I crossed the border into Vermont at a one man check point. There were the usual questions one might expect from a border guard except for one. When asked where I was going, I said East Burke, to which he said with a certain tone of assumption, going golfing? I paused for a second and processed that question; he thinks I look like the typical set in his ways old golfer who likely would rather sit in a golf cart than fly down a hill on a mountain bike. NO! I said, I’m going mountain biking. Pop the trunk! He took a very brief look at the bike wrapped up with wheels off and returned to his station. The conversation was over, he sent me on my way. The drive through northern Vermont was exactly what one expects in the middle of October. The hills were alive with colour and the air was sharp and crisp making the visibility clear to the end of the horizon. I travelled down some winding roads that seemed to be made simply for the purpose of having fun driving a car, and I did. I arrived in East Burke which is a very small village just North of Lyndonville. Not much happens in East Burke except skiing in winter and mountain biking in the summer so locals have banned together to make mountain biking into a well-established tourist attraction created in part with permission from private landowners. I must say they have worked toward that goal with great enthusiasm. There is a 15 dollar fee to ride the Kingdom Trails that is collected at the Welcome Center in the center of the village. Mac computers are set up in the center to sign off on the waiver however one would be well advised to sign the waiver online before you leaving home. One of the staff members spends his day marking the free map with a highlighter based on what you would like to accomplish on that day. I was surprised to hear one of the staff members speaking in French but it didn’t take long to figure out why a staffer would speak French. I encountered a large number of French Canadians using the trail system, in fact on the day I was there it seemed that the vast majority of the riders were French, perhaps because it was the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend and East Burke is not far from the border. I asked the mapper to lay out a 2 to 4 hour ride to which he created a route with a smile on his face; he seemed to like his job. I headed out with map in hand to the starting point on the map; unfortunately I was looking at the map upside down, so I went to the wrong way to the top of the wrong hill. After climbing for 2 kilometres I talked to a few other riders who pointed out the error of my ways, and they said since you are here you should take Burnham Down to the bottom. Well that was one happy accident; the trail was of course, all downhill with one quarter of the trail made of raised 30 inch wide boardwalk. When I got back down to the bottom of the hill I turned the map up side right and headed up hill on a road for another 2 kilometers. Once again the climb was met by a rewarding downhill run. I found the trails all had a few features that seemed very common in their design, roots and berms. The trail builders spent a lot of time and energy building berms into the fast downhill corners, the roots happened naturally due to the nature of the soil type and species of trees growing in the hardwood forest. The landscape had some breath-taking scenes along cliff and river edges. There was one place, one moment in time that will forever be engrained in my mind when I think of Kingdom Trails. I found myself in the middle of a group of French-Canadians on the Side Winder trail, it just sort of happened that way. We were riding up one side of the valley and plunging straight back down and up the other side with a perfect flow, but it wasn’t the trail or the flow or the group I found myself in, no it was the light coming down through the high canopy. All of the trees in that area had leaves which had turned yellow making one feel like you were in a natural cathedral lit by massive yellow lights, spectacular. There were a few other trails that caught my fancy; Hog’s Back and Piggy Back. Both of these trails had nice flow and rhythm that I enjoyed as much as I enjoy bacon! Anything named Hog Back is always cool, I’m not sure why that is, it just is. I could go on and on about the vast number of trails and rate them but that would be a little much and perhaps take away from your own experience when you go there, and you should, you really should. Of course not everything is perfect and so it is even with one of the top rated trail systems in our part of the world. The map was very well designed and the staff members were both friendly and helpful to aid with directions. The one complaint I have about the trail system is that it relies too much on old double track trails to connect some of the single-track trails. The links are at times spread out and riders tend to wander back and forth trying to find a trail shown on the map. The start and end of the trails were usually well labeled but some of the signage made me chuckle. One sign said River at a Y in the trail, no indication which way was which. It would be a great improvement to the trail system if it did not use double tracks to connect disjointed trails. The forest is vast and joining the trails without using double track would not be difficult to do. Overall I would highly recommend making the trip to East Burke, Vermont to ride the Kingdom Trails. There are too many trails to ride in one day and the terrain is very hilly so best to plan a weekend stay and ride for 2 to 3 days. I rode the following trails in this order. Burnham Down,(up paved road), Upper Harp, Harp, Coronary, French Line, Troll Stroll, Eager Beaver, River Run, Hog Back, Piggy Back, Side Winder, West Bench, Old Web’s, Border, Jaw, Maxilla, Sugar Hill, Ridge, East Branch, Leather Wood, Beat Bog, Kitchel and Herb’s.
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Name a hero. I’ll bet the person you thought of has made a choice to give of him or herself for the betterment of mankind. People who will risk it all to save others against all odds and survive are called heroes. We usually think of people who are paid to do brave acts as heroes, but this is not always the case. Paid heroes are expected to risk themselves to a certain degree and when they go beyond the duties they are called to, we stick a medal on their chest. So it is safe to say that being a hero is not something a person gets paid to do but rather a choice one makes. We all know a hero or two. I've met many heroes out on a Saturday morning volunteering their time for the betterment of society simply by building trails that will give so many people a place to unwind and stay healthy. They were not paid for their actions and they expected nothing in return because that is the fabric volunteers are made of, the same fabric heroes are made of. Volunteers and heroes are the same people who step up when others are stepping back. The volunteer says, yes I will give of myself with no expectation of reward. We often refer to these people as everyday heroes because they do their selfless acts on a regular bases, we encounter them every day, but usually give them little thought. The next time you meet a person who is giving of themselves to help others say thank you. You can find them coaching sports, working in a soup kitchen, volunteering at a community center, being a big brother or sister, to name just a few. How many everyday heroes can you think of? Are you one of those people? Opinions are formed by first impressions. The first time I rode the trails at Kelso Mountain Bike Park was in a race; actually I rode a lot of trails for the first time in a race. It was in those races I formed an opinion about those places and decided mid race if I would ride there if it wasn't for the race. Kelso left a bad impression on me in that race which stuck with me for many years. The first race I did there was in a rain storm. I guess you can't blame the park for the rain but I did have a bad day. Another race day went off like firecrackers and it was great except for that long arduous climb up the ski hill. It was a funny course with that big hill climb followed by the almost flat terrain up top, Meh! The last time I raced there it was a hot, sweltering day and I overheated on the big sun soaked climb; one of only two races I didn't complete. So when a friend of mine asked me to ride there I thought; Meh... well okay only because you want to go there. After riding there a few times with my friend my opinion started to shift and I began to see another side of Kelso. A fun technical park with lots of cool rock out cropping’s and man made wooden features. The park has some fast flowing double track coupled with winding trails through the forest and a few very nice downhill runs. It takes a few rides there to find a way to effectively connect the trails in a nice consecutive pattern. The park layout seems random with little forethought to connectivity. There are some technical rock sections of trail that presented a challenge to the average rider and a number of skinnies made out of logs with the tops flattened out. Riding skinnies is something I have had little exposure to but I am finding that they are a fun little feature that is more about mind over matter. The skinnies are as wide as a trail but yet they seem more challenging than they should be. But this brings me back to my first impressions of Kelso. This trail system is built on conservation land and as such they charge for entry into the park to ride. One should expect more from the managers when it is a pay to play park, yet not so much. Many of the skinnies are in disrepair making them sketchy to ride. If a park charges to ride they should deliver a quality experience; one would expect a better product than a trail system built and maintained by volunteers, but it doesn't.
Hey Kelso, don't be a dumb-ass; fix your features. The tips of my fingers are sore as I type this Blog. My day started when I met a few fellow riders at The Hydrocut to do some trail repair and feature building. My two friends were there to give something back for the pleasure the trails gave them. We loaded up some trail building tools into the wheelbarrow and set off to correct a turn that just wasn't turning right when going left. I would like to point out that I particularly dislike gravity when I am pushing a load of rocks up a hill in a wheelbarrow and that I only like gravity when I'm going downhill on my bike. Our task started with loading a half dozen wheelbarrows loads of "baby head" size rocks and pushing them up a hill to use them as fill. Did I mention how much gravity sucks? I must say that it was convenient that the farmer had piled them nearby where we needed them, albeit at the bottom of the hill. It was probably a hundred years ago or perhaps two hundred that the farmer was clearing his field and piling those stones right there for us, who can say for sure! The ole farmer had no idea way back then, that some crazy mountain biker hooligans would be riding bikes through the forest in 2015 and using his rock pile as trail building material. In his lifetime he would have known hard work to make a living and not for fun; but there we were using his hard work to create fun. We live a privileged life in this century and this country enjoying a culture and a society built by those who went before us. Not to say that we didn't work hard because we did, my aching back bears testimony to that fact.
We corrected that bad turn with his rocks and added a small bump in the trail for those would be air chasers, over grown thrill seeking kids riding bicycles through the forest. The tools were loaded back into the wheelbarrow and moved over to another pile of rocks most graciously piled by our friend the farmer. The trail goes directly over the rock pile as it does in so many places in The Hydrocut; we call that a feature. There were some mud holes near the feature on that section of trail which persistently stayed wet and those holes were very unpopular with riders. We used some of those rocks to fill in the mud holes and for good measure added a more difficult line over the rock pile to match the line that was already there. Many of the rocks we moved for this project were not the size of a baby's head; no they were about the size of an elephant's head. There were some riders who rode past and thanked us for our hard work. A thank you can mean so much when you are giving your time and energy away. I loaded the tools back into the steel clad shed at the trail head and headed home with a heart full of pride and a feeling of satisfaction for a job well done. I wonder if the farmer felt some pride for a job well done when he piled those rocks there for us many years ago? Thank you Mr. Farmer. Some rides begin in the mind before the tires ever hit the dirt. I loaded up my Rocky Mountain Element into the car and set out down the 401 on a warm Sunday morning. The day was new and fog was playing on the gentle light falling across farm country. The mist hung in the air just above the tree line in some spots and in the valleys in others. It was a picture perfect day given to me on that flawless September morning heading up to the Muskoka’s to meet up with friends for a ride. The scenery and the hassle free drive set the mood for a perfect ride.
The smell of the forest filled my car when I parked under the mature trees at Buckwallow Cycling Centre. Odours create a mood and linger long in the memory. They say that you can judge a restaurant kitchen by the condition of the washrooms. How about an outhouse; what does that say about a place. Smile. The facilities at Buckwallow were freshly painted, somehow odour free and clean even by indoor plumbing standards which speaks volumes about how well the trails are kept and managed by the staff of the cycling centre. Mike is the friendly face who greets riders upon arrival and collects the ten dollar entrance fee. He gave us a map of the trail system which was easy to follow and an asset to those who are not regular riders there. A few years back I raced a few O Cup races at Buckwallow and since then I have often thought I should get back there to ride the trails when I have time to take in the riding experience; this was going to be that day. My friends and I set out on our ride with the map in hand and smiles on our faces. The trails there are unique to that place and that place alone. The land is scattered with huge boulders and large sections of the Canadian Shield that jut out of the ground making the terrain surreal. The harshness of the forest floor is juxtaposed by the beauty of the mature forest growing over the rocks with roots climbing over the boulders and rock faces. It is all of these distinctive elements that make riding in this forest both fun and challenging. The trails are rated in levels of difficulty between one and five hoof prints; the ratings are to be taken seriously. It has been my experience that trail ratings are relative only to other trails in that system. A new rider would find that even some of the double track trails present a challenge to their skill level. Ratings of one and two offer some challenge to new riders and trails rated a three will present a challenge to intermediate riders. Trails rated four should be considered expert and trails rated at five should be considered expert and above. There is a trail there rated five hoof prints called “The Weasel” which has some very technical bits, steep drops and some sections that better resemble a section from a trials course. Not many riders venture down this trail which was evident by the moss growing on the start of the trail. “The Weasel” challenged me and exposed the limits of my riding abilities but finding those limits showed room for growth. My favourite run was something called “West D Nile” which is a trail that largely runs over outcroppings of the Canadian Shield. This trail earns a well-deserved rating of four hoof prints. Overall I would rate the whole Buckwallow experience a five out of five hoof prints. Buckwallow is without a doubt one of my favourite places I have ridden in a lifetime of riding experiences. Check it out for yourself, you won’t be disappointed. There is a scar on my right shin; it's a fine double line that runs about four inches across the bony part of my leg. Thank you Mr. Shimano for the memories. There was a time when I was a loyal Shimano follower who believed that the bike part king did everything right, that is until other companies gained a foot hold in the market and started to outperform the crap out of old man Shimano's gear at half the price.
It was a SPD pedal that left the mark with is jagged edges that grab the shoe cleat. My cleat had a little mud on it which caused the cleat and the pedal to fail to connect allowing the skin remover to run down my leg. This was not the first time or the last time that I had the meat scrapper go down my shin. Crank Brothers offered me an alternative to the outdated SPD pedal system and I jumped on board with them. I haven't looked back since. The Crank Brothers pedal system is easy in and easy out even in muddy conditions and if you should have a mishap there are no scaring edges to make you yelp like a school girl. I have tried all of the variations of the Egg Beater pedals and found that they offered a lot of performance for low cash output but the standard Egg Beaters do not offer a platform for your shoe. A good pedal will distribute the pressure and forces across the front of the shoe. Without a platform the pedal will eventually begin to cut into the sole of the shoe. The bearings on the Egg Beaters have a short life span due to the fact that water and dirt bypass the weak sealing system and cause corrosion. So the egg beaters are a no go for me! Crank Brothers Candy eliminates all of the problems associated with the original Egg Beater design with a small weight penalty; however, they are still lighter than Shimano XTR at a fraction of the price. The Candy has a large platform to allow you to apply a ton of force without any flexing in your shoe and the platform also acts like a standard pedal until you get clipped in. I like to run the Candy 1 version because they are light weight, 282 grams, and they are inexpensive. Yes it is true that the old school SPD have a long life span but it is a false economy because of the original outlay of cash and the price you must pay in flesh. The temperature is idea for riding, the sun is shining and I'm keen to throw my leg over a bike and blow off some steam. I am in Quebec near a little town called Bromont, the cycling capital of Canada better know for it's down hill skiing. I have options, lots of options. I could ride road, cross country, miles of rail trail or push the limits and ride downhill. I park my car at the base of the mountain and head off to the rental office. As I walk across the parking lot families are digging out the many bags of stuff they will need to set up camp at the water park. There is another group of long hair shaggy characters gearing up their big suspension bikes. The cool kids watched the old man walk by and wonder what he's doing there carrying those clip in pedals.The mountain towers to my right with a top that seems to be in the far distance. Am I really going to ride down that, I hope so! I am getting nervous jitters that I would normally get before a bike race. I can hardly contain my excitement! The rental process was painless due to the knowledgeable staff who are happy to help me choose the right gear. I rented a Rocky Mountain Altitude and full body armour to protect my frail ole bones. The lift takes me to the top of the mountain where the view of the country side is panoramic. My first few runs were a lot of fun as I pushed the bike to see what it was capable of doing. Each run was a little faster than the last as my confidence grew in myself and the bike. I was impressed with how the bike sucked up the bumps and how easy the jumps felt with the Rocky Mountain Altitude under me. By the middle of the day I was riding with the cool kids, getting off the brakes and taking bigger and bigger air. Downhill riding can be a lot of fun if you have the right gear and a bike that allows you to find your limits. The Altitude was a great bike for the intermediate runs which was fine by me since I was not ready for the expert runs. The trails were well designed and there were enough runs to keep riders of all skill levels occupied for a day. If you ever have a chance to visit that part of Quebec I would definitely recommend riding downhill at Bromont. There is a place I know that brings solace to the tired soul and rest to a weary mind, a place were summer still exists the way I remember it as a child. The trees blow gently in the breeze, hummingbirds drink from feeders and sounds linger softly in the inner recesses of your ear. Take the highway south from Montreal and keep going until you see rolling hills, crooked roads, crooked barns and the Appalachian mountains looming on the horizon. When you find these scenes you know you have found a place commonly know as the Eastern townships of Quebec. Towns like Grandby, Cowansville, Sutton and Bedford are typical names there, names that don't sound French at all and that's because the area was originally settled by English speaking folk from across the sea. The people that you meet there will great you with a with a warmth that comes from centuries of humble beginnings that grew into an area that attracts site seeing, wine tasting and some of the best cycling in Canada. Both of the languages of this this great country are spoken fluently by most residents in the Townships which means making your way in the local culture will be easy no matter which part of this nation or the globe that you hale from. Oh and did I mention that art and culture is alive and vibrant on those long and twisty roads, villages and in historical old buildings re-purposed as public spaces. The Eastern Townships have put a lot of time and energy into creating cycling routes to attract you to visit and ride there. I found a cycling guide at one of those re-purposed buildings hosting an art show at a touristy village called Frelighsburgh. The guide suggested a number of routes varying in length and levels of difficulty. I picked the Sutton loop which makes it's way from the town of Sutton. Heading south the road is relatively flat until you reach the village of Abercorn where the accent up Mont Sutton begins. The first part of the climb is steep by any riders definition of steep, more like a wall than a hill. The 300m climb in elevation was long for a guy from Southwestern Ontario but the scenery and the rolling roads took the sting off of the effort and of course what goes up hill must come down those windy roads. There is no greater sense of speed than that created by your our gravity feed thin wheels spinning up toward the speed limit. Downward flight is always ended by another climb which brings you back to reality of human limitations and the scenery rolling by. Sometimes memories are pictures of scenes frozen in the mind. I have an image ingrained on my mind of a small folk band playing in the village square while a some enthusiastic locals danced something that looked like a jig they might have done a hundred ears ago. Funny how an image only seen for seconds as I blew through the village has stuck in my mind. The Townships, go there if you like rolling hills, friendly people, art, culture and tranquil scenery that makes riding there a must do on the bucket list for any cyclist. Check out the map I attached or follow the link below to see the entire cycling brochure. |
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January 2024
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