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.

A time to ride..

Riders Chris Lee- Dylan Covington

Rider Kevin Jacques

With such an unusual dry Spring followed by some wet and interesting weather it's been a good time here in VT to ride some of the best singletrack around.  I get to ride with some real fun folks and this is what they've been up to lately in the Green mountains of VT....

Rider C. Lee

Rider Brian Stevenson

Rider C. Lee- Rodney Nobrega

Rider KJ

A pleasure to ride and share cold beer with the Millstone Hill Trail crew.

 There's always a time and place to ride in VT. It's just a matter of finding it.

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.

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.

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.

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.

 

 

  

 

How Singletrack is Born

 Joe's Yoke: A great way to get in crushed rock, old school.

 Kip trying out the bridges, even the unfinished ones.

(photos courtesy of Kip Roberts and Kevin Jaques)

The ORS crew met up at one of our favorite local places to ride, Millstone Hill, in the beautiful historic quarries of Websterville, Vermont to get our hands dirty and work with the likes of Kevin and Jason Jacques, Joe, and Ricky of the Millstone crew.  These folks have been responsible for all the new trail creativity and vision at the touring center, and we figured it was time to help out.  With tools abounding and by way of tractor and lots of muscle power we were able to get some quality trail work done on "Rock and Roll" a trail that gives access to the new Harrington Heights.

This is how it happens folks: a lot of hard work and sweat. I myself need to log in more time to giving back and making the singletrack here in Vermont even better than it already is.  If you love to ride singetrack, get out there and throw some dirt or rock around; give back.  Singletrack doesn't just happen, it's born by sweat, blood, and sometimes tears; good tears that is! So next time you hear about a trail day or run into to folks doing trail work while you're riding, stop for a second and help out; I guarantee you and the VT singletrack will be better for it!

T.