VMBA & Bivo Collaborate to Support Vermont Trails by vmba802

Bivo x VMBA Water Bottle Collab. Photo by Carter Clark.

Press Release: Vermont Mountain Bike Association

Vermont Mountain Bike Association (VMBA), Bivo and retailers across the state of Vermont are proud to announce the release of a custom Bivo stainless-steel performance water bottle featuring a unique VMBA design for 2023.

The bottle launched on April 1 and will be available for sale at bike and outdoor retailers throughout the state, on Bivo's website and at special VMBA events during the riding season. For each bottle sold, $4 ($2 from Bivo, $2 from the retailer) will be donated to VMBA to support their efforts to improve and expand trail riding in Vermont and make our state a more welcoming place to ride.

Vermont has over 1,000 miles of mountain bike trails, 70% of which are graciously hosted by private landowners who have opened up their land to share with their communities. Vermonters are proud of their mountains, rivers, quaint towns, beer and love of all things local. The VMBA x Bivo partnership is the perfect example of local pride coming together to support access to a sport many people in Vermont love.

The VMBA x Bivo bottle is being laser etched at Vermont Technical College (VTC) by a team of students and staff using their state-of-the-art Randolph, VT facility.

“We are so excited to be working with VTC on this project. We don’t think we could have imagined a more perfect partner to help us bring the VMBA x Bivo bottle to life. Being able to work with VTC to further the education of and to provide real life experience for students looking to enter the workforce is a dream come true,” says Carina Hamel, co-founder of Bivo.

VMBA serves as the unified voice for 29 Chapters for mountain biking in Vermont. With nearly 10,000 members, VMBA is the largest statewide mountain bike advocacy organization in the country, despite Vermont being the second least populated state in the union. Bike shops across Vermont that are part of the VMBA Retailers Alliance program play a key role in our mountain bike community by supporting local trails, hosting community events, and getting us out on bikes. Their willingness to jump in and participate in the VMBA x Bivo bottle program has been overwhelming.

“Our community continuously impresses us with its capacity to unite and support our love for trails. The VMBA x Bivo collaboration is a prime example of the solid local ethos in Vermont. We are able to accomplish the critical work we do thanks in large part to the support of partners like Bivo, VTC, and the shops who make up our Retailers Alliance program, “ says Krysy Steckler, Operations Director at VMBA.

This bottle, like all of Bivos, was developed with input from a former NASA engineer and features a unique flow system that allows users to empty the contents faster than a traditional plastic water bottle can be squeezed to empty. Since the vessel is made from stainless steel it is mold resistant, offers a cleaner taste and is free from any of the chemicals found in plastic bottles.

To find a list of retailers selling the bottle or to purchase online, visit vmba.org or drinkbivo.com.

Author Info:

vmba802

Member since Mar 20, 2020
9 articles

4 Comments

ridedigrepeat FL (Apr 21, 2023 at 7:59)

Pinkbike should have Nick Bennette (VMBA Executive Director) on the podcast to talk about VMBA's model and why it's so successful. They've found a way to centralize a lot of the admin expenses & statewide advocacy needs while allowing local chapters to manage their local trails the way they want to. They also pool funds across the state to allow chapters with a smaller local ridership to fundraise & pay for larger projects. What's resulted is a State-Wide community with lots of local flavor.

andelinc (Apr 21, 2023 at 8:39)

I would love to hear from him. Vermont is awesome and VMBA does great work. I just wonder if it would be more difficult in a bigger state like Utah, Colorado, or California, for example.

cdussault (Apr 21, 2023 at 10:54)

As a VMBA Chapter President (Caledonia Trail Collaborative), I second this notion. Our little chapter was able to hire a college senior as a paid intern last fall to complete a project for us in about 120 hours. We have enough to pay him, but we didn't have the experience, resources, or bandwidth to be a legal employer. VMBA took care of all the employment stuff for us. This helped us finish our project on time AND helped us meet our "first employee ever" milestone. Thank you, VMBA!

als802 FL (Apr 21, 2023 at 13:59)

He was on the Trail Eaffect podcast and Singletracks podcast recently.