Pat Goulet tosses his bike sideways on Killington's well-known Cable Trail. Photo by Michael Buonocore. 

Getting to great mountain bike trails from Castleton is not a hard task; in fact there are many great trails to ride in town.

Castleton alumnus Nate Freund even took it upon himself to carve trails on his own property.

“I wasn’t using the land for anything,” said Freund.

Freund is a passionate mountain biker, a family man, and a co-owner of two very successful businesses. His first business, which he opened very soon after he graduated Castleton is the well known Sushi Yoshi restaurant, which has locations in Killington and Stowe, Vermont, and Lake George, New York.

“We like building the trails just as much as we like riding them,” Freund said.   

He does a lot of work on the trails himself with his mini CAT excavator, but when he needs extra help he calls up his friends who are also passionate mountain bikers.

Being married with two kids, riding in his back yard is also very convenient.

“It’s just easier,” Freund said. “I can run out of the house quickly and squeeze in a quick ride without having to drive to Rutland up to Killington.”

And his kids are also riders, so they love these trails in their back yard and it also makes bringing them out to ride much easier, he said.

  “Bringing the kids up to Killington to ride for a day is a big process, so having trails that they can ride in the back yard is really nice,” he said.

Current Castleton students like to get outside and ride their bikes too.

“A very important part of my day is getting outside, taking a break from school work, exercising, and breathing fresh air,” said senior Patrick Goulet. “It’s hard not to smile when going down a hill at high speeds on a bike.”

Goulet isn’t the only Castleton student who is in to mountain biking.

“I believe that the community of mountain bikers is what made me love the sport. The more time I spent out on the trails by my house, the more I wanted to be involved with the laid-back, yet fast-paced lifestyle that goes along with mountain biking. I have made my best friends while climbing grueling mountains and ripping down single track,” said senior Keara Kresser.

Kresser is a Vermont native from East Burke, and area known around the world for mountain biking. East Burke features a vast network of trails known as the Kingdom Trails. These trails have won many awards because of the high quality of riding they offer. Kresser works at Kingdom trails, serving many roles ranging from working in the welcome center to being an instructor at the kids’ camps.

For Castleton students, if they can get their hands on any sort of mountain bike, there are many trails in the surrounding area. Two trail centers close by are located at Pine Hill Park in the same parking lot as the Giorgetti Arena, and the Slate Valley Trails in Poultney.