Friday Klunking

E.G.

Well it's a rainy Friday here in VT . Here's a throw-back to the beginning of MTB'ing and to what lies ahead.  I'm sure GF, JB and the whole Marin county crew can appreciate folks getting out on coaster brake klunkers and discovering just how to throw down that rear wheel skid on a dirt road. Nothing quite like it.

Happy Klunking!

T

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.

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

Vermont

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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.

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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.

VTMTB Fest Showcases the Best

When I think of Summer in Vermont, I can easily dream of the the Long Trail and the boundless hiking trails in the Green Mountains, or the swimming holes, the smell of green pastures and farms, and don't forget the cows. But last week, at the Vermont Mountain Bike Festival, it was all about mountain bikes and riding trails. We all came together in Waterbury for two spectacular days of riding, showcasing some of the best single track Vermont has to offer. More than a few folks showed up to try their hands at it.

Rider: Dwight Gies

It seems like yesterday that mountain bikers got their hands dirty, with the relatively recent onset of this mountain past-time. And look how far we have come in that short period of time! Blood, sweat, dirt, and thousands of hours of riders' own time have built some of the best trails in New England.  That's just what people from far and near got to experience at this year's fest. Every year it's clear: Things can and will only get better from here... Here are some pics of the fun times has at the 2012 VT Mountain Bike Festival:

World-class riding, right in Stowe, Vt.

A group tour in Stowe, Vt.

Chris Lee picks trail-side berries.

One of our newest trails to enjoy - its great!

A cold beer at the Trapps brewery.

Some bike derby to liven things up!

The end do great day at the VTMTB fest.

The 4th, Part I: Riding

Rider: Dylan Covington

The fourth of July is always a fun time.  Sarah, Odin and I usually have a mountaintop tradition on the fourth that starts with a beautiful hike, friends, dinner, fireworks and the beautiful hike down in the morning.  This year we let spontaneity take us.  So we found ourselves on our bikes with no plan, only to see where our two wheels would take us.  This is where we found ourselves...

An impressive sculpture on our way up to Roller Coaster.

Local artists leave their mark on the old granite for Rock Fire, a Millstone Hill event this Summer

The 4th, Part II: Relaxing
Our good friends Jim and Carla invited us to Hardwick, where they have found themselves of late.  Odin and Pookah took awhile to get to know each other and we found ourselves reconnecting with good friends from home. The town that food saved has such a charm and personality that we felt the second we arrived.

The view from our temporary Hardwick home.

The suspension bridge in Hardwick

Pookah, one big puppy.

Relaxing.

One of our favorite Co-ops!

Odin: This dog is insanely big...

Hardwick local meal: Fresh Tracks wine and fresh  Bruschetta.

See you out there!

T.

From Wasteland to Playland.

Rider Chris Lee playing at Millstone Hill

Hello, Summer (Biking and swimming, biking and swimming)

Two of my favorite things go together so nicely: biking and swimming! Nothing like getting hot, sweaty, and dirty, and then to dive into ice cold, crystal clear Vermont water. This is the life!

Part I:Stowe Grand Tour (well, about half of it)

Heading to Pipeline.

Refreshing.

Ahhhh....

Part II: Kimmers / Hardy's, Stowe

The wonderful Jess Graham!

Dive in.

Wednesday Ride

Here in Vermont, we like to ride a lot! And this season has been great with some of the best early-season conditions ever. Wednesday was no exception as we met up with some good friends and got together afterwards to grill some food and sit by the fire. We had a late start but managed to ride some of our favorite trails. One thing we have to remember here in VT is trail conditions.  When it rains, even just a little, remember to check in with local bike clubs or bike shops to see what condition the trails are in and if they're open or closed.  It takes a lot of blood, sweat and tears by many volunteers to make VT single track some of the very best!

This Wednesday, our good friend Lauren was also out for only her fourth MTB ride and all we can say is, we're pretty darn impressed. 

Dirty, tired and satisfied.

See you all out there!

T.