Harrisonburg to West Virginia's Smoke Hole Canyon Kyle and Whitney Bike Tour Day 1

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. 

Rambling Round: Day 1

Recently I found myself with a handful of days in a row off from work and without any other pressing obligations. Seemed like a good time to go out into the world and see what the lines on the maps looked like in person. On this trip, I had decided to take the most back road routes that I could find. I would be untied to any certain plan. I took my camping equipment and three days worth of food. If there were no stores, than no problem. My route took me through mostly National Forest, finding places to sleep would be fine.

My first stop for the day was Braley's Pond. I had never been here before but know the name from the acai bowl at Pulp. Thought it would be nice to see the namesake. This is also where I found out that my camera battery was almost dead. I turned it on to take this picture and the little "low battery" light was blinking at me warning me that the amount of photo documentation of this trip would be limited. The idea that every picture I took would have to count occurred to me, and reminded me of a time when all I used was film. Remember film? 

Any how, this is somewhere along the Bull Pasture River. It is just outside of Williamsville. I was following the route that I had chosen, when I looked at the map and saw that there was another option that followed the river through a gorge and was only a little bit longer. After riding for about a half hour, a fork in the road appeared that was not on the map. I looked at the map, then the road, then the map again and came to the conclusion that indeed,this road does not exist on the map being followed. It is however very real. Real pretty. I felt like I had gone through some kind of time warp when finally I popped out at an intersection that only had three lines on paper and four in front of me. "Where the hell had I just been?" I asked no one. Luckily a fella in a pickup truck, sensed my confusion and said "Oh yeah, your right here." and pointed to the spot where I knew I was, but still had no idea how I got there. He asked where I was going and gave me  "The Look of Concern". You may be familiar with The Look, maybe not, but if you keep riding bikes and ask for directions from someone in an automobile, you are bound to see it eventually. They think you're crazy. Which I guess is fair, I was starting to feel a little crazy every time I looked at the map and couldn't find the road I was clearly on. Moving on, he pointed me in the direction I needed to go and a pedaled away.

Now, my hope for the day was to get to Lake Moo Maw to sleep. It is a beautiful ride and would recommend it to any one with some time on their hands. I didn't take anymore pictures this day, if I stopped to capture the magnitude of wonders that are in the world I wouldn't ever get anywhere. I will say though that when I got to the lake, I was greeted by a very friendly stranger named Skip. Skip was part of large group of people enjoying an annual Father's Day camp out. They invited me to hangout out at the fire with them which I did. While I made my dinner, a dozen or so children ran around playing tag in the twilight. Eight fathers hung out, smoking cigars and talking. Before I left for bed I saw Skip breath fire. The perfectly bizarre end of day one. 

Solstice soirée

No better way to celebrate the Solstice than a long day on the bike in the national forest. There was Blake and Chase from C-ville and JV Squad team riders, Paul Johnston repping for the SBC Pulp team, Dave O'Neil for the Team Radical Roots, Collin Watters back from the left coast, Sam skids, David Lee, Nate, and Collin on team 650b.  Leaving from the Stokesville Lodge and Campground towards Hankey Mountain, Dowels, down the magic moss connector to the fairy fall line , to camp todd to rest on little bald, and the Chestnut Ridge to grindstone and back to the stokesville lodge for a much deserved dip in the swimming hole. A proper way to enjoy one of the longest days of the year. The days are only getting shorter so make sure you get out and enjoy them by bike!

Don't forget the "Classics" or we will lose a piece of History!

As the sun came up Thursday morning three of us ( Tom C, Vince & I) went up to Hone Quarry Ridge to do some Tour de Burg Scouting. Hone Quarry Ridge, otherwise known as "Blood Ridge" after this morning, has been used for many great riding events.  These events have destroyed most of the canopy for the trail creating spring growth that is like no other.

 The greatest Tours have used this ridge and the Heart Break Trail for final deciding stages.  1997 Jeremy Wimpey and Any Kott stood on this ridge prior to descending the Big Hollow Trail on their way to Six Pack Invitational victory.  Hone Quarry also has a checkered past including the evil National Forest bull dozer event of 1998, where the Ridge and Big Hollow were leveled,  and the Gypsy Mouth infestation of the early 2000's.

SVBC will cut open this ridge for the 2014 Tour de Burg, if you don't ride it during the Tour make sure your venture onto this piece of Harrisonburg mountain bike history.....We can not forget the classic rides or the history that goes with these the trails.

-Thomas

Canaan Mountain Bike Festival This Weekend!

If you don't already have plans this weekend, be sure to venture into the Wild & Wonderful for a fun singletrack celebration at the Canaan Valley Mountain Bike Festival in Davis, WV.  
There's a women's ride with Susan Haywood, trail work with Tucker County Trails, a film festival by Adventure Seen and a Bike Hash on Sunday.  Guaranteed time well spent.

The great Allegheny Passage Trail

Took a four day bike tour along the great Allegheny passage trail last week with the Franko clan plus Work from the blue Nile, We spent four days touring along the canals admiring all the locks and wildlife. Our totem animal for the trip was this steady creature.

Young Vera decided on day one that she would be the baby in the bag

When she would tire she would pass a few miles in the trailer. 

Lots of history along the route and many admirable feats of engineering

The few tunnels we navigated extended over half a mile and did a number on your perspective.

Lots of good camping spots along our run from Hancock heading towards Pittsburgh

Tibbet Knob

Just south of the Wolf Gap area is one of the more scenic and technically challenging sections of great North Mountain. The rock fields seem to go on endlessly, and provide many humbling moments. In between you'll find large open fields on top of the ridge filled with acres of mint bushes and Fern patches. 

Young Collin made the executive decision to go down the wrong downhill.

Providing some amazingly steep and tight switchbacks followed by a fore arm pumping high speed gutter lined with randomly placed log and rock water bars. 

Another beatiful Friday fatty complete with funhogs, food, and refreshments. Weather  at the high point was enough to hide behind rocks for. 

Trek Fuel EX is now availalbe in a 27.5" Wheel

With the exploding popularity of the 27.5" wheel size, Trek is introducing a full 27.5 Fuel EX lineup to complement its bigger wheel sibling, the Fuel EX 29. We have seen a great response over the past year with the confident riding bigger wheeled Fuel EX 29. For trail riders seeking a more playful ride, Trek introduces the Fuel EX 27.5. It's loaded with all the same features – ABP, DRCV, Full Floater and EVO Link - that have made the Fuel EX such a well-reviewed and much beloved bike.

For the Fuel EX 27.5, Trek has once again broken new ground in mountain bike suspension technology with the unveiling of RE:aktiv. Born of a partnership among Trek, FOX and Penske Racing Shocks, RE:aktiv is a damping technology that delivers on the promise of uncompromising control over both small bumps and large obstacles with the ability to handle both instantaneously.

Penske Racing Shocks supplies custom suspension solutions to the world's top automotive race teams. The most popular suspension provider among Formula 1 teams, Penske focuses solely on providing the world's fastest drivers with custom suspension solutions when they're not working on redefining mountain bike suspension with Trek. With the Penske and Trek development teams working towards a better suspension design, FOX was brought in for their bike and manufacturing expertise. The result is a shock that delivers a new level of control that's unlike anything else currently available.

Big Weekends Make Better Slummers

I'm a fan of big ride weekends, and PTD (post-tour-depression) after the four day long Giro d' Ville a few weeks ago urged me to slum hard again this past weekend.

SVBC Time Trial Thursday - I was the only woman to show, but had a great time competing with the boys. The trial was on Buffalo Drive along Interstate 81. Very windy and a lot more climbing than I remembered! It was only about 20 minutes of my hardest effort, but definitely tiring.

The turn-around at the end of Buffalo Drive during the SVBC Time Trial.

Friday Fatty Group Ride - If you haven't joined us on the Fatty group ride, you're missing out. We leave SBC at 3:00 pm on Friday afternoons for a 3-5 hour party pace ride. Nobody gets dropped, everybody has fun. We went to Massanutten to pre-ride some of the Enduro and Hoo-Ha courses last week. SBC's computer guru Peter showed us all up on some rock-tech with his trials moves, and we got to hang out with Sue Haywood at the top of Kaylor's Knob.

SMT Enduro Saturday - My first Enduro experience solidified my want of a baggy-short, POC helmet, six-inch travel lifestyle. I got to race with some fast ladies, and experiment with a new type of bike racing. Being used to longer, endurance-testing races made it hard to adapt to immediate out-of-the-gate sprinting for multiple stages all under 30 minutes. I wrecked quite a few times, mostly due to my poor containment of nerves and not being mean enough to the guys in front of me that I needed to pass. The scrapes, bruises, and having to kick it up hills and on flats left me increasingly exhausted and worthless towards the end of the day. I channeled my father's stubborn rage and the motto "if you're not pedaling, you're not winning" into my runs, and managed second place to Sue Haywood.

The Women's podium.

Ellen Kasiske, 3rd place, moving too fast for the camera!

Massanutten Hoo Ha XC Race Sunday - Tired legs, arms, back, etc. after the Enduro the day before depleted my motivation and excitement for the XC race at the Hoo Ha greatly. Pedaling around before the start was a chore, and I was intimidated by the number of women in my category. On the start line, my nerves picked up and the caffeine gel I choked down a few minutes earlier started kicking in. I was able to keep the fast ladies in sight during the two mile prologue, and keep a steady pace throughout the first lap. I was able to ride with a lot of people in the Sport category, who only had to ride one race lap, which was fun and motivating to keep up the pace. The second lap, however, was lonely and soul-crushing. Two ladies in my category caught me towards the top of the climbing section, which boosted my mental game and motivated me enough to hold them off through the technical and downhill sections. I finished fourth in the Pro/Expert category, which I am extremely happy with after such a huge weekend and being so exhausted before the start.

The start line for the Women's Pro/Expert category.

Women's Pro/XC podium.

Kelly Paduch ripping it on the berms.

Susie coming in hot.

My favorite kinds of weekends are the ones that remind you of how brutal they were for the entire next week. Three days later and I'm still fatigued! Can't wait for the next weekend of super slum.

Do you ride Hillandale??? The show your LOVE!

Do you ride Hillandale? Then show your LOVE this Saturday!

 It is amazing what rain, sun and warmth can make grow.  This time of year you see it in your yard....anything green is growing!  It is no different at our of our favorite local playground, the Rocktown Trails in Hillandale Park. This Saturday, June 14th, SVBC  will hold it bi-annual cut back of the trails and they need help. The crews will be out on the trails from 8am -1pm this Saturday June 14th. If 40 folks did a 1-2 hour shift then we can have all 5 miles brushed! If not we continue to have overgrown trails! Fill in a time shift on the Doodle doc to help make planning easier. Some of the SBC crew will be out there to help with the mission!

Post-Work Jawbone Ride

Off work at 4:00, on bikes at 6:00. Hit Jawbone, a Massanutten trail, after work on Saturday. Lots of rock moves, only one broken derailleur!

Trail side bike maitenance at 8:10 pm... We made it out in time to not get darked on!

David showed us up on all the ledges/drops.

Erik putting the hardtail to the test.

Salsa Demo Day and the New Salsa Split Pivot Bicycles

Salsa Cycles Demo Day at Massanutten

Salsa made some really really BIG and awesome changes to their full suspension bikes for 2014. With a completely redesigned suspension system termed "split-pivot" borrowing from the ever-popular DW-Link found on the Turner and Ibis Bicycles, the new Spearfish and Horsethief ride like completely different bikes than then prior models. With some of the shortest chainstays of any 29er on the market, these two bikes rode nimble and quick. Be sure to checkout all the details on the Split Pivot System by watching this captivating video below.

Bicycle Campout 2.0

This past weekend saw yet another crew of  folks head out into the world on bikes with the plan to not come back for 24 hours. We did it. This was the second trip that was planned, with more in the works.

Here's the low down on what happened this time.

Everyone met up at the shop on Saturday afternoon around 1pm. There was a round of introductions, lots of new faces on this trip, as well as some old. We made sure that everybody had a good way to get their gear out to the camping area. We ended up loaning out three BOB trailers and one bike to make sure everyone could come play. So, next time if you're thinking you would want to come, but don't have the gear, know this: all you need is the will, we will find a way.

The riding was easy going. We all stuck together and got to know each other. There were some teaching moments also. By the end of the ride out people were stalking wild asparagus with ferocity. We stuck to the back roads as much as possible. So much so, that much to my pleasure, John Gehman, who has been riding bikes around here for 30+ years, touched a new road. 

Food was shared during the rest break. That was part of the theme of this ride. It was a bit of a potluck. Everyone brought their own food, but brought enough to share. There was SO MUCH. 

The final push up to the Stokesville Campground. Thomas rode not only with all of his camping gear, but also with his son, Ethan. Which produced great quotes such as "I'm just standing on the pedals." as we pushed up the broken pavement on one of the steepest sections of the ride. The force is clearly strong in this one.

"Ethan, what's the next turn?"

Upon arrival, everyone set up camp, hammocks were strung, tents were pitched. People got into swimming gear, or stayed in sweaty bike shorts, for a dip in the swimming hole.

As the sun dipped below the tree line, we made our way back up the hill to get a fire going. Hunger returned but was soon won over by a plentiful bounty of fire cooked foods. Smores, hot dogs, pies, couscous, asparagus, biscuits to name a few.

There were visits to the Stokesville Observatory, where a club of astronomers had telescopes pointed at distant galaxies. The lightning bugs were doing their best to to outshine the clear sky full of stars. The temperature was perfect for sleeping, so one by one, our crew melted into the darkness and bid goodnight.

The next morning arrived, as peaceful as it could. Perhaps the whipoorwill was a bit eager for some. After an easy breakfast, we loaded up our bikes and hit the road. All together again we explored a new route home. 

All together we were gone from our homes for just about 24 hours. What a great day. Friends were made and adventures were had. 24 hours well lived.