Vermont Sports, August 2016

ISLAND WEEKENDS | THE CLIMBING GUIDE | VT'S NEW ROAD RULES

VERMONT

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SPORTS

New England’s Outdoor Magazine vtsports.com

AUGUST 2016

MEET VERMONT'S

OLYMPIANS + The Road to Rio Lea Davison

Laura Graves Sarah True

Lea Davison on her way to World Cup silver, July 2, 2016

Be first down the mountain again.

BE YOU AGAIN. THE RIGHT SPORTS MEDICINE PHYSICIAN CAN HELP. Our physicians provide comprehensive sports medicine care, no matter how complex the injury. Patients receive a course of treatment that’s ideally suited for them, built around the most advanced options available—whether operative, non-operative or a combination of both. So, if you live in the Burlington area, make an appointment with The University of Vermont Health Network’s sports medicine specialists at UVM Medical Center. To make an appointment, call (888) 974-9783.

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NEW ENGLAND’S OUTDOOR MAGAZINE ON THE COVER: Jericho's Lea Davison on her way to a World Championship silver medal this July. Photo by M. Cerveny/Specialized.

PUBLISHER

Angelo Lynn - publisher@vtsports.com

EDITOR/CO-PUBLISHER

Lisa Lynn - editor@vtsports.com

STAFF WRITER

Evan Johnson - evan.johnson@vtsports.com

DESIGN & PRODUCTION

Shawn Braley - braley@gmail.com

MEDICAL ADVISORY BOARD

Dr. Nathan Endres, Dr. David Lisle, Dr. James Slauterbeck —University of Vermont College of Medicine; Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Brian Mohr, Oliver Parini

ADVERTISING MANAGER

Christy Lynn - ads@vtsports.com

ADVERTISING SALES

Ben Hall ben.hall@vtsports.com | (603) 717-5496 Greg Meulemans greg@vtsports.com | (802) 366-0689 Dave Honeywell | (802) 583-4653 dave_golfhouse@madriver.com

Olympic triathlete Sarah True started off as a swimmer but fell in love with cycling while climbing the gaps around Middlebury. Photo courtesy USA Triathlon

THE OLYMPICS ISSUE

SUBSCRIPTIONS, PRINTING & DISTRIBUTION

5 The Start

13

EDITORIAL AND PRODUCTION OFFICE

Here's who to watch at this month's Olympic Games.

There's new thinking on how to treat one of summer's most

Lisa Razo - lisar@addisonindependent.com

Vermont Sports | 58 Maple Street Middlebury, Vt. 05753 | 802-388-4944

Vermont Sports is independently owned and operated by Addison Press Inc., 58 Maple Street, Middlebury, Vt. 05753. It is published 9 times per year. Established in 1990.

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VERMONT SPORTS IS A PROUD MEMBER OF

Who's Headed to Rio?

7 Great Outdoors

Waterfront Revival

Sailing out of Burlington is getting a whole lot easier, thanks to the Community Sailing Center and the newly-approved Burlington Harbor Marina project.

9

Weekend Away

Island Time

With new bike routes, kayaking and vineyards, now is one of the best times to plan a trip to the Champlain Islands.

Health

Bad (Collarbone) Breaks

23

Gear

The Commuter Revolution

common injuries.

With this new ultimate commuter bike and a host of new accessories who needs a car?

14 Feature

25

Three of our region's top athletes are headed to the Olympics and each stands a good chance of medaling.

Travis Peckham literally wrote the book on Vermont climbing.

Going for Gold

Featured Athlete

The Climbing Guide

27

Race & Event Guide

A Magnificent Obsession

33

Speak Up

bike collections: his own.

Local Motion's Emily Boedecker explains the new bike-friendly laws of the road.

18

Feature

Let Glenn Eames take you through one of the nation's top

Don't-Miss Events.

The New Road Rules

ADVERTISERS! The deadline for the Sept. issue of Vermont Sports is August 15. Contact ads@vtsports.com today to reserve your space!

AUGUST 2016 | VTSPORTS.COM 3

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THE START

WHO'S HEADED TO RIO?

V

ermont has so many top athletes it’s sometimes easy to forget just how good some of them are.

That woman careening her mountain bike around a dirt trail at Catamount Outdoor Center? She just podiumed at the World Championships in the Czech Republic and is a top contender for an Olympic medal this month.

That triathlete who bikes and runs on the roads and hills of the Upper Valley? She was ranked third in the world in 2015.

That former 4-H rider who, as a teenager, used to drive through the Mad River Valley with her three sisters, Tom Petty blaring from the car radio?

She has grown into the poised young woman who won the 2015 Grand Prix Dressage National Championships in tony Wellington, Fla. This month, Jericho’s Lea Davison, West Lebanon, N.H.'s Sarah True and North Fayston’s Laura Graves will all be competing in Rio. Each

Announcer Peter Graves (shown here, in middle, at the Sochi Games) of Thetford is headed to his ninth Olympic Games.

of the three women are at the top of their athletic careers. All three stand a good chance of winning an Olympic medal in their respective events: cross country mountain biking, triathlon and dressage. Their stories, told in “Going for Gold,” p 14. are inspiring.

But they’re not the only ones who will be working at the Olympics. Peter Graves, a fifth generation Vermonter who grew up in Bennington, will be there in a front row seat: he’s training the announcers and is likely to end up

announcing events as well.

“It’s a special honor given to very few people—there are only maybe 100 announcers,” Graves says from his home in Thetford.

A former Nordic ski racer and ski coach at Harvard, Graves began his Olympic career announcing the Nordic events in Lake Placid in 1980. He’s gone on to announce in nine Olympics since then, most recently at Sochi where he worked at the ski jumping and Alpine ski events.

Over the years, Graves has watched the Olympics grow. “The first games in Lake Placid were still small," he recalls. "The numbers are enormous now. Rio will host 206 nations and 10,500 athletes who will compete in 306 events in 28 sports.”

Graves has been studying a variety of sports, knows the players (“especially in the endurance sports”) and will be keeping an eye on the Vermonters. But a big part of his job as an announcer is to remain impartial.

“Unlike TV or radio announcers, we are supposed to be fair and neutral," he says. “We represent the Olympic movement.”

It’s a job he loves.“At every Olympics I collect pins, I now have more than 3,000, including one dating back to the Squaw Valley games in 1960,” he says with pride.

And it’s a movement he deeply believes in. “I think the Olympics are a force for good–it’s a such a good thing for mankind that all these nations to get together,” he says. "I’m 64 and every time I go to the opening ceremonies, I still get goosebumps, I get emotional, I cry.”

For those of us who won’t be going to Rio, Vermont Sports will provide updates on our Facebook and vtsports. com on how our top athletes are doing.

Follow us on August 11-15 to see how Laura Graves does in dressage and on August 20 for Sarah True and Lea Davison’s races.

—Lisa Lynn, Editor

AUGUST 2016 | VTSPORTS.COM 5

6 VTSPORTS.COM | AUGUST 2016

GREAT OUTDOORS

WATERFRONT REVIVAL

Burlington's Community Sailing Center makes it easy for anyone to sail with lessons and a rental fleet of single and double-handed sailing dinghies. Photo courtesy CSC.

O

ver the past year, nearly 6,000 people have gone through the Community Sailing Center’s programs in Burlington, taking part in everything from adult learn-to-sail seminars to “Floating Classroom” visits to a "Leader Ship" program. The non-profit also hosts the Northern Vermont High School Sailing Team and the University of Vermont racing team.

And it rents sailing dinghies, canoes, kayaks and SUPs. The breadth and popularity of its programs are remarkable considering that the Community Sailing Center has grown gradually over the past 22 years, basically operating out of a garage and a tent behind the abandoned Moran Plant.

And if you did graduate from the sailing programs and wanted to dock a boat in Burlington, good luck: space was limited and the waiting list was often long.

But on June 27 Burlington's City Council approved the Burlington Harbor Marina project. It is a major step toward the creation of a substantial new waterfront park just south of the Community Sailing Center and Moran

Burlington's new 160-slip marina is planned for just south of the Moran Plant and Sailing Center.

Plant. It includes improvements such as a breakwater, a floating facility with public restrooms, an interior dock with 160 slips (40 percent of which will be reserved for transient boaters), a waterfront plaza, pump-out facilities and a water taxi stand. Pending permitting, the project is expected to begin construction next summer.

Meanwhile, a site has already been cleared for a new 22,180-sq. ft. Community Sailing Center and fundraising is underway for the building, new boats and new docks.

“Our goal is access: we want to get as many people as we can out on the lake so that they can understand it and become good stewards,” says executive

director Mark Naud.

“We’re not a yacht club like Lake Champlain Yacht Club or something you might find in Newport, R.I. Nearly 2,000 of the people who come through here do so on scholarships,” he notes.

In addition to the sailing programs, the non-profit is working with Vermont Adaptive, King Street and Spectrum Youth Services to get people who might never be exposed to boats or sailing, out on the lake.

“We use our sailboats and SUPs to teach people leadership and communication skills or to explain how the wind works and the geography and meteorology around the lake,” says associate director Jen Guimaraes.

“Boats are the great equalizer: you don’t need an education, you don’t need physical strength, anyone can really learn to sail,” says Guimaraes.

So no excuses. The Community Sailing Center is open every day through Sept. 5 and on weekends through Oct. 11. Hourly rentals range from $15 for kayaks, canoes and paddleboards to $30 for 420s and Lasers, to $55 for Sonars and Rhodes 19 keelboats. communitysailingcenter.org

AUGUST 2016 | VTSPORTS.COM 7

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ISLAND TIME

WEEKEND AWAY

WITH THE CROWDS STARTING TO THIN, THE GRAPEVINES AND ORCHARDS RIPENING, AND PLENTY OF QUIET ROADS FOR RUNNING AND BIKING, NOW IS THE TIME TO HEAD TO THE CHAMPLAIN ISLANDS.

BY LISA LYNN

I

Two great ways to arrive in the Champlain Islands: Bike the causeway over from Colchester (left) or paddle the quiet waters of the Inland Sea. Above, kayakers set off from North Hero. Photo courtesy North Hero House

f you want to take a mini-vacation, park your car at Oakledge Park in Burlington, pack a change of clothes in a backpack or pannier, bring a credit card and head north on the bike path to the Island Line Rail Trail. Thirteen miles (eight of which are mostly car-free along the bike path and causeway) and a five-minute ferry ride later, you’ll be in the Champlain Islands.

While many cyclists turn around here for an out-and-back, or make a loop coming back via the roads of Colchester, don’t. Keep heading north, book a room at one of the islands’ small inns or B&Bs and kick back.

The Champlain Islands are to Burlington what Nantucket used to be to Boston: a quiet getaway where time seems to stop. Grand Isle (also known as South Hero), North Hero, Isle LaMotte and the Alburgh peninsula are dotted with farms and small inns, roadside cremee stands and dilapidated antique shops. The windswept fields hold summer sun late in the season and the apple orchards and vineyards start bearing fruit in September.

Late August through October, summer guests begin to leave and there are even more reasons to visit. Here are a few:

BIKE FOR PRIZES

Earlier this year, eight new bike rest areas were built by Timberhomes between Shelburne Vineyards and the Alburgh Golf Links in North Hero.

During the month of August, as Local Motion’s Emily Boedecker explains, “You can pick up a punch card at each rest area, ride to as many as you can, and then for each punch you get a raffle ticket for prizes from local Islands businesses. There’s a grand prize drawing with a gift from each location to the person(s) who visits the most.”

Beyond the Island Line Rail Trail, a number of gorgeous routes have been mapped out and named as part the Champlain Bikeways project. “Stone Castles” is a 15-mile loop around South

Hero that will bring you by a number of the miniature stone castles built by Harry Barber. Some are even wired for electricity and have running water in the moats.

Or, try the 11-mile “Island Life” tour of Grand Isle which passes by one of the oldest cabins in the United States, built in 1783 by Revolutionary War hero Jedediah Hyde.

“A Trail of Two Beaches” starts at Alburgh Dunes, a 625-acre state park with the state’s only true sand beach (though no real dunes), and loops for 17 miles to North Hero State Park. Be forewarned, the shallow waters off Alburgh Dunes are great for kids but often mean the park is crowded on summer weekends. You can download

a map and brochure of these routes at champlainbikeways.org.

MKBIE> ?>KKR EHHI

KITEBOARD OR WINDSURF

With steady breezes and often shallow waters, the islands are among the best places in the state to kitesurf or windsurf. You can take a lesson over in St. Albans with Jerri and Kurt Benjamin of North Shore Kite/Sail/ Surf and then practice on your own in the shallows near Sand Bar State Park (just before crossing to South Hero from Colchester) or, when the wind is from the south or west, White’s Beach on South Hero is a reliable bet.

RUN LIKE CLARENCE DEMAR

Vermont’s most successful runner, South Hero’s Clarence Demar won the Boston Marathon seven times between 1911 and 1920 and the National Marathon Championship four times. On Oct. 9, the Green Mountain Marathon and Half Marathon begin and end near Demar’s house on the west shore of South Hero. For a shorter distance, try the Island Vines 10K which starts and finishes at Snow Farm Vineyard on Sept. 25. Details about each event are in this issue's Event Guide, p. 27.

AUGUST 2016 | VTSPORTS.COM 9

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STAY IN STYLE

The islands are home to some of the prettiest B&Bs and inns in the state.

With its big, white wrap-around porch with views down the lawn to the lake, the Grand Isle Lake House is a perennial favorite. North Hero House, right on the water, has 26 rooms in series of small historic buildings, some of which have been taking guests since 1891.

Owner Walter Blasberg, who was named Innkeeper of the Year in 2015, had been coming to the islands for 40 years before settling here and keeps things lively with fishing and biking packages and even a murder mystery weekend over Halloween. The excellent restaurant serves fresh-caught lake walleye and other local fare. The Crescent Inn, an 1820s farmhouse owned by the Lane family (who also own Snow Farm Vineyards), is another lovely B&B. Head to North Hero House for lakeside dining. Or plan a stay and take advantage of the inn's fishing, biking or murder mystery weekend packages. Photo courtesy North Hero House

WINE TASTING & WHERE TO EAT

It’s not quite Napa Valley but South Hero’s vineyards are offering some increasingly good wines. Snow Farm Vineyard hosts tastings of its pinot noirs and rieslings as well as a summer concert series on Thursday nights through Sept. 1. Lakeside, East Shore Vineyard has a tasting room that’s open afternoons, Wednesday through Sunday. After, head to the charming (and always-packed) Blue Paddle Bistro in South Hero for chef Phoebe Bright’s crab cakes or the North Hero House porch restaurant for an elegant meal such as local pan-roasted walleye

or to the hotel’s Steamship Pier Bar for a lobster roll and more casual fare.

LIPPIZANS, CONCERTS AND A DUCT TAPE REGATTA

If you can, plan a trip to the islands the weekend of Aug. 5 to catch the last three nights of performances by Hermann’s Royal Lippizan stallions at Knight Point State Park. You can also enter the Aug. 6 Duct Tape Regatta (all boats must be made of just two materials: duct tape and cardboard– check in at Hero’s Welcome General Store in North Hero). Stick around for the Knight Point State Park free Tuesday night concert series.

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CAMP OUT

With 117 tent/RV sites, 36 lean-to sites, and four cabins—and nearly a mile of shoreline—Grand Isle State Park is Vermont’s second-largest state campground. For a quieter time, bring your kayak, leave your car at Knight Point State Park and kayak three miles east to Knight Island’s remote seven campsites (six have lean-tos). You’ll need a reservation but you are likely to have the mile-long island pretty much to yourself.

Or, make a loop of it and kayak on another mile or two for a night at Woods Island State Park’s five remote campsites. Larger and more crowded, Burton Island State Park is also within striking distance. To reserve a site, visit www.vtstateparks.org

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Ride the causeway, hop on the bike ferry and then head north to Snow Farm Vineyard for wine tasting. Photos courtesy Local Motion, Snow Farm Vineyard

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HEALTH

BAD (CLAVICLE) BREAKS

THERE’S NEW THINKING ON HOW TO TREAT ONE OF SUMMER’S MOST COMMON INJURIES.

BY DR. NATHAN ENDRES

I

t happens quickly. You lose your

having major problems with their shoulder.

balance,

Fortunately, this scenario is quite unusual.

you

tumble

over

the

handlebars and as you reach for the

However, some patients may benefit

ground to break the fall, something snaps.

from surgery right from the start. These

are often athletes, who place high demands

One of the most commonly broken

bones

in

the

body,

the

clavicle

(or

of their shoulder and who have displaced

collarbone) usually fractures after a fall

and/or comminuted breaks. There are

onto an outstretched arm or directly on

a fair number of people who meet that

the shoulder. Here in Vermont, most of the

description, so it is now more common than

clavicle fractures I see are from skiing or

ever to surgically fix clavicle fractures.

snowboarding, cycling, hockey, football,

lacrosse and horseback riding. This time of

steel plates and screws, or sometimes a pin

year, though, it’s mostly cyclists going over

placed down the middle of the bone. Once

the handlebars.

the bone is fixed, patients stay in a sling

Until the last decade or so, nearly all

for two to four weeks but can move their

middle clavicle fractures (the most common

fingers, wrists, elbows and are allowed

type), were treated without surgery. There

limited shoulder motion. Keep in mind, the

is an old saying that as long as the clavicle

recovery may vary based on the patient, the

pieces are in the same room together, they

break itself and the surgeon’s preferences.

will heal. This is true … to an extent.

This is usually done with stainless

Benefits of surgery are that it can be

We all probably know someone who

done at a very low non-union rate and in

broke their clavicle, let it heal and is doing

some cases, results in a quicker return to

just fine with a big bump to show for it.

work and sports. By anatomically fixing

However, some recent studies have shown

the clavicle to its normal shape, overall

that the clavicle doesn’t always heal and

shoulder function may be more normal

even when it does, some patients report

than if you left the bone alone to heal.

ongoing discomfort and weakness.

How you treat the injury is often

most common complications of clavicle

determined by the demands of the patient

surgery are numbness on the skin around

and the amount of separation of the bony

the incision and prominent hardware. The

pieces. To put it simply, the more active you

numbness is rarely an issue but when it is,

are and the more displaced the fracture is,

it is often permanent. If the hardware is

the more likely you are to have issues down

bothersome, it can be removed after the

the road. Problems may include low-grade soreness, strength deficits and functional

For some patients, especially athletes, surgery may help speed healing after a clavicle fracture.

limitations, especially when raising your arms overhead. The good news, a broken collarbone

rarely

means

any

serious

disability.

And that’s good because we need

our collarbones. A flat bone that looks like an “S” from above, the clavicle serves as a strut to hold your shoulder away from your body. It connects to the shoulder at the acromioclavicular joint (AC joint) and to the chest at the sternoclavicular joint (SC joint).

The clavicle also protects important nerves and blood vessels travelling from the neck and chest out to the arms.

Often,

clavicle

fractures

are

associated with other shoulder, head, neck, lung or rib injuries. It is important to rule out these other injuries (especially head and

But surgery has risks, too.

The

bone is healed (usually 6 to 12 months after surgery). Other serious complications like infection or wound problems can occur, but are rare.

neck) before focusing on the clavicle.

considered an emergency, unless the bone

Clavicle fractures are classified by where

comes through the skin or there is an injury

the break happens in the bone (outside

to a major artery. Most patients head to the

third, middle third, inside third). By far,

emergency room, get an x-ray to confirm

most breaks occur in the middle and we will

the diagnosis and are sent home in a sling,

only talk about those in this article.

unless other major injuries are identified. If

When the clavicle breaks in the

you have a fractured clavicle and the pieces

Dr. Nathan Endres is an orthopaedic

middle, the weight of the bone and the

are separated, it is a good idea to follow-up

surgeon at the University of Vermont

muscles that attach to it pull the broken

with an orthopaedic doctor within a week.

Medical

pieces apart. The amount of separation that

Most clavicle fractures are treated

specializes in sports

occurs is called displacement. Sometimes

without surgery. Healing takes, on average,

medicine and fracture

the bones shatter into multiple pieces and

8 to 12 weeks, depending on factors such

treatment. He is a

this is called comminution. All of this can

as age, displacement and whether you are

team physician for the

be seen on a regular x-ray. Very rarely is a

a smoker. If the bone doesn’t heal (called

University of Vermont,

CAT scan or MRI helpful when dealing with

a non-union), it is possible to still fix it

St. Michael's College

a clavicle fracture.

later on. Once it is fully healed, it is hard

and the U.S. Ski Team.

to undo but this can be done if someone is

Clavicle fractures usually are not

The bottom line is it really comes

down to each patient's injury and it's best to have a discussion about the pros and cons of each option, with your doctor.

Center.

He

AUGUST 2016 | VTSPORTS.COM 13

GOING FOR

GOLD VERMONT: HERE’S WHO TO CHEER FOR AT THIS MONTH’S OLYMPIC GAMES BY LISA LYNN

I

f you want to get a sense of the road

Sarah Groff, who was a year ahead

and, by her own admission, “waiting tables

same day, Sarah Groff True will be racing

three of our region's top athletes took Knowing that 1.5 mile at to get toaRio, youportage have towas go coming way back.

Bellow's Falls, we packed as light as we could (see

In the early 2000’s Jericho’s Lea page 20 for our gear recommendations.). Far right, Davison, and Hanover, N.H.’s Sarah Katherine now starts33, to scout for campsites, which are tuckednow into the miles True) or so. were Groff, 34,shores (now every Sarah10Groff

both at Middlebury College. Lea was ski

of Lea, was an All-American swimmer and

at the Three Mountain Cafe, skipping

in the Olympic triathlon. All three stand a

a runner from Cooperstown, N.Y.. While

classes and leaving early on Thursdays

good chance of medaling.

she was at Middlebury, Sarah started to

for riding lessons.” In 2004, Graves began

bike Middlebury gap and some of the other

training a spirited young horse named that

routes around Addison County. “Vermont

she nicknamed Diddy.

had so much to do with why I started

racing and won the Eastern NCAA slalom

biking,” she says. And that led her to

Rio riding Diddy in the Olympic dressage

title her freshman year. By her junior year,

triathlons.

events, held Aug. 11-15. On August 20, Lea

she had also won the national collegiate

In 2004, Laura Graves, 29, was at

Davison will be competing in the Olympic

mountain bike title.

Harwood Union High School in Duxbury,

cross country mountain bike events and the

14 VTSPORTS.COM | AUGUST 2016

This month, Laura Graves will be in

CROSS-COUNTRY MOUNTAIN BIKING: LEA DAVISON

It’s noon in late July on one of the hottest days of the summer and Jericho’s Lea Davison is riding around the Catamount Outdoor

Center

in

Williston

on

her

Showing the form that earned her a silver at July's World Championship, Lea Davison drops off a rock. At a World Cup race earlier this year, things didn't go so well (right). But despite a gash that needed six stitches, Lea finished the race. Photos by M. Cerveny/Specialized.

Specialized race bike. As she comes to a

40-degree incline log staircase, footprint-

stop, throngs of young girls, members of

shaped rock gardens and rock slab jumps.

the Little Bellas program Lea and her sister

Sabra founded, crowd around waiting for

and fit as a colt. Despite the heat, she barely

autographed posters.

breaks a sweat. “Yeah, this weather is good

Lea Davison is, in the words of the

training for Rio,” she says, shaking out her

U.S. Cycling Team, “America’s best chance

long pony tail. “When we rode the test run

for an Olympic medal in mountain biking.”

in Rio last year, it was like 100 degrees.

On Aug. 20, she will represent the U.S. ,

There are no trees on the course, so it can

racing on the purpose-built Olympic cross-

be brutal.” As she raises her water bottle

country course in Rio, a 5K route with a

to take a big chug, a scar is visible on her

At 5’6” and 125 pounds Lea is lean

forearm. She sees me glancing at it, “Yep,

course in Rio is pretty smooth and fast with

six stitches,” she says.

some rock gardens thrown in so we’ve been

doing a lot of road training,” she says.

The injury happened two months

earlier on a steep, rocky course in La

Bresse, France. It was the third World

on four hour rides where she’ll average 25

Cup of the season. Lea was sitting in 11th

mph. “He’s good at pushing me,” she admits.

place overall in the World Cup standings.

Two years ago, Lea rode the Vermont Gran

To automatically qualify for Rio she had

Fondo, which links four gaps (Lincoln,

to finish in the top three at La Bresse and

Appalachian, Middlebury and Brandon).

move into the top 10 in the UCI Mountain

“Andy told me to go all out up Lincoln Gap.”

Bike World Cup Cross Country standings.

It was only the second time in her life that

Lea was in the top five and pushing

she’d ridden that route—the steepest paved

hard when her front tire slipped on a root

mile in America, with a 24 percent grade.

and she went tumbling. Another rider came

According to Strava (the GPS software

up fast and crashed into her. With one and a

many cyclists use to track their training

half laps to go, Lea picked up her damaged

rides) that day Lea not only set the QOM

bike and then rode one-handed up the

(Queen of the Mountain) title for fastest

climb.

female on that section of road, she also set

the KOM (King of the Mountain), for fastest

Lea later wrote on her blog: “The

Bishop, riding a scooter, has paced her

last thing I wanted to do was navigate

male.

the technical descent two more times with

a gushing elbow, bent handlebars and a

six to seven days a week, and does a two-

wobbly front wheel. This was not ideal. But

to four-hour ride every other day. Bill

I did it because in Olympic years, you do

Knowles, the founder of Killington's ISport,

anything.” She finished 18th.

works with her on strength training, and

nutritionist Stacy Sims on her diet.

But by July 2, Lea was back on her

To build on that strength, she rides

game. At the World Championship in Nove

Mesto, Czech Republic, she pulled out of her

enough,” she says. “Sometimes I’m so

pedal on the first climb and found herself

hungry I wake up at night and have to go eat

back in the pack. “I was in 29th, 30 seconds

a banana. Some nights, it’s three bananas.”

off the lead, but I had this goal of attacking

During the day, it’s Clif Bars (her sponsor)

the whole way,” she says. “I looked for every

with extra protein, or nut butter, maple

opportunity I could to pass.” And pass she

syrup and sandwiches.

did, gaining 25 places in three laps. Coming

into the last lap she passed the third place

game, having fully recovered from two

woman in the feed zone, earning her a silver

hip surgeries, one in 2010 and another in

and moving her up to fourth in the overall

2014. In 2014, she came back stronger than

World Cup standings.

ever, winning a bronze at the UCI World

Mountain Bike Championships in Norway.

“That’s the best finish of my life!”

“I

have

trouble

actually

eating

Physically, Lea is at the top of her

Lea says, grinning from ear to ear. It’s

Rio will be Lea’s second Olympics,

also the best finish for any American since

having finished a solid, if not stellar, 11th

2001, when Alison Dunlap was the World

in London in 2012. “I was just so excited

Champion.

to even be there,” she says. Going into this

Over the last season, Lea has been

Olympics, she is more confident: “Any

working out harder than ever with her

one of the top 15 women could medal—

coach, three-time Tour de France racer

Maja (Wloszczowska), Annika (Langvad),

and Williston resident Andy Bishop. “The

Jolanda (Neff), or … me.”

AUGUST 2016 | VTSPORTS.COM 15

What will make the most difference

in Rio, Lea admits, is who has the mental edge and who’s on that day. “The Olympics are different from a World Cup: it’s the smallest, biggest race you’ll ever do, with just 32 girls on the start line and the whole world watching.”

A big part of her recent success Lea

attributes to mental training. “I’ve been working with a sports psychologist on really just being in the present,” she says. “I get so excited when I’m leading I sometimes lose focus,” she admits. “Or when you are suffering—and believe me, by the fourth lap you are—your mind starts to wander and you need to bring it back and just focus on the action at hand. I really attribute my recent silver medal to my mind being able to make that pivot.”

Beyond all the coaches Lea works

with, perhaps her biggest support team is her family, especially her sister, Sabra, whom she lives with and talks to regularly when she’s competing around the world.

“When I was over in Europe, Sabra

and I were texting one morning at 4 a.m. and she texts: ‘I don’t know why I have to give you these pep talks. I don’t care about the results, the Little Bellas don’t care about the results, you shouldn’t care about the results. You're doing great.”

“She was right. When I stop focusing

on the results, I ride better in the present.

Besides…” Lea pauses and looks around at the Little Bellas she comes to visit on Sunday sessions when she’s in town, “… this—these girls are what really matter.”

Sarah True runs neck and neck with Katie Zafares on her way to fourth in the 2014 Word Triathlon Grand Finale in Edmonton in 2014, a finish that put her in second overall for the series behind Gwen Jorgensen. In 2016, Jorgensen, True and Zefares are all on the U.S. Olympic team. Photo by Delly Carr/ITU. there cheering her on. Sarah’s family will

be a medal contender,” she says. “This time,

only team with zero experience and I really

also be there, including her sister Lauren

I want to race as if I was a medal contender.”

didn’t know how Diddy was going to react to

Groff, the National Book Award-nominated

On July 10, Sarah Groff True was on the edge

a crowd.”

author of Fates and Furies, the book

of her seat. The triathlete from Hanover,

coaches, married Ben True and gained

President Obama picked as his favorite in

N.H. had qualified nearly a year ago for a

confidence. In 2014, she earned her first

Freddie Graves had bought in 2002 for her

2015.

spot on the Olympic team. On that day, her

World Triathlon Series win at the ITU

daughter, Laura, then 15. Diddy had been

Since being introduced by her agent,

husband, runner Ben True, was competing

World Triathlon Stockholm, a race she won

difficult, once throwing Laura so hard she

Sarah and Dartmouth grad Ben True have

in the finals of the Olympic Trials in Oregon

again in 2015. She ended last season ranked

broke her back. “We actually want to sell

been a fixture in the Upper Valley sports

in the 5,000-meter event. If he finished in

third in the world, securing her spot on the

him so I sent him to a trainer to work with

scene. It’s a place Sarah describes as “a

the top three, he’d be going to Rio with her

U.S. Olympic team.

him. called one day and sais, ‘Have you been

little hotbed for endurance sports. The

as a racer, competing on the same day in a

“This time around, my training

riding this horse, because I can’t even get

community is very active—there’s a sports

different discipline–the first husband/wife

isn’t much different,” she says of the

on him. You’re going to need to spend some

culture here and we have such a beautiful

duo to do so.

Rio Olympics. “But so much of it is

more time with him before you can possibly

place to train. Ben and I could live anywhere

Ben True, the three-time U.S. 15K

visualization—it’s all mental. It’s the intent

sell him,’” Laura recalls.

in the world, but we choose to live there.

champion, finished in fifth—a half second

with which you train. I don’t just imagine

Fall, spring and summer it’s the best place

behind the third place finisher.

the finish line. Now, I imagine myself in the

switched for me,” says Laura. “As a teenager,

to train in the world.”

medal mix.”

you’re looking for things that please you and

TRIATHLON: SARAH TRUE

"It’s still pretty raw,” Sarah True said

After graduating from Middlebury

in a phone interview a few days later. “The

in 2004, Sarah began racing triathlons.

positive and negative of being an athlete

In 2007 she was the ITU Aquathlon World

married to another athlete is you know what

Since

2012,

Sarah

has

changed

DRESSAGE: LAURA GRAVES

Verdades, or "Diddy," was the foal

“I

think

that’s

when

something

not thinking about what’s going to build character. Being stuck with him and finally

In 2014, Laura Graves, a 27-year-old from

having to put in the energy that he needed

Champion. By 2011 she was the USA

North Fayston, and the horse she’d raised

it’s like, you know how it’s going to change

was good for us both and he turned around

Triathlon Olympic/ITU Athlete of the Year

from a foal entered a soccer stadium in

someone else’s life. To see Ben be half a

very quickly.”

and qualified for the 2012 Olympics in

Normandy, France to compete in the World

second short of something he’s worked for

London. Sarah surprised even herself by

Equestrian Games Grand Prix Freestyle in

for a decade… I don’t know exactly how he

through. “I remember going in for the first

finishing fourth in London. But it was a

dressage.

feels, but I can imagine having been in a

ride and he just knew what to do,” Laura

bittersweet finish: she was just 10 seconds

This was the biggest event of her life.

similar position.”

recalls. The horse and rider came out of

behind the bronze medalist.

“We were the underdogs,” the former hair

the event in fifth place, becoming only the

dresser from Vermont recalls. “We were the

fourth U.S. duo in history to post a score

Instead of competing, Ben will be

16 VTSPORTS.COM | AUGUST 2016

“I proved to myself then that I could

That day in Normandy, Diddy came

above 80 percent in a World Championship.

Earlier in 2014, Laura had earned

her spot at the World Equestrian Games by

finishing

a

mind-blowing

second

behind Olympian Steffan Peters at the U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions. In 2015, Laura and Diddy went on to win silver in the Pan American Games (and helped the U.S. score gold in the team event) and capped off the year by winning the Dutta Corp./USEF Grand Prix Dressage National Championship.

Growing up, Laura was a 4-H rider

who never heard about dressage. Her mother, Freddie Graves, grew up on a farm in the Northeast Kingdom. Freddie knew horses as her dad (Laura’s grandfather) had raised Morgan horses at Paramount stables in Richmond. When Laura and her two sisters were still barely toddlers a friend boarded two ponies at the Graves’ farm.

The girls became so attached that Freddie Graves traded her washer and dryer so she could buy them. “We didn’t even own saddles, the girls would go off on the two ponies and some time later the ponies would come back riderless and the girls would come back dirty and crying,” she says with a laugh.

Soon that changed and Laura began

showing at 4-H events and, eventually, heading to the dressage programs that trainer Lendon Gray put on around New England, “Dressage4Kids.”

“Laura began winning a few events

and earned some free clinics with Lendon,” Freddie Graves recalls. “We’d show up at events in Connecticut where everyone had matching everything. Pretty soon it became clear that if Laura wanted to compete, she needed a certain type of horse.” Freddie began looking for that horse. Laura was looking on the Internet, too, always watching videos of horses, recall her mother.

One day a horse broker sent them a

video of a foal named Verdades he had seen in Holland. He was in their price range and the Graves bought him sight unseen.

In dressage, where teams are judged

by how effortlessly they perform 32 movements, the bond between horse and rider is critical. For Laura and Diddy, that bond is especially strong: “Diddy knows that I’m his mom,” Laura says. “If he’s napping in his stall. If he hears my footsteps he wants to come out and play,” she says.

“In dressage, what wows the judge

with this horse is that he makes it look easy.

Diddy just has an effortless way of going.”

And that’s thanks to a lot of effort

Laura has put in.

Laura Graves and Verdades on their way to winning the 2015 Dressage National Championships. Photo by Susan J. Stickle

AUGUST 2016 | VTSPORTS.COM 17

Eames' 1868 serpentine velocipede, built by Calvin Witty, is one of the earliest patented American bikes in existence.

A Magnificent

obsession

HE’S RIDDEN AROUND THE WORLD AND RUN BURLINGTON’S MOST ECLECTIC BIKE SHOP. NOW, GLENN EAMES IS BUSY SHOWCASING ONE OF THE COUNTRY’S FOREMOST BIKE COLLECTIONS: HIS OWN.

By Lisa Lynn. Photos courtesy Glenn Eames

A

t 64, Glenn Eames has only ridden in one organized century ride. “It was out of Billings Farm in Woodstock in 1992, and I can’t remember exactly where we rode,” Eames says. But he can tell you what bike it was on: a vintage “Ordinary” bike, also known as a high-wheeler or “penny farthing,” from the 1880s.

Dressed in period clothes and perched high atop the big wheel, he rattled along for 100 miles. “It’s not a particularly comfortable ride, but I like to get out on these old bikes every so often,” says Eames.

18 VTSPORTS.COM | AUGUST 2016

Eames bought his first bike, a Raleigh, in 1974 and a few years later, a penny farthing, a prop out of the display window of a sports store in New Hampshire. That was the start of a lifelong obsession with bicycles.

This September, Eames will do another group ride on a penny farthing. This one will take him through the streets of Middlebury with other bike history buffs (members of The Wheelmen), as well as local owners of penny farthings and other vintage bikes. It’s part of a celebration of Middlebury's

Henry Sheldon Museum exhibit “Pedaling Through History: 150 Years of the Bicycle,” showcasing Eames’ collection of vintage bicycles, with a focus on the Gilded Age, the last decades of the 1800s.

It’s the period Eames calls “the most exciting era in cycling history.”

TRANSFORMING LIVES

When he talks about bikes and the history behind them, Eames does so with the passion of a teenager talking about his first fat tire ride. “Before the bicycle,

A photo of this bicycle club in Willsboro, N.Y,, shows how popular the "safety" bicycle became. Men, women and even children, led by buglers, would ride though towns in early pelotons.

people rarely married anyone who lived beyond a 10mile radius of their home. Suddenly, when the bike came around, men (and women) could travel 50 or 60 miles by bike and go when and how they liked.”

He pauses, then adds what, for him, is a recurring refrain: “Bikes transform your life.”

Bikes transform your life. Few people can say so with such conviction—or authority—as Eames. For the man who was the force behind Burlington’s iconic bike shop, the Old Spokes Home, those words ring true on many, many levels.

“I was in my twenties, a smoker and not particularly healthy when I first started riding,” says Eames as he rests his hand on one of his 60 or more bikes. “Cycling probably literally saved my life.”

Eames quit smoking when he started riding. He also met an avid cyclist named Mary Manghis. They were both living in New Hampshire at the time, each running small shops (Eames, a party store; Manghis a natural foods restaurant). They began touring by bike, first making forays into Vermont and around New England, then planning trips that led them farther afield: to Europe, Asia and Africa.

Eventually, the couple sold their businesses, put their belongings in storage and set off on a two-year bike-trip around the world. When they came back, they moved to Burlington where Eames worked at SkiRack for 14 years before starting the Old Spokes Home in 2000.

In January 2015, Eames sold the shop, gently passing it on like a proud father might to the best owners he could find: his neighbors who had been operating Bike Recycle Vermont just across the street.

Over the years, the Old Spokes Home had become a mecca of sorts for serious cyclists and a place where

“

Glenn’s is one of the more important collections in the United States,” says Shields. “In terms of overall, balanced collections, I’d say there are maybe 10 really serious collections and his is among the cream of them.”

Eames not only collects bikes, but collects pretty much everything he can that tells their history.

frame designers and builders such as Hunt Manley (Budnitz Bikes) and Hubert D’Autrement came for both work and inspiration. Eames had sprinkled parts of his collection throughout the shop but on the second floor he created “The Bike Museum,” with bikes ranging from an 1868 velocipede to a 1930s Peugeot racer, a 1949 Rene Herse randonneur to a 1968 Schwinn Orange Crate.

“After I sold the shop, I left some there and moved some to my barn. But I didn’t really know what to do with them,” says Eames.

Bill Brooks, an avid cyclist and former triathlete, did. The historian and executive director of Middlebury’s Henry Sheldon Museum proposed an

exhibit to Eames. The Sheldon’s Assistant Director, Mary Manley (whose son Hunt is the designer for Burlington's Budnitz Bikes) pitched in.

Three years later, on the anniversary of the first bicycle patent, “Pedaling Through History“ is an exceptional display of one of the country’s most interesting bicycle collections. And it is made all the more fascinating when Glenn Eames is there to guide you through it.

BICYCLING’S AGE OF INVENTION

As he walks around the oldest community museum in the country, through rooms featuring period furniture from the late 1800s (and even Henry

AUGUST 2016 | VTSPORTS.COM 19

A bike like this Tribune Blue Streak from 1899 was used by Charlie "Mile a Minute" Murphy to break the 60-second mile in 1899.

Sheldon’s bed and slippers), Eames practically jumps across the room to point out a bike, an innovation or a photo on the wall.

The design and technology surrounding bikes went through a lightning-fast evolution in those early years, wooden rims and spokes giving way to forged metal and rubber. Eames points out the tensioned spokes, suspension, chain drives and gearing. Photos on the walls of the exhibit show early cyclists wearing jerseys and shorts, kits that look strikingly modern.

Races drew thousands of spectators and high stakes wagers. For safety as well as camaraderie, cyclists of that early era would ride in groups, clad in club uniforms, with buglers leading the charge and using the calvary calls to what today would be called a peloton to indicate when to mount, dismount or slow down.

The muesum display cases show the early lamps cyclists used, horns, bugles, whistles and other accessories.

Pointing to various bikes, Eames describes how in The exhibit showcases Vermont's history with the bicycle, starting with this photo of a Burlington boy with a safety bicycle, circa 1889. a matter of just a few years, the velocipede gave way to the penny farthing or “Ordinary” bike, whose front Prussian war broke out, there was the most amazing wheel came as large as a 62-inch diameter because, in boom in cycling in Europe,” says Eames. those days before gearing, larger wheels could go faster.

Lallement, who had worked in a shop making

“Between 1866, when Pierre Lallement filed the baby carriages in France, moved to New Haven, first patent for a bicycle and 1870, when the Franco-

Conn. in 1865, and began to ride a new contraption of his design. He filed for, and was awarded, the first bicycle patent on November 20, 1866. But he couldn’t interest any American company in producing his “velocipede,” so he went back to France.

By late 1868, the bike craze had taken off in America and in 1869 the patent was bought by a man named Calvin Witty. (Witty later claimed in a court dispute he spent $10,000 to secure the patent, an amount he recouped as he not only went on to produce his own bikes but also collected $10 in retroactive licensing fees for every bike built by another manufacturer.)

“In just one year, the bicycle grew into a huge fad in America and Witty became a rich man,” says Eames. According to historian David Herlihy, Witty also marketed his bikes to women, hiring a top woman rider as an instructor, holding “ladies-only” classes and keeping bloomers (a first step toward liberating women from long skirts) on hand for those who wished to try the new contraption.

Eames pauses at one of the earliest bikes in the exhibit, a serpentine velocipede most likely ordered by the traveling acrobat and stunt riders, the Hanlon brothers, in 1868. A precursor to the high wheeler it has two more equal-sized wheels. “I saw this in an

1868

1869

1871

1875

1884

Serpentine Velocipede

Diagonal Velocipede

Transitional Velocipede

Ordinary bicycle

High wheel safety bicycle

20 VTSPORTS.COM | AUGUST 2016

auction but it was painted black. I had a pretty good idea of what it was,” he says with reverence. “It turned out to be one of the original Calvin Witty-built bikes, and one of only two such bikes in existence,” he says with reverence, noting the original 1866 Lallement patent stamp and license number, 434.

How does he know it’s one of two? “Well, for a time I owned the other one as well,” Eames confesses.

Eames is reluctant to share what he paid for the bike or estimate what it is worth. “For me, it’s not about the dollar value but more about the historical value of each bike I buy,” he says.

He works closely with other collectors, such as Toronto’s Lorne Shields (who loaned many images and smaller objects for the exhibit) to scout out bikes from around the world and bid on them at auction.

But to put it in perspective, this past May, Sotheby’s sold an 1879 George Singer penny farthing racing bicycle at an auction in Monaco for approximately $8,333, U.S.

“Glenn’s is one of the more important collections in the United States,” says Shields. “In terms of overall, balanced collections, I’d say there are maybe 10 really serious collections and his is among the cream of them.”

Eames is not just a collector but a passionate cyclist who has immersed himself in every aspect of cycling history. “He’s an educated collector. He reads and knows the history of the bicycle and he’s collected the surrounding things, like headlamps,” says Shields.

Shields gave the bulk of his bicycle collection—50 or 60 vintage bikes—to the Canada Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa several years ago but kept his collection of bicycle accessories, photos and lithographs, some of which are on loan to the exhibit.

Shields continues: “When you are a collector, it’s part of who you are. There’s the pride and the effort you’ve put into creating the collection, the stories and the collecting instinct.”

FAST BIKES AND LOOSE WOMEN

Eames has that collecting instinct and for every bike, a story. In one corner, next to a sleek high wheeler is an image of John Keen, a fit man in a skin-tight kit that looks remarkably contemporary.

In the 1870s, Keen was the fastest man in the world. It was reported that more than 12,000 people showed up to see him compete in one event and he purportedly once rode 50 miles in 3 hours, 9

A world record holder in the 1870s, John Keen rode a high wheeler 50 miles in 3 hours and 9 minutes. Photo courtesy Lorne Shields

minutes—yes, on a high wheeler.

“Keen was a builder and innovator too,” says Eames. “He invented the rat trap pedals with toe clips and advanced the use of ball bearings and drawn and tapered tubing,” he says, pointing to the high wheeler on display.

In 1878, Keen and four other racers came to the U.S. to introduce high wheel bike racing. “Keen rode a 55-inch Eclipse,” Eames notes, then points to the bike in front of us. “This is a 55-inch Eclipse

“PEDALING THROUGH HISTORY: 150 YEARS OF THE BICYCLE" is on view at the Henry Sheldon Museum, One Park Street, Middlebury, Vt., through Oct. 16, 2016. The museum is open Tues. to Sat. 10 am to 5 pm, and on Sundays 1 pm to 5 pm. Glenn Eames will be on hand to give special lectures on: Wed., Aug. 17 at noon; Sat., Sept. 3 at 1 pm and Wed., Oct. 5 at noon. A demonstration ride on vintage bicycles is set for Sunday, Sept.

25. www.henrysheldonmuseum.org.

that came from southwestern Massachusetts.

There’s a very good chance that this is Keen’s bike.

I can’t prove it but it’s very unusual that this level of technology from the 1870s is even in this country at all.”

Next to that bike is an 1899 Tribune Blue Streak, a racer with drop bars and 30-inch wheels, similar to what Charlie “Mile-a-Minute” Murphy, used to break the 60-second mile in 1899. “He did so by laying a two-mile path of boards along the tracks of the Long Island Rail Road and drafting behind a locomotive,” Eames says. “It was quite the spectator stunt.”

One of Eames’s favorite stories involves the yellow Stearns “safety” bike, the bike most of us now consider the classic configuration, so named because it was far safer than the high-wheelers.

“I got a call from a gentleman who had the bike in his garage. It had been his grandmother’s and when he told me her story, I knew I just had to have it,” says Eames.

He glances around the room to gauge his audience before he continues. “She was the owner of a very successful brothel in Aberdeen, one of the roughest lumber towns in Washington state. She smoked a cigar, had a pet rooster and rode this bike to and from work. She was quite the character.”

On a table nearby sits “How I Learned to Ride a Bicycle” a small book by the suffragette and temperance reformer Frances Willard. Eames picks it up. “This was a woman whose health was failing so, in her 50s, she learned to ride a bike and it was the most liberating experience for her,” Eames says.

I open the book and it falls, randomly, to a page where Willard wrote: “That which caused the many failures I had in learning the bicycle had caused me failures in life; namely a certain fearful looking for of judgment; a too vivid realization of the uncertainty of everything about me; an underlying doubt—at once, however (and this is all that saved me), matched and overcome by the determination not to give in to it.”

Though Willard’s book is ostensibly about riding a bike, like this exhibit it is—to use one of Eames favorite words—much more about transformation and how bikes can and do change lives.

The Sheldon Museum exhibit shows the quick evolution the bicycle took (below), based on bikes that Eames has collected. The safety bicycle of 1895 is not that different from the bikes we ride today with similar frame geometry, gearing and rat trap pedals.

1886

1889

1892

Dwarf safety bicycle

Solid tire safety bicycle

Early Pneumatic tire safety bicycle

1895 Safety bicycle

AUGUST 2016 | VTSPORTS.COM 21

Burke Vermont

Because there’s more to do tomorrow.

Photo cred

it: Ryan T

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Register for both events at bikereg.com

THE GEAR GURUS

THE COMMUTER REVOLUTION HERE’S ALL YOU NEED TO DITCH YOUR CAR.

The Volata

Wayside Backpack Pannier/Combo

Sven Can See Velocio Lela Rose bib shorts

N

o one in our office puts in as many days on the bike as our production designer, Brian King. Every weekday, he rides from Bristol to work in Middlebury and back.

And on weekends, he mountain bikes.

After six months of 125-mile weeks, King swears by the new Catalyst Pedals ($120) by Pedaling Innovations.

Designed for better ergonomics, the pedal is as wide as a regular pedal (3.75 inches) but measures nearly 5 inches front to back, giving support across the arch of the foot.

Says King, “This pedal is engineered to take all of your power with the least amount of stress points. I almost feel like laughing out loud every time I ascend a hill, and standing on my pedals on descents feels like I’m riding an all-new, more responsive bike. At the end of the day my feet and legs feel noticeably less sore. When I swapped these with the pedals on my drop-bar commuting bike, I knew I would not be clipping in again.”

Pedaling Innovations is so sure the pedal it has a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Another product that’s made

bike commuting or light touring more stylish and practical is the Wayside Backpack Pannier/Combo ($80) from Blackburn. Blackburn’s newest pannier is designed to be a good-looking choice for school or office commutes.

The 1,150-cubic-inch pack measures 11"W x 16.34"H x 5"D and weighs in at 2.05 lbs. It’s not flashy (there are no reflective details or bright colors) and the sophisticated design features waterresistant waxed canvas and inside pockets accommodate a laptop or tablet.

Best, this pannier doubles as a roll-top daypack with padded shoulder straps that tuck into a zippered pocket before attaching it to a rear bike rack with strong Velcro straps.

Says Brian: “I found it sturdy, watertight in a downpour and handy for shopping trips and commuting to work.

It’s comfortable to wear for short trips, even with a full load, though I prefer attaching it to the bike rack for my daily 25-mile commutes.”

One thing we have yet to try (it won’t be released until 2017) could turn out to be the ultimate commuter bike.

The Volata ($3,499) is what happens when Silicon Valley and the bike

industry fall in love and have a baby together. Start with the bike: aluminum frame, carbon fork and a relaxed frame geometry, which looks like an appealing road/trail bike marriage. Then there’s the grease-free, quiet carbon belt drive, Shimano Alfine Di2 electronic shifting and internal gear hub.

But what makes this a standout is everything else: a fully-integrated 2.4inch computer display embedded in the headset with GPS tracking, an anti-theft motion detector (that flashes lights, sounds the horn and alerts your phone if the bike is moved), auto-on LED lights molded into the fork and top tube, and a dynamo front hub charger.

The computer interfaces with your smartphone so you can track your ride (or your bike—if it’s stolen), Strava, the weather forecast, your music and more.

A joystick on the gear shifts controls the computer with a flick of a finger, letting you keep your hands on the bars. In theory, this is a dream commuter bike that comes with all the accessories designed into it. Or, thanks to the complex systems and internal wiring, potentially a bike mechanic’s worst nightmare.

Catalyst Pedals

Sometimes, it’s the little things that make summer riding (or running) a little less pleasant and even potentially unsafe. For instance, when it’s hot enough to steam up your glasses on a long climb or a hard run, what do you do?

When we heard that Vermont’s resident Nordic ski racer and Olympian Andy Newell uses Sven Can See ($10.95) anti-fog gel and endorses the product, we tried it. All winter it kept our ski goggles fog and ice-free. It works nearly as well in the summer, particularly when you’re dripping with sweat and the steam rises into your glasses.

Last, if you are planning on spending a lot of time in the saddle, a really, really good pair of bike shorts is well worth the investment. Our ad manager, Christy Lynn, loves the new Velocio Lela Rose bib shorts ($219).

“They’re super comfortable and the mesh fabric on the bib keeps you cool but also means the straps don’t move around or dig into you,” she says. The leg band has a good fit as well, thanks to a light silicone finish and is imprinted with fashion designer Lela Rose’s Poppy design (there’s a matching jersey too).

The Men’s ES short is $209.

AUGUST 2016 | VTSPORTS.COM 23

m P fi re a C o o k - off C

Vermont State Parks invites you to participate in the first-ever Campfire Cook-off video competition!

Contest basics: • Individuals or teams may participate • Videos should be 2 minutes or less • Written recipe must accompany video • Cooking must be done on wood or charcoal • Bonus points for using healthy and local foods • Entries must be received by September 5, 2016 For full contest details visit vtstateparks.com

Trapp Mountain Marathon October 15th 13.1 mile and 26.2 mile trail run

Event Info: TrappMountainMarathon.com On Site Lodging & Dining: TrappFamily.com

Renew Today – The Trails need you!

It’s only midway through the riding season, with the best yet to come. Make sure to renew your VMBA membership today.

Help protect and sustain YOUR trails!

Visit www.vmba.org to learn more.

Get HALF OFF a rental in August: Bring this ad to Skirack or use code VTS2016 at rentals.skirack.com.

One per person.

Valid through 8/31/16

rentals.skirack.com 24 VTSPORTS.COM | AUGUST 2016

a level that’s at least as high as before DDT. It’s tough for climbers to have areas closed off, but it’s a great story for the birds. It’s neat to be up on the cliffs with them.

FEATURED ATHLETE

T

ravis Peckham literally wrote the book on rock climbing in Vermont with "Tough Schist" which was published in 2013. As part of the Climbing Access Resource Group Vermont (CRAG-VT) he has helped conserve several cliffs in Bolton and at 44, he just recorded his toughest climb.

VS: Why has climbing become such a growing sport in Vermont?

TP: New areas are being discovered and there is a lot of interest in exploring what Vermont has to offer. It used to be that local climbers went to New York and New Hampshire because those areas were established but now there is a better sense of our grass roots community and a lot of excitement about staying close to home. There’s been an increase in the number of climbing gyms and the guide book has drawn attention to what’s here.

VS: You’re being modest when you refer to “the guidebook” since you wrote the book. Tell us about "Tough Schist."

TP: At some level I’ve been writing it for 15 years but I didn’t start in earnest until 2010. As I was climbing, I’d always kept track of things I learned along the way. I’ve climbed in Vermont since I came back from college in 1993.

Initially I started by just writing a mini-guide for the Bolton area for the members of CRAG-VT but I knew about some climbs in the Smugglers’ Notch area so I threw those in and soon word got out that I was writing a guidebook and next thing I knew climbers started giving me information. Before I knew it I was sitting on a significant amount of material. In the past there had been some resistance to letting the cat out

TRAVIS PECKHAM

VS: What’s the hardest climb you’ve done?

TP: Like skiing, climbing has a difficulty scale, but it has greater resolution. The scale goes up to 5.15 and I did my first 5.13 climb this year at the age of 44—a route called Firewall at 82 Crag in Bolton. I’ve done dozens of 5.12 climbs but this was a new level of achievement and it’s unlikely that I’ll ever do a 5.14 since it’s an accelerating scale. I feel like this is quite an accomplishment.

Age: 44 Lives in: Underhill Family: Wife, Nancy; children, Flynn (13) and Phoebe (11) Occupation: Chief technology officer for OpenTempo Primary sport: Rock climbing, also mountain biking, trail running and snowboarding

Travis Peckham on his hardest climb ever, Firewall, a 5.13-rated climb on a 90-foot face near Bolton.

of the bag. People didn’t want to share their spots and there was a time when you would have been burned in effigy for writing a book like this. I wasn’t sure those days were behind us, but there was such an outpouring of positivity that it seemed like the right time.

VS: How did CRAG-VT get started?

TP: It was started unofficially around 2000 when Derek Doucet brought a bunch of us to his house after one of our climbing areas, the Bolton Quarry, was closed because the landowner was starting getting flak from his neighbors. Derek brought us together to see what could be done and that initial group of ten turned into CRAGVT. We ended up making several land acquisitions and becoming partners with the state to manage recreational activity on state land. I was president

TRAVIS PECKHAM’S FIVE FAVORITE CLIMBS: Ganesh (5.12a) An amazing journey up the right side of Elephant’s Head in Smuggler’s Notch. Four rope-lengths of steep and overhanging rock with amazing views and stomach-turning exposure.

Firewall (5.13a) Arguably Bolton’s best sport climb with 90 feet of steep and super-technical

for five years and I’m still on the board.

We purchased four different properties over the years and ended up being able to conserve and protect five cliffs in the Bolton area. One of the things that was really remarkable is that people were volunteering their time, money and energy and they didn’t even know the climbs.

VS: Tell us about the restrictions on climbing due to peregrine falcons.

TP: On some cliffs we have seasonal closures from April to August to protect them. I also volunteer with VINS and Audubon to help with bird banding and restoration efforts and helping biologists get to the cliffs. It’s really cool. When I started climbing it was a special thing to see a peregrine falcon but now I see them all the time.

Their numbers have really recovered to

climbing. One of the hardest one-pitch climbs I’ve done and also one of the best.

Who’s Your Daddy (5.12c) The Daddy turned me on to what Vermont climbing could be if I was willing to search it out. Hidden in plain sight in Bolton, this unbelievably fun and super-challenging route has crazy iron-cross moves, jumping for handholds, and an upsidedown bat-hang from a huge overhang.

Marshfield Corners (5.10b) Immaculate granite crack climbing

VS: What’s the most exotic place you’ve travelled to for climbing?

TP: I’ve travelled to four continents, eight countries and 15 states but probably the most fun was when Nancy and I went to Southeast Asia.

We found some really interesting untouristy places and met people who were excited to show us where they live. Nancy and I also travelled around Australia for three months in a crappy van and climbed three to four days a week in out of the way places.

VS: What does the future hold for rock climbing in Vermont?

TP: Vermont is experiencing a golden age of new route development and exploration which is really exciting to be a part of. The areas adjacent to us have long since been explored and to be a part of the history of climbing in Vermont—both as a historian and a participant—is super exciting. After climbing for 25 years I couldn’t be any more inspired. I still can’t get enough of it. If anything I’m more motivated and more inspired than I’ve ever been.

—Phyl Newbeck

with superb views of Groton State Park make this one of Vermont’s all-time traditional climbing classics.

The Great Corner (5.11a) Nancy and I attempted this route on Wheeler Mountain in the Northeast Kingdom back in 1994, the first time we ever climbed together. I was way out of my league and took a huge fall. Luckily for me, Nancy managed the belay and I didn’t hit the deck. We came back several years later after we got married and climbed the route in better style.

AUGUST 2016 | VTSPORTS.COM 25

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 18 2016

COURSE

18-mile & 6-mile timed runs, 2-mile family fun run/walk. All courses are loops on pristine trails through woods, farmland, meadow and river valleys, circumnavigating the town. (18-mile run capped at 100 runners).

LOCATION

Start & end at Wright Park in Middlebury, VT. Post-race celebration with refreshments, prizes & music. All welcome, any ability.

All proceeds help to maintain & improve the Trail Around Middlebury (TAM).

The Moose Redux September 24, 2016 www.tourdekingdom.org

Registration begins June 1 at http://www.maltvt.org

Hosted by the Middlebury Area Land Trust

Vermont’s Outdoor Adventure Center

[ C u s to m i z e d tota l K n e e R e p l a C e m e n t s ]

30 days after my knee surgery, I was doing a century bike ride! suzanne szeRmeR, WaRRen

Welcome to the 21st century community hospital.

Welcome to Copley. suzanne does 8-10 century bike rides a year, and she swims and hikes. When her knee pain became unbearable, she called mansfield orthopaedics. two weeks after undergoing custom total knee replacement, suzanne was walking 4 miles a day. thirty days post-surgery, she did a seacoast Century Bike Ride. “the surgery changed my life. the total joint class before surgery really prepared me for what to expect, dr. Huber was wonderful, and my care at Copley was excellent.”

Our orthopaedic specialists: Brian Aros, MD; Bryan Huber, MD; John Macy, MD; Joseph McLaughlin, MD; and Saul Trevino, MD.

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RACE & EVENT GUIDE

VERMONT

SPORTS

LISTING YOUR EVENT IN THIS CALENDAR IS

FREE AND EASY. VISIT VTSPORTS.COM/SUBMITAN-EVENT OR E-MAIL EDITOR@VTSPORTS. COM. ALL AREA CODES ARE 802, AND ALL LOCATIONS ARE IN VERMONT, UNLESS

OTHERWISE NOTED. FEATURED EVENTS, IN YELLOW, PAY A NOMINAL FEE.

August 6 Moosalamoo Ultra, Goshen, Vt. The Blueberry Hill Inn is host to 14-mile and 36-mile races on the neighboring trails of the Moosalamoo National Recreation Area. www.moosalamooultra.com 6 Fairfax Egg Run, Fairfax, Vt. Fairfax Rec. Department holds 5K and 10K races with eggs made to order at the finish. www.fairfaxrecreation.com 13 Melissa Jenkins Memorial Fun Run, Danville, Vt. Runners and walkers complete a 5K to benefit a scholarship at the Danville School. www.danwyandpt.com 13 100 on 100 Relay, Stowe, Vt. Teams of runners split the 100 miles between the Trapp Family Lodge and Jackson Gore at Okemo into relay portions on Route 100. www.100on100.org 13 Kingdom Run, Irasburg, Vt. Runners in northern Vermont race a half marathon, 10K or 5K on dirt roads with gentle hills. A meal with blueberry sundaes follows the race. www.kingdomrun.org 14 Mt. Mansfield Double Up This new event is a trail run up and down and along the

19-20 Last Mile Ride, Randolph, Vt. The Gifford Medical Center hosts a 5K run and walk. The event includes an 80-mile motorcycle ride on paved roads with a barbecue for all participants. www.giffordmed.org 8/20 KBC Race to The Summit, Killington Hike or run in this challenging and scenic 5K course from the Ramshead Base Lodge to the Peak Lodge at the summit. All racers receive a one-way gondola ticket for a scenic descent back to the bottom. www.killington.com 21 Saint Albans Raid Half Marathon, St. Albans, Vt. Downtown St. Albans pays homage to its history with a half marathon on the historic Rail Trail. www.facebook.com/ StAlbansRaidHalfMarathon 21 Green Mountain Athletic Association Scholarship Trail Race, Burlington, Vt. Red Rocks Park is the site of a 5K entirely on dirt trails.

The course is gently rolling with several overlooks of Lake Champlain. Race raises funds for the GMAA’s scholarship program. www.gmaa.net 27-28 ADK 80K, Lake Placid, N.Y. The 4th annual ADK 80K Race Weekend consists of a

GUIDANCE SINCE 197 EA R & 5

en

7

, ys Da

4

80K/50K trail run and relay on Saturday and 80K/40K mountain bike races on Sunday. Both races will be held on the same 20K loop: on the 1980 Olympic Nordic ski trails of Mt. Van Hoevenberg. www.adk80K.com 27 Best Dam Run & Walk, Whitingham, Vt. The Harriman Reservoir is the site of a half marathon and 5K race that follow the Hoot, Toot & Whistle Trail along the Harriman Reservoir. The race benefits fuel assistance programs in the Deerfield Valley. www.bestdamwalk.com 27 Little City Run/Walk, Vergennes, Vt. Vermont’s “Little City” hosts 10K and 5K races through with views of Lake Champlain. www.addisoncounty.com

28 North Face Race to The Top, Stowe, Vt. The Catamount Trail Association challenges runners and cyclists to race up Stowe’s historic Toll Road, gaining 2,564 vertical feet over 4.3 miles. www.catamounttrail.org 28 Howard Center Zoe’s Race, Burlington, Vt. This 1K fun run or 5K run/walk around Oakledge Park helps raise money for accessibility projects for the Howard Center. www.zoesrace.com

September 3 Northfield Savings Bank 5K and Children’s 1- Mile Race, Northfield, Vt. This certified 5K course is part of the CVR ORS Race Series.

Start and finish in front of the Northfield Savings Bank in downtown Northfield. www.runsignup.com/ 4 Jay Peak Trail Running Festival, Jay, Vt. Runners head to northern Vermont for a series of trail races around Jay ranging from 5K to 50K. www. jaypeaktrailrun.com 10 Charlotte Covered Bridge 5K, 10K, and Half Marathon, Shelburne, Vt. The Charlotte Covered Bridge 5K/10K & Half Marathon will begin at Shelburne Beach where you’ll take in the

pm

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18 Berlin Pond 5-miler, Berlin, Vt. Race a 5-mile loop counterclockwise around Berlin Pond.

Course features a mix of flat and hilly dirt roads, part of the CVR ORS Race Series. Race day registration only at the Berlin Town Clerk’s office. www.cvrunners.org 19 Smugglers’ Notch Trail Racing Series, Vt. The trails around Smugglers’ Notch are the site of a 4K, 8K and a Kids’ Fun Run (ages 7 and under). Races are open to runners of all abilities. www.smuggs.com

RUNNING

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ridgelines of Vermont’s highest peak. It involves 5,500' vertical feet of climbing ​over 11 miles of technical terrain and is limited to 70 entrants.www.nativeendurance.com

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AUGUST 2016 | VTSPORTS.COM 27

RACE & EVENT GUIDE

24-25 Adirondack Marathon Distance Festival, Schroon Lake, NY Schroon Lake, N.Y. hosts a full weekend of distance racing. with marathon, half marathon, relays, 5K and 10K races, as well as fun runs for kids. www.adirondackmarathon.org

RUNNING cont. beautiful views of Lake Champlain and the Adirondacks.

The course is flat or slightly rolling. All divisions will follow an out and back course. www.racevermont.com 10 Maple Leaf Half Marathon, Manchester, Vt. Make-A-Wish Vermont and the Manchester Lions Club host a fall half marathon, starting and finishing in Manchester Village. www.manchestervtmapleleaf.com 11 Old Stone House Fall Foliage Run, Walk and Bike, Brownington, Vt. Runners, walkers and bikers are all invited to a series of races on dirt roads in the Northeast Kingdom. Runners and walkers choose half marathon or 5K walk/run, bikers ride 12 miles. www.oldstonehousemuseum.org 11 Vermont Remembers Run, Colchester, Vt. Camp Johnson is the site for an 11K run and ruck and a 5K run and walk around the fort. Event is open to teams. www. runvermont.org 14 Sodom Pond 4 Miler, Adamant, Vt. Run a rolling 4-mile dirt-road loop around Adamant's Sodom Pond. Race-day registration only 5:00- 5:45 pm at the white house across from the Adamant Co-op in Adamant Village. www.cvrunners.org 18 Downtown 10K, Burlington, Vt. The 8th Annual Downtown 10k is a mostly flat, fast course through the streets of Burlington and along the bike path with views of the Adirondacks and Lake Champlain Finish is on the Church Street Marketplace. www.racewire.com 18 TAM Trek, Middlebury, Vt. The 18-mile-long Trail Around Middlebury hosts a series of races. Runners can choose between 6-mile and 18mile runs, a 2-mile family fun run and a 3-mile hike or a mountain bike. Course includes single and doubletrack trails, pavement and technical sections. www.maltvt.org

25: Vermont Sun Half Marathon, Salisbury, Vt. Vermont Sun organizes a 5K, 10K and half marathon along Lake Dunmore in Branbury State Park. www. vermontsuntriathlonseries.com 25 2nd Annual Choice Physical Therapy Fall Foliage 5k Run/Walk, Montpelier, Vt. A race to benefit Washington County Youth Service Bureau/ Boys and Girls Club. Refreshments and raffle prizes will be provided. www.choicephysicaltherapyofvermont.com 25 Island Vines 10K, South Hero, Vt. Snow Farm Vineyard serves as the starting point for a flat and scenic 10K on South Hero roads. www.runvermont.org 25 Vermont 50 Ultra Run, Windsor Ultra-runners head to Windsor for a 50-mile run, 50K run or 50-mile bike race. Event benefits Vermont Adaptive. www.vermont50.blogspot.com

October 1 Copley Hospital’s Run for The Heart, Morrisville, Vt. The hospital organizes a 5K run at Oxbow Park, which connects to the Rail Trail. Runners will follow the Rail Trail back to the finish. www.copleyvt.org 2 Fly to Pie Kingdom Marathon, Newport, Vt. Runners and bikers race a marathon, half marathon or 17 miles from Lakeview Aviation in Newport to Parker Pie in Glover for a pizza party. www.kingdomgames.co 2 Leaf Peepers Half Marathon, Waterbury, Vt. CVR’s fundraiser for the Harwood Union Boosters Club is an out-and-back on paved and dirt roads. Part of the CVR ORS Race Series. www.leafpeepershalfmarathon.org 9 GMAA Green Mountain Marathon, South Hero, Vt. The Champlain Islands host a certified marathon and half marathon beginning and ending near the house where

REGISTER TODAY

Clarence H. Demar, a seven-time Boston Marathon winner, once lived. www.gmaa.net 9 Mad Dash, Waitsfield, Vt. Runners support the Mad River Path with a10K and 5K race. Community lunch follows. www.madriverpath.com 9 Ripton Ridge Run, Ripton, Vt. The Ripton Elementary School hosts its annual fundraiser with a 5K run, 10.4K run and a noncompetitive 5K fun walk. All courses start and finish at the Ripton Elementary School. www.riptonridgerun.addisoncentralsu.org 22 CircumBurke MTB Challenge and Trail Run, East Burke, Vt. This annual mountain bike and trail running ritual follows an epic and brutal 26-plus miles around Burke and Umpire mountains on Kingdom Trails singletrack. www. circumburke.org

BIKING August 6 Bike MS: Green Mountain Getaway, Burlington, Vt. Starting at the University of Vermont, this ride includes 30-, 60- and 100-mile rides around the Champlain Valley. www.bikemam.nationalmssociety.org 6 Mount Equinox Uphill Bike Climb, Manchester, Vt. This challenging 5.4 mile bike race heads up the scenic Mt. Equinox Skyline Drive to finish at the 3,855-foot summit. www.gearupforlyme.com 11–14 The Vermont Challenge, Manchester, Vt. Manchester and Stratton Resort serve as the home base for four days of long-distance rides between 26.5 and 105 miles. The Challenge also includes a gran fondo option for Saturday. www.vtchallenge.com 13 -14 Bike MS: Great Maine Getaway, Biddeford, Me. This two-day coastal ride raises funds for the National MS Society. Ride distances include 25, 50, 75 and 100 miles. www.bikemam.nationalmssociety.org

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13 8th Annual Bike N’ Brew Festival, East Burke, Vt. Burke Mountain welcomes anyone who loves bikes and craft brews to an event that features tastings, lift rides, mountain biking and awards for the best beer. www. skiburke.com 13 Harpoon Point to Point, Windsor, Vt. The Harpoon Point to Point presented by National Life Group is a cycling event to benefit the Vermont Foodbank.

Choose from a 25-, 50- or 100-mile ride starting and finishing at the Harpoon Brewery. There’s also a new mountain bike ride. www.harpoonpointtopoint.com 20 Mount Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb, Gorham, N.H. Cyclists race 7.6 miles up the Mount Washington Auto Road to the 6,288-foot summit on an average grade of 12 percent. Extended sections are 18 percent. The last 50 yards is 22 percent. www.mwarbh.org 20-21 Eastern States Cup Sugarbush Showdown, Warren, Vt. The Eastern States Cup East Coast Showdown returns to Sugarbush for 2016, featuring enduro and downhill mountain bike races with a combined cash purse of $3,200.

It’s a great race for spectators. www.sugarbush.com 28 Vermont Overland Gran Prix, Pomfret, Vt. A 51-mile dirt road bicycle race featuring 5,400 feet of climbing, seven sections of unmaintained ancient public roads, a village downtown start/finish and a street party afterwards. www.vermontoverland.com

September 2-5 Green Mountain Stage Race, Waitsfield, Vt. The largest pro/amateur road stage race east of the Mississippi returns to Vermont with four days of challenging rides including time trials, criterium races and a gran fondo. www.gmsr.info 4 Labor Day 130K, Peru, Vt. Ride 85 miles through southern Vermont with an elevation gain of 7,500 feet. Ride is unsupported and raises money for Rare Disease Research. www.rasopathiesnet.org

5 Richard Tom Kids Crit, Burlington, Vt. The RTF Kids’ Crit is a FREE non-competitive opportunity for youngsters to ride a portion of the GMSR Burlington Criterium circuit. Cyclists ride a specified number of laps on a short course and roads are closed to traffic. There are two fields with separate start times. Ages 7-8 ride 2 blocks, ages 9-10 ride 4 blocks. www.richardtomfoundation.com 9-11 Quebec Grand Prix, Montreal and Quebec City The UCI WorldTour comes to Quebec with world teams, professional continental teams and national teams going head-to-head in criterium-style races in historic Montreal and Quebec. www.gpcqm.ca 10 Kelly Brush Century Ride, Middlebury, Vt. The 11th annual ride includes 25-, 50-, or 100-mile distances and raises funds for the Kelly Brush Foundation. The scenic, fully-supported ride through the Champlain Valley draws over 700 cyclists and dozens of handcyclists. Followed by a post-ride BBQ. www.kellybrushfoundation.org 10 Mount Greylock Hill Climb Time Trial, North Adams, Mass.

The Northampton Cycling Club hosts an 8.9-mile time trial up the Mount Greylock auto road. www.greylocktt. nohobikeclub.org 11 Cabot Ride the Ridges, Cabot, Vt. With routes of 10, 30, 60 and 100K available, this ride through the towns of Peacham and Cabot has something for every rider. www.ridetheridges.net 17 Stone Valley 50 Gravel Grinder, Poultney, Vt Gravel grinders can test themselves in two events: a 50-mile race on mostly gravel roads through Poultney, Castleton and Middletown Springs; or a 20-mile noncompetitive tour. www.stonevalley50.com 18 Del’s Ride, Huntington, Vt. Mountain bikers tackle loops on the trails at the Sleepy Hollow Inn and Bike Center in support of six-year-old Delaney Johnson who has debilitating disorder known as Alternating Hemiplegia of Childhood (AHC) and epilepsy. www.delsride.org

18 NoHo BikeFest & Tour, Northampton, Mass.

The Northampton Cycling Club hosts its eighth annual tour with supported rides of 8, 25, 43, 72 and 104 miles followed by a party. www.bikefest.nohobikeclub.org 18 Peak GMT Gnarly Adventure and 6-hour Challenge, Pittsfield, Vt. Peak Races ' GMT Gnarly Adventure will cover all 25 miles of the Green Mountain Trails while the Six-Hour Challenge has riders complete as many laps as possible over a tenmile loop. www.peak.com 21–25 Fall Foliage Tour, East Burke Kingdom Games hosts four days of supported rides on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border with brilliant foliage and routes of varying distances. www.kingdomgames.co 24 Hungry Lion Bike Tour, Whitingham, Vt. Cyclists tackle the roads of southern Vermont while raising funds to fight hunger. Distances include 10-, 32-, 35-, 55-, and 75-mile distances. www.hungrylionbiketour.com

October 2 Allen Clark Hill Climb, Waitsfield, Vt. This ride rises 1,600 vertical feet in 6.2 miles from the intersection of Routes 100 and 17 to the top of Appalachian Gap. www.achillclimb.org

WATERSPORTS August 6 Seymour Swim, Derby, Vt. Swimmers attempt the 3.5-mile or 1.75-mile options of the Aquaman triathlon at Lake Seymour the same day. www. kingdomgames.co 7–8 14th Annual FairPoint Lake Champlain Martin 16 Invitational Regatta, Colchester, Vt. The Northeast Disabled Athletic Association and the Malletts Bay Boat Club host the longest running disabled regatta in New England. Top racers vie for the prestigious Berg Cup. www.disabledathletics.org/regatta/

Richard Tom

T I R C ’ S D KI

Burlington, VT • September 5, 2016, 2 p.m.

On Monday, September 5, 2016 (Labor Day), a full day of criterium bicycle racing will take place in downtown Burlington as the final stage of the Green Mountain Stage Race. The Richard Tom Kids’ Crit will be a part of this day of cycling.

Downtown roads will be closed for this entire event.

THIS IS A FREE NON-COMPETITIVE EVENT! Ages and number of laps: 7-8 (2 laps), 9-10 (3 laps) Rider limit: 30 for 7-8, 35 for 9-10 o see you there! pe t Ho REGISTER ONLINE AT

www.richardtomfoundation.com or www.bikereg.com/the-green-mountain-stage-race For additional information, contact John Williams at jbikenski@gmail.com or 802-849-9863

AUGUST 2016 | VTSPORTS.COM 29

RACE & EVENT GUIDE WATERSPORTS, cont.

7 Lake Monster Sprint/Olympic Triathlon, Shelburne, Vt. RaceVermont hosts two triathlons at Shelburne Beach.

The Lake Monster Sprint includes a 500-yard swim, 15.8mile bike and a 3.1-mile run. The Olympic Triathlon will be a .9-mile swim, 27-mile bike and a 6.2-mile run. www. racevermont.com

13–21 Swim The Kingdom Week, lakes around Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom Kingdom Games hosts a week of long distance swims at a different lake each day. www.kingdomgames.co

14 Lake Dunmore Triathlon, Salisbury, Vt. Vermont Sun’s Olympic distance triathlon includes a .9-mile swim, 28-mile bike ride and a 6.2-mile run on the shores of Lake Dunmore. www.vermontsuntriathlonseries.com

September

September

10 In Search of Memphre VI, Newport, Vt. Swimmers take on a 25-mile swim from Newport, Vt. across the border to Magog, Quebec. www.kingdomgames.co

18 Josh Billings Triathlon, Stockbridge Mass.

Teams complete a 27-mile bike ride, 5-mile paddle, and 6-mile run through the Berkshires in this fun, teamoriented triathlon. www.joshbillings.com

TRIATHLON

OBSTACLE COURSE RACES August

August

6 Aquaman Even-Up, Ollie Even-Up and Sprint Derby and Morgan, Vt. Kingdom Games hosts three triathlons: The Aquaman has a 3.5-mile swim, 34-mile bike and 13.1-mile run; The Ollie has a 1.75-mile swim, 15-mile bike, and a 10K run; the Sprint has a 500-yard swim, 13-mile bike, and 5-mile run. www.kingdomgames.co

40TH ANNUAL

6 Benson Bear, Benson, Vt. Shale Hill hosts 5K and 10K races on its course with over 60 obstacles. www.shalehilladventure.com 6 -7 24 Hours of Shale Hell, Benson, Vt. Individuals or teams complete as many laps as they can over a 24 period on a 10K obstacle course with over 65 obstacles. www.shalehilladventure.com 6 The Bitter Pill, Bolton, Vt. Teams of two or three complete a 12-hour race with several disciplines including mountain biking, paddling, rappelling, running, orienteering and more. www.gmara.org

R U N A G R O U N D T R I AT H L O N

Ethan Allen Biathlon Club 2016 Summer Race Series

DATES July 7, 14, 21, August 4,11, 18 TIMES 5:00 pm - Registration 5:30 to 6:00 pm - Zeroing 6:15 pm - Race Start

Sunday, September 18 THROUGH 5 TOWNS IN THE BEAUTIFUL BERKSHIRES Bike • Canoe/Kayak/SUP • Run Triathlon Team & Iron Categories

WHERE Ethan Allen Biathlon Club Ethan Allen Rd., Jericho, VT

NEW: See our website for NEW mandatory

active.com and trireg.com joshbillings.com

VERMONT

SPORTS

Photos, Profiles, Events, Reviews, Feature Stories and many more ways to connect with New England’s outdoor life. vtsports.com 30 VTSPORTS.COM | AUGUST 2016

Safety Clinic information Info: www.eabiathlon.org

September 17-18 Spartan Race, Killington, Vt. Obstacle course racers tackle the Beast of the East in the famously tough Spartan Race. Obstacles include walls, nets, sandbag carries and plenty of mud. www.killington.com

FESTIVALS August 5-7 Hops in the Hills, Ludlow, Vt. Okemo hosts a beer and cider festival with over 50 regional craft beers and ciders. The festival will showcase a great lineup of live music, craft vendors and tasty food in the Jackson Gore courtyard. www.okemo.com 6 Uh-lympics, Dover, Vt. Mount Snow’s newest event salutes the weekend warrior with teams of two competing in backyard games with live music, barbeque and beer. Event will be held all afternoon in the main base area. www.mountsnow.com 13 8th Annual Bike N’ Brew Festival, East Burke, Vt. Burke Mountain's hosts tastings, lift rides, mountain biking and awards for the best beer. www.skiburke.com 13 12th Annual August West Festival, Jay, Vt. Jay Peak’s annual festival celebrates the Grateful Dead. with tie-dying, free Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, and food and craft vendors on the town green in Jay. www.jaypeakresort.com 19 – 21 Vermont Music Festival, Waitsfield, Vt. The Mad River Valley becomes the site of a rocking weekend of live music. Live acts include Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds, local favorite The Grift, Low Key, and a host of singer/songwriters including Tim Brick, Abbie Morin and all-horn band The Hornitz. www.vtmusicfest.org 20 Hop Jam, Bolton, Vt. Hop Jam at Bolton Valley enters its third year with another day-long party filled with great music, food and some of the finest beer from Vermont. www.boltonvalley.com 26-28 Stowe Wine & Food Classic, Stowe, Vt. Stowe Mountain Lodge hosts a weekend of tastings of the best food and wine from Vermont and beyond, talks and live music. www.stowewine.com

September 17-18 Grand Point North, Burlington, Vt. Vermont's Grace Potter presents a full lineup of live music on the Burlington waterfront, including Old Crow Medicine Show, Guster, Blind Pilot, Kat Wright & The Indomitable Soul Band and more. www.grandpointnorth.com

Register Now! Join us September 24-25 at the

20th annual Adirondack Marathon Distance Festival — one of the nation’s most scenic road races!

Our award-winning event features distances for every type of runner or walker, including: 8 A marathon and two- and four-person marathon relays 8 A half-marathon voted the top 13.1-mile race in the Northeast region by readers of Competitor.com 8 5K, 10K and kids 1K fun run HALF MARATHON 8 Hand-carved bear statues for overall winners 8 A public beach for chilling out post-event 8 The Town of Schroon Lake’s hometown hospitality!

October 1-2 We're excited to partner to offer women 21+ an overnight that includes wine and cheese, fall colors, and excellent mountain bike instruction - regardless of your level. As with the Little Bella's kids programming, the main goal will be to have fun, laugh and learn from each other! Registration covers your lodging, meals, and instruction. Learn more and register at www.littlebellas.com, and come on up to the Kingdom!

There’s plenty of time to train, so sign up now and get going!

For more information and to register, visit adirondackmarathon.org ADKM_1601_Vermont_QuartPage.indd 1

stay@craftsbury.com | www.craftsbury.com | 802.586.7767

3/8/16 9:19 AM

Kingdom Marathon October 2, 2016

www.kingdommarathon.com RUN LIKE BANDITS THROUGH ST. ALBANS!

Frosty 14th Star brews at the finish line!

Race begins and ends in downtown St. Albans.

To register, visit www.active.com Keyword search: “St. Albans Raid Half Marathon”

Fly to Pie

Run — Bike — Hike 26.2, 17 or 13.5 Miles Relay, Family & Youth Options

For more information: Call 802-524-2444 AUGUST 2016 | VTSPORTS.COM 31

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ike Shops around VT sponsored content 91

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We are the original home to Kingdom Trails. Located in the heart of town, we pride ourselves in expert knowledge while providing friendly customer service. A full service shop awaits you and your repair needs. We have over 75 rentals bikes with an enormous selection of clothing, parts and accessories.

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2500 Williston Road S. Burlington, VT 802-864-9197

Earl’s has Vermont’s largest selection of mountain, road, hybrid, and kids’ bikes, clothing and accessories, helmets, shoes, and car racks.

Plus an extensive women’s department, a full service department with a wide assortment of parts and tools on hand, ample parking, and a test ride trail!

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www.eastburkesports.com Hours: 9am-6pm every day

www.earlsbikes.com Hours: Mon-Fri 10am-7pm Sat 10am-6pm, Sun 11am-5pm

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439 Route 114 East Burke, VT 802-626-3215

EARL’S CYCLERY 2

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OUTDOOR GEAR EXCHANGE

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37 Church Street Burlington, VT 802-860-0190

www.gearx.com Hours: Mon-Thurs 10am- 8pm Fri-Sat 10am-9pm, Sun 10am-6pm OGE is quickly becoming Burlington, VT’s premier bike shop with a knowledgeable, friendly, and honest staff to get you on a new bike or fix the one you already have at a price that works for you. We have commuters and gravel grinders from Marin and KHS, mountain bikes from Pivot, Transition, Rocky Mountain, and Yeti, and a large selection of consignment bikes. Our comprehensive demo fleet allows you to try it before you buy it. Fully equipped service department and full Fox shock service in house. Come on down and see us!

OLD SPOKES HOME

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322 N. Winooski Ave Burlington, VT 802-863-4475

www.oldspokeshome.com Hours: 7 days a week Mon-Sat 10am-6pm, Sun 12pm-6pm

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www.chucksbikes802.com Hours: Mon-Fri 9am-5:30pm Sat 9am-3pm, Closed Sunday

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POWER PLAY SPORTS

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45 Bridge Street Morrisville, VT 877-815-9178

35 Portland Street Morrisville, VT 802-888-6557

www.powerplaysports.com Hours: Mon-Fri 9am-6pm Sat 8:30am-5pm, Sun 10am-4pm North Central Vermont’s Trek and Giant Dealer. With over 200 new and used bikes PPS has a bike for everyone. Service and rentals too!

32 VTSPORTS.COM | AUGUST 2016

VILLAGE SPORTS SHOP

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511 Broad Street Lyndonville, VT 802-626-8448

www.villagesportshop.com Hours: Mon-Fri 8:30am-6pm Sat 8am-5pm, Sun 9:30am-5pm

For 35 years, the Village Sport Shop has been a destination for sports enthusiasts of all ages and abilities to find quality, competitively priced sporting goods. Covering a wide variety of activities and gear the Village Sport Shop has helped customers, locals and visitors alike enjoy the outdoors.

SKIRACK

6

85 Main Street Burlington, VT 802-658-3313

www.skirack.com Hours: Mon-Fri 10am-7pm Sat 10am-7pm, Sun 11am-5pm Locally owned since 1969, Skirack offers gear, clothing, expert fits and accessories for all cyclists, with full service tuning and repairs...plus complete bike suspension service on most forks and rear shocks. Designated one of America’s Best Bike Shops, Skirack is blocks from Lake Champlain. Open 8am Mon-Sat for bike service, car racks and rentals.

NORTH STAR SPORTS

7

100 Main Street Burlington, VT 802-863-3832

www.northstarsportsvt.com Hours: 7 days a week Mon-Sat 10am-6pm, Sun 12pm-5pm

Old Spokes Home offers VT’s best selection of professionally refurbished used bikes and new bikes for touring, bike packing, commuting, fat biking, and simply getting around. Named one of the country’s best bike shops by Outside Online for it’s “plain-talk advice and no-nonsense service.” A non-profit as of January 2015, OSH uses 100% of its revenue to run programs creating access to bikes in the community. And don’t miss their famous antique bicycle museum!

BELGEN CYCLES

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24 Bridge Street Richmond, VT 802-434-4876

www.belgencycles.com Hours: Mon-Sat 10:30am-6:30pm Closed Sundays Belgen Cycles offers custom and stock bicycles supported by 38 years of handson experience.

Focused on the right bike for you covering the spectrum from road to ‘cross and mountain to fat with selections from Salsa, Xprezo, Moots, Parlee, Litespeed, Lynskey and Soma. Full service maintenance and repair as well as fitting solutions. In business as Village Bicycle in Richmond for 18 years.

WATERBURY SPORTS

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46 S. Main Street Waterbury, VT 802-882-8595

www.waterburysportsvt.com Hours: 7 days a week Mon-Thur 10am-6pm Fri & Sat 9am-7pm, Sun 10am-4pm WBS sells Trek and Giant bikes of every flavor from high end mountain bikes to kids, hybrids and cross bikes. Our service techs are among the best in northern VT. We also rent and Demo from our downtown location right near the Perry Hill Trails.

ONION RIVER SPORTS

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20 Langdon Street Montpelier, VT 802-229-9409

www.onionriver.com Hours: Mon-Thur 9am-6pm Fri 9am-8pm, Sat 9am-5pm, Sun 11am-4pm Whether you’re a cycling pro, a casual commuter, or a novice rider, we’ve got the perfect bicycle for all of your adventures — and the friendly, knowledgeable staff to help you find it. We are a full-service bike shop staffed by experts committed to helping you keep your bike at top performance. We can diagnose and repair problems on any bicycle, whether you’re looking for a basic tune-up, or complicated and extensive maintenance and repairs. We also pack and ship bikes anywhere in the country.

BICYCLE EXPRESS

13

56 Depot Sq, Northfield, VT 802-485-5424

www.bikeexpressvt.com Hours: Mon-Thur 10-5:30, Fri 10-6, Sat 10-2, closed Sun Bicycle Express is one of Vermont’s finest bike shops in down town Northfield, VT. Open for sales in bicycles, and outdoor gear. We sell Kona, Scott and Cannodale.

FROG HOLLOW BIKES

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74 Main Street Middlebury, VT 802-388-6666

www.froghollowbikes.com Hours: Mon -Thur 9:30am-5:30pm year round, Fri 9:30am-7pm yearround, Sat 9:30-5:30 year-round, Sun 1-4pm May - September and for Christmas shopping

Take advantage of the most advanced and courteous service in our region, including a quick turn-around in our service shop downstairs at Frog Hollow Bikes. Upstairs in the sales room, we offer the best in new and used road, mountain, lifestyle, and children’s bikes and new gear. We carry brands that offer superior products that balance innovation and performance with reliability and value.

Formerly the Bike Center.

GREEN MOUNTAIN BIKES

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105 N. Main Street Rochester, VT 800-767-7882

www.greenmountainbikes.com Hours: 7 days a week, 10am-6pm Located in the heart of the Green Mountains, we are surrounded by terrain that calls to mountain and road bikers alike. Whether you ride twisting trails or back to back gaps, we service, sell, and rent all styles of bicycles, featuring Kona, Jamis, Juliana, Raleigh, Santa Cruz, Transition, and Hinderyckx bikes - hand crafted by our own Rochester boy Zak Hinderyckx. So STOP READING and RIDE YOUR BIKE!

PARADISE SPORTS SHOP

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25 Depot Ave. Windsor, VT 802-674-6742

www.paradisesportshop.com Hours: Tue-Fri 10-6, Sat 9-5 Closed Sun & Mon Paradise Sports Shop has been serving the needs of cyclists and outside enthusiasts in the Upper Valley since 2008. We offer professional retail sales and service of cycling equipment, accessories and soft goods and much more.

BATTENKILL SPORTS

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99 Bonet Street Manchester, VT 802-362-2734

www.battenkillsports.com Hours: 7 days a week 9:30am-5:30pm Full selection of men and women’s clothing. Rentals available.

Great back roads. Road rides Thursdays at 6pm, Beginner Rides Fridays at 6pm.

BURROW’S SPECIALIZED SPORTS

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105 Main St., Brattleboro, VT 802-254-9430

www.burrowssports.com Hours: Mon-Fri 9am-6pm, Sat. 9am-5:30pm, Sun Noon-5pm

very experienced mechanics and a wide selection of bikes from Specialized and Cannondale to customs from Seven, Co-Motion, and Waterford. We also love and sell SUPs and are certified instructors for paddleboarding, road cycling and mountain biking.

MASON RACING

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18.5 Mascoma Street Lebanon, NH 603-448-5400

www.masonracingcycles.com Hours: Mon-Fri 10am-5:30pm Sat 9am-3pm, Closed Sundays

80 years of serving the Brattleboro area with great gear for the year-round outdoor sports enthusiast.

Featuring Raleigh, Bianchi, GT, Schwinn, Ibis, and Yuba Cargo Bikes. Best selection of kids bikes in the area. Top notch service Department...we can fix just about anything. Electric assist kits to help you “flatten” the Vermont hills.

The areas 4-season Mountain Bike Headquarters.

Locally owned and located 1.1 miles from the entrance to the Boston Lot trail system, the crown jewel of the Upper Valley. We are a shop run by passionate riders and we carry Rocky Mountain, Salsa and Raleigh bikes. We service all bikes and specialize in mountain bike suspension service and setup. Come join us for one of our Tuesday or Thursday night group rides at 6 PM.

WEST HILL BIKE SHOP

OMER & BOB’S

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49 Brickyard Lane Putney, VT 802-387-5718

www.westhillshop.com Hours: Mon-Sat, 10am-6pm Closed Sundays

Since 1971, the West Hill Shop has been a low-key, friendly source for bikes ‘n gear, service and rare wisdoms. We are known regionally as the go-to place for problem-solving technicians. Our bike fitters specialize in comfort without sacrificing efficiency. Recently, we’ve focused on stocking gravel road bikes, with awesome dirt road riding right out our door. Our annual (and infamous) cyclocross race has been described as “the Providence race in Carhartts.” Come join us for one of our adventurous rides!

LITTLETON BIKE & FITNESS

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28 Cottage Street Littleton, NH 603-444-3437

www.littletonbike.com Hours: Mon-Fri 10am-7pm Sat 9am-5pm, Sun 11am-4pm Since 1981 we’ve been helping north country folks enjoy the outdoors. With a full service repair shop,

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20 Hanover Street Lebanon, NH 603-448-3522

www.omerandbobs.com Hours: Mon-Fri 9am-6pm Sat 9am-5pm, Closed Sundays The Upper Valley’s bike shop since 1964.

We carry road bikes, mountain bikes and kids bikes from specialty brands including Trek, Specialized and Colnago.

Featuring a full service department offering bike fitting, bike rentals and a kids’ tradein, trade-up program.

HIGH PEAKS CYCLERY

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2733 Main Street Lake Placid, NY 518-523-3764

www.highpeakscyclery.com Hours: Mon-Sat, 9am-6pm Sun 9am-5pm Lake Placid’s source for bicycling and outdoor gear since 1983! Road bike coaching rides and professional bike fitting, too. We also offer road and gravel cycling tours, and other schools and camps for all ages and abilities. Demos for Salsa adventure by bike, Surly, Giant and Scott bicycles — get off the pavement and on the gravel!

AUGUST 2016 | VTSPORTS.COM 33

SPEAK UP

THE NEW ROAD RULES

BY EMILY BOEDECKER

W

hatever cycling adventure you choose—a heartpounding ascent up and over Lincoln Gap, a gentle ride in the rolling hills of Pawlet, a trip along the legendary Island Line Rail Trail, or a shopping run to your local farmers’ market—you ought to be able to take it for granted that you’ll come home safe and happy.

But the four fatal crashes last year shook us all. Some of us were back out riding the very next day. Some of us are still hesitant to return to the roads.

One thing is certain, though: Our roads belong to all of us. They take us to our schools and our parks, they get us to our jobs, they connect us to the trails in the woods, and they connect us to our communities. We cannot and will not give up on them.

Thanks to the support of state representatives Mollie Burke and Willem Jewett, the Vermont State Police, DMV and VTrans, Vermont laws impacting bike safety saw a significant update on July 1, 2016. Previously, the law required drivers to exercise ‘due care’ when passing vulnerable users (people on bikes, on foot, on personal mobility devices, riding or herding animals). “Due care” may be well understood in a legal context, but it is difficult to teach—and to enforce.

Now, the law includes the following crucial phrase: “Increasing clearance to a recommended distance of at least four feet to pass the vulnerable user safely.”

If any part of a vehicle, including the mirrors, is close enough that a bicyclist or pedestrian with outstretched arm could touch it, that vehicle is way, way too close for safety.

Last year’s fatal crashes included a number of other factors that Vermont’s law enforcement agencies are working hard to control, among them speeding, distracted driving, driving on a suspended license, and driving while under the influence of alcohol, legal or illegal drugs.

Act 147 and Act 158 also increased the use of ignition interlock devices to prevent drunk driving, increased penalties for driving on a suspended license, clarified the driver’s responsibility to yield when entering the roadway and turning left, and clarified

34 VTSPORTS.COM | AUGUST 2016

ON JULY 1, NEW RULES WENT INTO EFFECT TO BETTER PROTECT CYCLISTS. HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW AS A RIDER AND A DRIVER.

A life-long cyclist turned cycling advocate, Emily Boedecker worked with legislators to create the new “four foot” rule, as well as other safety measures.

a bicyclist’s right to ride to the left to safely avoid hazards.

The law now says, ‘Bicyclists generally shall ride as near to the right side of the improved area of the highway right-of-way as is safe, except that a bicyclist……shall ride to the left when making a left turn…[and]…. may ride to the left or in a left lane when taking reasonably necessary precautions to avoid hazards.’

In other words, if you need to move out into the travel lane to avoid gravel, glass, potholes, or any other hazard, it is legal for you to do so. What’s more, it is much safer to ride a straight and predictable line than to weave in and out of the shoulder to avoid hazards.

However, state statutes and law enforcement notwithstanding, we are still not doing a good enough job of taking care of each other. One number remains at the forefront of my mind: 233. This is the number of reported crashes between motor vehicles and

pedestrians and cyclists in 2015. This number is still way too high. That number should—and can—be a lot closer to zero.

It is my hope that we can learn to take that extra few seconds to give each other the four feet needed to share the road safely, and to pass and turn with care and consideration.

As a kid riding the narrow lanes of England alongside coal lorries and school buses, I had to abide by my Dad’s two golden rules. If a driver gives you room, make eye contact and raise a hand to say thank you. If they don’t give you enough room, make a special effort to make eye contact and raise a hand to say thank you.

And there’s one more thing you can do: Be seen. I’m not just talking about hi-visibility clothing and good lights. Many in leadership positions in Vermont don’t see who you—a person who loves to bike—really are. It’s an unfortunate reality that the prevailing

“One other number that remains at the forefront of my mind: 233. This is the number of reported crashes between motor vehicles and people walking and biking in 2015. This number is still way too high.”

view of bicyclists is that we are all speed demon scofflaws who ride in packs and hold up traffic. We know that could not be farther from the truth.

So make a point of telling your senator and your representative who you are and how you ride. And sign up with Local Motion to join forces with others who feel the same.

No matter what, be visible—and treat others the way you want to be treated.

You know what I hope for? When I m asked, ‘Do we need more rules of the road?’ I’d like to be able to say, ”No thanks.” I’d love to be able to say to our law enforcement agencies, “Focus on the bad actors: the DUI’s, the texters, the speeders, the aggressive drivers. For the everyday driver and rider, we're taking care of each other. No enforcement needed.”

Emily Boedecker is the Executive Director of Local Motion —Vermont’s advocacy group for walking and biking.

Visit www. localmotion.org to learn more about the rules of the road, safe riding, and how to be seen and heard as a member of Vermont’s bicycling community.

CHAMPIONS’ BREAKAWAY

WITNESS THE ULTIMATE CYCLING WEEKEND!

FRIDAY, SEPT 0 QUEBEC CITY

SATURDAY, SEPT 1 MONTREAL

SUNDAY, SEPT 1 MONTREAL

1:0 a

3: PM

1:0 a

GRAND PRIX CYCLISTE DE QUÉBEC

Sta

CRITÉRIUM NATIONAL Registration : GPCQM.CA

GRAND PRIX CYCLISTE DE MONTRÉAL