With a weekend off we traded the bikes in for a canoe and headed north to the Boundary Waters Canoe Wilderness. We love human powered adventures, especially in the backcountry, so it seemed natural to give paddling a try. How hard could it be, right? Turns out, it harder than we thought, waaaay harder.
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Get ready for a fun new series on Live, Learn, Ride. We’ll be seeking out some of our bicycle people to share their favorite memories and thoughts on their two-wheeled life.
We’re baaaaack – at least for a few weeks. Our travels in the east have been awesome, but we’ll have to admit, we were giddy when we crossed the stateline into Colorado. We’re looking forward to lots of good family and friends time. Oh, and a little bit of that Colorado singletrack 
We couldn’t have asked for a better Saturday; it was bright and sunny with a lot of enthusiastic volunteers. The end result was some sweeeeeeeeeeeet new singletrack. The building wasn’t easy (very steep sideslopes) and the soil didn’t cut like butter (it was more like rubble) but we didn’t hear one single complaint. I think everyone was just trying to contain their excitement at the notion that Illinois Mountain is soon going to be one heck of a trail system.
Now we move on after two weeks in Vermont. Before we leave, we have to share that we’ve been pretty impressed with the level of effort being put into mountain biking and sustainable trails here. Success happens on a couple of different levels; it starts with the local clubs and is bolstered by the statewide advocacy group, the Vermont Mountain Bike Association. VMBA is an innovative organization that does many things well. One of their greatest attributes is connecting resources with opportunities. So Manchester is in good hands. It won’t be long before they will be added to all of the great places to ride in the Green Mountain State.
East Burke is home to the Kingdom Trails, a wildly popular network of over 100 miles of singletrack. I could spend a lot of time describing it, but I’d rather just get to the point. Go there, you’ll be blown away. After traveling and riding throughout the US for almost a year, I can honestly say it’s one of the most unique, exciting, and fun mountain bike destinations I’ve ever visited.
The Kingdom Sessions Day Three: Kitchel. Chad and A.J. railed multiple runs so that I could get my fill of shooting photos. Thanks guys!
After a busy weekend of work, we arrived in East Burke for some relaxing and riding. Life on the road can get pretty hectic and demanding so it’s always nice to find a place where you can chill and still have access to trails. Through a mutal friend we were able to connect with Knight at IdeRide. He found us some excellent accommodations (the IdeRide Lodge) and took us on an awesome ride. We can’t thank him (and his family) enough for the hospitality. It just proves our theory – bicycle people are some of the coolest people we know.
Everywhere we go, we seem to discover new things with each club we visit. The Fellowship is no different. They’ve managed to leverage a small paid staff with a collection of ambitiously dedicated volunteers. The result is a vast and diverse amount of stellar trails. To us, it’s remarkable. To them, it just goes along with snow and maple syrup, the three things that define the state of Vermont.
This year has seen the addition of a third Trail Care Crew – the latest one is the very first for IMBA Canada. Chris and I are lucky enough to be working with Chad and Deanne Lazaruk, in addition to their coordinator (Rachael, pictured above) for the next two weeks in Vermont.
It’s dark, dank, and smelly. It seeps in without being noticed and can be a rude awakening when you’re getting ready for your next ride. It’s the black fuzz and it’s growing in your hydration pack.
My most memorable bike story (good) would probably be my first mini bike tour from Boulder to Steamboat. I loved being up in the mountains riding on bike roads by myself.
My worst memorable moment would be breaking my collar bone on my first ride on my new racer-x. It was on a singletrack right next to the bike path in north boulder and I came around a corner too fast and lost the front wheel. It required two surgeries and sucked.
Had a chance to check out a really neat trail system that is being constructed somewhere in north central Minnesota. The project won’t officially open until next spring. We had the priviledge (and the pleasure) of scoping out some of the trails during the build process. Thanks to everyone who is making the project happen!
HPT trails are located on Grandad Bluff above La Crosse. The trail system is multi-use and set up in a top-down format. This translates to an easier loop rolling along the top, connected to the more difficult trails traversing down and up the hillsides.
If Virginia is for lovers, then the Twin Cities are for cyclists. We had a great week exploring the Greater Minneapolis area. We managed to hit all three bike/coffee shops and explore that vast amount of trails located right in the heart of the (sub) urban landscape. There is definitely more than meets the eye.
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