Waterbury biking group matures with its 13th annual signature fundraiser ride
June 5, 2021 | By Jesse McDougall
Riders set out on the recent 13th annual Gravel Grinder race which starts and finishes in downtown Waterbury. Multiple-length courses take riders along local backroads, some of which are indeed gravel. Photo by Gordon Miller.
Down a nondescript road and through a tunnel under Interstate 89 lies Perry Hill with a vast network of free, multi-use trails within Putnam State Forest. These trails along with the mountain bike trails at Little River State Park are maintained by the Waterbury Area Trails Alliance.
Local involvement in the group has swelled in recent years, and on May 23, WATA (as it likes to be called for short) hosted its 13th annual Gravel Grinder event taking riders around Waterbury, Duxbury and even Moretown’s backroads. Waterbury Roundabout caught up with members of WATA’s board as well as local riders to see how these like-minded bike enthusiasts are transforming Waterbury one trail at a time.
“WATA is one chapter of many within the Vermont Mountain Bike Association, and our group was founded in 2015,” said Mackenzie Fuqua, WATA’s Outreach Committee chair. “Our work is all volunteer and donation-based, and the uptick of bike sales during the pandemic caused a steep growth in our membership,” she said.
Keith Macchione, secretary of WATA’s board of directors, explained how the group’s events contribute to trail maintenance while raising money for tools and equipment. “Traffic on the trails has grown exponentially over the last five years, so to prevent them from being eroded and beaten away we host bi-monthly trail days for volunteers to repair on the same trails they ride,” he said. In fact, Perry Hill’s newest trail, Red Tape, was fully built -- and named -- by volunteers and is now open to the public.
Fuqua believes the trail days help riders develop ownership over Perry Hill. “Our volunteers bring these trails to life, so we provide them with pizza and beer, and sometimes as many as 25 people show up,” she said.
WATA’s biggest event of the year is the Gravel Grinder, and in the past it’s had as many as 500 participants. The ride took a hiatus in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic with some die-hards doing it “virtually” on their own. This year it was capped at 200 riders to keep the crowd manageable and allow for distancing when riders came together at the start/finish and at break spots along the routes. “But all the awesome gravel riding and scenic views were still here,” Fuqua said.
The Gravel Grinder is a tremendous fundraiser for the organization, and sponsors provided food, beverages, bike tunes -- and this year hand sanitizer -- to attendees. On the day of the event, organizers called it a win. “Even the bikers riding our 50 mile course are having fun today,” said Fuqua, “but that’s what we call type-two fun. It’s very challenging, but you enjoy it once it’s over.”
Come for the ride, stay for the trails
The Gravel Grinder attracts riders of all ages. Photo by Gordon Miller.
The morning of the Gravel Grinder, bikers assembled in the loading bay of the Vermont Beer Shepherd at Pilgrim Park in downtown Waterbury to meet fellow riders and peruse the sponsor tents. In the Beer Shepherd tent, Amy Boyce explained why it’s important for businesses to support WATA’s trail work. “First of all, many of our employees are mountain bikers, and second, WATA is an imperative part of our community,” Boyce said. “Their trails provide Waterbury’s residents with health and fun, but economically these trails also attract visitors who go shopping, visit local restaurants, and sometimes decide to move here for good.”
This was partly the case for Matt Gile who moved to Waterbury with his wife five years ago. Gile works in Winooski but says that after volunteering at a trail day he has been welcomed into the WATA community. “I’ve met pretty much all of my friends in Waterbury through mountain biking,”he said. “For me, WATA is the hub of our town, and outside any restaurant in Waterbury you’ll see a couple of bike racks.”
The biking trails at Little River State Park are part of a similar long-term effort to attract visitors by expanding recreational opportunities near the Waterbury Reservoir. “WATA worked with the state of Vermont to build trails which are less rugged than those at Perry Hill,” said Macchione. Fuqua pointed out that riders can now explore the historical Ricker Mountain area beside Little River Campground.
Once Perry Hill became officially recognized for winter recreation, WATA’s trails could even drive tourism year-round. “Waterbury is in a unique location because visitors skiing in the Mad River Valley or in Stowe have to get off the highway here,” said Macchione. “Encouraging them to stay in Waterbury rather than simply passing through is huge for local businesses, especially during the booming ski season.”
There's more than one way to enjoy the Gravel Grinder course. Photo by Gordon Miller.
Carving out a Waterbury group with a Waterbury focus
For many years the Stowe Trail Partnership maintained Perry Hill trails along with its trails at Cady Hill Forest in Stowe, but WATA co-founder Jay Provencher thought it was important for Waterbury to focus on its own trails. “Stowe had their hands full with their trail building and maintenance, so Dana Allen and I decided to found WATA in 2015,” he said.
Before founding WATA, Provencher was the president of the Stowe Trail Partnership, and today the organizations still work closely together. WATA even runs events in tandem with the Stowe group such as the 2021 Stowkebury Trail Odyssey to be held June 26-27.
The collaborative nature of the Vermont Mountain Bike Association’s 33 chapters speaks to the greater movement of making mountain biking accessible across Vermont. From a physical education standpoint, mountain biking is a sustainable way to get young people into Waterbury’s green spaces, and youth bike camps such as Jason Bahner’s Wheels Around Waterbury have been doing it for years. “When I ride during my lunch-break I often see school groups out on the pump track by the Ice Rink,” said Macchione. “Perry Hill’s easier trails are a phenomenal place to get an intro to mountain biking where adult bikers and children can coexist safely.”
This summer WATA members are asking how they can best serve Waterbury’s trail users while growing the mountain biking community. “We’ve got some super cool projects in the queue,” said Gile. Already Perry Hill’s parking lot on nice days has been packed with locals and out-of-staters itching to ride WATA’s trails. The volunteers say they are humbled to be stewards of the trails which provide so much to their community. Gile likened Perry Hill’s unique entrance tunnel under the interstate to a portal linking the regular world with a mountain bike sanctuary.
More information about WATA is online at waterburytrails.com.
Jesse McDougall also filed a video report on the WATA Gravel Grinder and 2021 plans. Find that here.