The first fifty miles are never the easiest. Day one of EMS’s Vermont bikepacking expedition is complete after a delicious dinner and a couple brews at the von Trapp Brewery and Bierhall. Today by the numbers:
- 2 Breweries
- 50.2 miles
- 4,035 feet of gain
- 6 Little Free Libraries
- 0 Breakdowns (Mental or Mechanical)

As a team we decided we would each share our “rose, bud, thorn” for each day of the trip. Those represent a highlight from the day, something we’re looking forward to, and a lowlight. I’ll go first:
Ryan
Rose: “We passed six different Little Free Libraries today—something I can’t ever pass up. What gems.”
Bud: “Is it too early to look forward to food? Breakfast tomorrow somewhere in Stowe.”
Thorn: “My butt callouses have yet to fully develop.”
Lauren
Rose: “I think the mood of the group throughout the entire day was great, even on the hills.”
Bud: “I’m excited to sleep without the raccoons that we had harassing us last night in Burlington.”
Thorn: “My bike shorts…Just that they exist and I have to wear them every day.”

Ellen
Rose: “We loved getting to learn about the brewing process with Sam at the Von Trapp Bierhall.”
Bud: “Getting to know this group better.”
Thorn: “The hills getting to the aforementioned brewery.”
Mike
Rose: “The beautiful, bucolic Vermont gravel roads.”
Bud: “The bud is hard because I literally don’t know what I’m doing tomorrow.”
Thorn: “I was disappointed at how aggressively I sweat on the hills.”
Tomorrow is a big one. Stay tuned.


Ryan Wichelns
Ryan was goEast's only editor from it's launch in 2016 until 2023. Now, he's the founding editor of Trails Magazine, the only print publication for backpackers and people who sleep in the dirt. When he's not worthsmithing, he's skiing, hiking, mountain biking, trail running or more in Colorado's San Juan Mountains and beyond.
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