How do we go about sharing this news… with bittersweet excitement, our beloved Trail Manager, Eric Winter has come to a very difficult decision to resign from FOTW and pursue a career in a different field.
This is without a doubt, a huge loss for FOTW. Eric has been part of an enormous growth of mountain biking and trail development in Vermont. He has labored on the trail crew for 10+ years (although we are always trying to pinpoint exactly how many years it has been).
Eric has been a phenomenal resource. For years as a crew member he learned organizational knowledge. As a trail manager he adopted new methods and mastered skills. He led trail work days with community volunteers and mentored incoming staff trail crew staff. Beyond Eric’s hard skills are a set of values and integrity that have elevated FOTW’s trails and built a stronger trail community.
When Eric joined FOTW, a trail building career was a bit of a novelty. Over the past decade it has evolved to an incredibly high level position. Eric has been a part of that journey and his impact feels overwhelming to put into words.
If we could try to draw a comparison to our readers, think of the emotional connection we have to our trails. Maybe you have a favorite trail you use every day. Maybe you joined a trail day and helped move some lumber. Maybe you cleared a down branch one time. Maybe you have finally conquered a specific trail feature after countless attempts. These experiences can create intense bonds with our beloved trails. We never look at them the same way. Our staff at FOTW deeply understands the bonds our community establishes with trails. For this reason, we spend more time and energy than you may know into how we maintain our trails. For Eric, there are 100+ miles of FOTW trails, with over 2000+ days spent on those trails, with over 15,000+ hours spent working on those trails and countless interactions with our daily community of users. This has established an incredible emotional bond with our trails and community. Every root and rock has a story to tell.
In his own words:
“Making the decision to leave this organization has been far more difficult than accepting the new role. I’ve got to say, walking out for the day felt different and emotional knowing that those days are numbered. I’m happy to spend these last weeks on trails that people have loved to death and just need some TLC.
Thank you for the opportunities to spend the last decade contributing to work I genuinely believe matters. I hope to stay connected, and I look forward to seeing the organization continue to grow and succeed in the years ahead.” – Eric Winter