Singletrack/MTB
Gravel/All-road
Dirt-road Touring
Fat-bike
A dark and sinister congratulations to Shane Kramer, the first person to return to the finish at the 2023 Markagram event in Vermont and the only rider to complete all five checkpoints of the pentagram-shaped course before dawn. Find details here…
Photos by Joe Cruz
At this year’s Markagram event in Vermont, nearly 30 riders tackled a course beginning in Poultney with roughly 150 miles and about 13,000 feet of climbing on a nefarious brew of gravel, backroads, and a dash of singletrack. Riders were charged with reaching five menacing checkpoints spread throughout the region in the shape of a pentagram. There were a few rules, but the most important was that participants had to leave at dusk and return to the center before dawn with their checkpoint cards stamped. Shane Kramer was the first rider back to base in Poultney and the only one to finish with all five stamps before sunrise. Only a handful of riders have finished Markagram in the event’s six-year history. Prior to this ride, 46-year-old Shane has completed the Adirondack Trail Ride, the Rockstar event in Virginia, and rode the Green Mountain Gravel Growler in a single day, which he admits, “defeats the purpose of that route, but I’ve been to all the breweries already, and it’s a great route!”
Markagram kicked off with an opening ritual at the Analog Cycles Sugar House, and as Shane summed up, “My favorite part of the event was just the whole vibe of the weekend. From fireside hangs before and after to the card selection ceremony. Such good people associated with the event and in the Poultney area.”
Shane loves underbiking, and his favorite part of the ride was the fact that it started with sending all riders into the Slate Valley trails for 2.5 miles of singletrack right off the bat. Shane rode a Santa Cruz Stigmata with WTB Resolute 42mm tires (Cushcore front and rear) and a 2x drivetrain with 46/33T rings up front and a 10-36T cassette. Despite this gravel bike setup, Shane’s favorite part of the course was descending off of Herrick Mountain. He attributes part of his success from having ridden Analog Cycles’ Gorey Hollows event the weekend prior, which used a few of the same tracks. “That little bit of insider knowledge really helped make the Markagram go super smoothly for me. I knew we were all fucked out there, and I just needed to accept it and keeping moving forward no matter what.”
Stay tuned for more coverage of Markagram 2023.
Further Reading
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