Over the past few years, the Mad River Riders have been updating and adding to the local trail system and mountain bikers from both near and far have taken notice. Last month, the local nonprofit announced that the 2016 Vermont MTB Fest will take place in The Valley.
The Vermont Mountain Biking Association (VMBA) event is scheduled for July 22 through 24 at Sugarbush Resort’s Mt. Ellen. “We’re basically taking over the whole base area,” Mad River Riders director John Atkinson said of Vermont MTB Fest, which will include group rides, demo gear, live music and libations.
This summer will be the 10th anniversary of the event, which last year attracted between 350 and 400 riders to mountain biking trails in and around Ascutney State Park.
“It’s huge to get this kind of attention,” Atkinson said of Vermont MTB Fest’s move to The Valley. “It’s taken some time to grow the festival, so we’re getting the benefit of an event that has history and followers,” he said, “and we’re going to work hard to make it as awesome as possible.”
When Vermont MTB Fest first started in Waterbury 10 years ago, the Mad River Riders led some group rides in The Valley in addition to those that took place at Perry Hill and when it was ready to move to its next location “they asked us if we wanted it,” Atkinson said, speaking for the local nonprofit.
“I said we weren’t ready because we didn’t have any beginner trails to ride,” Atkinson said, “but that’s changed significantly in the past few years.”
This summer, Vermont MTB Fest attendees will be able to access different types of terrain all over The Valley, from the 5-plus miles of family-friendly trails at Blueberry Lake in Warren to the more technical singletrack that snakes throughout the Howe Block of Camel’s Hump State Forest in Fayston.
And just last week, the Mad River Riders took one step closer toward the construction of a new trail in the Howe Block: Evolution.
Evolution was planned in conjunction with Revolution, a trail that starts just off Route 100 at American Flatbread in Waitsfield and switchbacks up 1.5 miles until it intersects with Dana Hill Road.
The goal of Revolution, according to Atkinson, was to connect the Howe Block’s existing trail network to The Valley floor “in a way that was usable in both directions,” he said. But climbing the additional—and very steep—0.75 miles up Dana Hill Road to access trails like Cyclone and Clinic “is not that much fun,” Atkinson said. “It’s a beautiful road, but it’s a road,” he said, “and the goal was to keep people in the woods.”
Evolution, which will be rideable in both directions, will pick up where Revolution left off, more or less paralleling Cyclone for about 1.5 miles just east of Dana Hill Road. Compared to Cyclone—a technical, downhill-only trail—Evolution will “be way easier,” Atkinson said. “The goal is to make it climbable.”
Already, the Mad River Riders have worked through a few phases of designs for Evolution with the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources’ (ANR) Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation. Last Monday, October 26, they walked through it again with Atkinson, “and they were very happy with what they saw,” he said.
In the meantime, the Mad River Riders obtained permission from local property owners to cross over their land and once they get the go-ahead from the state they will draw up a budget for the construction of Evolution and start fundraising.
Building the trail could be about $5 a foot, Atkinson said, but the total cost of Evolution could be offset by volunteer workers, donated equipment and grants.
Hosting Vermont MTB Fest this summer “is sort of a side benefit for Evolution,” Atkinson said. If the Mad River Riders finish the trail in time for the event, it will be great to have attendees out riding it, but if they don’t, they hope to host trail-building workshops on the site to help speed things along.
“We’ve been thinking about other experiences in addition to group rides,” Atkinson said of planning for Vermont MTB Fest, “and there’s no better way to get someone really attached to an area than to have them work on it,” he said.
