SallyCat
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Just throwing this out there for any East Coast Divas who may be interested. I think I mentioned this somewhere, but I forget where, so apologies for redundancy. The Vermont Mountain Bike Festival (July 27-29) is in Brownsville this year, at the very awesome Ascutney Trail system. The festival fee gets you camping, demos, guided rides, a great meal Saturday night, and access to clinics. It's a really fun scene: big enough to attract most major bike and gear companies for demos and to have a great vibe, but also not a massive mob scene. If you're curious about mountain bikes or looking for a bike, you could literally spend the whole weekend demo-ing bikes; that's how I found my true love and bikey soul mate, the Rocky Mountain Pipeline.
There is a really great beginner loop trail, and some beginner and women-only clinics, so there is plenty for the absolute beginner or novice in addition to a good mix of technical and flowy trails for more advanced riders.
The fitness center next to the camping area and has showers, saunas and indoor and outdoor pools. There are also some great natural swimming holes nearby. There are also B&Bs in Windsor in addition to the Holiday Inn Vacations resort, which is right on the festival grounds. Ascutney State Park is right down the road if you wanted a slightly quieter, more woodsy camping experience.
https://vmba.org/event/festival/
Here's a pro tip: Join the Vermont Mountain Bike Association (VMBA) for $50 and get a free pass to each of Vermont's downhill bike parks, 20% off a Kingdom Trails membership, as well as a pile of 2-for-one ski passes at Vermont ski resorts.
The fest would be a good excuse to plan a big ol' New England bike vacation. Brownsville is about 90 minutes from the Kingdom Trails, 45 minutes from Killington, 30 from Okemo (which has a very beginner-intermediate friendly bike park) and half an hour or so from Woodstock; Suicide Six will have DH trails open this summer.
The whole state is lousy with great trail networks and they are too many to mention. Blueberry Lake up near Sugarbush is one of my favorites, though. Great novice-intermediate trails and then you can go for a swim afterward.
Let me know if I can provide any information if you're interested!
There is a really great beginner loop trail, and some beginner and women-only clinics, so there is plenty for the absolute beginner or novice in addition to a good mix of technical and flowy trails for more advanced riders.
The fitness center next to the camping area and has showers, saunas and indoor and outdoor pools. There are also some great natural swimming holes nearby. There are also B&Bs in Windsor in addition to the Holiday Inn Vacations resort, which is right on the festival grounds. Ascutney State Park is right down the road if you wanted a slightly quieter, more woodsy camping experience.
https://vmba.org/event/festival/
Here's a pro tip: Join the Vermont Mountain Bike Association (VMBA) for $50 and get a free pass to each of Vermont's downhill bike parks, 20% off a Kingdom Trails membership, as well as a pile of 2-for-one ski passes at Vermont ski resorts.
The fest would be a good excuse to plan a big ol' New England bike vacation. Brownsville is about 90 minutes from the Kingdom Trails, 45 minutes from Killington, 30 from Okemo (which has a very beginner-intermediate friendly bike park) and half an hour or so from Woodstock; Suicide Six will have DH trails open this summer.
The whole state is lousy with great trail networks and they are too many to mention. Blueberry Lake up near Sugarbush is one of my favorites, though. Great novice-intermediate trails and then you can go for a swim afterward.
Let me know if I can provide any information if you're interested!
