Dennyland

I rode a borrowed bicycle at Dennyland yesterday. This maze of trails is located in the Mad River valley in Vermont. Like so many of the east coast, mtbr.com, playground type trails, they go nowhere (from what I could tell). They are just a series of small loops and interesting trail sections that are a real challenge to clean. A local named Scotty showed me around and around and around. If you like steep, rooty, twisty, granny gear trials type stuff with moss covered green granite rocks, this is the place. Dennyland reminds me of the trails I use to ride in Florida, with granite ledges and outcrops replacing limestone pits. If you focus on trying to clean the sections without dabbbing or falling over it is pretty fun. It's just not my kind of fun anymore. I really like going from point A to point B. The mountain west will do that to you.

There is one thing about Vermont. It is probably the last place without comercial development in its towns. No McDs, KFC, or Home Despot in any of the little towns. No trophy houses on the ridgelines. No subdivisions in all the farm fields. Yet. The people here seem to do a fantastic job of preserving what they have. Finally, someone has realized that short term service economy type gains are not as important as long term preservation of small town life and rural open space. Hats off.