The Vermont Outdoors Podcast

Daniel Jordan is a Bikepacker, Endurance racer and Organizer for the Vermont Super 8 Course, a 640 mile backroads tour of VT. In this discussion we talk about his recent FKT (Fastest Known Time) on the T.A.T.R. Course in New York as well as recap my race of the Super 8. We geek out on all things to do with Bikepacking in Vermont! For more information on the Super 8 and XVT course - https://www.vermontbikepackers.orgFor more information on the new VTXL - https://bikepacking.com/routes/vtxl/Follow Daniel - https://www.instagram.com/bonkism/

After a summer break, the VTO podcast is back! This episode kicks off a series called “Investing in Vermont”. I will be interviewing people that are involved in shaping the local economy/community in the St. Johnsbury area.My first guest in the series is Ed Vilandre. Ed founded AV&Co. with Rory Altman in 2002. Ed assists clients with many industry topics, frequently advising CEOs and Boards during complex strategic situations. He often speaks at industry, executive and investor conferences such as COMPTEL, CTAM, the Goldman Sachs Communicopia Conference, Jefferies TMT Conference and the Telecom Investor Conference. Ed has also served as keynote speaker at a major communications industry association conference. He is frequently invited to discuss topics surrounding successful growth strategies, restructurings and turnaround situations. Prior to co-founding AV&Co., Ed served as Principal and management team member at CSMG. Ed has also served as an Analyst at Cambridge Economics, Inc., a M.I.T.-based economic consulting firm specializing in patent infringement and anti-trust litigation. He holds a Sc.B. in Applied Mathematics & Economics from Brown University.Ed is an Entrepreneur who is actively investing in the Northeast Kingdom. He is a co-owner of the Kingdom Taproom and Table, has local real-estate holdings, and is passionate about his involvement within the local economy.

When Peter Vollers is not working as a Real Estate Lawyer, he owns and runs Vermont Overland. His knowledge of and appreciation for Class 4 VT roads has led to the creation of some very unique gravel adventure ride/races. A former Collegiate National Champion and Professional Cyclist, Peter also founded the Killington Mountain School Junior Cycling Team. In this interview we talk about exploring the endless back country roads, ebikes, living in VT and his other big passion, Land Cruisers. Vollers Law Website - https://www.vollerslaw.com/Vermont Overland Website - https://www.vermontoverland.com/Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/vermontoverland/

Dr. Alan Betts is an Atmospheric Researcher and Vermont's leading Climate Scientist. In the late 1970s, he moved to Vermont, and for over 40 years he has continued his research on regional and global weather and climate. He has worked with scientists and institutions in the US and around the world; and on many national and international research projects. His work has received wide recognition and several awards. His website is a repository for his many years of work and an excellent place to research the science of Climate Change. Dr. Betts' website - http://alanbetts.com/Additional website recommended - https://skepticalscience.com/

Collin Daulong and his wife Caitlin own Kingdom Cycling and Experiences. Their company gives bike tours all over New England and during the summer is based trailside at the Kingdom Trails on Darling Hill. In this interview Collin talks about how the company was started, and why accessibility is so important. While we talk about cycling a lot, we also talk about how meditation has been so beneficial to both of us. We go a little deep on this one!This is #9 in a series on the people of Kingdom Trails in East Burke Vt. Website - https://www.kingdomexperiences.com/Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/kingdomcycling/Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/kingdomcycling/

Alex McAndrew is a professional downhill and enduro mountain biker based in East Burke Vt. Alex and his soon to be wife Ella (also a professional MTB rider) run Vermont Mountain Bike Tours, are coaches and guides and have just opened their new venture Green Mountain Pro Tune. GMPT is a company that helps people set up (and repair) their suspension on mountain bikes. Prior to the podcast Alex set up my new bikes suspension and it was obvious that he loves helping people set up their bike properly.Vermont Mountain Bike Tours - https://www.vtmtbtours.com/Green Mountain Pro Tune - https://www.greenmtnprotune.com/Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/vermont_mtb_tours/Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/bikesmcandrew/

Maura Adams is the Program Director for the Northern Forest Center in Concord NH. They work to develop economic opportunities in the Northern Forest through a number of different programs. She is also a trail runner and mountain biker who is responsible for the new Bike The Borderlands program. Joining Quebec, Main, NH and VT, the Borderlands is a group of 7 trail systems across three states, a province and two nations all within a 2 hour drive of each other. The idea of the program is to promote the amazing mountain biking as a draw to the entire area, not just a specific trail system.Northern Forest Center - https://northernforest.org/The Borderlands Website - https://www.bikeborderlands.com/Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/BikeBorderlands/Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/bikeborderlands/

Chris Hibshman is the co-owner of the Village Sport Shop in Lyndonville VT. He is a backcountry skier, a mt bike rider and coach who cares deeply about how his employees and customers get treated. We talk about what it was like growing up in the business, the growth of the mountain biking in the area, and how much business has changed since he inherited it.Coming home video - https://www.facebook.com/villagesportshop/videos/989836424551588/Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/villagesportshop/Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/villagesportshop/

Bob Dion is the founder of Dion Snowshoes, a company based out of Bennington Vermont. He is also a Veteran Ultrarunner who has an incredible list of wins and records in very long distance races. If you are a runner this discussion will blow your head apart. This is a guy that used to run 190 mile weeks for training and has run 50 miles in less than 6 hours. He tells some epic stories of his first 100 mile attempt, trying to win the Western States 100, and what it was like running long distance races before most people had ever heard the word “Ultramarathon”. Some of Bobs race results - https://ultrasignup.com/results_participant.aspx?fname=Bob&lname=DionDion Snowshoes - http://www.dionsnowshoes.com/

Rasputitsa means Mud Season in Russian. It is also the name of a ridiculously fun and tough gravel bicycle race that happens during, you guessed it, mud season in the NEK of VT. Since its launch, the race has grown its participation by a huge amount and has donated thousands to charitable causes. It's been named “Best Cycling Event in the Northeast” by Competitor Magazine and listed in “7 Challenging, Fun Spring Classics to Ride” by Bicycling Magazine.I sat down with the founders Anthony Moccia and Heidi Myers to talk about how Rasputitsa came to be, what's in store for 2019 and what motivates them to continue building this epic event.Rasputitsa Website - https://www.rasputitsagravel.comInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/rasputitsagravel/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/RasputitsaGravel/

Carrie and Pete (Chief) Tomczyk own “The Hub” at Darling Hill in Lyndonville VT. The Hub is a bar nested in the Village Sport Shop hillside and serves lots of amazing craft beer. It is a great spot to relax after a day of riding some of the best trails in Vermont. The view there is amazing! Some of the things we talk about are how they ended up opening the Hub, changes in the bike industry and what it was like growing up in a sports shop.Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thehubtrailside/Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/thehubtrailside/

Ted King is a retired professional bicycle racer who recently moved to Vermont. Teds love for using maple syrup as a race fuel led him to co-found “Untapped”, a company that started putting it into single serving containers like gel packets. Ted also hosts the “King of the Ride” podcast, which deals with all things bikes and business. Since retiring Ted has been a tireless advocate of all things to do with bicycling. He spends almost all of his time being involved with and giving back to the cycling community.This was a super fun chat. I had been a bit intimidated to sit down with someone who is so well known and has an established podcast, since I've only been doing it a short time. But my fears were immediately put to rest as soon as I met him, as he made me feel like an old friend during the interview. We talk about a pretty wide range of topics, and I hope you enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed the conversation. Find Ted Untapped Maple - https://untapped.cc/ Website - http://www.iamtedking.com/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/iamtedking Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/iamtedking/ King of the Ride Podcast - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/king-of-the-ride/id1390373151?mt=2

CJ Scott is the trail manager for the Kingdom Trails in Burke VT. He is an outdoor enthusiast, with a deep appreciation for being in the woods and recreating outdoors. He came to the NEK from Maine to go to school (majoring in outdoor recreation) in 1997 and a broken arm led him to change his plans of moving to Alaska to staying in the Kingdom. We talk about his early days at KT maintaining the trails by hand, with little to no resources, to how his team has grown to 12 people and lots of equipment. We also discuss his full hike of the AT in 2004, new trails that he is working on and the challenges of taking care of 100 miles of trails in the summer and 35 miles in the winter.

On this episode I sit down and chat with Lilias Ide. Lilias is the marketing manager for the Kingdom Trails in Burke, VT and a Mountain Biking badass. If you follow KT on social marketing you should be familiar with her trail update videos. During our conversation we talk about how she ended up working for the Kingdom, the early days of the trail system, and of course…riding Mountain Bikes!follow KT/Lilias on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/kingdomtrails/

Abby Long is the recently appointed Executive Director for the Kingdom Trails Association in Burke VT. Abby comes to the Kingdom from Leadville Colorado, where she worked first as the Athletic Service and Registration manager then as the Executive Director for the Leadville Legacy Foundation. We talk about her excitement of being back in Vermont, her respect for the community, her love for bikepacking and future expansion plans for the trail system. “It's only through listening that Kingdom Trails can be responsible” – AbbyThis interview is Part 3 on a series about the people of the Kingdom Trail Association.

On this show I talk to Ryan Thibault. Ryan is the owner of Ranch Camp, a Mountain Bike base lodge concept that contains a bike shop and also serves great beer and food. He is also the creative director for Collective Arts brewery and owner of MTBVT.com.We talk about bikes, beer and the innovative method that Creative Arts uses to find artists for their labels. We also talk quite a bit about the stress of having so many irons in the fire and what he does to prevent burnout. This was a really fun conversation that I enjoyed a lot. I hope you do too!http://ranchcampvt.com/https://mtbvt.com/https://collectiveartsbrewing.com/https://www.instagram.com/thibault_photo/

On today's episode I speak with John Worth. John is the co-owner of the East Burke Sports, the Burke Mountain Ski Patrol Director and the founder of the Kingdom Trails. John and I talk about how the KT system started, how it has changed and what is needed for balanced future growth.This is an episode that I almost didn't release. Being new to the podcasting game, I am still learning. A few things happened prior and during the interview that completely threw me off my game. About 8 or 9 minutes into the interview I noticed that my equipment wasn't recording, and I had to embarrassingly ask John if he would mind starting over. Then I think I tried too hard to force the conversation a certain way instead of just letting him talk. I learned a lot on this one, and I really appreciate how gracious and patient John was with me. I hope you can overlook the lack of “polish” and enjoy Johns story.This is Part 2 of a series on the people of the Kingdom Trails Association in Burke VT. Find John – https://eastburkesports.comSubscribe to the podcast :Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-vermont-outdoors-podcast/id1451426641Stitcher - https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/httpswwwspreakercomshowvermontoutdoors/vermont-outdoors Direct listen on website – https://www.headyadventures.com/vermont-outdoor-podcastFacebook page – https://www.facebook.com/headyadventures/Find Nate on Instagram - @bikernateEmail Nate – bikernate@gmail.comwww.nationalpowersports.netCurrent (sort of) blog - https://www.headyadventures.com/blogNot current blog... www.bikernate.com

This interview with Knight Ide is the first in a coming series about the people of the Kingdom Trails in Burke Vt. Knight is a stonemason, a trail builder, and a damn good MTB rider. His business creativity, love of riding and sense of community have allowed him to create a life that is fully immersed in the riding lifestyle. Knight talks about his love of jumping and how he became involved with trail building. We also discuss his several businesses which all are tied to riding bikes. Find Knight on Instagram - @knightrisoxideFind Nate on Instagram - @bikernateEmail Nate – bikernate@gmail.comwww.nationalpowersports.netCurrent (sort of) blog - https://www.headyadventures.com/blogNot current.. www.bikernate.com

Andy Weinberg lives to help people realize what they are truly capable of. His company, The Endurance Society, puts on challenging races for runners, skiers and bikers. These are not typical races, and include a snowshoe marathon, a 10-day Ultrarunning event with distances of 8k to 888k (551 miles!!!!) and a death race style event that the details are kept secret. An endurance athlete himself, Andy has participated in 100 mile running races, long distance swimming events, and even a quintuple iron man distance triathlon (12 miles swim/560 mile bike/131 mile run). He is a strong believer that Adversity is the path to success.Andy has inspired me since I met him over 10 years ago, and he shows no sign of slowing down. I hope you enjoy the conversation.

Last year I moved back to Vermont for the third time in my life for what I call “semi-retirement”. My business (National Powersports Distributors) is run by an incredible team and my involvement is no longer needed on a daily basis. My wife Amy and I always knew that we would move back to Vermont, and we chose the North East Kingdom (NEK) partly because of the amazing Kingdom Trails. It's not only the trails that are awesome here, the people are too. It is a community full of people who have turned their love for the outdoors into a lifestyle. And many of them, sometimes out of pure necessity, build unique and successful businesses to go along with that lifestyle. Those are the people I'm hoping to talk to on this show.For this Pre-First Episode I struggled to monologue an explanation, so I decided to sit down with Joe Fortin, the producer of the show, and have a casual conversation about what the show will be, who I will talk to and some of my personal reasons for starting it. I have a bunch of really interesting people lined up for the show and I plan on releasing a new episode at least once every two weeks. Shortly I will be releasing a series on the people of the Kingdom Trails. I would like to speak with people from all different parts of Vermont, or who have VT based businesses. If you know of someone who loves VT and is passionate about living and working here please let me know! Below is how to find me. Enjoy the show, and thanks for listening.