savoy Theater.  You all made a night possible where you could literally feel the energy and spirit of the VT MTB community.

When we moved here we knew we wanted to live in the mountains with mountain people. In Vermont mountain biking has come along way, from riding class four roads, VAST snowmobile trails in the Summer on private land, illegal or hand shake stashes of single-track, that either got discovered and destroyed or legitimized and solidified a community. As double-track turned into single-track, techy met flow, you could feel there was something there, it was good, REALLY good! It was the mountain bike culture in VT. That was over eight years ago and MTB'ing in VT  hasn't looked back.  I could ramble on and name names but you all know who you are, we all know who you are and if you don't, I only have two words for you: get involved. I like to joke that some folks think single track just simply grows on trees....well it doesn't.  It takes blood, sweat, some elbow grease, a couple of shovels, and a community, and yeah sometimes tears..wait I think I meant beers...But in the end its the people and together with those shovels, a smile, advocacy and some time we can make mountain biking in Vermont even stronger. I like to quote a good friend of mine: "you have to pay to play" and this doesn't  necessarily mean money but of yourself. So get out there and get involved.

Now stop listening to the rain, wax some skis and get outside...the snow is coming

 I promise....so is the singletrack. 

T.

Always; A Time To Ride

 As Nov 5th gets closer here's a little inside look at what we've been up to...

T&S

In the Kingdom

Rider: Chris Lee

At the Heart of Singletrack

Trail Crew

With wet weather in VT, a MTB'er must look inwards at times and face a brutal truth: It's just too wet to ride. With that realization comes a couple of choices: clean bike, drink beer, watch a bike movie, pig out on some Ben & Jerry's, or..... get out anyways and give that favorite local trail some much-needed love. With that, our Wednesday ORS MTB ride set out to do some local trail work.

The Wednesday ride is some folks only chance to ride during the week. Every Wednesday people excitedly call the shop throughout the day to inquire if the ride is still on, and where we're riding. On this particular Wednesday, folks called with an already less-than-excited tone asking, "So, are we still riding?.....[long hopeful pause]." My reply: "Sorry, no group ride today. But we're gonna grab some tools and head up to do some trail maintenance after a couple of intense storms that came through."

With a little encouragement, stoke and some promised hydration (read: beer), a couple of folks rose to the occasion. This is where the "heart" of singletrack  lies. I often think to myself, "Where would we ride if it weren't for all the volunteers?" These local clubs and VMBA (Vermont Mountain Bike Association) and their blood, sweat, and tears go into building all the great places we get to ride here in VT. We are fortunate to have all these things at hand to make VT a true destination for MTB'ing. It is the people that constantly give their time even when they would rather be riding that keep singletrack alive and well.

So the next time it's raining instead, of digging into a pint of B&J's or watching a bike video, grab your pack, tools and some good friends and head for that favorite trail. Chances are it needs a little love and this way you can be sure that trail will be able to keep on giving back.

Worcester Range at Sunset

Here's to the trail builders and to all that give their time.

T.

Singletrack Summer

Riders- Brett Leeper, Sarah Galbraith, Justin Tyme

Rider Ryan Madison

Sometimes you have to ride some of VT's beautiful dirt roads to get to the good stuff.  Here some good friends of mine have a little fun in between a flat tire, re-creating those early MTB years out West. I think Gary Fischer would be proud...

Riders Ryan Madison, Phil Parrish and Burt Marsh

 Rest those legs as the rain soaks in....

T.

Easter Sunday; back to VT singletrack.

Every year it's a given; we gather early Sunday morning, drive South, and ride bikes. One important  thing we noticed this year: some are just learning. To watch a young kid laugh and giggle as they ride their bike was something that really brought me back to my youth, to how a bicycle was an integral part of my life growing up, as it is for others.

Another Easter ride with friends, bikes, and the feeling of Spring in the air. Winter isn't over yet but Spring in VT is a special time of year where anything can happen.

Homegrown Singletrack

Trail crew Mike, Zack and Chris

Don't get us wrong, we're loving all this great snow. But there's not a day that goes by that we don't think of our bikes. Partly that's because they're hogging one-third of our mudroom, and we have to step over them to get to the ski poles, but we also just really love two wheels.

This love got us thinking back to last fall, and ahead to next spring. That's the beauty of this spinning planet: we will ride again.

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November in Vermont is a unique time of year. Snow in the mountains lures one for early season turns, while sweet single track below can be had amidst Vermont's short hunting season. This year the focus for us has been singletrack in our back yard.  After a year of cleaning up our woods by removing blow downs and piles of brush, the real work has finally started: trail building.

So this year that wonderful cold, frosty lure of early season turns, that itchy anticipation of scratching down the mountain hasn't quite happened for us. Instead, we're hearing the call to build.

r

Rider Chris Lee on R.I.P.

Sarah and I are no strangers to driving to some of the best hard built, hard fought singletrack in VT, like Perry Hill, Carse Hill, Adams Camp, Northfield ... the list goes on.  But driving there can be the least fun of the whole experience, so when we searched for a place to call home, land was certainly of most important interest. As a child I can't ever remember driving to ride my  mountain bike; it was a home grown affair. We would get out of school, get on our bikes, and ride 'til dinner. I remember not being able to stay awake all day in class, only to be magically awakened as the last hour of class slowly ticked away and I looked forward to getting on my bike.  This is something I want to recreate from my youth, out-the-door riding. And Patrick Kell, formerly of VMBA and now of IMBA, once told us that everyone should have a trail to ride within 15 minutes of their front door. We're shooting for 15 seconds.
 
Riding - plain and simple. Absolutely no driving.

Late night brush burning.

So what can you do with 5 acres?  Well let's just say there's no world- class caliber XC trails to be had here(this will hopefully change). But we do have some great contours to play with. So with that I called  friends, gathered some tools and beer, and started digging.

So far we've put together some great lines, like R.I.P and B-line, that are all collaborations of riders'\builders' ideas. Next year we hope to bring in more than a bit of dirt and build a pump track, all ready in the design and recruitment stage, plus a skills course, and as much flowy singletrack as 5 acres can handle.

And so it begins.....

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.

Riding into the night.

As the air outside cools and we feel time grow tighter and the leaves change their amber colors we can feel our daylight get shorter.  This is some of the best time to ride here in our Green Mountain State.  As green turns to beautiful shades of yellow, red and orange, our green tunnel takes on a new and fantastic feel.  The trail even seems to change as the leaves fall; we feel them crackle beneath our tires as we carve turns.
    

This Wednesday night was no colorful exception as we rode some of our favorite trails in Waterbury: Perry Hill.    Every light in front or back of you flowing in and out of turns.  Old familiar trails turn new and exciting with the absence of natural light, with only our own artificial headlamps illuminating our way.  Night rides take on a much more personal camaraderie-like feel with friends navigating together through the dark. Night riding with a pack of ten is like no other. This might be why fall night riding is one of my favorites.  The group shares the experience of riding through the dark, staying together, calling out turns or features, guiding each other as we ride.

So as we feel our light fade earlier and earlier each and every day, don't let it keep you inside! An old trusty headlamp or new high-powered riding lamp can show you a whole new world.  One you never knew just happened to be right outside your door; in the dark.

Now get outside.

T.

The man, the myth, local ripper- Patrick Kell

The ORS crew got out with mountain bike ambassador and good friend of ours  PK ( Patrick Kell) to night ride Perry hill. This is the man responsible and in charge of all the buzz and good things happening in Vermont regarding mountain biking. We like to joke that if you run into any trouble on the trail, just tell them you know PK, Hah!!

           I look forward to seeing where Patrick takes us the next few years as I have a good feeling that from what I have already seen this guy do in the state of Vermont, mountain biking is only going to get better.  Did I mention this is the nicest guy you'll ever meet and he rips!
Till next week

Cheers

2010 Vermont Mountain Bike Festival

Here are some scenes from this year's Vermont Mountain Bike Festival: Also, we had an amazing sunset on the second night:
Unfortunately those bright colors do appear to signal that a massive storm is coming...on this second night we also sat under tents during the worst thunderstorm/hurricane I've experienced in a long time. The lightening was incredible, though! Um...the flooding and sideways rain was also incredible.

Despite the rainy evening, the festival was a great time. There were lots of demo bikes, some great vendors (including Nemo tents, Vermont Peanut Butter Co, and Mocean Mate), and lots of people who love riding. This was the third year of this event...looking forward to the 2011 festival!