OK, some quick thoughts on Rasputitsa and Muddy Onion this year:
Rasputitsa - Rasputitsa (course here) moved back to Jay this year, close to the Canadian border and was a blast. It started off in epic Rasputista fashion, at like 32F with a major (but thankfully brief) snow squall right at the start that led into a few sections of impassable mud. After that, things lightened up and it was quite fun, with a large (1500ish feet) towards the end. The geography itself was pretty unusual for Vermont since it hits where the Green Mountains transitions into the plains of Southern Quebec, so it was a lot of fairly flat, rolling roads in the northern half the route.
Muddy Onion - Muddy Onion (course here) this year was a freaking gem. It was just about a perfect New England spring day: started off at 32F, then climbed up to the mid-60’s by the end. A few clouds here and there, but it was mostly blue sky above the trees. The ride’s put on by Onion River Sports in Montpelier, and the owner put together a fantastic route. I’m partial to Muddy Onion in general because it literally goes past my doorstep in the first 5 miles, but he picked a super interesting route this year that went farther north and east than usual, and made me realize how much of a rut I’ve apparently been stuck in route-wise.
The Woodbury and Cabot sections especially were fantastic: perfect, super low-traffic gravel roads through rolling farmland that were just a roller coaster of ups and downs, especially a long section along the ridgeline in Cabot (I think part of the Cabot Ride the Ridges route. The link has some great drone footage of a rider so you can see the landscape).
I didn’t stop to get any pictures, but this is probably the most important one. There were maybe 3 miles of flat, most of it at the end, so the roads were always twisting and turning up and down, and the whole ride was super engaging.
The ride itself was run super well, the aid stations were well-stocked with food, drink, and volunteers. It just felt like kind of a perfect day on the bike. Plus, Montpelier needs the traffic post-flood! The town’s still rebuilding, and Onion River’s in a new space after their old one was under four feet of water last July. That said, the new space is great, so it’s better off for the move.
bet it’ll be fun to watch though.