Discover More from This Category: Mountain Biking
Four Vermonters make UCI Worlds team
August 23, 2017
More than 300 of the world’s top mountain bikers from 35 countries are set to converge on the Smithfield Regional Park at James Cook University for Mountain Bike Worlds Sept. 5-10, 2017, in Cairns, Australia. USA Cycling has announced the 44 athletes that will represent the United States at the 2017 UCI Mountain Bike World…
UVM professor leads program on history of bicycles in Vt.
August 16, 2017
Courtesy of PHS PROFESSOR LUIS VIVANCO Wednesday, Aug. 16, 7 p.m.—PAWLET— The Pawlett Historical Society (PHS) is pleased to present its August program, “Of Wheelmen, the New Woman, and Good Roads: Bicycling in Vermont, 1880-1920,” to be presented by Luis Vivanco, a professor of anthropology at University of Vermont. The PHS event will be held Wednesday,…
Cyclists take on hunger
August 10, 2017
Vermont Foodbank takes up the fight against hunger with the annual Harpoon Point to Point ride on Sunday, Aug. 12. Since its inception in 2002, the Harpoon Point to Point has become the Vermont Foodbank’s largest fundraiser of the year, raising over $1.3 million to date. Riders can choose 100, 50 or 25 miles on the…
Downhill pros tackle Killington singletrack
August 2, 2017
By Evan Johnson Dry weather meant fast times for mountain bikers competing in the Beast of the East Pro Mountain Bike Gravity Tour (Pro GRT) at the Killington Bike Park. Competitors battled it out Thursday, July 27 through Sunday, July 30 on the brand new Goat Skull trail at Ramshead Mountain. The race also served…
Race report: Peak Gnarly Adventure and Six-Hour Challenge
September 28, 2016
By Matt Baatz Six-Hour Challenge The first wave of intrepid racers lined up on the top of Tweed. Downpours in the wee hours of the morning were enough to make the course, henceforth known as the “gnarled albatross” for the route’s peculiar resemblance to a seabird, not just techy and hilly but downright treacherous. Fourteen-year-old…
Uncaging the human spirit
September 14, 2016
By: Matt Baatz I remember what hooked a lot of us into mountain biking in the early 90s. The sense of freedom of riding a bike, multiplied by mastering daunting terrain in beautiful natural settings, yielded exponential results. The payoff was nothing short of the liberation of mind, body and spirit. The side benefit of…
GMT hosts two rides Sunday
September 14, 2016
PITTSFIELD—The Green Mountain Trails (GMT) will host two mountain bike races this Sunday: GMT Gnarly Adventure and the 6-hour Challenge. Both races take place on Sunday, Sept. 18, on the Green Mountain Trails in Pittsfield and include a barbecue free for registered racers ($15 for guests). Registration includes a t-shirt for competitors and awards for…
The hills are alive
September 7, 2016
By: Matt Baatz Your mom just handed you your first box of crayons. I’m betting one of the first things you draw is a big yellow sun with a smiley face benevolently spreading warmth over your world. Then you spend the next 15 to 20 years in school dispelling your naiveté. Nature doesn’t care at…
It’s not the latest technology that makes biking so great
August 31, 2016
By Ariel Kent In this day and age mountain bikes come in all shapes and sizes. There’s fatbikes, plus bikes, 650B, 29ers, and the good old 26-inch. One is definitely not better than the other, and up until 5-10 years ago there wasn’t such a variety of options. Everybody has their thing. Some love 29ers…
How to build a trail
August 31, 2016
By Matt Baatz Scouting Scan the terrain when the vegetation is waning. Bushwack. Get lost. Find the chunks of terrain that make your heart skip a beat—a rideable ledge, a swoopy piece of old road that you can modify, a rocky chute, a bermable turn. Marking Start flagging a rough path. Make the markings as…
Going up the Rabbit Hole
August 24, 2016
By Matt Baatz A small tree upended and took out a chunk of Rabbit Hole, an unmapped and lightly-signed trail, but popular nevertheless. It’s a pretty freakin’ rippin’ ride down, so the day I was backfilling the damage it was a curious sight to see a guy walking his bike up it. He had some…
Nothing is free, even trail networks
August 17, 2016
By Ariel Kent No trail net work is free. This idea was ignited in my mind this past week by trail steward Matt Baatz of Green Mountain Trails. No trail network is free and here’s why: trail networks that are open to the public (without an entrance fee) have to be maintained. Maintained by someone…
I did not build the Green Mountain Trails
August 10, 2016
By Matt Baatz PITTSFIELD—I did not build the Green Mountain Trails. For the longest time I wanted to go on public record with that statement dispelling this absurd rumor. I’m not sure when or how it started, but I know it’s out there and I’m starting a campaign to end it. As any trailbuilder knows,…
On ode to the trail builders
August 10, 2016
By Ariel Kent KILLINGTON—A trail builder is someone who has dedicated his or her time to creating a network of mountain bike trails that he or she can enjoy but, more importantly, that others can enjoy. The hard work of a trail builder often goes unnoticed, many not even realizing the hard work and time…
Pro GRT downhill to descend Killington Resort at Ramshead
July 28, 2016
By Ariel Kent An exciting and fast-paced weekend is ahead of us in our little mountain town. This weekend we welcome a ProGRT Downhill Race to Killington. Here professional downhill mountain bikers take to the newly created downhill track on Ramshead to battle it out for the fastest time down the mountain. Often times big…