Riding with Studs

Had to wait until after lunch to head over to Pine Hill Park today because I wasn't really excited to ride when it was 10 degrees.  I got my tire pressure dialed in and my new frame bag secured. Loaded the bike in the truck and drove over to the park. I wore my hunting jacket, a Columbia Wind Stopper Fleece with zip pits. This used to be my go to winter riding jacket and I brought it up to Rutland to give it a try.  Once again, I went with a short sleeved base layer, long sleeved thermal shirt, and a thin long sleeved riding jersey and I was sweating while climbing up Pond Hill Road today.

Fat Bike Upgrades and Accessories

You know what they say, get your kids into mountain biking and they will never do drugs, because they won't have the money!

More than a couple of people that I have spoken to over the past week recommended that I get studded tires. After my last ride at the Park, I totally agreed. I looked on FB Market Place and online but couldn't seem to settle on a particular brand or size. Also, I hate changing tires on wheelsets so at the same time I was looking for another wheelset, too.

2nd Fat Bike Ride

 As luck would have it, all that good snow last week got washed away in what I call the Vermont December Warm Up. Saw this last year skiing at Killington, we were skiing knee deep powder the first two weeks of December and then there was a warm up and some rain, and then freezing temperatures to reinforce the meaning of Ice Coast skiing again. Apparently, there was still some snow at Pine Hill so I threw the Fat Bike into the back of the truck and headed over to do some riding.

New Fat Bike Day!

For the longest time I have avoided buying a fat bike because I didn't want it to interfere with my other winter activities but I finally pulled the trigger on one.  Mountain biking was my first love and this year that love has been reawakened at Pine Hill Park in Rutland, VT. In the winter, Pine Hill is off limits to tire sizes less than 4 inches which prompted me to get a fat bike. The Park Manager put me in touch with Doon at Green Mountain Bikes in Rochester, VT who hooked me up with this great deal on a SevenPeaks Tracker 11 Fat Bike.  It's a discontinued model but a new bike, for around $1000 with 4.5" tires and a dropper post, I couldn't pass it up.

Bird Mountain Turkey Burner

David Molnar reached out saying he would be in the area visiting his folks over Thanksgiving and I suggested that we meet on Black Friday for gravel ride in Castleton. 

Stick Season at PHP

 

Like every other state in New England, Vermont has four seasons but unlike those states it also has two bonus seasons: Stick Season - after all the leaves have fallen but before any major snowfalls; Mud Season - when the snow melts and the trails and dirt roads get soft and muddy. 

West Rutland RAW

 October 27th, 2025

After work on Monday, Ann & I went out for a little mixed surface ride to West Rutland. Since it was nearly Halloween, there were many houses really decked out and this one on Campbell Road really stuck out.

PHP in Autumn

With ski season coming next month in November Ann and I took our last downhill mountain biking laps at Killington around lunchtime. Then we headed back home and I rode over to PHP for some unassisted ascending  

Closing Day at the Beast

Ann and I took our last laps at Killington on October 26th, because the mountain will be changing over for winter operations. 

New Dropper Post Day!

After a few rides and having to periodically stop to change my seat post height either for climbing or descending I decided it was time to add a dropper. I took the bike over to Down Valley Bikes in Rutland. It was a little pricey but it was worth it and they did a great job. Of course it took a bit longer than it would have taken if I had it done in Connecticut but that’s Vermont for you. 

Kayaking Lake Saint Catherine

Our last activity at Lake Saint Catherine was a paddle on the lake. After our mountain bike ride and lunch, we launched our tandem kayak and went for a paddle around the northern part of the lake and into Lily Pond. 

Discovering the Slate Valley Trails

Little did I know but The Slate Valley Trails started right across the street from the camp ground we were staying at over the Memorial Day weekend. So I headed out solo to reconnoiter the trails nearest to us. 

Memorial Day camping and riding bikes

 

Ann and I went tent camping at Lake Saint Catherine State Park in Poultney, VT on Memorial Day weekend and we brought our mountain bikes. We also got to try out her new Yakima Backswing for the bike rack. Awesome design and functionality which lets you keep the bikes on the rack but get them out of the way when loading and unloading. 

Memorial Day at The Beast

It started out pretty crowded Saturday morning because the Rams Head lift was having some issues. 

2025 D2R2 variations on the 105K Route

 August 23, 2025

Nothing like a gratuitous cow pic to start the ride

2025 D2R2 Pre-Game ride

 August 22, 2025

In keeping with our newly founded D2R2 tradition Will and I rode over to Treehouse Brewing in South Deerfield.

July at PHP

 

I brought my hard tail up to Vermont in July to ride at Pine Hill Park, because I was keeping my Specialized up at Killington and I wanted to be able to ride the park Friday afternoons when I get up to Rutland.

Relive the 2025 Bloomin Metric 100K

Tha, tha, that's all folks

 May 10, 2025

Kind of ironic that I would find an image of Porky Pig on the day of my son's graduation from The Rochester Institute of Technology. Earlier that morning, before the ceremonies, I headed out on a ride to sample some of the Rail Trails around Henrietta, NY from the Air BnB I was staying at.

“Don’t judge me …” says the ebiker who passed me today

 Mar 20, 2025

Riding towards Pittsford, I was climbing Corn Hill Road when my Varia beeped and then this woman passed me a on a bike as if I was almost standing still. She was on an eBike and she shouted to me as she went by, "Don't Judge me!" I did, since I couldn't help noticing that reflector triangle on her panier told me she does Randoneering.

Wednesday RAW

 Mar 19, 2025

Another ride after work and exploring the roads around Rutland. I took the Waltly to the shop to have another spoke replaced and went out today on Surly. I rode in an neighborhood north of RT 4 and found some Ski culture, which is big in Rutland and the surrounding areas.

Après Ski - Cold River Climbing

 Mar 15, 2025

After our trip to Jackson Hole, Ann wasn't feeling well so I went Tele skiing at Killington in the morning and in the afternoon decided to ride up to Shrewsbury, VT.

Rutland RAW

 Mar 14, 2025

After our Trip to Jackson Hole, I had to work from home for two weeks because my company was moving offices so I just stayed up in Rutland. Half day Fridays had become a permanent fixture at my company so of course, when I was done with work I headed out for Ride After Work.

XC Skiing at Grand Teton

 March 5, 2025

Ann accompanied me this year to Jackson Hole. We only had one day to cross county ski on this trip so we rented from Skinny Skis and headed out the park to ski along Tetons. 

RC Ilumenati's 2025 Account Opener

 Jan 14, 2025

RC Ilumenati's 2025 Account Opener Ride, a Tuesday night Rings & Wings ride, from Fairfield, CT. It was above freezing but it was still pretty cold.