Kyle and Whitney went on a bike tour from the Burg to Canaan Valley West Virginia.
Alright so the first day was a little too big. Turns out Long Run road takes FOREVER to climb with a mountain bike and a B.O.B. trailer. Especially if it rains. But it sure is beautiful up there. 8,000 feet of climbing over 60 some miles is very slow. How slow? Well we left Harrisonburg at about 9am and arrived at Big Bend Campground in Smokehold Canyon at 8pm. That was with fairly steady riding and some ripping dirt descending down Rough Run in West Virginia. You can see the entire route of our first day on Map my Ride.
Neat feature on Map my Ride that shows you how the percent grade for different sections in the route. Sipple Mountain road is gorgeous with a view of Spruce Knob, North Fork Mountain and into the Dolly Sods. But, it was a bit painful after already climbing Shenandoah Mountain
Long Run Road is a special place and a gateway into the Northwest corner of Rockingham County's "Bermuda Triangle" of Forest Roads. Take a bike up there someday if you get a chance. Although the views are much much better before the leaves come out.
Big Bend Campground was spectacular. Nestled against the mountain and nearly surrounded by the Potomac River. Whitney wasn't too happy when a bird decided to relieve itself on our food prep table. Fortunately the splatter didn't make it into dinner, only onto the handle of the knife, or at least that is what we told each other.
Upon arriving at Big Bend Campground I opened my B.O.B. bag to find a very heavy and mostly metal DVD drive from a personal computer about a decade old. It was then I realized why the climb up Long Run rd was so hard. Kurt Rosenberger had sabotaged me and unbeknownst to me placed this in my bag to weigh me down for the tour.
Where is Sipple Mountain Road. Lived in Smoke Hole for four years and always thought the Sipples lived on Cave and Middle Mountains. Is there a ride into and through the canyon that doesn't cross private land, aside from Smoke Hole Road? Regardless, would love to hear about the rest of your awesome effort... kudos!
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