Onion River Sports - Outdoor Gear & Apparel

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Miscellaneous

Thursday Night Mountain Bike Race Series at Millstone Hill

March 4, 2013

Eventbrite - Thursday Night Training Series at Millstone Hill

This summer, Onion River Sports, in partnership with Millstone Hill, will host a weekly race series on Thursday nights at 6:00 pm, starting June 20th and going through August 8th (See Schedule Below).

Racers of all ages and abilities are welcome to come compete on the multi-loop course that winds through the Barre Town Forest’s unique trail system comprised of roots, rocks, flowy singletrack and abandoned granite quarries.

Racers will have the option to do 1, 2, 3 or 4 laps, and there will be a kids loop as well. The race will use the same course each week so riders can track their progress over the course of the summer.

Overall series winners will receive schwag and ORS gift certificates based on placement and attendance points.

Race Schedule:

Thursday, June 20th 2013
Thursday June 27th 2013
Thursday , July 11th 2013
Thursday, July 18th 2013
Thursday, August 1st 2013
Thursday, August 8th 2013

Onion River Sports will supply a grill for a post-race BBQ and coolers with ice. Riders are encouraged to bring food and beverages to enjoy after the race.

Registration opens at 5:00 pm the day of the race.

$10 for adults

$8 for adult MAMBA members

$8 for kids 12 and under

$6 for MAMBA members under 12

New for 2013 is our “Season Pass.” Register on Eventbrite and get a season’s pass good at all 6 events ($60 total) for $50 and get yourself a free race! Plus you’ll get a cool, custom number plate with your name on it, and you’ll save yourself the hassle of having to register every week. Buy your “season pass” here.

Parking for the Millstone Mtn Bike Race is at the upper lot on Little John Rd (overflow below it) and reg/start/finish at the bottom of the field on Little John Rd.

All proceeds will benefit the Millstone Trails Association’s Capital Campaign for the  Barre Town Forest.

http://millstonetrails.com/barre-town-forest-proposal/capital-campaign/

Check back at www.onionriver.com shortly for race course details, directions and other updates.

For more information contact Matt at Onion River Sports, 802-229-9409 or events@onionriver.com.

Studded Mountain Bike Tires — an ORS DIY feature

December 5, 2012

Just in time for this year’s Frozen Onion Mountain Bike Race on January 6 – we’ve brought back Kip’s guide to studding your own tires:
With winter finally here…ummm…in spirit only, those of us who normally populate the backcountry glades of the Greens now find ourselves having to seek out alternative snow-sports. A moderately popular one: winter trail riding of the mountain bike variety. No, not all the usual summer trail systems are winter-riding friendly, but a number of them are, and some of our favorite summer trails that are often soggy, are now rock-hard, more durable and ride like a completely new trail!

Something you’ll also probably notice about this totally new riding experience: it’s slippery. Studded tires are a winter-biker’s gateway to safe, blissful trail-riding. While there’s little competition for the traction provided by a pair of Nokian WXC300 studded tires, they’re also well over $100…each. Tap into a little Vermont do-it-yourselfer ingenuity, however, and we can get out there on the trail with a pretty good alternative at a fraction of the cost.

To prepare for the seriously icy conditions I’ll encounter during our upcoming January Frozen Onion winter mountain bike race, I decided to stud up the front 29″ tire of my commuter 69er bike (26″ tire in the rear, 29″ tire in the front). This will give me better cornering and braking ability to go along with the traction provided by my Nokian W160 factory-studded rear tire.

My 69er steel Hardrock--a trusty friction 5-speed steed ready for action.

First off, I’d recommend taking a look at the amount of clearance your tire has so that the studs won’t make contact with your frame or fork. Since my bike is kind of jury-rigged (as they all are), I have very little clearance in the fork (the 29er tire is a custom addition to this bike; I had to keep the axle-to-crown height as low as possible so that the front end wouldn’t be “choppered-out” and adversely effect handling). The center knobs were out of the question, so I went with alternating middle knobs.

Tight clearance! Using the mid-center knobs gave me the most clearance and still provided adequate straight-on and cornering traction.

Mark the knobs you want to stud. I chose alternating knobs to save time. I'm also lazy. Nice, gentle pressure will get'er through.

Remove the tire from the rim, grab a drill, a small bit and we’re ready to make that tired, old tire an ice-shredding machine! Drill each knob you marked. Be careful not to drill into a part of your tire that gets folded underneath.

Nice, gentle pressure will do.

[read more…]

5th Annual Vermont Mountain Bike Festival

July 13, 2012

Looking for something exciting to do this weekend?  Make a trip over to Waterbury for the 5th Annual Vermont Mountain Bike Festival!

Saturday July 14 and Sunday July 15

Rides, clinics, BBQ, music, raffle, what more can you ask for?!  Organized rides leave every half hour in the mornings to local trails, including Kids rides organized by Wheels Around Waterbury.

Registration starts TODAY, Friday July 13, from 3:00-7:00 pm, and re-opens Saturday morning at 8:00.  General admission is $60 and includes guided rides on both days, a schwag bag, a ticket to the BBQ on Saturday night and the evening entertainment.  Children under 10 are $35.00.

So head to downtown Waterbury for some fun rides, good food, excellent music, and a chance to rock out with the wonderful Vermont Mountain Biking Community!

2012 Cliffhanger Uphill Sprint Race: Photos and Results

May 21, 2012

Thanks to all who came out and rode, ran, volunteered, cheered, and in any way supported the event!  A good time was had by all.

Check out this Video of Bill Merrylees as he rocks the Unicycle!!

The final show-down… Runners vs. Riders (Video)

Results:
Cliffhanger Bike Results -

Men Top 4
1 Kip Roberts
2 Kevin Devino
3 Josh Saxe
4 Vincent Scalia

Women
1 Heather Voisin

Cliffhanger Unicycle
1 Bill Merrylees

Cliffhanger Run Results -

Men Top 4
1 Eric Morse
2 Tom Thurston
3 Ray Webster
4 Jon Copans

Women
1 Christsonthy Drellos – ORS

Run vs. Bike Results
1 Eric Morse
2 Kip Roberts
3 Tom Thurston
4 Ray Webster
5 Kevin Devino
6 Jon Copans
7 Josh Saxe
8 Vincent Scalia

[read more…]

Bike Swap May 5th!

April 30, 2012

Bicycle Drop Off Hours:

Monday-Thursday: 9-6

Friday: 9-8

Weekly Rides at ORS

April 27, 2012

All rides are free, anyone under 15 must be accompanied by an adult and anyone under 18 must have a signed parental permission form.  Please come in proper physical condition to ride depending on the ride, bring water and a snack, and dress appropriately for the conditions.  All riders must wear helmets.

MONDAY NIGHT: ORS Cyclocross Cruise, 6pm.  (Starts Monday, April 9th) Check out a new part of Central Vermont’s uniquely beautiful dirt road network each week!  Rides will leave shortly after 6:00 pm from the Onion River Sports parking lot (Montpelier) for a roughly 1-2 hour cyclocross ride. Ride pace will be fun and moderately casual, but the terrain around Montpelier certainly has its share of elevation change! We’ll gain heights of land, descend, and then do it again! [read more…]

Friday Night Fix

April 22, 2012

Come to a Friday Night Fix Clinic specifically for Bicycle Commuters!

Have you ever thought about getting into riding your bike to work or school but just didn’t know where to start? Or are you an experienced commuter looking to get some new and different tips from another perspective?
Our own commuting expert, Aaron Bilsing, will host this workshop covering everything you need to know about riding your bike to work including choosing a bike, gear for all seasons, navigating traffic, basic commuting maintenance, what to wear (or not wear) and more.

All clinics are FREE and take place at Onion River Sports in Montpelier, 6:00pm- 7:00 pm.

Additional clinics on August 17 and 31 will focus on the gear needed for mountain or road-specific adventures! Is that repair kit really necessary? How about the pump or headlamp? Come find out!

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