Late last spring we traveled way up north to work in Portland, Maine with local mountain bike club on our Trail Care Crew tour. While we were there I shot some images for an article featuring the riding in this hip town in the southern part of the state. The article was recently published on Bicycling.com
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.
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.
We talk about flow about a third of the way through our Saturday morning session. It’s an abstract idea that we’ve always attached to the physical attributes of a trail. This past weekend our perspective was redefined when a hand shot up during this particular section of the Trailbuilding School. Damon, a local rider, shared “flow relates to something called the scale of challenge. It’s the sweet spot between anxiety and boredom.” If you think about it, the idea of ‘flow’ transcends the trails we ride on; it can also apply to the way we operate in the world of mountain bike advocacy.
New England is awesome! We had a busy week traveling from Massachusetts to Maine. Enjoy the pics and stay tuned for the recap.
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Tag: New England