29 Jul 2022
As promised, the Crushers came to Vermont in July ‘22. Jeff, Jeff, and Brian were here for five days, during which we took seven rides together, did some other stupid shit, and ate a lot of good food.
There was a lot more than that! We were joined on a few rides by local friends of mine to prove that I ride with badasses not exclusively from Michigan. We swam in my very welcoming neighbors Craig and Kathy’s pond a few times to recover from particularly hot conditions on some rides. And we drank a lot of Switchback Ale, which I believe is the closest thing that exists to a One True Beer. Here’s one picture to show you who was involved, please forgive my Metallica beard - I don’t know what came over me for a few weeks. Don’t worry, it’s gone now.
There are more pics here should you care to peruse them. Anyway, as to the riding and other athletic exploits:
Ride one was a “get to know Vermont gravel” ride along some roads I know very well.
Ride two was later that day, another short and familiar (to me!) jaunt to bring the day to about 50 miles and get everyone tired enough to sleep well. It worked!
The second day we did a slightly longer gravel ride in the morning, with lunchtime cocktails at Smuggler’s Notch Distillery…
…and followed that up in the afternoon with a bit of Pleasant Valley singletrack. Not long but twisty enough to be entertaining for the Crushers.
Wednesday we were joined by Craig for a ride over Smuggler’s Notch and up to the Lost Nation taproom, then tipsily home mostly on the Lamoille County rail trail. Once over the Notch was not enough for JH, who felt it necessary to cross it, then turn around to climb it and descend again. The guy is nuts.
Thursday was a bit of a rest day, so we only did this little loop so I could show them some other local digs. Of course Jeff H had to add in some rather nutty solo singletrack in the morning, but I don’t have any Strava data on that one.
On Friday, Jeff H and I rode some Essex gravel with my buddy Rik. We had a nice country sandwich at the Westford Deli, too! This was the only time that week that we got in a vehicle, all the other rides were right out my door.
While Jeff H and I rode with Rik, Jeff K and Brian climbed Mt Mansfield at Underhill State Park via the Laura Cowles and Sunset Ridge trails.
So there you have it, a quick account of Crushers VT ‘22. All told it was about 225 miles of riding with about 20k’ of climbing, not including Jeff H’s extra exploits, or the Mansfield hike by Jeff K and Brian. A great week all around, and we’re already planning next year in Wyoming or Michigan or somewhere…
And of course I made sure they all experienced a Vermont Creemee before they left.
