The races are extremely well run and thoroughly organized. Local communities, tourists, drivers, emergency services, etc. are all made aware of race courses, times and durations well in advance. Signage alerts people to race courses and times and when to expect delays and/or brief road closures.
No complaints about the organizational end of things with this race. But some complaints were heard over the weekend about rogue packs of cyclists who, while training in advance of the races, pedaled on local roads in groups of 8 to 15 bikers in a pack.
This resulted in long lines of cars queued up behind the bike pack, making it difficult for people to get onto and off of the roads and resulting in impatient drivers pulling around the pack and passing it in the oncoming lane - leading, of course, to oncoming drivers having to pull off the road.
This type of riding is against the law in Vermont and is strongly discouraged by race organizers. When race organizers spot violators (who are identifiable by their race numbers) engaging in this type of riding, those riders are penalized and can be kicked out of the race as well.
Law enforcement officers do not routinely stop cyclists riding more than two abreast, according to Paul White, Middlesex barracks commander for the Vermont State Police. Such action might be perceived as harassment, he said, or earn officers a question about whether they have anything better to do.
The problem here is not the Green Mountain Stage Race nor failure of law enforcement to act. The problem is a handful or some teams of riders who are discourteous. The vast majority of cyclists who were here last weekend were courteous.
Let's not let the discourteous riders get the best of us or the event. Living in a community that relies on visitors and tourism and special events for a significant part of its economy requires a degree of patience from those who live here whether it is idling along Route 100 behind a leaf peeper too enthralled by the foliage to drive the speed limit or a visitor on German Flats looking for a hard-to-find driveway, or a down-country skier trying desperately to ascend the Sugarbush Access Road with no snow tires.
We need to welcome all visitors - the polite ones and those who are less so.
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