Riding and the VT 50

We are pretty much regulars at the local trails, going at least twice a week, sometimes three times. This past weekend we headed over to do some riding and realized that they were preparing for the big Vermont 50 race, which is this massive event where people ride their bikes and run along the trails to complete a 50 mile and 50 kilometer race. It's pretty intense, and a big deal around here. Most of the riders and groupies show up the day before to hang out, party, and be seen. Many of them camp out on the grounds before the race, which I thought was kind of cool.

Anyway, you can imagine that we couldn't do our ride like we normally do, but it was fun being the midst of all the hoopla. There were vendors and tons of really fit people, all getting ready. There was even an ice cream truck run by people we know. Since the race was the next day, the trails were open for riding, so N and I went for it and it was fun. There were several riders out there looking all professional in their team jerseys and all that good stuff, and when we were done, we stopped and looked at all the bikes at the vendor's tents and on bike racks in the parking lot. Now that we're into the sport, we can appreciate the types of bikes we saw. It's like people with fancy cars or big motorcycles, people like to show them off on their racks and you can sense that there's a bit of competition. I was a little embarrassed by my relic of a bike, which is over 30 years old. Then again, it's not about the bike, right? Yeah, right.

We actually saw several friends that were competing, which is sort of cool. Kind of makes you feel like a local. After some ice cream and hanging out, we headed home and I whipped up some supper before we headed over to the open mic at the local church, where A performed along with several of our neighbors. A nice cozy scene, just like I like it.

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to siskiyou out back for the pic.