Vermont Youth Cycling at Kingdom Trails Highlights 2022

It felt like fall in the morning and summer again by afternoon for the Vermont Youth Cycling Race at the Kingdom Trails on September 17, 2022.

The second of four events in the series gave riders a chance to challenge themselves over hilly terrain and longer courses than the first event at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center.

Vermont was in Show-off Mode!

If you’ve followed my work for a while, you already know that I LOVE Vermont, especially the landscape. It inspires me daily and gets incorporated into almost all of my photography. I love living near mountains that are big enough to challenge me but also small enough to be very attainable challenges. I love our green landscape and rolling hills. After living in Vermont for 19 years, I still love “discovering” new-to-me places.

Before I got down to the business of photographing racers, I flopped down in the grass to get some landscape images. The last of this summer’s clover was still flowering while the maples were just beginning to turn orange here and there.

The Vermont Youth Cycling Race at the Kingdom Trails included four different racing categories.

Vermont Youth Cycling offers four racing categories to accommodate racers from grade 5 through high school. The more advanced categories ride longer courses and riders are able to self-select which category will be right for them.

There are riders of varied experience levels at the races. Some riders are on new, top of the line bikes while others are on more entry-level bikes. I am especially excited to photograph the newer riders. I have such respect for riders out there trying something new. And, I can’t help wondering if (and hoping that) someday one of them will pull out one of my photos and say, “Remember when I was just starting! Look how far I’ve come! I’ve learned so much and gotten a lot faster.”

There was also chocolate at the Vermont Youth Cycling Race at the Kingdom Trails!

VTYC recognizes the top five male and female as well as non-binary riders in each category. Awards at the Kingdom Trails races were generously donated by Lake Champlain Chocolates.

Next to riding a bike and playing with my dog, eating dark chocolate is one of my favorite parts of most days. When I was racing, they never gave out chocolate as a prize so this is clear evidence to me that, at least in some ways, the world is a better place than when I was a kid!

It was fun to celebrate the top riders and see them celebrate each other. But, I hope that every rider who pushed themselves at their own edge had a chance to celebrate that accomplishment. It was a hilly course that challenged all the riders.

Photos from the Vermont Youth Cycling race at the Kingdom Trails are available for purchase.

Check out the full gallery and purchase prints or digital downloads. Through October 22, 2022 I am offering a $100 VTYC print credit when you book a family session.

I have donated a sub-set of the gallery from each race to Vermont Youth Cycling. They will use these images in the coming weeks and months to help promote future races and grow the sport. As a decades-long cyclist and endurance athlete, I am very excited to be giving back to the sport with my photography.

I am also offering prints and digital downloads for purchase to racers. Please note that all images are copyrighted. Screenshots are not permitted.