East Bound and Down: Winterbike 2015
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It was -5 F when we began our first ride of the day. For reasons still unknown, we decided that instead of warming our legs and bodies up with a climb, we'd start the day with a 10 minute descent into the shaded hollow of the West Bench portion of the Kingdom Trails, where it was an estimated -20 F. It was a touch painful, to say the least. Hand and toe warmers needed to be positioned above and below the dactyls, and if you smiled too much, your teeth would feel it. Therein lied a problem, because despite the frigid start to the weekend, smiles were a frequent occurrence throughout.
The 4th annual Winterbike Celebration took place in East Burke, Vermont during the final weekend of a brutally cold and snowy February 2015. Despite the frosty temps that greeted riders early each day, it would prove to be a relatively comfortable weekend; with brilliant sunshine and temperatures in the mid to upper 20's. New England had a banner year in terms of snowfall, with many places seeing records amounts of the fluffy and frozen precipitation fall throughout much of the winter. East Burke hadn't seen a day above freezing in almost 2 months leading up to the event weekend, resulting in packed powder and less than ideal grooming conditions. As it turned out, nothing would stop the nearly 450 participants who would be on hand to partake in the festivities and engage in shenanigans; on and off of the trail.
Winterbike is technically a 1-day event. But the Kingdom Trails Association encourages people to make a weekend of it; with the trails primed and ready days in advance and events taking place throughout town Friday thru Sunday. Heaven's Bench the night before things officially kicked off.
Things got very cold, very quickly as the sun approached the horizon, but that didn't stop many riders from getting their pedal strokes in.
 | The birth of fatbiking has rejuvenated Kingdom Trails' wintertime trail system, increasing traffic on the trails and therefore to the area. For the past 8 years, we have groomed a Nordic ski network. This is the second year that KTA has groomed a portion of the summertime biking network for fatbiking, in conjunction with the Nordic network. From year 1 to year 2, we have seen the fatbiking traffic double. - Lilias Ide, KTA Operations Manager |
One of the rare quiet moments from the weekend.
The Wildflower Inn is owned by Jim O'Reilly, one of the founding private landowners who make the Kingdom Trails possible. His beautiful inn played host to many riders throughout the weekend and is located across the street from the center of the action alongside the Village Sport Shop.
The bonfires were burning early and often throughout the course of the weekend's festivities. Needless to say, they were a crowd favorite.
Dozens of vendors were on hand at Winterbike, including Vermont based Skida, a headwear and accessories company founded by pro rider Corinne Prevot.
Despite the risks involved (see: frozen teeth), smiles were prevalent throughout the weekend.
| MTBVT has been a partner at the event since day one. In reality we could never have done anything of this scale without a team like KTA. MTBVT brands the event, creates new art for it annually, and documents the festivities. Most importantly we bring the cider, doughnuts, beer and maple liquor...and the party. - Ryan Thibault, Founder of MTBVT |
Local ripper and group ride leader, Mike Mader discusses route options with his small group.
Kimberly Quinlan was keeping the rubber down early on. As the day wore on, the large number of riders meant that ruts would become an ever increasing threat to your ability to stay upright. Fortunately for the fallen, the snow was deep and soft.
| It can get a little tricky when you are caught up in a rut and you might end up off of your bike. But the trails are awesome and I felt like I was on a flowy mountain bike trail. - Kimberly Quinlan, Vermont Native |
The Kingdom Trails crew works hard to help maintain the famous Vermont sniggle, normally associated with warmer months, so that riders can experience their glory in the winter as well.
| This event is just a lot of fun and is full of great people. We are all here to enjoy this together and we want to get more people out here to experience it for themselves. The crew here that takes care of these trails is really what makes it so special. - Knight Ide, Kingdom Trails builder and Vermont legend |
Knight Ide is the embodiment of Vermont mountain biking; regardless of the temps and trail conditions.
When snot rockets go wrong...
As it turns out, riding fatbikes is a fair amount of work. If you want to get fit in a hurry, spend a few days in East Burke next winter.
The groomers cut a nice swath of packed singletrack for over 30 kilometers. Venture too far on either side of the sweet spot, and you'll find yourself up to your waist in blower pow.
| Sometimes the snow is good to work with, sometimes you can't do a thing with it. We are at the mercy of having only a few things to groom with; a couple small snowmachines, a couple of tires and a fabricated groomer that is still a work in progress. I'd like to continue to develop a variety of grooming technologies that can manipulate the trails no matter what the conditions. - CJ Scott, KTA Trails Manager |
Mike Mader leading a group ride through some amazing sections of trail.
When you can keep your hands and toes warm, your frozen teeth become an afterthought.
East Burke Sports' Orion Campbell-Wolk is one of the regions best riders and biggest advocates.
| I think that the Kingdom Trails are one of the first groomed fat bike singletrack networks anywhere. You can ride these tight, sniggle lines that you would normally just ride in the summer but with snow. The more people who ride, the better. We do not want to keep them a secret. - Orion Campbell-Wolk, East Burke Sports |
With close to 450 participants in attendance, the KTA is going to begin looking to potentially cap the size of the festival going forward.
East Burke local Amy Mansmann on her way to the 6X victory.
| Its awesome to have these trails available during the winter and not have to rely on the summer months to be able to get your riding in. - Amy Mansmann, 6X Race Winner |
The 6X race was a spectator friendly affair that had some raucous moments, many of which were the direct result of a strategically placed patch of Christmas trees 300 feet from the finish line.
This was either: A) A fatbike pulling competition fueled by sugar on snow and Pabst, or B) The KTA auditioning unwary participants for their new groomer position.
Local shreds Mike Mader and Orion Campbell-Wolk were happy to display the virtues of shaping snow for fatbikes.
| There is crossover with other winter sports in that every time you ride a trail, it is going to be different based upon snow conditions. When you get those days with perfect conditions, you can get that stoke just off of the snow alone. It takes a lot of effort and I think that the more people are willing to get involved, the better this will be. - Mike Mader, Kingdom Ninja |
The Kingdom Trails Association currently grooms 20 miles of fatbike-specific singletrack. The nordic trail system can be found on the other side of Darling Hill Rd.
| I really take pride in the trails and am always stoked to showcase all the work it takes to make so much groomed singletrack available. Hearing folks talk about how psyched they are and how great the trails are makes me feel good. We definitely have a great thing going for groomed fat bike riding and I really enjoy having the opportunity showing it off to folks. - CJ Scott, KTA Trails Manager |
The MTBVT Remote Aid Station.
Maple Whiskey really warms the...
...oops, all gone.
Pretty maids, all in a row.
| I love Winterbike. This year was almost balmy compared to last. It's just a great experience and if you have never experienced fat biking, this is the place to try it out. - Kathy Herd, 4 year participant |
After a while, it became clear that some folks had begun to prefer MTBVT's Remote Aid Station over the rest of the weekend's festivities. It all goes back to that Maple Whiskey.
Sugar on Snow: Heated maple syrup drizzled over snow which results in an amazing and all too addictive candy-like treat that is as Vermont a tradition as they come.
The syrup needs to be heated just right, so that when drizzled over the snow, it creates a lace like pattern that hardens and yet remains warm to the touch. Then it's time to eat.
Some of us have no need for hand or toe warmers.
| The mountain bike culture in VT is a bit of a moving target. If you asked me 15 years ago, I would have described it as guerrilla builders consisting of ski bums looking for summertime fun. Today the culture reflects the ski industry more directly: One part weekend warrior, one part rogue trail builder come paid flow-trail architect, two parts local riders, and one part paid officials jockeying for control of local networks. Fatbiking is no different. Four years ago there was a very small core crew experimenting with balloon tires. Today everybody is interested in trying the bikes and most trail networks are at least intrigued with the potential of year round activity- Ryan Thibault, Founder of MTBVT |
The final burn of the weekend.
The end of Winterbike and of winter itself only means that warmer times and trails are ahead in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont.
The Kingdom Trails Association
Mountain Bike Vermont
The Wildflower Inn
East Burke Sports
The Village Sport Shop
Click HERE for more images from this year's Winterbike, and HERE for a reminder of what lies beneath all of that snow.
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35 Comments
- 27 0
whistlerbound
(Apr 6, 2015 at 12:52)
You had me at doughnuts, beer and maple liquor.
- 10 2
Narro2
(Apr 6, 2015 at 13:36)
just came here to see the comments of the fatbike haters, they are so much fun to read
- 3 0
ilovedust
(Apr 6, 2015 at 13:04)
I amuse myself at the above comment thinking when a senario might occur in the UK that justifies a fatbike - having just gone through another winter of zero snow. However, that said, this article looks a lot of fun and Im in Les Get at the moment having a cheeky ski and I hefted a couple of new spesh fatbikes today and they were quite light. As I dreamed the time away during this perfect sunny day on the chair lifts I saw a fair few oppurtunites for some fatbike fun, not least the slowly emerging bike park and some of the fun piste side fun stuff.
- 7 1
BeardlessMarinRider
(Apr 6, 2015 at 14:56)
Sugar on snow? Looks easy to confuse with yellow snow!
- 3 0
RatHunter83
(Apr 6, 2015 at 15:59)
Think of it like a maple syrup snow cone.
- 3 0
bholton
(Apr 6, 2015 at 19:11)
That looks like a great event. Do you have to have a fat bike to participate? We ride all winter on non fat MTBs. Once a trail is packed you can ride just about anything on it.
- 1 0
projectnortheast
(Apr 7, 2015 at 6:30)
Kingdom trails doesn't allow regular bikes, or foot traffic etc.. on the groomed network. We had regular bikes riding a lot of our local groomed trails that we groom by snowshoe. Up here though they had so much snow and it was so cold (-30) some nights regular bike would've sunk right in. Over all it wasn't great conditions in new England for fatbiking as we didn't have any warmups to firm up the multiple blizzards we had, but everyone still rode and had fun
- 4 0
CJL1
(Apr 6, 2015 at 20:39)
I totally enjoy studding up my moto in the winter and riding trails on the warmer days, but these fat bikes just seem like a lot of slow relentless pedalling...
- 10 7
RedBurn
(Apr 6, 2015 at 12:59)
I would like to see UCI Downhill World Cup rounds in the winter with downhill fatbikes, and I'm sur I'm not alone !
- 1 0
AMGoran
(Apr 7, 2015 at 10:41)
thing is you dont need a fatbike for that
- 2 1
knightrideride
(Apr 6, 2015 at 19:17)
Great piece Brice! Obviously I have some reason to be biased but I find your writing to be top notch. Always engaging and interesting.
- 1 0
singletrack29er
(Apr 7, 2015 at 5:03)
Kingdom Trails never ceases to impress, can't wait to take another trip this summer
- 2 1
RedBurn
(Apr 6, 2015 at 13:00)
this path, 'lost' in the snow looks absolutely cool to ride !
- 2 1
giangnguy3n
(Apr 6, 2015 at 15:35)
Any bike park open in the winter for fat bike????
- 2 1
Downhilljoe1
(Apr 6, 2015 at 18:18)
FATBIKES ARE THE BEST THING EVER YO!
- 12 13
dwnhlmtbr
(Apr 6, 2015 at 12:05)
I would rather have a fatbike then no bike but I would never ride it if I have a normal bike.
- 1 1
shoprat
(Apr 6, 2015 at 21:09)
Easy to say in BC.
- 1 0
dwnhlmtbr
(Apr 7, 2015 at 9:55)
HAHA yah no kidding
- 2 1
LindLTaylor
(Apr 6, 2015 at 13:29)
Yeah, VT! Represent!
- 2 1
CentralVTMTB
(Apr 6, 2015 at 14:41)
MTBVT!
- 1 1
a-m-c
(Apr 6, 2015 at 16:49)
great event. can't wait till summer though!
- 1 0
Downhilljoe1
(Apr 6, 2015 at 18:20)
Wait..... what?
- 1 1
Carloso
(Apr 6, 2015 at 18:48)
Hey the mature senior had a white beard or was snow in his face?
- 1 0
philipmcm
(Apr 7, 2015 at 6:12)
Jesus its April
- 9 9
DaDawg
(Apr 6, 2015 at 13:28)
ughhh. fat bikes
- 1 1
nekmtb
(Apr 6, 2015 at 15:14)
ripppeeeers!!!!
- 2 3
trailstar2danman
(Apr 7, 2015 at 4:33)
Fat bikes, for people who can't ski.
- 3 1
knightrideride
(Apr 7, 2015 at 5:31)
Ski when the snow is soft, bike when its firm. This year I did a lot more skiing as it was hardly ever above freezing and we had a crapload of sweet powder. Three years ago however, the skiing was crap due to weekly freeze thaw cycles and not much snow (typical east coast). Thats when I really got bit by the fatbike bug. When it rains for a day on the snow and then drops to 10 degrees it can create a crust on the snow that is firm enough to fully support a bike and rider. This is what I refer to as "powder " conditions for fatbiking. Its so rad, being able to ride randomly through the woods, its just like skiing a glade.
- 1 0
projectnortheast
(Apr 7, 2015 at 6:33)
I used to snowboard in the winter, I bought a fatbike this year and did exactly one backcountry run on my snowboard and almost 300 miles on my fatbike. It's safe to say I'm in better shape right now than any other year at the start of the regular bike season. It's amazing how the most boring, rocky, rooty trails turn into fun trails in the winter with a little work.
- 4 5
nug12182
(Apr 6, 2015 at 12:11)
whats sniggle mean?
- 1 0
natejmtb
(Apr 6, 2015 at 15:28)
apparently, a method of fishing for eels, go figure...
- 2 0
AllMountin
(Apr 7, 2015 at 19:23)
Colloquial hipster vernacular for... singletrack.
... they just need a bit longer to develop 
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