Louis Arevalo rides his adaptive mountain bike through the trails at Randolph Town Forest during an adaptive assessment on Thursday, June 25.Nick Bennette, with the Vermont Mountain Bike Association, rides behind.
Zoe McDonald/Vermont Public hide caption Mountain bike enthusiasts have been working for years on an ambitious 485-mile, multi-use trail called The Velomont that will span the length of the state.When finished, the collaborative project will knit together existing trail networks, connect 27 communities and include huts and hostels for overnight stays.New trail construction is finally ramping up after years spent on permits, plans and public input.And organizers say they want to make it as user-friendly as possible."For us, it's not a huge lift to just be mindful when we're trying to build trail or improve trail to think about the adaptive rider," said Angus McCusker, the Velomont trail director with the nonprofit Vermont Huts and Trails.McCusker is referring to the growing number of disabled athletes who mountain bike with specially designed equipment."The challenge," said McCusker, "is we're connecting to existing trail networks that were never intended for adaptive bikes.
So, where we can, we're trying to do adaptive assessments." Louis Arevalo, left, straps into his adaptive mountain bike and chats with Jeff Dickson of the Vermont Mountain Bike Association, Angus McCusker with Vermont Huts and Trails, and volunteer Thatcher Hinman (all from left) ahead of a trail accessibility assessment in Randolph, Vermont, on Thursday, June 25, 2026.Zoe McDonald/Vermont Public hide caption Louis Arevalo of Essex Junction is one of several adaptive athletes helping with that, most recently on some slightly...