King for a Day (or Three)

We came from all over, many of us cutting the work week short and driving through the night, to converge in a small mountain town nestled in the Green Mountains of Vermont.


For some of us, it was the third year in a row we hauled mountain bikes, massive amounts of gear and microbrews to East Burke. For others, it was the first time they would experience the best trail network in North America.

With more than 100 miles of rolling singletrack, Kingdom Trails is a mecca for mountain bikers—and a destination I’ve frequented yearly since discovering it. This year, ten or so of us met in the tiny town with aspirations of frolicking in the dirt and forgetting about life for a while.


We frolicked. We forgot. We bought a thee-day pass for $25—a small price to pay for first-rate trail maintenance, markings and mapping—and while there was no shortage of trails, we were on borrowed time. We made the most of our limited stay in the Northeast Kingdom by making it our job to hit the greats: Sidewinder, Webs, Kitchel, Pastore Point, Heaven’s Gate, Tody’s Tour…

The riding is phenomenal—hardpacked, fast and filled with pine forests, hairpin switchbacks and the occasional maple syrup tube.


We went to celebrate the long weekend, waning summer weather, endless miles of singletrack and more.

I recommend you make the trip too—even if you have nothing to celebrate.