From July 29 - 31, 12 members of KRT/QRT participated in @rootedvermont, a weekend-long celebration of gravel roads and community. Our weekend began with a “shakeout ride,” which we co-led with Izzy Johnson, a local gravel cyclist. This 14-mile ride gave us a preview of the climbing to come.
On race day, riders had the option of participating in either “The Sip of Sunshine” (85 miles with 8,000 ft of elevation) or “Lil Sip” (48miles with 4700 ft of elevation). For most of us, it was our first time riding gravel or even doing that much elevation in one ride. With scenic views of Vermont and the wonderful cycling community, our challenging ride turned out to be a lot of fun.
Each day we were able to enjoy the expo with many vendors in the industry while having a team tent for our members to chill out and relax. There were plenty of panels and forums on community building, BIPOC people in cycling, and several other bike-related topics. The highlight of our experience had to be the “maple creemees” from Untapped Maple.
It was a wonderful opportunity to build community on and off the bike and connect with people from other clubs such as @the.gravel_collective, @melaninbasemiles, @radical.adventure.riders, @brownstonegravelgrinders, @stamina.racing.collective, @brookegoudy, @marleyblonsky, @__alyssagonzalez, and @angstpony @doragravelexplorers @megfisher @skiskuhl & @rachel.olzer.
We had such a fun time shredding those Vermont gravel roads and taking in beautiful views. Thank you @lauracameronking, @kristin.motley, @iamtedking, and all the amazing volunteers who helped put this event together and created such a wonderful and welcoming community. We met and vibed with so many phenomenal people like. We definitely look forward to coming back next year!
Photo Credit: @mcmahon_meg, @angelicadixon825 @getlostbutstayfound
