Greetings!

I hope this letter finds everyone well and excited about a NEW YEAR. It goes without saying that 2020 was rough on a lot of fronts. This is the first direct communication that I’ve made with the Vermont Overland community, and I want to personally thank you for staying positive, rolling with the punches, and keeping the stoke high for when we can all gather again. I’m excited to see where we can take Vermont Overland in the years to come.

As many of you will know, Peter Vollers, founder of Vermont Overland, has moved to New Mexico and passed the reins of VO to me, Ansel Dickey. You can’t put a price on good mentorship, and I would not be here today if it weren’t for Peter. I am thrilled and more motivated than ever to make Peter, VO, and the entire gravel cycling community proud, and I am excited about embarking on this wild ride together!

Holidays are meant to be spent with your family (though maybe not this year!) and not in your inbox reading emails. So, it’s my goal to keep this short, sweet, and to the point. Here’s all the latest crucial information you need to know regarding Vermont Overland in 2021:

REGISTRATION DAY FOR THE OVERLAND IS JAN 1st AT 10 AM!

• It’s always been that way, and it will always be that way! We’ve sold out the last 5 years and we’d like to keep that tradition rolling.

• If you already registered for The Overland, you’re good to go. Don’t register twice as BikeReg has no way of preventing that. You can check if you’re already registered here: https://www.bikereg.com/Confirmed/45033

• We are opening another 500 spots for The Overland. 250 of those spots are reserved for WOMEN. When it comes to equality in sport, it’s safe to say that cycling is pretty pathetic. Currently, of the 939 people already pre-registered for The Overland, only 157 of them are women. That’s a mere 16.4%. We can do better than that. As a first step towards creating equity, the price of entry for women will stay the same as last year’s first registration wave at $125, and it won’t increase. Social change requires effort and this is our first of many steps to get more women cyclists at The Overland. You can do your part by encouraging women you know to ride The Overland.

• The Overland will take place on August 29th, 2021, at Ascutney Outdoors.

• Given the amount of uncertainty in the air, we want to express our confidence in being able to host The Overland in late August of 2021. We will do everything in our power to host the best event possible, within the guidelines that are present at that future time.

• All further detailed information can be found on our website.

Stay tuned for more announcements, stay healthy, and don’t go gentle into that good night. Rage against the dying of the light.