pjcampbell

i keep seeing these ads, i am sure they are semi targetted.

any vermonters?

we have been thinking about moving there ever since we first visited waitsfield before doing GMSR like 5 years ago. probably would go to waitsfield/warren. Job situation is not good but i am a telecommuter for now.

are there any races near by really other than the 2 big stage races(killington and gmsr) ? anything in burlington or montpelier?

ideally i would live at the base of Mt Lemmon or some other huge climb but we cant have everything. we want to stay pretty close to NJ because of our families. east coast for sure.

obviously if i move to waitsfield id pretty much have to win the app gap stage or live in shame.

VT Biker

Are you sure about Mt. Lemmon? Lemmon is a mountain in Tucson, AZ.

pjcampbell

i am saying that would be great, but not possible... since we want to stay on the east coast near-ish to NJ.

my profile is me on mt lemmon. love that climb.

ZeCanon

I grew up in Burlington. Tons of great riding. Learn to XC ski or you will want to kill yourself all winter - riding on the road is often impossible. Or get a pugsly and ride the snowmobile trails.

C Law

I love the Mad River Valley. Excellent road riding, great MTB trails, good river play.

Downhill and xc ski is a must though. Long winter, you have to enjoy it

pjcampbell

we love it too. i love the idea of having a 30 minute climb at my doorsteps, among other things! the roads are a bit crappy there but i think the hills make it worth it.

yeah there are some great spots to swim in the river as long as you like 55 degree water! it is great after a long hard ride though, to soak your legs .

have to figure out something for the winter that is dog and baby friendly. ive never done xc skiing but in the winter here in nj i am out 5 days a week for 2 hours hiking so whatever transition would probably be pretty easy-ish. not sure about the safety of a baby on the back or i front since that is new to me. i know some people drag them in sleds too.

pjcampbell

k... still looking for a place to live. but i'm feeling it now... its coming... its close. will live within 5minutes of this.. nothing amazing but good for the east coast. nice for 20-30 minute reps.

no idea why i cant make that bigger.

godshammgod

My brother lives in Burlington and I visit him quite frequently. I absolutely love Vermont and really want to move there one day as well. In regards to places to live for cycling...his girlfriend lives down in the Rutland area which seems beautiful. From there you're also pretty close to Route 73 and Route 100 and a bunch of the big gap climbs.

scotch

I think you might be thinking of Mt. Ellen, near Sugarbush.

VT is a great place to live. I have dual citizenship with NH. Burlington, Montpeculiar and Bratt are my favorite towns.

nutterbutter

Burlington is an awsome place, id love to live there some day. but I also would love to live out west moreso.. and thats where Ill probably end up. But, burlington is one of the coolest cities ive ever been too. if not the coolest

pjcampbell

any thoughts on XC skiing on rolling terrain (ups and downs) vs snowshoe hill climbing for bicycle fitness. is snowshoeing a waste of time ? I would think that would develop leg muscles?

gsteinb

I love snowshoeing, but skate skiing uses the same muscles as cycling or speed skating. Snowshoeing is walking with resistance.

ZeCanon

skate skiing works your core as well.

Back in my junior years I would race all winter, riding maybe once a week, then hop straight from skis to bike in early March with plenty of fitness. It would always take about a month for the muscle memory to come around again, but I was always amazed how applicable it was.

pjcampbell

well not sure what this'll do for bike form but i have been xc skiing. it is mostly backcountry - with some trail breaking since it is not heavily traveled. mostly gently sloping up/down, not a ton of flat, which makes things interesting. real fun and real easy to get out even when it is super cold since you are really moving.

Agave

Long winters, crappy pavement, @-hole drivers [the Mini-Me diesel drivers love to spool up as they pass you], lots of red necks with guns and everyone and their brother moving there. Not much racing cept for training crits and TT. You'll spend most weekends in southern New England.

I'd say, not a good choice.

pjcampbell

So far i am outside more often, doing higher quality exercise than I would in NJ during this time of year. sleeping better, probably due to more exercise, better food and much less stress, better air and water quality, etc. i walk out my front door and hop on a trail where i can xc ski (or mountain bike) for miles and miles.

in nj you can hardly get out of bergen county without getting run over and i know all about the idiots who like to spool up their Turbodiesel when they go past you. probably more of them in NJ just because of shear volume of people.

the days like today (-15 F) I am not going to bother going out. But 20F (tomorrow) feels downright warm. Crappy roads I think you are right. Some 25's @ 95 psi or so should handle that just fine. Not a lot of rednecks here, at least in this portion of vt. Hunting season is pretty short too. In NJ we end up driving hours to good races anyway, genoerally these races will not be much further. Some exceptions of course, like bear mountain which I just won't do, Pawling RR probably will have to skip, but I only have a 45 min drive to killington stage race. Green mountain stage race is in my backyard now. same with allen clark memorial hill climb. i will probably do fewer races, so i will just have to do better at the ones i do

Agave

Actually hunting seasons are very long. People just think about the regular rifle deer season that runs 16 days in Nov.

Many locations in VT aren't really VT ...or they are part of the 'new' Vermont i.e. Stowe/Burlington/MRV/Woodstock/etc.

Didn't say VT wasn't better then NJ in some [many] respects, just don't move there.

pjcampbell

yes this is what they call "fake" Vermont. where do you live?

i guess i don't know about the rest of hunting season? i have not seen any hunters since november, and that was in moretown

as for don't move here, it's too late.

chado445510

That's what I'm hoping to do. I just took a lesson on skate skiing last Saturday, and I loved it. Problem is the race I want to do is a climb up Mt. Washington. When I came to a hill during the lesson is was a bit of a struggle.
But if you're in Vermont you could come to the MWARBH. It's good fun, yes it is. Coined as the hardest hillclimb in the world, too

Agave

Near where their use to be a bridge across the lake. Aka: Banana belt.