The leaves are changing and the crisp mornings have arrived here in Vermont. I never think when we are in the heart of summer that I will be ready for the winter. Funny saying that coming from a woman who loves snow and moved back to Vermont to be in it. Summers are special in Vermont. We missed a lot of it with our road trip this year but we still got lots of good river dips, farmers markets, trail runs and gravel rides. With fall colors on their way, Vermont is about to shine. And….now I’m ready for the snow to fly. We have been talking a lot with our daughter if we will alpine ski or Nordic ski more this year (the answer is nordic skiing!).

We are in planning mode for 2024 right now and we have lots of exciting things to look forward to. In looking forward we are reflecting on the things we learned this summer. Lots of friends, family and advisors are asking us if our Big Bivo Road Trip was successful and what we learned from our time away. Short answer – it was amazing! We got to meet so many of you – for many of you, it was the first time you had heard of Bivo. We heard details of adventures you went on, post-race stories that always bring smiles to faces, why you love to ride bikes and why cold water on bikes is a game changer for you! 

While I have never raced bikes myself, I admittedly come at the bike market with a rather intense performance eye. I also look back on my time of being an athlete and now my time of being a mother to young kids just getting into sport with a huge importance on fun. We say #fuelmorefun for a very distinct reason – we believe that when you’re having fun, whether that is in day to day life, on the bike, on the ski trail or in your office, you will be better and happier.

I ski raced at the University of Vermont (UVM) and for many years, there has been a fall running time trial up a road called Honey Hollow. I don’t remember the exact mileage or vert, but it was steep and 13 minutes (ish). It’s up a road that gets closed down in the winter and at the top, there is a clearing with a house that overlooks the surrounding mountains. I took Robby (my husband and co-founder) up that route when we first moved back to Vermont and I was absolutely STUNNED at how beautiful it was. I had zero recollection of it being a beautiful spot. I have a lot of recollection of how hard it was, and the time with my friends after we were done. A couple weeks ago, I went out for a run through Richmond and the UVM ski team was sitting having bagels in the town green. Their faces were flushed and I could tell they tired. Turns out, they had just finished Honey Hollow and were refueling before heading back to UVM. Pat, the coach, called me over and asked me to give them advice about Honey Hollow. I have been thinking about that question a lot lately. I LOVED being on the UVM team. We had so many fun times and worked really hard as a team. Now, when I exercise, I see everything through a different lens. I realize how important having fun is –  I knew it then too, I now just see an even greater importance and think it needs to be talked about more. So, my advice is to keep having fun. That’s my takeaway from our summer road trip as well – let’s just have fun on bikes. That can mean a different thing for everyone. For some, that might be pushing the limits and racing a 6 day crazy stage mountain bike event (hello Breck Epic!). For others, it’s setting out to ride from town to town with some slip and sliding and pancake eating along the way (hello RAGBRAI!). Both are amazing, and I’m happy to be part of it all!

Cheers,

Carina

Having fun on bikes and exploring the outdoors of Montana, Colorado and Vermont 🌿☘️🍀