Mountain bike enthusiasts have been working for years on an ambitious 485-mile multi-use trail known as the Velomont that will span the length of Vermont.
When finished, the collaborative project will knit together existing trail networks, connect 27 communities, and include 30 new huts and five downtown hostels for overnight stays.
New trail construction is finally ramping up after years spent on permits, plans and public input. And organizers say they're focused on ensuring the Velomont is accessible for everyone.
“For us, it’s not a huge lift to just be mindful when we’re trying to build trail or improve trail to think about the adaptive rider,” said Angus McCusker, the Velomont trail director with the nonprofit Vermont Huts and Trails.
McCusker is referring to the growing number of athletes with disabilities who mountain bike with specially designed equipment.
“The challenge,” he said, “is we’re connecting to existing trail networks that were never intended for adaptive bikes. So, where we can, we’re trying to do adaptive assessments.”
Louis Arevalo of Essex Junction is one of several adaptive athletes helping with that, most recently on some slightly overgrown trails in the Randolph Town Forest.
Arevalo was paralyzed in a skiing accident six years ago. An avid mountain biker before, he now rides a recumbent-style three wheeler that sits low to the ground. Arevalo pedals and steers with his arms, and gets a boost from an electric motor.
"Once you realize what these bikes are capable (of) or this equipment actually opens up, it kind of blows your mind,” he said.
But adaptive rigs like Arevalo's are wider and heavier than regular mountain bikes, and not all trails are user-friendly.
Nick Bennette, who tested a different type of adaptive bike that day, got hung up on several tight turns.
Bennette is executive director of the Vermont Mountain Bike Association, another nonprofit spearheading efforts around the Velomont. He and others involved in the assessment have been taking detailed notes on ways to make the trails more accessible.
“Just scalloping out a bit of material on the outside of that corner,” said Bennette, pointing to the area the bike got caught. “That will allow adaptive bikes to make that corner without really changing the way the trail rides.”
This type of work is not just happening on the trails. Organizers are also trying to reduce barriers at overnight accommodations along the network.
This summer, contractors are turning an old office building near the trail in downtown Randolph into an ADA accessible hostel. And two remote huts along the trail in Stratton and Chittenden will have locked sheds with off-road wheelchairs so bikers don’t have to haul their own.
At the Chittenden Brook Hut, McCusker highlighted a new ramp and wider driveway.
“So if you're an adaptive rider, you can imagine rolling right up here and you can transfer to your chair that’s available here, and then roll down the ramp and go down to the fireplace, to the privy, to make your meal,” he said.
Louis Arevalo stayed at the hut last summer with other adaptive riders — his first camping trip since his accident.
“It was really refreshing to have easy access to a beautifully built hut that was easy to navigate, and then have these world-class trails right out the door," he said. "And with these Velomont trails, I can actually plan a hut-to-hut trip with other people.”
Jeff Alexander is counting on it. He's director of strategic partnerships with Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports, a nonprofit that helps people with disabilities access outdoor recreation.
An economic impact analysis the group commissioned estimates their programming generated more than $10 million last year.
“So the adaptive community has money, they travel, they want to travel and they want to play with everybody," Alexander said. "We just need to level the playing field so that everyone can play together.”
