The End of an Era

After eleven years of wonderful riding and memories, the Vermont Mountain Biking Association (VMBA) staff and Board of Directors have decided that the Association will no longer host VMBA-Fest.

It’s time that VMBA observes two realities regarding the festival. The first is that NEMBA fest has grown into a premier riding event hosted in Vermont. Secondly, VMBA is currently not resourced to match the size and scale of NEMBA fest. It’s a fantastic event that draws thousands of riders to Kingdom Trails every June. It’s big. Tons of demos, great food, 100+ vendors, guided rides, clinics, and strong music production. KT offers the best tent to trail riding on New England’s largest network. It’s a wonderful spot for a festival. If you haven’t been to NEMBA fest, it’s worth checking out.

The second reality is that VMBA chapters are now more than ever hosting numerous events throughout the state and throughout the year. They’re amazing! A few include:
* WATA’s Gravel Grinder
* Mad River Rider’s Crank De Mayo
* Stowe Trails Partnership’s Uberwintern, B3 & Leaf Blower
* Brewster River’s Tour de Valley
* Grateful Tread’s Steal Your Wheels
* MAMBA’s Muddy Onion
* STAB’s work with the VT50
* Killington MTB Club’s Bike & Brew
* A huge list of group rides and clinics on the vmba.org events calendar

While we will miss marking VMBA-fest on our calendars, the great news is that we as riders have a bunch of fantastic event options from which to choose. VMBA staff will shift the energy it used to spend on VMBA-Fest towards supporting and promoting chapters’ events. These chapter events represent very best of Vermont riding all year long. As such, VMBA-Fest is no longer needed to highlight our amazing singletrack.

The VMBA office staff and Board of Directors recognizes that the VMBA-fest was a “never miss” for some and we are grateful for your loyalty to the event. VMBA would like to thank the hundreds of people that invested their time and passion into the festival over the past eleven years. Please keep an eye on the events calendar – it is updated weekly starting in April.

3 thoughts on “The End of an Era

  1. Hello,
    Just wanted to point out that the Muddy Onion is put on by Onion River Outdoors rather than MAMBA. Lots of overlap at this event, just wanted ORO to get the mention.
    Thanks

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