East Bound and Down: Beacon Beckons

Given the opportunity, most mountain bikers are happy to provide other riders with their own short bucket list of "must-ride" spots throughout the world. It is one of my favorite exercises to engage in and to be on the receiving end of as nothing stokes my own fire as hearing others excitedly telling me what they love most about their corner of the world. Exploring new places and meeting the people who call these places home is one of the truly great things about mountain biking. It is the combination of trail systems and people unique to every town and region that makes exploration so important to our sport and community. So when a town like Beacon, New York comes into view, you stop and stay for a little while.


Beacon sits roughly 65 miles north of the United States' largest metropolitan center, New York City; but this community of 15,000 has a feel and personality that couldn't be further from the concrete jungle that sits an hour and a half south. With the great Hudson river flanking its west end and Mount Beacon towering 1,600 feet above the river to its east, Beacon has a "just close enough, yet just far enough" amalgamation that works beautifully in its favor. So yeah, this place has the terrain and ease of access. Oh and it also has the people. When you think of New Yorkers, you may or may not think of several character traits; some good and some...not great. But when you get to Beacon, you can safely throw many of those preconceptions out of the window. This is a town full of friendly, thoughtful and passionate folks who welcome new and old friends with open arms.


I remember my first trip here quite clearly. I received an invite to participate in a group ride of sorts; organized by a collection of regional riders known as the Beacon Bombers. The ride starts at the fire tower on the summit of the mountain and sees dozens of folks flying down some steep, rocky and downright scary trails before finishing on main street at one of the town's staples, the Bank Street Cafe; where ice cold beverages awaited. I rode blindly and it was right around halfway down, as I dodged one rider after another hitting the dirt, that I really began to fall in love with this place. There's something immediately captivating about a collection of people who see the fun in mayhem like this and seem to look forward to the post-ride tales as much as the ride itself. Maybe it was the thrill of the ride itself. Maybe it was fervent enthusiasm on display the whole way down. Hell, it may very well have been the guy standing next to me dressed in nothing but a superman speedo as we shivered on the summit awaiting the high noon start. Whatever it was, by the time I had finished slamming my beer at the finish I knew that I was hooked.


The decision to film here was an easy one. Not only is it an incredibly picturesque place, but there's a large population of professional and talented riders that reside in it's relatively tidy 5 square miles of space; with several more riders a stone's throw away. Just as importantly, there was a desire from the people who make up the mountain bike community here to share their trails and their story with the rest of the world. I had initially discussed the idea of using Beacon for a From Where We Stand 2 segment with Anthony Coneski, a pro downhill and enduro rider and employee of the non-profit advocacy group, Scenic Hudson. At the time however, the original FWWS had yet to be released and most major marketing decisions had been made for 2014 by much of the industry. But Beacon was never far from my thoughts, due in large part to the fact that the group ride was my final event of last season. As a result, he and I continued to discuss the avenues with which we could explore showcasing this amazing town and its amazing trails.


By late winter, our plans had begun to generate some forward momentum when Anthony introduced me to Jon Miles, owner of the lone bike shop currently in town and one of Beacon's biggest advocates. Hailing from West Chester, New York in the early part of his life, Jon has since found Beacon and has set his roots deep within the community. He was also a fan of FWWS and was eager to bring a similarly narrative-driven approach to filming in Beacon. His own shop, Peoples Bicycle, came from a long standing desire to build up a service shop for the right reasons. "There was this looming desire to start a bike shop but it really needed the right community." Jon recalls. "This was a conversation I was having with Leif Lorenzen at the time. Leif had been a staple in the east coast gravity scene forever plus he was a really well known mechanic and was good friends with all of these top DH racers. We wanted it to be in the right place and when I found my way to Beacon, I fell in love with it and immediately knew that this was the spot. Leif was initially looking to do something different, so he didn't come on board right away. But I knew that it needed to be simple and accessible for everyone who wanted to come in. Before we even opened the doors it seemed like there was a ton of support for it. Tom Church already had a shop in town too and was really building up the mountain bike scene. He handled all of the high end stuff and I sort of fill in the gaps below with some used bikes and a limited amount of tools."


Anthony remembers the early impact of Peoples Bicycle on the town and was impressed with Jon's work before the two had even met. "I remember seeing the bike racks come into town 2 years ago," says Anthony. "I thought that it was really cool to see these all along Main Street suddenly. Scenic Hudson was a big part of the 'Share Roads' signs on Main Street and Jon was a huge supporter of that. So before I even got to know him, I remember wanting to meet this guy who was so committed to Beacon. We saw eye-to-eye before we had even been introduced."


The three of us continued our discussions throughout the spring before I finally had the opportunity to head back up to the freshly thawed trails and town I fell in love with 6 months prior. It was a pleasant surprise to find some familiar faces waiting including good friend and one of the east coast's most talented riders, Paul Dotsenko, busy wrenching in the warehouse space that served as the base of operations for Peoples Bicycle. It was a move Paul knew he wanted to make even while he was spending the winter training in warmer climes and one that Jon was happy to accommodate. "Paul called me from Vegas and told me he’s moving to Beacon and wanted to see if there was a place here for him. I had seen him in From Where We Stand and heard about how awesome a guy he was. I could tell that he was someone we wanted to have in Beacon and he wanted to be here badly."


Paul's hiring was symbolic of the transition the shop was beginning to make. With Tom Church's shop Beacon Cycles shutting down, Jon acknowledges the impetus that was put on Peoples Bicycle to step up their game a bit and expand their offerings and reach. Fortunately, there was no shortage of uber talented bike techs who were ready and willing to help. "We really needed some awesome wrenches in the shop." Jon says. "Gus Mustakas had just gotten home from his deployment in Afghanistan when he found his own store was being shut down. So he told me that if I carry Kona he’ll come on board and support the shop. Gus is this guy who loves Beacon and likewise, Beacon loves this dude. So I said Hell yes as I had been looking to bring some more brands into the shop and Kona had been on my radar for a long time. We brought in people like Leif Lorenzen and Andrew Berlow; two guys I had long been friends with and two guys who were incredibly skilled. It was going to be tight, but there was no way we couldn't have this fire power coming on board."


In addition to ratcheting up the bandwidth of the shop, Jon offered to support some of the town's pro riders including Anthony Coneski and Fast Line Racing's Jason Scheiding. Peoples Bicycle had gone from being a used bike sales and repair shop to being a used bike sales and repair shop plus the regions premier service and high end retailer. The growth and transition was apparent when I pulled into town, as some familiar and many unfamiliar faces were there to greet me and were eager to show me the goods. Jon also introduced me to his better half and the organizational mind behind much of the growth of Peoples Bicycle, Sarah Womer. Sarah was not only interested in making Beacon an example of the positive affect bikes can have on communities, but she's also fiercely determined to save the world through her own company Zero to Go, a zero waste carting company focused on reuse, composting and recycling. The two combine to create a formidable force of positivity and hope; they're the kinds of people who remind you that there is still hope for humanity and the best vessel for us all is of course, the bicycle.



After some time spent chatting with and shaking the hands of many of the people and riders of Peoples Bicycle and the town itself, Jon, Anthony, Paul and I spent the day scouting the trails and determining which we would want to showcase for the project. On my previous trip to Beacon, I spent my time on one trail and was left with some amazing memories from that singular trip down the mountain. The return visit was purely sensory overload. The weather was damp that day and the rocks and roots were sweating a bit. But the sound, the smell, the feel and the aesthetic quality of the forest and the mountain were overwhelmingly beautiful. By the time I left for home that evening, not only was I thrilled to return in a months time to film for 4 days, but I began to drool over the possibilities of another segment for the return of another project altogether.


During the span between the scouting trip and the days spent filming, the mountain bike community and the people of Beacon continued along their merry ways. Jon, Sarah and Peoples Bicycle began to prepare for the opening of a new Main Street shop location in addition to the warehouse facilities they had been operating out of for some time. Anthony began to amass a rather large collection of riders for our long weekend of filming, including Jason Scheiding, Jason Memmelar, James Bazzano, Andrew Donchez and many others. Anthony's wife Kendra, also a Bomber, was getting ready to open a salon on the first floor of their newly purchased home. Gus found out that he was going to have to get ready for another deployment; after his wedding with Brittany Lucas (yes, she too is a Bomber). Paul Dotsenko found himself immediately at home here in town, enjoying his work at Peoples Bicycle and his time spent on some of his all time favorite trails. All of these people and all that they do are intertwined; each with their own ambitions but never losing sight of their collective desire to make Beacon a perfect fit for as many people as they can.


This was on full display when I returned to Beacon once more with a small film crew en tow. Despite all of the day to day responsibilities that all of these people have, dozens came together to make what was several months prior, a glimmer of an idea, a reality for 4 days of production. Day 1 was full of introductions and discussions, as the weather was less than cooperative and we found ourselves inside for much of the day. When the rain stopped for a bit, we took the opportunity to ride down Main Street to show the film crew a bit more of the town that had been holding me in its clutches for so long. Our first day of filming on the trails saw similarly gloomy weather but it made for visual and physical quality that was almost preferable to a more comfortable weather pattern. Riders and crew alike worked their way down the slippery and technical trails and outpaced an impending thunderstorm just in time. Rains from that very storm coupled with the sunny and dry weather the next day made for amazing conditions on trails that were a world apart from what we had been riding on the previous day; despite being separated by each other by less than a mile. We would see our largest group of riders that day and would hear an endless cacophony of riders cheering and yelling as we made our way down the fast and steep trails of the day. The day would also see us lose one of our fastest riders for the weekend, as Paul Dotsenko went down hard towards the end of the day and consequently broke his collarbone. Anthony Coneski, alongside fellow Bomber John Parker, were essential to getting Paul off of the mountain and out to the hospital. Our final day of shooting was spent on some of the same trails I rode during my initial trip to Beacon. The sun was shining brilliantly as we worked our way from the beautifully serene Beacon reservoir to the rocks overlooking much of the Hudson Valley and the Catskill mountains, down some steep chutes and eventually to the famous 'waterfall' section of the Beacon Bombers annual group ride. In a short span we went from rainforest-like conditions to packed earth flow trails to dry, dusty and steep rock drops. All on one mountain. All with the same people.


And so it goes in this town. In the time since we wrapped on shooting, the riders and community of Beacon still continue along their merry ways. Jon and Sarah are still saving the world and have officially opened their Main Street location. While the warehouse remains an integral part of the operation, the new spot represents a step forward in the evolution of Peoples Bicycle and of the town itself. Anthony has been on a tear throughout the east coast enduro scene alongside Scheiding and Memmelar; with the three of them often occupying most of the podium steps of the Eastern States Cup series and whatever other races they find themselves at. Kendra's new shop has been keeping her quite busy, but she still finds plenty of time to find faster than most of the guys she shares the trails with. Brittany and Gus are less than a month away from their wedding date, but the two of them remain an integral part of the mountain bike community despite the well documented stresses of planning a wedding. One can only hope that he dons his Superman speedo at some point during the ceremony. Paul has had his surgery and is now just a few days away from getting back on the bike. Leif, Andrew and the rest of the crew are welcoming more and more customers into the shop and are helping to put more and more people in town on bikes. The 'Share Roads' are seeing more users by the minute.


Then there's the mountain itself. The mountain's impact on the community is far reaching and permanent, as Jon Miles explains. "You’re constantly reminded that the mountain is a force that you have to work with. There are a lot of people who have really embraced the mountain and it’s really become a part of the town’s identity. So much so that it’s hard to imagine living in a place that doesn’t have a mountain like this one. It’s vast, it’s quiet and it's easy to sit and stare at it and put yourself in the middle of all of these amazing moments you’ve had when you’ve been up there." Its name comes from the summit signal fires used during the Revolutionary War centuries ago. Nowadays, the mountain still stands as a means of communicating with others albeit in a more figurative sense. "This town stands as a signal to other towns in the region that you don’t have to be stuck with the idea that you’re just another little town north of NYC." Jon suggests. "It’s easy to get lost in the cultural vacuum that was created by the largest city in the United States. But here in Beacon we have our own thing; we’re not sitting in the shadow of this massive city an hour and a half to our south. People put down roots here and they can’t imagine living anywhere else."


To find location, hours and contact information for Peoples Bicycle click here.
For more information on Zero to Go click here.
Check out the Beacon Bombers Facebook page here.