Robin
Well-Known Member
Some of the same trails I ride my DH bike on have also been stages in Enduro races. I'm seeing more Enduro bikes at Creek these days which makes sense if you can only have a one-does-most things bike.
James Pearl Thinks Blogging is Dead
- Thread starter Norm
- Start date
Some of the same trails I ride my DH bike on have also been stages in Enduro races. I'm seeing more Enduro bikes at Creek these days which makes sense if you can only have a one-does-most things bike.
Woke up in New Hampshire this morning, quickly realized this was a mistake since we are vacationing in Vermont, grabbed breakfast, and made way towards the correct state for this trip to happen. Made good time to East Burke with a quick stop at the market for salami sandwich material before we hit the house to unload our stuff. First item of business was taking a picture of the view. Sorry for posting this everywhere but it's just the day and how it went.
Pretty awesome location. Drove into town and hit the Visitor Center to buy a family pass, which costs the exact same as 2 individual passes cost for 5 days. So now we have an excuse to try to come back. Met up with @UtahJoe and we rolled out from town.
For @rottin' - who is at home nursing a sore something-or-other:
Uptown (new)
Herbs
Road climb to Darling Hill
Pound Cake
Loop
Troll Stroll
Burrington Bench
Bemis
Tap & Die
Eager Beaver
River Run
West Branch
Hogback
Sidewinder
West Bench
-stop to eat salami sandwich-
Border
Bear Back
West Bench (upper half)
Piggyback
Hogback
Old Web's
- stop for water & pick up @Ryan.P @MissJR @Santapez -
Border
Jaw
Maxilla
Sugar Hill
Ridge
Rim
East Branch
Widow Maker
Pines
Riverwood
Riverwood the other way
Leatherwood
Kitchel
Vast
+Then we jumped in the river in town.
+Then I bought everyone ice cream.
+Then we went to the market to get food
+Then we went back to the house to hang out
+Then we ate a super dinner
+Then we hung out and watched the world and enjoyed the fire
+Then we realized the sun was setting and we could see that too
+Then we called it a night
Pretty awesome location. Drove into town and hit the Visitor Center to buy a family pass, which costs the exact same as 2 individual passes cost for 5 days. So now we have an excuse to try to come back. Met up with @UtahJoe and we rolled out from town.
For @rottin' - who is at home nursing a sore something-or-other:
Uptown (new)
Herbs
Road climb to Darling Hill
Pound Cake
Loop
Troll Stroll
Burrington Bench
Bemis
Tap & Die
Eager Beaver
River Run
West Branch
Hogback
Sidewinder
West Bench
-stop to eat salami sandwich-
Border
Bear Back
West Bench (upper half)
Piggyback
Hogback
Old Web's
- stop for water & pick up @Ryan.P @MissJR @Santapez -
Border
Jaw
Maxilla
Sugar Hill
Ridge
Rim
East Branch
Widow Maker
Pines
Riverwood
Riverwood the other way
Leatherwood
Kitchel
Vast
+Then we jumped in the river in town.
+Then I bought everyone ice cream.
+Then we went to the market to get food
+Then we went back to the house to hang out
+Then we ate a super dinner
+Then we hung out and watched the world and enjoyed the fire
+Then we realized the sun was setting and we could see that too
+Then we called it a night
@Norm and @Dominique et al...Woke up in New Hampshire this morning, quickly realized this was a mistake since we are vacationing in Vermont, grabbed breakfast, and made way towards the correct state for this trip to happen. Made good time to East Burke with a quick stop at the market for salami sandwich material before we hit the house to unload our stuff. First item of business was taking a picture of the view. Sorry for posting this everywhere but it's just the day and how it went.
Pretty awesome location. Drove into town and hit the Visitor Center to buy a family pass, which costs the exact same as 2 individual passes cost for 5 days. So now we have an excuse to try to come back. Met up with @UtahJoe and we rolled out from town.
For @rottin' - who is at home nursing a sore something-or-other:
Uptown (new)
Herbs
Road climb to Darling Hill
Pound Cake
Loop
Troll Stroll
Burrington Bench
Bemis
Tap & Die
Eager Beaver
River Run
West Branch
Hogback
Sidewinder
West Bench
-stop to eat salami sandwich-
Border
Bear Back
West Bench (upper half)
Piggyback
Hogback
Old Web's
- stop for water & pick up @Ryan.P @MissJR @Santapez -
Border
Jaw
Maxilla
Sugar Hill
Ridge
Rim
East Branch
Widow Maker
Pines
Riverwood
Riverwood the other way
Leatherwood
Kitchel
Vast
+Then we jumped in the river in town.
+Then I bought everyone ice cream.
+Then we went to the market to get food
+Then we went back to the house to hang out
+Then we ate a super dinner
+Then we hung out and watched the world and enjoyed the fire
+Then we realized the sun was setting and we could see that too
+Then we called it a night
You are most likely asleep by now...As you mentioned, I am nursing a knee surgery, unfortunately, from this past Friday...meniscus and plica removal, plus a little extra...and waaaaaaayyy jealous to be missing this yearly trip to KT, so thanks for the reminder lol. But, thanks for the attention to detail on the trails...clearly you remembered that I literally write down in a little black book, in order, the trails I ride on mtb vacation trips across the country...so while I appreciate the list, which I actually loved reading, I realize that there is a little dig in there someplace from the luddite in the crowd somewhere. Super bummed to be missing the new house this year
, but quite sure you will all make it work! I fully expect to read about 6 hour epic rides everyday and would love to see a hardcopy of the trip haha
@rottin' - not at all. I really enjoy that you do this and totally appreciate it. I also miss having you here this year and helping you try to remember the trails and order we did everything in. As a sometimes-obsessive person I really can appreciate the attention to details and wanting to remember. I truly wish you were able to come this year. But I get that you had the knee surgery so it's gonna take some time to heal. We'll be up here next year again, I imagine.
This morning we hit the Off Broadway version of Kingdom Trails which is not on a map and is really still under construction. Though I am not sure for how much longer. This is far enough out that we had to drive there for it to make sense from a timing perspective. Here is how it went:
1. Climb up 700 feet in 2 miles
2. Go down a 2 mile long pump track
This is the single best trail in all of Kingdom Trails.
After that we drove to town and met up with 4 more people and we went out for another 3 hours. So in all today:
-the trail that shall not be named-
Uptown
White School
Ware's Davis (new)
Upper Pond Loop
White School
Good 'n You
Farmjunk
White School
Skydive
Nose Dive
White School
Herbs
-road to the bike shop on the hill-
-halftime food & drink break-
Bemis
Tody's Tour
Eager Beaver
River Run
West Branch
Hogback
Sidewinder
West Bench
Old Webs
Up & Downing
-road to bike shop-
Bill Magill
Pines
Riverwood
Herbs
Vast
Today was a tough one as I could not possibly drink as much as I was sweating. As I was riding up to the bike shop before the break, sweat was dripping off my shoes on every pedal stroke. I was absolutely drenched in sweat today, trying to stay cool. The heat was intense.
In all today I drank:
* 6 bike bottles
* 1.5 bladders in the camelback
* 3 seltzer waters on our break
* a full water bottle of water at another stop
This was just on the ride. At the house I have had probably 6 seltzer waters tonight. As I sit here, I am not sure I have actually peed tonight. Tomorrow the high is 71, which I'm pretty excited for. It's been 90+ the last 2 days.
After the ride we jumped in the river again and had ice cream again. Then we went back to the house to relax.
And hang out.
And watch the sunset colors.
3 more people showed up today. Tomorrow we get another +2.
It was hot as heck today but it was still a great day to be riding bikes with good friends and not working.
This morning we hit the Off Broadway version of Kingdom Trails which is not on a map and is really still under construction. Though I am not sure for how much longer. This is far enough out that we had to drive there for it to make sense from a timing perspective. Here is how it went:
1. Climb up 700 feet in 2 miles
2. Go down a 2 mile long pump track
This is the single best trail in all of Kingdom Trails.
After that we drove to town and met up with 4 more people and we went out for another 3 hours. So in all today:
-the trail that shall not be named-
Uptown
White School
Ware's Davis (new)
Upper Pond Loop
White School
Good 'n You
Farmjunk
White School
Skydive
Nose Dive
White School
Herbs
-road to the bike shop on the hill-
-halftime food & drink break-
Bemis
Tody's Tour
Eager Beaver
River Run
West Branch
Hogback
Sidewinder
West Bench
Old Webs
Up & Downing
-road to bike shop-
Bill Magill
Pines
Riverwood
Herbs
Vast
Today was a tough one as I could not possibly drink as much as I was sweating. As I was riding up to the bike shop before the break, sweat was dripping off my shoes on every pedal stroke. I was absolutely drenched in sweat today, trying to stay cool. The heat was intense.
In all today I drank:
* 6 bike bottles
* 1.5 bladders in the camelback
* 3 seltzer waters on our break
* a full water bottle of water at another stop
This was just on the ride. At the house I have had probably 6 seltzer waters tonight. As I sit here, I am not sure I have actually peed tonight. Tomorrow the high is 71, which I'm pretty excited for. It's been 90+ the last 2 days.
After the ride we jumped in the river again and had ice cream again. Then we went back to the house to relax.
And watch the sunset colors.
3 more people showed up today. Tomorrow we get another +2.
It was hot as heck today but it was still a great day to be riding bikes with good friends and not working.
So the rest of the week blew by and I was too tired to really post much of anything. By day:
Friday - we did a ~2 hour loop in the late morning, then had lunch up top at the bike shop. Then we spent 3.5 hours at the bike park doing downhill runs. Finished up the day with Jimmy's Korean BBQ for dinner. I think this may have been that night, as seen from the yard of the house we rented:
Saturday - Went to the secret trails again and did 2 runs of the park. I managed to nab a 3rd overall on the climb (who knew?) and a 7th overall on the DH. I also got some weird KOM on a partial section. Then drove to town and parked at the tiki bar where most of the crew went up to Moose Alley and I went with D for 90 minutes of various trails. Hooked up with everyone for lunch and saw Kirt & Iggy off, then went back out with Utah & Jim for a 4.5 day in total. Biggest ride of the week. Last dinner was Magic's Kielbasa and Utah's side corn-bean mix.
Sunday - Wrapped up the week with an 18 mile highlights tour that ended at the tiki bar and lunch again. 2.5 hours of riding today for a total of just over 21.5 hours on the week. Went back to the house to pack up, then drove 6.5 hours home. Immediately unpacked the whole car and ate salad for dinner, and watched TV for 1.5 hours. Then started laundry and started packing for the next adventure, which starts exactly 13 hours after this one ends.
Another great week with the team in Vermont this year. On the way home we talked a lot about the week, of course. And I think we have both come to the conclusion that we are certainly doing something right with the team. We have something really special here and this week just proved how great it is.
This is probably the most complete crew shot we have, less Mitch & Sean:
I am tired. But it's totally worth it. Looking forward to next year's adventure!
Friday - we did a ~2 hour loop in the late morning, then had lunch up top at the bike shop. Then we spent 3.5 hours at the bike park doing downhill runs. Finished up the day with Jimmy's Korean BBQ for dinner. I think this may have been that night, as seen from the yard of the house we rented:
Saturday - Went to the secret trails again and did 2 runs of the park. I managed to nab a 3rd overall on the climb (who knew?) and a 7th overall on the DH. I also got some weird KOM on a partial section. Then drove to town and parked at the tiki bar where most of the crew went up to Moose Alley and I went with D for 90 minutes of various trails. Hooked up with everyone for lunch and saw Kirt & Iggy off, then went back out with Utah & Jim for a 4.5 day in total. Biggest ride of the week. Last dinner was Magic's Kielbasa and Utah's side corn-bean mix.
Sunday - Wrapped up the week with an 18 mile highlights tour that ended at the tiki bar and lunch again. 2.5 hours of riding today for a total of just over 21.5 hours on the week. Went back to the house to pack up, then drove 6.5 hours home. Immediately unpacked the whole car and ate salad for dinner, and watched TV for 1.5 hours. Then started laundry and started packing for the next adventure, which starts exactly 13 hours after this one ends.
Another great week with the team in Vermont this year. On the way home we talked a lot about the week, of course. And I think we have both come to the conclusion that we are certainly doing something right with the team. We have something really special here and this week just proved how great it is.
This is probably the most complete crew shot we have, less Mitch & Sean:
I am tired. But it's totally worth it. Looking forward to next year's adventure!
60.3 miles of riding from noon on Friday to noon on Sunday.
You can take away a few miles for the chair lift runs on Friday night.
Great times with some RAD friends.
Thanks for the memories KT. See next time.
You can take away a few miles for the chair lift runs on Friday night.
Great times with some RAD friends.
Thanks for the memories KT. See next time.
Mountain Bike Mike
Well-Known Member
This trip looks amazeballs
Can a mtbnj team try it out temp pass be purchased for next year’s kingdom trip? family pass if possible
Edit - asking for a friend
Can a mtbnj team try it out temp pass be purchased for next year’s kingdom trip? family pass if possible
Edit - asking for a friend
I could've sworn our former governor was out there too, soaking up the sun in his beach chair.
That new trail is an unbelievable piece of work...as im told by people who asked Knight (the builder) only half of it is machine built. Dam.
That was a perfectly executed trip.....right down to @1sh0t1b33r falling off one of the wooden bridges on burn'em up..
You are an excellent camp councilor and really I dont think this trip would be anywhere near the same level of awesome without you at the helm.....thanks again for everything.
You said to me yesterday on our last trip down pines how if you lived there you could do that trail every day and never get sick of it....Totally agree....I probably have over 1000 miles in KT since 2013....I was bummed knowing that was my last time down Pines for a while. Never gets old to me.
That was a perfectly executed trip.....right down to @1sh0t1b33r falling off one of the wooden bridges on burn'em up..
You are an excellent camp councilor and really I dont think this trip would be anywhere near the same level of awesome without you at the helm.....thanks again for everything.
You said to me yesterday on our last trip down pines how if you lived there you could do that trail every day and never get sick of it....Totally agree....I probably have over 1000 miles in KT since 2013....I was bummed knowing that was my last time down Pines for a while. Never gets old to me.
The Kalmyk
Well-Known Member
On drinking....
Was it easy peasy not drinking despite being in the minority?
Was it easy peasy not drinking despite being in the minority?
I don’t think @Norm is one to follow what everyone else is doing. I did all the drinking for him
Another amazing and memorable trip. Easily the highlight of my summer. Thanks for putting it all together.
I have to say that I'm pleasantly surprised by the positive feedback that I've read about the KT trip this week. I don't want to suggest it's an actual surprise, because I know that everyone really enjoys the trip and we always have a great time. But it really seems that we nailed it this year, and an already good thing got even better. I'm really happy to see some new faces in the mix, and to see/read how excited they are about the whole experience. And I'm also happy to read comments from some of the people that have been coming the whole time. I got a few texts as well, and it seems that some people really needed this trip and it came at the perfect time for them. Really good stuff.
This week should also see the addition of some new faces to the team. I have started to put this machinery into play, so expect maybe 3 new blue names in the coming weeks. I'll get to that in time. And I am sure we sill discuss those on the podcast, once we get one together again. @seanrunnette brought the equipment but it's easier to hang out and talk with people around a fire overlooking the mountain than to hole up on a couch. We have plenty of time for that later.
One last one before we move on to reality. I like this one:
I will now contrast the above past, with the current present in the following 2 steps:
Step 1: Yesterday I woke up in Vermont, ate some free range organic eggs, rode my bike 18 miles with 7 great friends on a beautiful summer day of 80 degrees with no humidity, then ate a locally sourced burger with fries that were out of this world.
Step 2: Today I ate salad for dinner out of a cardboard box in a Whole Food in Austin, Texas while it rained outside.
Given the contrast of the past versus present, it is easy to start out the window of the Whole Foods market and wonder about certain life choices that may or may not have been made. Today was certainly one of those days. At the same time, I have to admit that my job is really what allows me to be able to make trips like this past week work. So as much as I want to say that it's really questionable that I am here at all, I know that the work I do drives the lifestyle that we lead in some part. And because of that, I deal with the cardboard box salad.
I won't really go into the details of my day because it is just another journey from home to somewhere else. The highlights are as such:
Today I just rode the spin bike in the gym with my PowerCal-to-Zwift setup. I felt better than expected.
I then showered, went to grab dinner at Whole Foods across the street, came back and listened to 102.7 while I read a Harpers article that @Kirt sent me. I have a suite here which is really spacious/comfortable. I have spread out entirely and set myself up for the week here. I have my laptops on the desk, my NYTimes on the coffee table in front of the couch, and I put my clothes in the dresser & closet. Make no mistake about it, I really don't want to be here this week. But I am going to settle in and get the most out of this place while I am here. That includes catching up on some reading and not working too much.
I bought a dropper post for the RIP. Then I wrote this blog post. Then I will submit this, turn the thermostat down, remove all light sources, set 3 alarms, and see how well the advice from @2Julianas works out in helping me get a good night of sleep tonight.
Tomorrow is another chapter in some book that seems to be writing itself into corporate chaos. I'll get to that more as the week goes on.
This week should also see the addition of some new faces to the team. I have started to put this machinery into play, so expect maybe 3 new blue names in the coming weeks. I'll get to that in time. And I am sure we sill discuss those on the podcast, once we get one together again. @seanrunnette brought the equipment but it's easier to hang out and talk with people around a fire overlooking the mountain than to hole up on a couch. We have plenty of time for that later.
One last one before we move on to reality. I like this one:
I will now contrast the above past, with the current present in the following 2 steps:
Step 1: Yesterday I woke up in Vermont, ate some free range organic eggs, rode my bike 18 miles with 7 great friends on a beautiful summer day of 80 degrees with no humidity, then ate a locally sourced burger with fries that were out of this world.
Step 2: Today I ate salad for dinner out of a cardboard box in a Whole Food in Austin, Texas while it rained outside.
Given the contrast of the past versus present, it is easy to start out the window of the Whole Foods market and wonder about certain life choices that may or may not have been made. Today was certainly one of those days. At the same time, I have to admit that my job is really what allows me to be able to make trips like this past week work. So as much as I want to say that it's really questionable that I am here at all, I know that the work I do drives the lifestyle that we lead in some part. And because of that, I deal with the cardboard box salad.
I won't really go into the details of my day because it is just another journey from home to somewhere else. The highlights are as such:
- I left home 13 hours after we got back yesterday
- I decided that after 150-ish miles of KT, renting a mountain bike here was doomed to be a disappointment so I brought the road bike shoes
- On the way to the airport my plane was swapped out, my seat was changed, and the gate was changed
- After we half-boarded the plane they stopped boarding to replace 2 instruments in the cockpit
- I had a window seat and the guy in the middle seat spilled over the arm rest into my seat
- We left an hour late
- We arrived 30 minutes late
Today I just rode the spin bike in the gym with my PowerCal-to-Zwift setup. I felt better than expected.
I then showered, went to grab dinner at Whole Foods across the street, came back and listened to 102.7 while I read a Harpers article that @Kirt sent me. I have a suite here which is really spacious/comfortable. I have spread out entirely and set myself up for the week here. I have my laptops on the desk, my NYTimes on the coffee table in front of the couch, and I put my clothes in the dresser & closet. Make no mistake about it, I really don't want to be here this week. But I am going to settle in and get the most out of this place while I am here. That includes catching up on some reading and not working too much.
I bought a dropper post for the RIP. Then I wrote this blog post. Then I will submit this, turn the thermostat down, remove all light sources, set 3 alarms, and see how well the advice from @2Julianas works out in helping me get a good night of sleep tonight.
Tomorrow is another chapter in some book that seems to be writing itself into corporate chaos. I'll get to that more as the week goes on.
I’ve been a mostly non-drinking minority for years and generally people don’t pressure you past the first offer. Nobody pays that close attention! Sometimes it’s irritating to have to split the cost of alcohol that one is not consuming, but the hassle of splitting hairs with friends isn’t usually worth it. And sometime astute friends realize you’re not partaking and absolve you! And sometimes you just make up for it by ordering super-fancy mocktails with expensive artisanal ingredients
I can't speak for Norm, but I gotta say if you swapped out cans of beer this week for cans of soda, it hardly would have made a difference. Drinking wasn't that heavy (although, when cleaning up and putting cans into the recycling, I may be wrong about that...) it's not exactly a drunk crowd. The drinkers are all into fancy beers but are just hanging out having a good time just as the non-drinkers were. It may have actually been closer to 50/50 for drinkers/non-drinkers. I meant to bring a bottle of wine and @MissJR left it at home, so I was a non-drinker, which is OK as I may have been the only one drinking it.
I do find it frustrating to go out to dinner and the bill gets split and people ordered a ton of alcohol. My tastes in friends has changed so this has mostly become a non-issue.
more wine for book club! (you won't be able to tell how much cheese i eat if you're drunk!)
When we go to dinner with friends, I always offer to let them do the math and tell me what we owe if they want. My preference is to just split the check because I've got better things to do than math, and I don't care as much about money as others I guess. If there is a large discrepancy with food or alcohol, we usually just make it up with the tip. So split the check on the cards, and then whoever has more expensive taste leaves more or all of the tip. This is just a rough estimate though. We generally grab dinner with the same people on a regular basis though, so we figure it all works out in the end, more or less.