Saturday, September 5 through Monday, September 7, we’re partnering with Pride Rides to host our annual Labor Day Bike packing weekend! Our goal is to make for the safest experience we can for our friends in the queer community to experience the wonders of bike packing in Vermont. If you’re aligned with those goals, you are invited!
Each year Vermont Bicycle Shop partners with Pride Rides to host a 3 day (2 nights) beginner friendly bike packing trip with a weekend of bicycles, camp fires, water, and more bicycles!
There’s lots of details over on VermontBicycleClub.com including route maps and how to register to join us.
Registration is free and required.
If you have not signed our 2026 Rider Waiver (click here), it is also required.
To learn about best practices and other required equipment you will need for a ride like this, head over to our Things to Know page! You will also be responsible for your own food and equipment.
There is a general store very close by the camp site in the event additional snacks, light groceries, and such are needed. It might be worth noting that some of the stores in rural Vermont might/should come with a Lavender Book warning. While nothing is specifically stated about any of the locations on our weekend trip, and most are incredibly friendly, we also want to make sure folks know there will be allies at this event who are ready and glad to help. If there is ever a concern or desire to not experience a certain business or location where you might need something, feel free to ask me (Darren) or another ally to go on your behalf. I am available 24-7 during the weekend.
It’s also best to be aware that there may be limited hours to the stores in the area and to also prepare as if you were going camping for the weekend without access to a store. If you have questions of any kind feel free to reach out to us!
On Saturday, September 5 we’ll take our bikes packed up with gear and ride from the bike shop in Barre up and over the hills to Plainfield (about 8.2 miles) on a mix of pavement and tame gravel.
At the Plainfield Park and Ride we’ll meet up with the folks who want to skip the hills. There is overnight parking at the Plainfield Park and Ride. We’ll enter the Cross Vermont Trail (at the back of the Plainfield Park and Ride parking lot) and ride the remaining 16 miles to Ricker Pond State Park on a mix of old (sometimes muddy) rail bed and slightly rougher gravel roads. Be prepared to navigate or lift your bike over fallen trees and the like. We are helpful folks. Best minimum tire size for this ride is 40mm and probably something with a little bit of a knobby or gravel type tire. Smooth tires may not be great in some of the muddy spots. Some people do this ride with mountain bikes and have lots of fun, some folks do this ride with gravel bikes and have lots of fun.
If you’ve ridden 3 or 4 rides that were at least 18 miles each in the past month or month and a half, you will be ready for this weekend.
Pre-Ride Meet Up Tuesday, August 25
For folks with questions, or folks who want to meet the other people joining us for the weekend, we are having a meet-up at 5:30pm on Tuesday, August 25. We’ll have some snacks and seltzers on hand and share and talk about our past experiences and our equipment choices and such.
Day 1, Sat. Sept. 5
We will gather at Vermont Bicycle Shop, (42 Summer St. Barre, VT) at 9:30 AM with a planned departure of 10:00 am.
We have a goal of arriving at the Plainfield Park and Ride (65 Main St. Plainfield, VT) between 10:45 and 11:00. This is where we will meet riders who want to participate in the shorter mileage/less hills version of the ride. Barring any sort of issues on the ride between Barre and Plainfield we will plan to depart the Park and Ride at 11:15. Be early for the meetup, enjoy some Positive Pie or stop by the coop for some snacks.
From the Plainfield park and ride we ride an old repurposed rail bed through the woods, the terrain will be a mix of short, smooth single track to rough and muddy back road. We may have to hike-a-bike through the woods or lift our bicycles to get around fallen trees or flood washouts. Otherwise this is usually a somewhat easy ride with minimal climbing for experienced cyclists who have been mountain biking once or twice recently.
We aren’t setting a time to arrive at camp. It’s much more fun to be able to stop and smell flowers, look at the amazing views and watch frogs jump into ponds.
That night we will discuss activity options for day 2.
Day 2, Sun. Sept. 6
The state parks in Groton have lots to explore by bike, there’s a lot of really wonderful hiking, and some great swimming/paddling/canoeing too. So join us to bike, camp, be in the woods and in the water.
Whatever folks decide to do is great, I will be hosting some kind of longer ride on day 2 with a tentative plan to depart between 10 and 10:30am from the camp site. I’ll also encourage and help a group to plan for a shorter tamer ride on the rail trail as well.
Day 3, Mon. Sept. 7
Pack up, clean up, and ride home! We’ll ride the Day 1 route in reverse. Be aware, the hill out of Plainfield is a real beast, it’s steep and long, and made harder by our camping gear. We plan to get packed up and leave in the AM, our goal is to be pedaling bikes by 10:30 at the latest, at the same time, camp breakfast is the best breakfast, and I don’t like to rush a good camp breakfast!
Registration for the bike packing trip is required since we are limited on how many folks can be in each camp site. You can register by getting a ticket at this link. Each ticket is for one person, so you’ll need to register folks one at a time!