April 2nd, 2011

The trip from Wisconsin to Vermont was swift and uneventful.  It’s pretty cool to still be able to pack all of my belongings (including two bikes and a lot of skis) into a Volkswagon and point it East.  The journey took me through Madison to drop some things off at the CXC office with Yuriy and bid adieu to the old CXC Team van, which is also getting replaced.

The drive through Chicago was pleasant for the first time I can remember (though I wish I could’ve taken the Lake Express instead!).  The traffic rolled smoothly and other than getting (quite literally) nickel and dimed at the tolls, the drive went smooth.

The biggest excitement along the way was seeing signs for Middlebury about 1000 miles earlier than I had anticipated!

And we all know that Bristol, my final destination, is only about 14 miles north of Midd. . .

Unfortunately, Bristol, Indiana is still a long way from Bristol, Vermont (and even further from Bristol, Tennessee).

I made a pit stop in Cleveland, Ohio and met up with the Hilltoppers XC — the youth division of Ohio Nordic.  They are one of the most enthusiastic clubs I’ve come across, especially considering they are the only Nordic club within a couple of states.  This was my third visit to Ohio Nordic and they keep bringing new skiers on board.  It was about 60 degrees and sunny during my visit and not a flake of snow in sight, but we had fun talking skiing and checking out slides from life on the road.  I’m already looking forward to my next visit when we can actually get out on skis or roller skis.

Ohio Nordic

I finally made it out to Vermont after two full days on the road. . .and that’s when the real adventures started.

I’ve let the suspense build here at garrottkuzzy.com for long enough.  In case you haven’t heard already, I recently took a job in Bristol, Vermont with VBT Bicycling and Walking Vacations.  For some reason, I must really be attracted to companies with acronyms.  After five years of explaining, people were finally becoming familiar with the acronym “CXC.”  Now I’m explaining the acronym VBT instead.  (VBT originally stood for Vermont Bike Tours, but the company has since expanded to bicycling and walking tours around the world).  The new job started yesterday on April 1 (no fooling!).

The past couple of weeks since my trip to Switzerland have been spent packing and moving from Hayward to Vermont.  It’s great to finally get settled with a day at work under my belt.  The job with VBT is a year-round administrative position in Leader Operations, helping to ensure that all of VBT’s trip leaders are equipped to run the best trips possible.  I’ll be learning a lot more about the company and the job in the coming weeks and months, but so far my experience has been very positive.

The decision to make the transition from full-time ski racer to an office job wasn’t easy.  However, the opportunity to move back to Vermont and work in the bike and tourism industry was simply too good to pass up.  My past five years in Hayward with the CXC Team have been awesome.  It’s been exciting to actively participate and witness first-hand the growth of CXC Skiing and the excitement for skiing in the Midwest.  The people I’ve met and worked with have been awesome.  There are countless people who have helped me along the way.  Specifically: Yuriy Gusev, Director of CXC, was instrumental in building the team and making everything happen behind the scenes.  Bryan Fish, my coach for four years, taught and demonstrated what it means to truly work hard and innovate with complete focus.  Fish provided every possible opportunity to take skiing as far as I possibly could and have a lot of fun along the way.  Scott and Kay Wilson opened their doors to me and my teammates at Cresthill Resort where I lived for the past five years and provided the ideal training location in the woods of Northern Wisconsin.  A big thanks to Yuriy, Bryan, Scott and Kay, among countless others, for their dedication and support of my endeavors!

The previous paragraph might read like I’m hanging up my skis for good.  On the contrary; I’m thrilled to continue skiing, running, biking, and about a hundred other activities (like weekly yoga classes for VBT employees) while I’m here in Vermont.  My roommates out here coach some of the local ski teams and clubs and I’m looking forward to helping them as well.  Who knows what else will be in store.  For now, it’s time to move forward.

What will become of g-kuz.com you ask?  Well, it’s called “garrottkuzzy.com,” not “garrottskis” or anything else to that tune, so I look forward to continuing to share my photos, stories, and thoughts.  My contact info will all continue to stay the same.  As always, don’t hesitate to send on your thoughts, questions, and ideas.  Stay tuned!