Recap: Rooted Vermont 2021
Rooted Vermont is a gravel race that starts and ends in beautiful Richmond, VT. Vermont in general has a lot of gravel roads and hills and Rooted VT does not disappoint. About 800 riders showed up to compete in two courses. A Sip of Sunshine Course of 82 miles with 8,000 ft of climbing and a Little Sip Course of 48 miles with 4,000 ft of climbing. There were gravel pros in the mix as well - Ian Boswell (2021 winner of Unbound 200) and Lauren Stephens (USA Cycling Elite Women's National Team) to name a couple. The race is organized by Laura and Ted King.
The race was on Sunday, August 1 with a welcome party on Friday July 30.
Saturday, July 31, was expo day with multiple shakeout rides. I went for the Moosepack Hawaiian shirt shakeout ride with the owner Matt Moosa. The event venue is the Cochran Ski area. The stunning views of Vermont countryside and premium gravel roads did not disappoint.
I got a chance to talk to the legendary Ted King and I was smiling ear to ear.
Race day, Sunday August 1 was cloudy. Rain was in the forecast but that did not keep anyone from coming out. I opted for the Little Sip course this year. Because the start times were an hour apart, I got a chance to see the Sip of Sunshine riders take off.
Little sip riders lined up and we could not wait to climb hills and ride some premium VT gravel.
The route traversed through the beautiful countryside of Vermont. I couldn't get enough of it. This was my first time in Vermont and I was loving every minute of it.
Where do you get to see Alpacas’ on a bike race?!
The beautiful scenery gave into rain 10 miles in. By the first rest stop, I was drenched and standing under the rest stop tent was a relief from the rain.
As the route turned towards the Start/Finish, the rain stopped and I dried off on the bike. The third rest stop had a backdrop of beautiful Vermont hills and was an opportunity to relax before the final push.
The finish was uphill on a Class 4 Jeep road followed by a looping single track. I finished in time to cheer the podium finishers.
It started to rain again after I finished. I was glad to finish before it started raining again. There were fire pits to warm up. Never did I think that I would be cold and standing by a fire pit in August but as someone said to me, “It's New England, get used to it!” We cheered the last of the race finishers at the end.
Picture by Jeb Wallace-Brodeur
I drove back home the next day. A 10 hour full send to Cleveland. The whole weekend was like gravel summer camp and I left wanting more. I cannot wait for the lottery to open and hopefully I can get in for 2022. I hope to ride the 80 mile route next year.
Lake Champlain Bridge