....and Circumburke is canceled but they seem confident it'll be sorted out for next year(?) E mail today:
"Dear Circumburker,
In a combined decision, the Kingdom Trail Association and the Victory Hill Sector, have chosen
not to produce the 2019 Circumburke Trail Challenge. The two trail networks, located in the
Northeast Kingdom’s Caledonia and Essex counties, are dispirited by the decision to cancel after
nine years of success; however, they believe it is necessary based on the current circumstances.
The Circumburke Trail Challenge is a 26 mile backcountry course for trail runners and mountain
bikers to test their limits. For the past 9 years participants have embraced the single track event
because of its difficulty, 3,000 feet of climbing, descending, and adventurous atmosphere in a
wild corner of Vermont’s NEK. Just as the name describes, the Circumburke route encompasses
Burke Mountain, starting at Burke Mountain Resort’s Sherburne base lodge out to Victory and
back. The event, which brings nearly 600 racers as well as their families and friends to the
Northeast Kingdom, has been voted “Best MTB Ride/Race in Vermont” several times by
Vermont Sports readers.
The Circumburke event originated to serve as an economic driver, supporting the region during
the tourist shoulder season. The event has always been hosted in late October prior to trails
closing in respect to hunting. The Circumburke Challenge also serves as a fundraising event for
the two organizations with proceeds dedicated to maintaining and building trails to provide
recreation and education opportunities, fostering the health of the local community,
surrounding environment, and regional economy.
A number of factors determined the decision to cancel of the 10 th Anniversary Circumburke. The
route passes through Vermont State land. The St. Johnsbury office of Vermont Forest Parks &
Recreation moved the event date into September due to concerns of trail impact during
October. With the change in date the Circumburke will no longer serve its original purpose,
bringing visitors to the area during a slower time of year to support local businesses.
The Victory Hill Sector trails are also currently closed to all recreation as a result of
complications caused by an Act 250 Jurisdictional Opinion. The Circumburke route depends
upon the Victory Hill Sector trails to circumnavigate Burke Mountain. The organizers have
investigated rerouting the course; however, this would result in moving the route on to gravel
roads. Kingdom Trails and Victory Hill, both single track trail networks, do not believe hosting a
gravel road race depicts the original Circumburke event or their networks. The organizers also
recognize that there is a neighboring gravel road race, the Peacham Fall Fondo in Peacham, VT,
the same weekend. They do not wish to host a conflicting event.
Kingdom Trails and Victory Hill Sector wish to thank all Circumburkers and our communities for
understanding our decision to cancel the 2019 Circumburke Trail Challenge. Those who have
registered for the 2019 event will receive a full refund. The organizers look forward to hosting
the 10 th Anniversary Circumburke together in 2020 in its original form, a celebration of epic
single track and trail users, driving economic prosperity during a not so thriving time of year in
Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom.
We hope to see you next year! Until then we hope all is happy and healthy!
Kingdom Trails and Victory Hill Sector"
Whatever......got a nice 13 miler in at Green Mountain Trails today. Also stopped by Green Mountain Bikes for a couple tubes......holy jeebus, that place is interesting. Definitely saw some bikes parts in there I hadn't seen since the mid 90s, Pro Flex suspension stem included.
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