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be able to distribute your weight evenly
and give yourself enough clearance over
If you’re looking for mountain biking at Vermont’s resorts,
the ground to avoid snagging rocks, plenty of resorts can get you out on local trails or roads for
roots or other obstacles.
an afternoon or a full day. Smugglers’ Notch, Okemo and
A GONDOLA RIDE TO THE TOP
Stratton all offer fleets of bikes for daytime use and can pro-
The morning was a good warm-up, but af-
ter getting used to the trails, we swapped out vide detailed directions to local trails or popular road loops.

the cross-country bikes for the much bigger
downhill bikes and boarded the gondola for If you’re looking for downhill riding, here are a few places
a ride to the top. We also strapped on knee
and elbow pads and I put in a mouth guard.
in Vermont to try:
Weighing in at 40 pounds, the Kona
Park Operator is a serious bike for serious

downhill riding. When placed alongside the SUGARBUSH RESORT
service on the Snowshed Express Quad Rentals: Yes
bikes we had been riding in the morning, accessing top-to-bottom beginner and in- Clinics/tours: Yes
the difference was like going from driving a If traveling through the Mad River Valley, termediate terrain. www.mountsnow.com
compact car to driving a school bus. Mine look no further than the 37 singletrack Beginner: 5
featured eight inches of travel on the front and downhill trails at Sugarbush. In ad- Q BURKE
dition to the trails on the mountain ac- Intermediate: 13
suspension (the bikes we rode in the morn- Advanced: 18 Q Burke offers great singletrack and
ing had four) and extra wide handlebars cessed by chairlift, local cross-country Rentals: Yes
with a sticker that read: “Caution! This trail networks at Blueberry Lake, Phenn Clinics/tours: Yes downhill biking, with 19 trails including
bike is for competitive use only!”
Basin and Tucker Hill are nearby and www.killington.com
downhill trails made through a coopera-
On the cross-country mountain bikes make this area a great place to spend sev- tive partnership between Kingdom Trails
we had ridden that morning, the rider is eral days enjoying the sport and the valley.
MOUNT SNOW RESORT
and Burke Mountain. With a day pass, you
positioned squarely in the center of the Beginner: 7
can access the trails by chairlift. Starting
bike, giving the rider balance while seated Intermediate: 20 Since opening their trails to biking 28 this August, Q Burke hosts the f-RIDE-ay
or standing on up the pedals. When seated Advanced: 10 years ago, Mount Snow has been putting
on this bike, however, the full suspension Rentals: Yes Night Ride Series, a series of Friday eve-
slouches low to the ground and the pedals riders on the hill every summer. Since ning races on some of Burke’s favorite
are tucked under the rider.
Clinics/tours: Yes then, the mountain has been adding more trails, such as Jester and Black Forest.
www.sugarbush.com
features every year including most recent-
Pedaling around the flats, I felt like a KILLINGTON RESORT
ly, Trail 7, a learner’s trail for novice down- Beginner: 1
trained monkey at a circus, with my knees hillers. Downhill trails can be accessed by Intermediate: 3
almost coming up to my chest with every With 35 miles of trails and 1,200 feet of Advanced: 16
pedal stroke. Clearly, these are not bikes for chairlift, saving energy for the ride down. Rentals: Yes
casual trail rides or a leisurely spin around vertical drop serviced by the K-1 Express Beginner: 1
Gondola, “The Beast” offers some great Intermediate: 1 Clinics/tours: Yes
the block; they’re designed to go hard and riding. Killington also offers weekend lift
Advanced: 9
www.skiburke.com
fast downhill, which is also why they have
2.8 inch-wide knobby tires.
After taking off down the hill, the
bike’s capabilities became immediately go over the handlebars. For added stabil-
apparent. As we picked our way down ity when braking, angle your heels slightly
down to keep your feet firmly planted on
the access road to the head of a trail (Kil- the pedals.
lington has 35 miles of trails with a 1,700
vertical drop), we traveled over gravel, When encountering technical por-
stones, loose dirt, roots and stumps of tions with obstacles like rocks or roots, it’s
trees with the bikes’ suspension systems important to remember that your best
working beautifully.
defense is a good offense. By actively en-
gaging with the hill instead of simply re-
A beginner’s mistake is looking at
what you want to avoid rather than focus- sponding to it (or just holding on for dear
ing on where you want to go. Fix your eyes life), you’ll stand a better chance of pow-
on your chosen path and stick with it; keep ering through it.
your line of sight down the trail, and not Maybe it was the mouth guard
at what’s just inches in front of you. When clenched between my molars or the eight
inches of suspension and 2.8 inches of tire
you look straight down, you’ll find yourself
making lots of unnecessary braking and width working under me, but flying down a
steering that will inevitably tangle you up mountain and through the woods inspires a
and toss you.
feeling of confidence – one that might have
Turning is a function of more than been a little too heady.
When learning downhill, taking a
just twisting the handlebars, which follows tumble is inevitable and you’ll never forget
one of Colona’s favorite expressions:
“It’s called tip to grip,” he says, describing the first time you go over the handlebars.
proper turning technique. “But if you steer, Mine was when I was flying down a
you’ll smear.”
stretch of access road with the wind in my
As with other styles of riding, turn- face and loose gravel and stones rattling
underneath. The road came to a sharp turn
ing requires only small adjustments of the
handlebars and shifts in the rider’s balance. down the fall line and I was carrying too
As with all kinds of biking, the faster you much speed. The ground fell away from me
travel, the more finely tuned those adjust- and like an ejecting fighter pilot, I became
ments become.
fully separated from my bike and airborne.
A downhill bike’s hydraulic disc The ground and sky tumbled end-over-end
and I finally came to rest in the grass down-
brakes are another feature that requires fi-
nesse. The brakes are so sensitive you only hill of where the bike lay. With only a few
need apply pressure with one or two fingers scrapes and bruises, I dusted myself off and
to bring yourself to a complete stop, so use climbed back onto the saddle, sore but not
both brakes evenly to avoid skidding and discouraged. Joseph and Colona were wait- e
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ing around the bend, and I still had a long
watch out for over-braking – that’s how you
way to go.

AUGUST 2014
VTSPORTS.COM 7