Festival Guided Rides

STAB ride boss Jim Lyall and the committee have put together a fantastic slate of rides. All rides will have multiple guides. Rides can split based on ability if needed, keeping everyone sane and safe. The majority of rides are “tent to trail”, leaving directly from the festival site.

Special note: A major goal of the festival is to expose riders to new terrain. To that end, we’ve added two Friday rides you can choose to hit on your way to the festival at neighboring VMBA chapters Woodstock Area Mtn Bike Association and Upper Valley Mtn Bike Association.

• Festival Trailhead: Accesses miles of “tent to trail” singletrack. Meet at the warming hut below the bridge.
• State Park Trailhead: 4 mile drive from the festival site. Riders will meet at the warming hut below the bridge to arrange transport. Mt. Ascutney State Park, 1826 Back Mountain Rd
• Town Forest Trailhead: 3 mile drive from the festival site. Riders will meet at the warming hut below the bridge to arrange transport. Group may want to trail ride there. 750 Coaching lane, Brownsville
• Fennway Trailhead: 4 Mile drive from festival site. Meet at the warming hut below the bridge to arrange transport. 165 Jewett Rd., Brownsville

FRIDAY
2:00 pm

Festival Kick-Off: Mt Peg Ride (all abilities, Knox Meadow, Woodstock)
Woodstock Inn & Resort and WAMBA are hosting a group ride for festival attendees on the Mt Peg trails on the Woodstock Inn property that you can hit on the way to the fest. Learn this trail system without going up the signature downhills! Separate rides for beginner, intermediate, and advanced riders, so feel free to bring the family. Rides leave from the Knox Meadow Parking lot, 2  miles south of Woodstock village on Rte 106, look for the signs. More info here.

Festival Kick-off: Boston Lot Ride (all abilities, Nature Walk trailhead, Hanover)
VMBA Chapter Upper Valley Mountain Bike Association (UVMBA) is hosting rides for festival attendees that you can hit on the way to the fest on the acclaimed Boston Lot trail system in Lebanon, NH. Great way to break up the drive and learn even more trails. Separate rides for all abilities, so feel free to bring the family. More info here.

Rolling to the Rockies (advanced, festival trailhead)
A 10-mile tour of the more challenging trails easily accessible from the fest site.  This covers a lot of intermediate-level terrain connecting some more techie, rocky trails including Falls from Grace, Boulder dash and Quarry Chase.  Non-rock lovers will have the option of go-around routes, so advanced intermediates are welcome.

Field & Forest Cruisin’ (intermediate, festival trailhead)
8.2 miles of mostly flowy terrain, including views from the fields and ski slopes when not in the forest. A few optional jumps, but no real tech terrain.

Novice Cruise (beginner, festival trailhead)
Guides choice. A fun cruise on the lower trails.

Swoops & Loops (beginner, State Park trailhead)
The perfect 4-mile trail for the beginner and their more advanced friend.  Starting out on level gravel, it quickly turns to doubletrack that gets more fun as it goes along. As you cruise, your friend will be popping off the waterbars. One short, steep climb will be quickly forgotten, spinning through ferns and forest.  Rest while other add a ½ mile loop. Then swoop your way home around bermed turns and over bridges and boardwalks.

8:00 pm

Night Rider (intermediate/advanced, festival trailhead)
Take a ride on the darkside. Guides choice, grouped by ability and don’t forget to BYOL (bring your own light).

SATURDAY
9:00 am

Epic (advanced, festival trailhead)
Ride the gravel to Fennway, ride it in reverse (different but just as fun) then travel down the ridge on White Rocks, to the Labyrinth, all classic singletrack.  Newer connector trails take us to South Ridge Run, the far end of Ascutney Trails. From there, options open up for the ride home. Throw in the technical lollipop, Jim’s Jam, and the flowy NYC trails and a 22-mile ride hits 25.  The Sub Epic cuts a few loops and climbs for an 18 miler on Easy Sunday.

Joe’s Jungle (intermediate/advanced, other off-site trailhead)
Good old-fashioned single track with great flow twisting up and down and all around the woods in northern West Windsor, a 5-mile carpool ride from the fest site.  Nothing too technical, but never boring. A 10 mile intermediate and an 18 mile advanced ride are planned.

Fenway (intermediate, Fennway trailhead)
A 4-mile carpool from the fest, this 9-mile, intermediate level ride brings variety.  Twist through mature pines, a jungle, open hardwoods, a hayfield with a 20-mile view, along rock ridges (up and down) and grind a little gravel in between.

Field & Forest Cruisin’ (intermediate women’s ride, festival trailhead)
8.2 miles of mostly flowy terrain, including views from the fields and ski slopes when not in the forest. A few optional jumps, but no real tech terrain.

Swoops & Loops ( beginner family ride, State Park trailhead)
The perfect 4-mile trail for the beginner and their more advanced friend.  Starting out on level gravel, it quickly turns to doubletrack that gets more fun as it goes along. As you cruise, your friend will be popping off the waterbars. One short, steep climb will be quickly forgotten, spinning through ferns and forest.  Rest while other add a ½ mile loop. Then swoop your way home around bermed turns and over bridges and boardwalks.

9:30 am

Rock’n’Rollin’ to Jim’s Jam (advanced, Town Forest trailhead)
This 9-mile route from the Town Forest lot includes the techiest terrain, but with flowy breaks in stunning scenery.  Rock ’n’ Roll, Ridgeback, South Ridge Run and the new Jim’s Jam are for granite lovers with some steep rock roll downs and ridge-riding challenges as well as dramatic cliffs, but no drops.

Quarry Climbin’ (intermediate, festival trailhead)
A true adventure ride.  A challenging climb is well-rewarded with awesome views from an historic mountainside quarry on our newest trail.  Then enjoy a bunch of flow on your way back home. Those not up for the quarry climb will have plenty of fun and can add some loops.

Hayride Smiles for Miles (novice, festival trailhead)
Take the easy way out and back. This ride features fields and views, including the new Mountain View Loop, and a boardwalk ride through fernery, taking you to the area’s favorite trail.  Your swooping ride down Hayride will leave you smiling. But, if 5 miles is not enough, add another 1.5 on the lower ski area slopes.

Green & Gravel (novice, festival trailhead)
Take a dirt road tour, starting with a climb up some of the easier Ascutney Trails single-track.  Then ride long view-infested downhills to the mountain-view flat roads back home that include a covered bridge. 6 miles, or opt for the extra 1.5 mile loop.

10:00 am

Ascutney Iconic (intermediate, festival trailhead)
A longer (10-mile) ride that hits much of the intermediate terrain from one end of the network to the other (and back.) It includes the new jumps and berms on Paradise Hill, for those who haven’t been there yet.  It still leaves plenty of blues to investigate later (and the legs to ride them with.)

2:00 pm

Traversing the Trails (advanced, festival trailhead)
13 miles that take you end to end on Ascutney Trails with a mix of tech and flow.  This adds in the new jumps, berms and features of Paradise Hill and Broadway (if you add the NYC loop at the end.)

Forest Flow Through Paradise (intermediate, Town Forest trailhead)
7 miles of 2 loops from the Town Forest parking lot (or add 3 miles of easy riding if you bike to and from the fest site) gives you some of the best flow at Ascutney through varied forests of hardwoods and hemlocks.

Teen Group Ride (intermediate, festival trailhead)
Shred fest open to riders between 13 and 18. Share skills, make friends. Ride will have multiple guides to address varying abilities.

Hayride Smiles for Miles (novice women’s ride, festival trailhead)
Take the easy way out and back. This ride features fields and views, including the new Mountain View Loop, and a boardwalk ride through fernery, taking you to the area’s favorite trail.  Your swooping ride down Hayride will leave you smiling. But, if 5 miles is not enough, add another 1.5 on the lower ski area slopes.

Wind Up, Glide Down (novice, festival trailhead)
After a warm up on Gravelle’s Grinder, climb the meandering Wind Up to views as we head to the forest.  Then glide down the new, mile-long Hayloft and finish along Home Again’s boardwalk.

Swoops & Loops (beginner family ride, State Park trailhead)
The perfect 4-mile trail for the beginner and their more advanced friend.  Starting out on level gravel, it quickly turns to doubletrack that gets more fun as it goes along. As you cruise, your friend will be popping off the waterbars. One short, steep climb will be quickly forgotten, spinning through ferns and forest.  Rest while other add a ½ mile loop. Then swoop your way home around bermed turns and over bridges and boardwalks.

SUNDAY
9:00 am

Sub-Epic (advanced, festival trailhead)
The Sub-Epic cuts a few loops and climbs from the epic for an Easy Sunday 18 miler. Ride the gravel to Fennway, ride it in reverse (different but just as fun) then travel down the ridge on White Rocks, to the Labyrinth, all classic singletrack.  Newer connector trails take us to South Ridge Run, the far end of Ascutney Trails. From there, options open up for the ride home. Throw in the technical Lollipop, Jim’s Jam, and the flowy NYC trails and a 22-mile ride hits 25.

Swoops & Loops (novice, State Park trailhead)
The perfect 4-mile trail for the beginner and their more advanced friends is only 4 miles from the fest – across from Ascutney State Park’s campground.  Starting out on level gravel, it quickly turns to doubletrack that gets more fun as it goes along. As you cruise, your friend will be popping off the waterbars. One short, steep climb will be quickly forgotten, spinning through ferns and forest.  Rest while others add a ½ mile loop. Then swoop your way home around bermed turns and over bridges and boardwalks.

Joe’s Jungle (intermediate/advanced, other off-site trailhead)
Good old-fashioned single track with great flow twisting up and down and all around the woods in northern West Windsor, a 5-mile carpool ride from the fest site.  Nothing too technical, but never boring. A 10 mile intermediate and an 18 mile advanced ride are planned.

Fenway (intermediate, Fennway Trailhead)
A 4-mile carpool from the fest, this 9-mile, intermediate level ride brings variety.  Twist through mature pines, a jungle, open hardwoods, a hayfield with a 20-mile view, along rock ridges (up and down) and grind a little gravel in between.

10:00 am

Rolling to the Rockies (advanced, festival trailhead)
A 10-mile tour of the more challenging trails easily accessible from the fest site.  This covers a lot of intermediate-level terrain connecting some more techie, rocky trails including Falls from Grace, Boulder dash and Quarry Chase.  Non-rock lovers will have the option of go-around routes, so advanced intermediates are welcome. Festival Trailhead.

Field & Forest Cruisin’ (intermediate, festival trailhead)
8.2 miles of mostly flowy terrain, including views from the fields and ski slopes when not in the forest. A few optional jumps, but no real tech terrain.

Forest Flow through Paradise (intermediate women’s ride, Town Forest trailhead)
7 miles of 2 loops from the Town Forest parking lot (or add 3 miles of easy riding if you bike to and from the fest site) gives you some of the best flow at Ascutney through varied forests of hardwoods and hemlocks.

Hayride Smiles for Miles (novice family ride, festival trailhead)
Take the easy way out and back. This ride features fields and views, including the new Mountain View Loop, and a boardwalk ride through fernery, taking you to the area’s favorite trail.  Your swooping ride down Hayride will leave you smiling. But, if 5 miles is not enough, add another 1.5 on the lower ski area slopes.

Please note: Riders 12 yrs & under must be accompanied by a Parent or Guardian.

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Photo Credit: Evan Kay