On Wednesday evenings throughout the summer and fall, a line of cyclists have gathered outside Little Seed Coffee Roasters on Merchants Row to embark on a bike ride. At 6 p.m., the group starts their ride together, cruising along backroads and quiet trails for what has quickly become one of the town’s most popular activities.
The Middlebury Slow Rollers Social Rides is a chapter of the larger Slow Riders Vermont, a casual cycling group open to all riders of all ages and abilities. The Middlebury chapter launched earlier this year on June 4, and is led by Little Seed co-owner Anthony Gerakos and Lauren Ogden.
Along the way, participants turn the rides into mini-adventures. They’ve stopped for creemees, listened to live blues music at Ralph Myhre Golf Course and visited St. Mary’s Cemetery to see the Egyptian mummy Amun-Her-Khepesh-Et, originally brought to Middlebury in 1886 by Henry Sheldon. After one of their longest rides, roughly 15 miles, the group cooled off with a swim at the Middlebury Gorge.
“We try to discover places around Middlebury that are like little shortcuts or roads that have been closed down, that we can still ride on,” Ogden said.
The idea to start a Middlebury chapter originated after Analog Cycles co-owner and Poultney Slow Rollers founder James Johnson reached out to both Gerakos and Ogden, inquiring if they would be interested in starting a club in Middlebury.
Ogden was excited about the idea and said she wanted a biking space that offered connection as much as exercise.
“Something I felt was missing in my life was doing social bike rides,” Ogden said in an interview with The Campus. “[The bike shop] in town has rides, but they are fast-paced and they’re mostly on pavement, so it’s been fun to do slower, social rides.”
Gerakos said that the group is structured to support all cycling ability levels.
“The whole concept is that it’s a no drop ride, to take things fairly slowly,” Gerakos said. “We walk up steep hills and if anyone is having issues we wait up.”
Routes vary weekly and rely largely on back roads and trails to avoid busy highways like Route 7 and Route 30. Riders rotate leading the route, and the group encourages anyone interested to volunteer to lead future rides.
Community partnerships have also grown alongside the group’s popularity. Morgan Horse Farm in Weybridge, Vt. mowed their property so that the group would have a safe path to bike. Lincoln Peak Vineyard in New Haven, Vt. extended their hours for the Slow Rollers to have a drink or two after one of their rides.
The group promote their rides through Instagram (@slowrollersmiddlebury), Front Porch Forum and flyers. Attendance has grown steadily since the summer, with cyclists ranging from toddlers to riders in their 70s — many joining from Rutland, Bristol and even out-of-state visitors.
The group has three rides left this year and expect to resume in April, when they hope to get more students and community members involved then.
“I think with year two, we will see a lot more fanfare around it…That’s the goal, to make it a little bit bigger than us,” Gerakos said.
Editor’s Note: Managing Editor Mandy Berghela ’26 contributed reporting to this article.
