Mountain Bike Religion

For those of us who have been waiting for the snow to melt and the singletrack to dry, this past Easter Sunday was a personal holiday: Pine Hill Park in Rutland opened some of its trails to mountain bikers. The trails were dry and in excellent shape, and the weather could not have been better.

Pine Hill Park is the best example I have seen of multi-use trails. Riders will encounter dog walkers, hikers, picnic-ers, birders, and other lovers of the woods and trails. Kids, adults, families, grown-up kids- they're all there. But everyone is exceptionally courteous and respectful, and user conflicts are minimized if not entirely absent.

The park is just outside of the business district in Rutland. There is ample parking, a giant kiosk with a map at the trailhead, and folded paper maps to bring with on your ride.

For more information, maps, trail work days, and trail updates, see their website: www.pinehillpark.org. Happy trails!

 

VT MoJo

Get out and find your MoJo

As I write this, I'm thinking about the trails here in Vermont. Early Spring is a special and particularly fragile time of year for trails in Vermont. It can be very tempting to get out and ride your favorite trail, but its important to be mindful of all the hard work it takes to build and protect these trails. It's always a good idea to check in with your local mountain bike club (it's a great resource and a great benefit to belong to one) to get the skinny and beta on how a trail network is fairing. All it takes is a little homework before we get out there to make sure all that blood sweat and tears doesn't all go to waste before you find your early season MoJo.

A quick check of the FOTW site showed us what was open, so we loaded the bikes and headed out for a spectacular early-season ride.

Now get out there, and happy trails.


T&S

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.

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.

Sunday Singletrack

My eyes opened just after 6am. You can take the girl out of the workweek, but you can't take the workweek out of the girl, I guess. As my eyes focused on our bedroom window, I could see the light of early morning: more grey than sunshine, more serene than loudly yellow. And as I laid there thinking for a moment, I realized that I had been listening to the most beautiful bird song. This bird had just been singing and singing all along. My days of ornithology are long over, so I have no idea what was singing this song, but it was beautiful: elaborate, trilling, heart-felt. The bird and I both knew it: This was going to be a good day. The sun was preparing to come out, and we were alive and well, ready for anything. I was happily awaiting a hot, strong coffee, a little breakfast, and a rare, wonderful thing: a weekend day off with Tristan, with nothing to do but go ride our bikes. Yes, it was going to be a good day.

We had lined up a group to join us at Millstone Hill Touring Center. If you have never before been here to ride trails, you should go! I'm not kidding. To be fair, everything you have heard about Millstone riding is right: There are a lot of rocks. It's technical. It's not always flowy. There are a lot of features on those two free-ride trails. But the trails are well-built, there are miles and miles of singletrack, and there is enough terrain to keep any rider entertained. It is technical in a fun way. And yes, it is well worth the price of a day ticket ($10) - or season pass ($40). As eight of us pedaled away from the parking lot, down a side road, and into the woods, I again knew it: This was going to be good. We had a great group of people and miles of fun singletrack lay before us.


 I won't recount the many trails we rode as we pedaled our way through a 10-mile grand tour of the whole place. Some highlights, though, were Locomotion, Boiler Maker, Fellowship Ring, and Roller Coaster. There's something for everyone here: Locomotion is fast and fun; Boiler Maker throws some challenging spots into the mix; and Fellowship has enough technical sections to keep any rider happy, plus this sweet section of looping flow through a beautiful forest. Roller Coaster, a fun free-ride trail with a major elevation drop and lots of BC-style built features, puts a smile on the face of anyone who rides it. Throughout the day we found several lookouts that afforded sweeping views of the water-filled quarries below and the valleys and hills of central Vermont continuing out from there.

These are the days we live for: surrounded by friends, woods, and bikes; with a few good views to put things into better perspective. There were long-time riders and newbies, including a road cyclist turned mountain biker on his first ever trail ride.

Later that evening, a few of us sat in the corner of a loud, busy apartment full of friends celebrating the thirty-one years of a most wonderful person; we laughed at how we could all snuggle up and go to sleep right there. Our legs were weak and worked, our lungs were raw, our heads were out of it; thankfully we had each other to commiserate and to keep from looking like lonely, wilted wallflowers. We all agreed, this was the best feeling to end a day with: tired, utterly used up and waiting, with a drink in hand, for a delicious spicy meal cooked by someone else. I fell asleep with my belly full, my heart full, and my mind blissfully cleared and at peace. This was a good day.

More Sweet Singletrack

 The season is just getting going, and it tastes oh-so-sweet.

 

 

  

 

The First of Many "Sweet" Singletrack Days

When good friends call early in the morning to ride, especially in early April, you ride. Sarah and I are lucky that many of our friends ride bikes and every year we get to meet even more good folks to ride with.  So, when riding season comes around, we are sure to have many great friends to hit the trails with. And, when that first ride of the season happens, no matter where or when, there are a couple of things you can come to expect. 

As seen in photo A, above, the first thing you can expect on that first ride is to feel a little rough around the edges, to say the least. When those lungs start to burn and the legs start to cramp, especially after a less than brilliant winter, hang in there! And be assured there will always be a friend to ride by and say " Hey, I don't know about you, but I'm really feeling great!"  And you respond without restraint "Blarrghhhh."   

You might also on that first ride have this guy.  You know: he's on a steel, single speed 90's-era Trek cobbled out of parts from the dumpster behind the local bike shop, and he's dropping all the cool lines you have to work up to hitting halfway through the season. He's a good friend so you just watch and try to capture the moment.  

Ah, cabin fever.  As we all get out our bikes out for the season and brush the dust off those top tubes (although I know some of you out there have been riding all winter) we suit up for our first ride. And we get to see all the diverse culture out there. Back when mountain biking was not that popular, standard protocol for riding was spandex shorts and a crusty jersey. Nowadays you can expect  to see anyone looking like last month's cover of Mountain Bike Action or perhaps all in matching spandex (Please don't take offense: I have matching spandex. And man-pris.).  It's great to see just how far our - dare I say - sport has come.

Now, as for the ride: Yes, I think - or I hope - at least that we can all agree that we're really all out there to just enjoy being outside and ride  with good friends. Sometimes you just have to stop and smell that single track.  Riding is different from hiking, which we're quite fond of, too; but, when riding, I think one can get lost and things can fly by pretty fast!  So when your lungs can't seem to keep up with your legs or the guy in front of you: slow down, stop and enjoy the experience.

And while you're out there enjoying the singletrack, remember to get involved; think about who made it possible. Many folks sink their blood, sweat, tears and time into building these trails and we could all stand to put some of ours in as well to make our local riding the experience we all want it to be. This sign at the end of Bear Run says it all: Get out there and make it happen!

Ah, yes. Back to that first ride...or, rather, the parking lot where you can finally rest those weary legs and enjoy the end of your ride with good friends, and perhaps a toast. This is often when we share some great stories and times with old and new friends. And, after that first ride comes to an end - or the second, third, fourth... - we are already thinking about where that next ride will begin.

No fooling around here folks, it's going to be a good year; I can already feel it.

Now get out there and get involved!

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.