NOTE from the KTA Trails Manager, CJ SCOTT – May 2012

All right people, are we all in better moods now?  The “winter” that failed to produce much of anything in terms of snow is well behind us.  We’ve been treated with a pretty nice spring to get us out on our bikes and pedal the past winter’s bogus snowfall into a distant memory.

Summer is just approaching and now more than ever is the time to get our legs and minds primed for an epic season of killer riding… Lung busting XC rides, sick dirt jumping sessions, all mountain assaults, and glorious bike park shredding are all on our horizons, and it couldn’t have come any sooner!

Last summer here at Kingdom Trails was so flippin’ sweet, I was wondering how in the world were we going to top it?  Was it going to be possible?  Well my friends, we did top it and you may want to sit down if you aren’t already, take a deep breath, and give thanks that you’re a mountain biker because what I’m about to tell you may blow your mind…

Let’s start with the trails shall we?  Every year we get the same question, “Are there any new trails going in this summer?”   We always have some new trails up our sleeves and will be out cutting, shaping, buffing, and fine-tuning new trails on both Darling Hill and the mountainside.  With the addition of Troll Stroll and Jester last summer, we feel as though we set the bar pretty high!  True, they are two amazing trails, but we’ve got some extraordinary trail builders that will be put to the test to one up last year’s performance.   Rest assured that we will have something new for you to check out EVERY time you come to ride here, be it a new trail, re-furbished bench cut, newly constructed bridge, or a freshly manicured section of old trail.  We are here for YOU, the rider, to provide the best riding experience you can get, and it all starts with the trails!

Now, give this a thought… imagine if you will, nothing but pure mountain biking nirvana for 3 days.  Numerous group rides, the chance to meet the legendary Gary Fischer, tons of great food, vendors of all your favorite bike companies, live music, camping with your buddies, and doing it all on Kingdom Trails on a blue bird, picture perfect weekend.   Well, that last part we have no control over so let’s just keep our finger crossed, but everything else is no daydream folks.  This summer we are hosting NEMBAfest, June 22^nd-24^th and are expecting a huge turnout and one great weekend of riding!!  Pre-register at NEMBA.org and get ready for what is sure to be an absolute can’t miss event.

I could ramble on and on about how awesome this place is and what you can expect, but figure that the best way to find out what’s really going on is to just get up here and RIDE!!  See you all on the trails!

Winterbike 2012 Thank you

WinterBike began as a simple idea: Let’s put together an event to celebrate our biking community…on snow! When we threw the concept out there and received a resounding “Yes!” from all parties, we knew it was a go. And before long people were contacting Kingdom Trails and Mountain Bike Vermont to find out more information. The question remained, however: if we build it, would they come?

At 8:45 a.m. on Saturday, March 10th, we watched the line of cars trundle up a frozen dirt road in East Burke, Vermont – bikes swayed on roof racks, toothy grins gleamed from behind steering wheels and license plates announced visitors from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Quebec and Ontario. Riders had indeed answered our call to assembly!

And what an assembly it was. Nearly 100 riders joined us for the 8-hour event that included group rides on the famous Kingdom Trails, music, food, fire, beer, revelry, and a race that’s sure to become an annual fixture in Vermont – the IdeRide 6X, a six-man, snow-cross competition on a course designed by the state’s freeride ambassador Knight Ide.

There are many people and parties we need to thank but the first shout-out goes to Ol’ Man Winter. He’s been a fickle character this season but for WinterBike 2012 he delivered one of his best performances to date: perfectly packed snow under partly cloudy skies and a balmy 28 degrees. Long live Ullr!

Secondly, we have to thank our loyal biking brethren – the support you all show grassroots events such as this one is overwhelming. You guys rock! (And a very special thanks goes to Sean Ralph who drove the five hours from Ottawa, solo, and arrived early. Simply inspiring dude!)

Of course, all of this would not be possible without our sponsors. A huge thanks to Long Trail Brewery for their ongoing support. What would mountain biking be without beer? Road biking? Ryan, thanks for the vote of confidence in MTBVT. Jason, thanks for making the trip out.

To Vermont Smoke and Cure, thank you for the delicious sausages. They were a crowd favorite. And thanks to the Market Cafe and Catering for the other amazing local eats.

Howie and Tim over at Green Mountain Distillers, your Maple Liquor received a resounding “Mmmmmmm!” followed by “Just one more before we head out on another loop.” Thanks guys! And Dan at Trout River, you’ll be pleased to know your keg was drained first. Evidently bikers like liquid lunches. Thank you much!

It was difficult not to hoard all the socks Tom at Darn Tough Vermont donated. They’re so good! Everyone loves them. Darn Tough? Damn straight! And to our other clothing sponsors, Louis Garneau and The North Face, thanks for keeping us warm and looking runway ready.

High five to Jay Knecht at Scott Bikes. Not only did he give us some shwag for the event but he also provided the entertainment in the form of an epic bail during the IdeRide 6X.

Other donators included East Burke Sports, Onion River Sports, Earl’s Cyclery, Five Hills Bikes, and Iride. Thank you for keeping us moving forward in mechanical bliss. And an extra special thanks to Carrie, Chris and Chief at the Village Sports Shop for going above and beyond, donating schwag, sponsoring the T’s and leading rides. Right on!

Speaking of the ride leaders, you guys kick ass! You also kicked some of our asses. (Ahem, Ron Murray.)

Thanks to all our supporters in and around Burke including the private land owners, Burke Mountain, Burke Mountain Academy and the volunteers they provided, The Inn at Mountain View Farm, The Wildflower Inn, Lynburke Motel, East Burke Market and Junipers Restaurant. We are grateful for your generous contributions.

To the competitors in the IdeRide 6X, Hells yeah guys! That was some scary racing at times! Congrats to Brooke Scatchard for destroying all the conformists and taking away $300 and schwag. Brooke won every round by a long shot, on a Pugsley he modified with a lefty fork and swept handlebars that, rumor has it, he fabricated himself. Knight Ide and Ryan McEvoy came in 2nd and 3rd respectively and we have to thank Knight again for dreaming up the 6X in the first place. Thanks for keeping us on our toes by constantly pushing the envelope.

To Dale and Darcy, we thank you for providing the acoustic music by the fire. Your tunes are catchy and enthusiasm contagious. And to the Nordic skiers, thanks for letting a bunch of two wheeling dirt bags tour around your territory. Feel free to skate ski our dirt trails any time.

Finally, a big high five goes out to the Kingdom Trails/MTBVT combo. Tim, Lilias, Ryan and crew, we truly go together like PB&J. Thanks for the awesome cooperation.

See you on the trails!

Winterbike 2012!!!

Winterbike is almost here and final preparations are under way.   If the weather performs as is forecasted, we will have ideal conditions for all types of bikes.  Whatever you’ve got… just bring it!   It’s an opportunity to get out there and psyched about the quickly approaching summer season.  There will be a route for everyone.   We will post a trail conditions update on the Winterbike Facebook page on Friday so everyone can know what to expect.

Here’s the plan for the day…

8:30  Registration

-This is a free event, but we are accepting donations to fund next year’s event.

9:15  Trail Rides start

11:15 Re-fueling Station Rendezvous at Magill Fields

-Beverages, snacks and a fire.

12-2 Lunch at Dashney Nordic Ctr.

- Market Café or bring your own

1:15-1:45 Race Registration

-$25 Entry Fee

2:00 ideRide 6X Race down Candy Bar Hill

5:00 After Party at the Tamarack Grill

Kingdom Trails Nordic Update

Ski Vermont Reciprocal Nordic Program

Ski Vermont Reciprocal Nordic Program

Kingdom Trails will be participating in the Ski Vermont Reciprocal Nordic Program again this year.

The program offers season pass holders from any participating Nordic area a one-time, complimentary trail pass for a single day of Nordic skiing or snowshoeing at any other participating Ski Vermont Nordic ski area.  Restrictions apply at some areas and season pass holders should all be encouraged to contact the Nordic resort they intend to visit for specific restrictions.

The following Nordic areas are participating in the Reciprocal program this year:

• Blueberry Hill
• Blueberry Lake XC
• Bolton Valley Nordic Center
• Brattleboro Outing Club
• Kingdom Trails
• Catamount Family Center
• Craftsbury Outdoor Center
• Grafton Ponds Nordic Center
• Hazen’s Notch Association
• Hildene Ski Touring Center
• Jay Peak Nordic Center
• Memphremagog Ski Touring Foundation
• Morse Farm Ski Touring Center
• Mountain Meadows XC Center
• Mountain Top Inn and Resort
• Okemo Valley Nordic Center
• Ole’s Cross Country Center
• Rikert Nordic Center
• Sleepy Hollow Inn Ski and Bike Center
• Smugglers’ Notch Nordic Center
• Stowe/Mt. Mansfield XC Center
• Strafford Nordic Center
• Stratton Mountain Nordic Center
• Timber Creek XC Ski Center
• Trapp Family Lodge
• Viking Nordic Centre
• Wild Wings Ski Touring Center
• Woodstock Ski Touring Center

You may use your current Kingdom Trails Membership card as proof of KTA membership.  If you are wondering when your membership expires, you will find the expiration date on the back of your card in small print under the line where your name was written in at the time of purchase.

Thanksgiving 2011 Trail Manager’s Report

Here we are at the start of the Holiday Season, and as we anticipate snow and the beginning of our Nordic ski season, we look back and would like to thank all of you for visiting us and making this a successful summer!  The past summer was an exciting one, with the opening of our new Burke Bike Park, new trails on Darling Hill, and the success of such events as the CircumBurke Challenge and hosting our first ever Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference Mountain Bike Race.  Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and we all need to remember to thank the real reason all this is possible… OUR LANDOWNERS!  They’re the heart and soul of this whole operation and without them we would not have the amazing trail system we have today.  So the next time you’re out enjoying the trails, whether it be on a bike, skis, or on foot, think about how lucky we are to have such gracious and charitable landowners.

With that said, we all here hope you have great Thanksgiving and look forward to seeing you on the trails this winter.  It won’t be long now before we transform our system from killer mountain bike trails into nicely groomed Nordic ski trails for all to enjoy!  Here’s to the start of a great winter season!

Sincerely,

CJ Scott

Mid October Trail Manager’s Report

As much as I love riding this time of year, with the cool air exploding into your lungs and the spectacular colors of the leaves blurring by your peripherals, it sadly also means the season is closely drawing to an end.  This season was one to remember here at Kingdom Trails, and is this reason that I just don’t want to let it go!  We had great weather give us unbelievable riding conditions throughout the summer, buffed up some of our old favorite trails, and built new trails that still bring a smile to face hours after riding them.

I’d like to thank all of you for coming out and riding our trails that we absolutely love to maintain and truly appreciate your dedication!  This summer could not have been as successful as it was without the incredible hard work of my crews, and the collaborative work done with Knight Ide, Luke Thompson & Toby Cascade, Matt Lafferriere, and countless volunteers.  Kingdom Trails had over 350 volunteer hours worth of work done on the trails this summer, this involvement was not overlooked or under appreciated and we cannot thank those individuals enough.

We’ve changed our gears over to prepping for the Nordic ski season and look forward to providing you all with well maintained classic and skate ski trails.  So for now, get as many rides in as you can, because before we know it the snow will fall, the bikes will go into hibernation and we’ll be dreaming of that first spring day when we dust off the bike and take it out for the first ride of the season and the pain of not riding the trails all winter is a distant memory.

See you out on the trails!

CJ Scott, Trails Manager

September 2011 Trail Managers Report

Each day as the sun’s presence in the sky dwindles, we find ourselves entering our best and busiest time of year here at Kingdom Trails, but sadly that also means our mountain bike season is quickly coming to an end.  While the start of the season was wet and dreary, from July on we’ve been treated with ideal weather and riding conditions.  But enough of being all nostalgic… let’s talk about what you really want to hear about, THE TRAILS!!

This season my crews have been killing it on the trails and with about a month left to go,we still have some time to get a few more surprises completed for everyone.  The crew on the mountain has been busy getting Jester completed and as of last weekend, Jester is open and has been getting ridden hard!  Have you seen the bridge at the bottom?  It’s insane and we should all thank the hemlock trees that gave their lives for our enjoyment.  It’s the type of trail that you can ride again and again, never get sick of it and want to come back for more!  If only the lift could be running 24/7… now there’s an idea!  If you haven’t ridden this trail lately, do yourself a favor and get up here and ride it.

The Darling Hill Crew has pretty much put themselves on the map for being the raddest crew ever with the construction of Troll Stroll, a sweet sister trail to Tody’s and Tap n’ Die.  If you like what they’ve done so far, wait till they get done with the even newer trail, Eager Beaver!  Oh yeah, they’ve also pretty much been dominating on Burnham Down and getting even more bridges laid out.  If you don’t like bridges, this trail will be your worst enemy, if you love bridges it will be nirvana.  If you want to ride the longest bridged trail in the universe, then check out Burnham Down and roll along thousands of feet of bridging.

I’d write more and go on and on about how epic this place is, but I’d rather press the save button, upload this to the newsletter and GO RIDE!  See ya on the trails!

CJ Scott, Trails Manager

Kingdom Trail Association

June 2011 Trail Manager Letter

Trail Manager’s Report      

Is it just me or was this spring really wet?!  It was as if the rain gods held a grudge against us for having a super dry and epic summer riding season last year and really wanted to take it out on us to start the 2011 riding season.  With that said, the past two holiday weekends were a wee bit wetter than we would’ve liked and the trails are showing the signs of such saturation in certain areas… but fear not my non-motorized, two wheeled, pedal driven enthusiasts!  My crews are out there braving the man-eating blackflies, flesh terrorizing horseflies, and the sweat dripping, heat stroke inducing summer sun to remedy all the spots that make us all go, “Holy *%#@! this is a blown out, muddy mess!”  Gravel is being dumped and graded in certain areas, bridge construction is underway, and re-routes are flagged and cut to make your experience high and dry, fast and flowy, and just what you would expect when you come up here!  Will it all happen overnight? ARE YOU CRAZY?!  Make no mistake though, hardening and draining is job numero uno for my crews this year!

Also on the plate is the start of the construction of the new machine built trail for the Burke Bike Park!  The plan is to have the top of Enchanted Forest and the bottom of Black Forest become the new intermediate, machined jump trail.  The goal is to also have as much of the original singletrack still exist, so that rippers can get rowdy on the jumps and the folks who prefer to have their tires remain on the ground most of the time can get their flow on through the woods all the way to the bottom of the lift.  Knightslayer is also getting some love… in the form of a sweet wall ride!  The construction of all these are forecasted to start June 1^st.

See you all out on the trails!

CJ Scott