Kingdom Bike Fest

Welcome to Kingdom Bike Fest!

A family-friendly weekend celebrating community, camaraderie, & all things mountain bike. Come Join Us!

First and foremost, we are thrilled to invite you all to Kingdom Trails and The Wildflower Inn. We're going to have a ton of fun doing a bunch of really awesome “bike things” with an ever-growing group of really awesome “bike people"… just like you! For those of us organizing this extravaganza, it's been a dream to get to work together and throw the kind of bike event we've always wanted to throw. It's as much an event for all of you as it is for us! And we can't wait.

With that being said, we should probably start by setting some realistic expectations for this first annual hootenanny. As you may or may not know, we rather unexpectedly came together as organizers a mere 8 weeks from the event date to make this happen. We've gone from a whole bunch of nothing to a whole bunch of “something” in a really short amount of time. So will things go off perfectly? Maybe. Might there be a few hiccups and unexpected bumps? Probably. But will we all have a really great time together riding bikes, laughing, and celebrating our amazing community? Absolutely! So let's get this party started…

General Info:

This event is built for families, fun-seekers, and anyone who doesn't like sitting still. Between the scheduled races, organized activities, self-guided adventures, and friendly challenges, you'll have plenty to keep you entertained. Thanks to our co-organizers New England Youth Cycling (NEYC), we will have a FREE bicycle obstacle course & skills zones open to kids most of the weekend. NEYC will also be leading kids bike games & activities throughout. And up at our Expo & Vendor Area and Trailside you'll find even more games, activities, shenanigans, and antics for all to enjoy - they'll even be safe for adults to enjoy!

Saturday night's fun culminates in our “Ridiculous Relay” Team Race. Why have a relay race when you can have a relay race filled with insanity and uncontrollable laughter?!? It'll be a ridiculous 30 minutes of fun that's as awesome for racers as it is for spectators. And just as the relay race is ending, our live band will start playing for everyone to rock out as we celebrate the day. At nightfall, we'll light a bonfire and cap off a great evening telling stories with friends old & new.

Sunday then brings us the main event, our MTB XC Race. Sign up to race or just come out to cheer on our racers. There will be plenty of places for great viewing on course as well as at the Trailside Beer Garden. With the valley view as our backdrop, each award ceremony will be a postcard moment for sure.

Team Tent Area

We'll have a dedicated team tent area along the race course that's free for teams to set up a home base. Pre-registration is required though. Please note: There will be NO vehicles allowed in the team tent area from 9:00am Saturday through 5:00pm Sunday. There will, however, be a tent drop off area that gets you pretty close to the area. Otherwise plan on coming earlier to set up. Please also note: Teams that wish to sell any items will need to reserve a space in the Expo & Vendor Area instead.

Expo & Vendor Area

Close to the finish line, podium, and beer garden you'll find the Expo & Vendor Area. It's the heart of the weekend's activity at Kingdom Bike Fest. Here you'll find Event Registration, Kingdom Trails Memberships, local artisans, bike industry vendors, test & demo bikes, various food options, and Trailside - our coffee bar & beer garden perched right above all the racing action. Vendor space is somewhat limited, so be sure to pre-register and reserve your space early. And if you're a non-profit be sure to contact us about free vendor space.

NEYC Fun Zone

If you're familiar with NEYC races you'll know the Fun Zone very well. It's a sectioned-off area filled with all sorts of obstacles and bike skill challenges, including the Highland Fun Zone! Ringleaders & instigators Jake Kravitz and Kelly Catale will also be patrolling the Fun Zone and Darling Hill Skills Park throughout the day bringing their antics and inciting laughter & smiles in both kids and adults. The Fun Zone is FREE and open to all kids.

Vermont Adaptive Ride Lessons

Vermont Adaptive Ride Lessons

Vermont Adaptive is offering adaptive ride lessons (equipment provided if needed) at Kingdom Bike Fest. Sign up at least 2 weeks in advance so Vermont Adaptive can have the proper bikes, equipment and instruction game plan to provide a solid experience no matter what the ability. Lessons are available on Saturday and Sunday of the event, 10:00am-12:00pm and 1:00-3:00pm. Sign up with Vermont Adaptive directly using this link: Vermont Adaptive Ride Lesson Signup - choose your date and time using the calendar to register!

Disc Golf Flex Tournament

There will be a “flexible schedule" frisbee disc golf tournament throughout the weekend. Play your round anytime then sign & drop off your score card. Purchase your tournament score card for $5 at the Expo. Discs are also available for purchase at Trailside if you need one. Check out the disc golf course here.

Camping Available

There will be plenty of on-site, primitive camping. It opens Friday at 12pm and goes through Monday at 3pm. So hey, make a long weekend out of it! There's a $30 per vehicle fee for the whole weekend if you pre-register or $50 if you register day-of. We'll also have a strictly “quiet" side and a “normal” side for you to choose from.

Friday Event Info:

Life Cycles Film Screening

Life Cycles (2010) is a true adventure film. Over 5 years in the making, and using the bicycle as the vehicle, Life Cycles takes you on a journey through natures most beautiful, dramatic, and sometimes unforgiving landscapes. Shot in Ultra HD, and with an uncompromising attention to detail, Life Cycles pulls the viewer into natures most powerful elements. From Canada's golden prairies to a bicycle factory in Japan, Life Cycles explores the concepts of creation and destruction; in nature, machine and man.

Directors: Derek Frankowski, Ryan Gibb.

Featuring: Graham Agassiz, Mike Hopkins, Matt Hunter, Cameron McCaul, Riley McIntosh, Evan Schwartz, Brandon Semenuk, Thomas Vanderham

We are especially grateful for Derek Frankowski, who has generously given Kingdom Bike Fest the rights to screen this wonderful film for our cycling community! The film will start at 8:30pm under the tent at Trailside. Bring your camping chairs and blankets, and settle in for an adventure!

Saturday Event Info:

XC Course Pre-riding

Sunday’s XC race course will be open for pre-ride until 6pm on Saturday (and then again sunrise to 8:15am on Sunday). While the course will be marked, course GPS routes will also be made available.

Kingdom Shredders Grom Race

Starting at 4:30pm on Saturday August 8 and open to kids ages 5-13 on any size bike (no e-assist). Race will be about 30 minutes long on a 1.4 mile lap, so actual duration will vary based on the speed of the rider. The course is compact with good visibility for spectators. We will have adults riding as sweepers and to provide assistance as needed. Kids commemorative race plates will also have an optional space to write your child’s name in bold permanent marker - then gathered spectators will be able to cheer all children on. It'll be a great event for kids and parents. Also at 10:30am, there will be a group pre-ride for anyone who wants to check out the course as a group. No signup necessary, just meet at the Team KellCat tent!

Lil’ Rippers Strider Race: Sponsored by Passumpsic Bank

Push bikes only (no pedals). Course will be within the main camping venue, and flat enough for young kids to enjoy. All racers receive awards and have a group photo opportunity at the podium immediately following the race. This event begins at 4pm on Saturday August 8.

“Ridiculous Relay” Team Race

Teams made up of 3 riders. Each lap will be ~1.4 miles in length. Each rider will complete 1 lap then hand off to a teammate in the designated exchange area. No age restrictions on racers; family teams encouraged!!! (be sure kids are able to climb from the bottom of the skills park all the way to the Expo Area though). With that said, we are concocting some completely ridiculous shenanigans that will be required to actually complete the race as a team. This will be a fun event for both racers and spectators alike. At the end of the race our live band will start the evening's festivities.

East Darling Super D

This is a 1.5 mile mostly downhill & flat segment that’s marked. You will need to have a way to record and load your ride on Strava to participate in the Super D - AND you will need to join the Kingdom Bike Fest Strava Club to participate. Your ride must then be completed on Saturday Aug 8 and uploaded to Strava by NO LATER THAN 6pm that day to be scored. The course will be lightly marked, including signage to get from the Expo Area to the start. The Strava segment that will be used for timing will be posted by Friday 8/7. You may attempt the course as many times as you like; your fastest time will count. The trails used for the Super D are open to the public and are bi-drectional. PLEASE be respectful & ride with this in mind.

Kingdom Adventure Ride presented by Shimano!

Get together with your friends and head out for a fun ride (or rides!) on the Kingdom Trails.

5 buckets with different colored tokens will be placed at 5 popular checkpoints throughout the Kingdom Trails network. Ride whatever routes you’d like in any order you want to try to collect all 5 tokens. Turn in your tokens at the registration tent by Sunday at 1pm. Riders will be given 1 raffle ticket per token redeemed - good for a chance at our big grand prize raffle item (FYI: it's gonna be something SUPER cool!). In addition, all riders will receive a limited edition Kingdom Adventure Ride sticker for redeeming any number of tokens. Riders that redeem all 5 tokens will also receive some extra special event schwag as well. Raffle will be held during Sunday's XC awards. Event runs Friday Aug 7 at 12:00pm until Sunday Aug 9 at 12:00PM.

Details: Bucket locations will be shared via email to registered participants the week leading up to the event, and also available onsite at registration. We will send suggestions of routes that will get you to all 5 buckets. You can ride to every spot from the Wildflower, or choose to drive to different trailheads and ride to each bucket from there. Buckets will be placed on Friday morning, and you’ll need to turn in tokens by Sunday at 1pm. Happy token hunting!!

Tentative Bucket Locations:

• Top of Black Bear Trail (entrance in woods, not Gazebo)

• Top of Moose Deuce

• Kitchel Connector

• Heaven’s Bench

• Top of Skydive

Whip Off at Sean's Showdown

Show off your style and skill on the Sean's Showdown drop. This event is free but you must register in order to participate. Meet at the top of Darling Hill Skills Park at 5:05pm for group instructions. This is sure to be a crowd favorite, so make sure to get a spot by the drop to watch the action up close!

Sunday Event Info:

Sunday’s XC race course is the same for all 4 waves. It is about 5 miles long, with a good amount of hand built flow trail, some awesome machine built flow trail, and a few roots sprinkled in to keep you alert. For those looking to send it, there will be a drop/jump line just under the spectator zone at Trailside (get your cameras ready), with an optional go around that will be a few seconds slower.

Awards to top 5 finishers in all fields, and cash prizes to top 3 in Men and Women in Elite fields.

The course will be open Sunday morning for pre-ride from sunrise (5:45am) until 8:15am.

TENTATIVE WEEKEND SCHEDULE

*Please Check Back as Times Are Subject to Change. We’ll certainly be adding more activities & information as well.

FRIDAY 8/7:

12:00pm: Camping area / Parking opens

12:00pm: Team Tent area open for tent set up

12:00pm Expo & Vendor area open for tent set up

12:00pm Token buckets placed for Kingdom Adventure Ride

8:30pm: Film Screening - Life Cycles (2010) - Trailside / Expo

8:30pm: Bonfire

10:00pm Quiet Time & Fire Out - no loud music or generators

SATURDAY 8/8:

All Day: Super D course open (must upload to Strava by 6pm)

All Day: Token buckets available for Kingdom Adventure Ride

9:00am-8:00pm: Expo & Vendor area open

9:00am-6:00pm: XC course available to pre-ride

9:00am-8:00pm: NEYC Obstacle & Skills Course Open (open to all kids)

9:00am-8:00pm: Disc Golf Flex Tournament / $5 to play / Register at Trailside

10:00am-12:00pm: Vermont Adaptive Ride Lesson: Vermont Adaptive Ride Lesson Signup - meet at the Vermont Adaptive Tent!

10:30am-11:00am: Pre-ride the Grom Race (no sign-up/registration necessary) - meet at the Team KellCat tent!

11:00am-12:00pm: Women's pre-ride of Sunday's race course (approx. 5 miles) led by Team KellCat - free but registration is required!

11:30am-12:30pm: Guided pre-ride of Sunday's race course (approx. 5 miles) - open to everyone!

12:30pm-2:30pm NEYC Games & Shenanigans with Kelly & Jake (open to all kids) - fields near camping area then Darling Hill Skills Park

12:00pm-7:00pm: Registration Tent Open - Trailside / Expo

1:00pm-3:00pm: Vermont Adaptive Ride Lesson: Vermont Adaptive Ride Lesson Signup - meet at the Vermont Adaptive Tent!

4:00pm: Lil’ Rippers Strider Race - Darling Hill Skills Park (next to camp area)

4:30pm: Kingdom Shredders Grom Race - Darling Hill Skills Park

5:15pm: Whip Off @ Sean’s Showdown

6:00pm: Kids Bike Limbo and Bunny Hop Contests - Trailside / Expo

6:30pm: Ghost Ride and Huffy Toss - Camp area

7:00pm: Adult Bike Limbo and Bunny Hop Contests - Trailside / Expo

7:30pm: Team Relay Race - Trailside / Expo

8:00pm: Live Music - Trailside / Expo

8:30pm: Bonfire

10:00pm Quiet Time - no loud music or generators

10:30pm Fire Out

SUNDAY 8/9:

6:00am-8:15am XC course available to pre-ride

7:30am-2:00pm Registration Open - Trailside / Expo

8:00am-5:00pm Expo & Vendor area open

8:30am: XC Race Wave 1, Novice Classes, 2 laps

10:00am-12:00pm: Vermont Adaptive Ride Lesson: Vermont Adaptive Ride Lesson Signup - meet at the Vermont Adaptive Tent!

10:30am: XC Race Wave 2, Sport Classes, 3 laps

12:30pm: XC Race Wave 3, Elite & Expert Classes, 4 laps

1:00pm-3:00pm: Vermont Adaptive Ride Lesson: Vermont Adaptive Ride Lesson Signup - meet at the Vermont Adaptive Tent!

3:00pm: XC Race Wave 4, E-Bike Classes, 3 laps

10:00pm Quiet Time - no loud music or generators

MONDAY 8/10:

3:00pm Camping closes

Lastly, we'll reiterate that this is a family friendly event. To that end, we have a simple code of conduct for participants young and old to adhere to. We thank you for being excellent to one another.

Kingdom Bike Fest Code of Conduct

• Respect everyone: riders, families, volunteers, neighbors

• Practice good sportsmanship, on the bike and off

• Per town ordinance no drugs or alcohol allowed in the venue or campground. By permit, alcohol IS allowed in clearly designated areas at Trailside Beer Garden and Wildflower Restaurant, Pub, & Beer Garden.

• Keep language and behavior family-friendly

• Care for the trails, the venue, and each other

We'll see you all at Kingdom Bike Fest!