North River Trail, A summertime gem!

Jonathan, Ethan & Carter about to set on an adventure!

As we end July and go into August the dog days of summer are upon us.  With the heat comes low water levels making it a great time to explore one of the hidden family fun rides in our area, the North River Trail. You can do this ride as a 10 mile loop  or a point to point ride, 6 miles long, if you have some shuttle options.  This past Sunday our 5 person group opted for the shuttle version. Rich Edwards and I decided to drive everyone to the North River campgroup and then one of us would ride back later to get the truck, this decision was made since the combined age of our other 3 riders was 17 years!  

Jonathan trying not to "dab" in the river.

If you have never been on the North River Trail there is one thing to know, there are 10 river crossings. This time of year the river is low, never more then a foot deep, but you will still get wet because the crossings are wide.  The cool river feels great on your feet, or on your head if you elect to lay in the river like Ethan and Jonathan (Carter demanded to be carried each river crossing).  We saw numerous other folks out enjoying the trail, two families who were hiking out after a night of camping and several horse groups. Each group was happy to see each other and it provide a great opportunity to teach the kids about trail etiquette.   

Ethan riding over the bridge, yea to narrow handlebars!

Our adults bikes are usually an advantage on every ride we do with the kids but this proved wrong as we came to the last river crossing with the large suspension bridge, here the kids where able to ride away and leave us adults in the dust. We will post the ride on MTB project so you can have the details on the ride. 

-Thomas

Just like adults...riding lets you eat more!!

Check Out Our Used Bikes!

We usually have a wide variety of used bikes, but as of right now we have such a wide selection of awesome used bikes we just had to post about it! Give us a visit to check out the prices. All of these bikes are in awesome condition! Check for your self in the photos below:

                                         Girls 12" Trek

                                         Girls 20" Trek Mystic

                                         Gary Fisher Hardtail 3X9 Drivetrain with Mechanical Disc Brakes

                                         Surly Karate Monkey Singlespeed!

                                         Schwinn Cross-Fit       Perfect for around town!

                                         Trek 1.2 Road Bike 52cm.
                                         This bike is great for a smaller rider looking for a
                                         solid training bike or something just to get your feet
                                         wet in wonderful world of road cycling.

                                         Jamis Dakar
                                         Featuring dual control levers and mechanical disc
                                         brakes.

                                         Schwinn Woodlands
                                         Awesome hybrid bike with some old-school
                                         flavor.

                                         Nishiki Manitoba (Small Frame size)
                                         Fully rigid mountain bike with tons of new parts that
                                         keep this bike working optimally for an extended lifespan.

Utah Day 3 & 4....Snowbasin here I come!

Cool trail signs...but they don't make riding to the top any eaiser! The peaks of Snowbasis in the background. Time to climb for the next 90 minutes. 

After a 2 great days in the Park City area it was time for Peter and I to make the transfer to Ogden, Utah and get to the meat of our trip, "Saddledrive". The next two days would be spent checking out the 2016 bikes lines from Salsa, Surly, Foundry, All City and other new bike things for 2016.  Even though we were staying in Ogden the majority of our time would be spent at Snowbasin and riding their great trail system.  Snowbasin is a hidden gem of a resort, it does not get the press like the other resorts in the Wasatch Mountains but is an awesome place to bike or play in the snow.

Peter, hitting the final turn to our top out point...Dinner would be
served later that night at the lake in bottom of the Valley.

Most of the exciting news was coming out of the Salsa presentation, they have some new bikes for 2016 that looked good and rode even better. The hardest bike to sneak out for a ride was the Pony Rustler, a great combination of travel and plus size tires.  Unlike a lot of the trails in Utah the stash at Snowbasin has plenty of rocks to test this new bike, making for a great Harrisonburg testing ground...it passed with flying colors!

The new Vaya line...beautiful!

SBC's hotest Salsa bike bike has always been the Vayas and they look even better for 2016. To add even more touring options Salsa brought in a new bike to the line, the Merrekesh. The Merrekesh is coming with both drop and flat bar options, rear rack and a stronger frame set for full touring needs.

Even thought the Horsethief has been around for a while it rides even better for 2016. The added stiffness of the boost wheels and the return of the split pivot made this bike a blast, especially for the rocky trails that we explored on the mountain. 

Of course no adventures with Salsa or Surly would be complete without sometime on fat bikes. Never has a bigger selection of fat bikes been assembled then what we say the past two days.

Harry from Freeze Thaw Cycles in State College, felt at home
on the fat bike!

As I drove back from the airport last night it felt great to be welcomed by Signal Knob and the green lush mountains edging out the Valley floor.  Trust me...we have it good here!

-Thomas

The Karate Monkey, a fun and solid steel ride!

Ibis Mojo HD-R 650B Ready to Roll

Priced to sell is one of our favorite bikes at SBC, the Mojo HD-R. We all know 29ers are super fast but what if you want a bike that's fast and has the ability to be as nimble and playful as you ride? The HD-R's 650B (27.5) wheels play nicely with 140mm of travel in the front and 130mm in the rear, making this one of the most entertaining bikes to take out onto the trail. Did we mention it's full carbon? Well it sure is. Lastly, this ripper has a dropper post. This is a complete package shredder of a trail bike! What isn't to love? Take a look at this bicycle majesty below:

Utah Trip...Day 1 & 2

Standing on Jupiter Peak just above Park City.

I set off early Saturday morning for the annual "Saddledrive", a bike DEMO expo in Utah for Salsa, Foundry, All City, Surly and Cogburn Bicycles.  The DEMO did not start until Sunday evening so arriving in Salt Lake City Saturday morning gave me and my travel partner, Pete Kostis (Athens Bicycles) some time to ride the endless trails in Park City area.   We rented bikes and immediately hit the trails that start from downtown Park City.  The hardest part of the ride was the upper trails to Jupiter Peak, the second hardest part of the ride was deciding on the map which trails to hit.

Trying to make sense of a map at 10,000 ft.

The Park City map shows the endless miles  of trails that leave right from town.  As we were finishing up our 3500 decent we passed 2 riders on the side of the trail, one who yelled my name. What a great surprise to see Jamie Mackie, an ex Harrisonburg patriot who also was visiting Park City.

Running into ex Harrisonburg rider, Jamie Mackie

After the 5 hour tour and a stop for a quick beer in historic Park City we headed to Midway, Utah to visit long time friend and original Harrisonburg mountain bike pioneer, Matt Krop. Matt and Pete are two great freinds of mine who I had the pleasure of doing duo person 24 hours races with, Pete at Big Bear in 2009, and 24 Hours of Moab with Matt in 1999.

Matt Krop in the open meadows.

Sun  filled Aspen fields with friends!

Sunday morning we loaded up the truck and headed to the Unita mountain range to do some back country mountain biking, Utah style. The 2500' climb was relatively gradual with periodic sections of steep loose dirt that tested our lungs above 9000. The good thing about stopping and grasping for air was having the opprotunity to soak in the amazing views of beautiful valleys and tree less mountain tops.  Unlike Saturday's ride in the populated trail system of Park City, Sunday's ride in Uinta Mountains provided us with the back country remote feel that drives me to mountain biking.

Lost in Utah,
Thomas

Log riding with aspens.......................Post ride parking lot time with friends...always the best part of a ride!!

Bikewacking and Fir Surfin in Wet Virginia

There is a place where water flows in both directions.  There is a place where a collage of precambrian igneous rock was thrust to the surface of the oldest mountains in the world.  There is a place where very few people go.  Where the tea flows like water, where the berry patches instinctively flock like the salmon of capistrano.

Wootten and a rowdy crew of hooligans headed to the precipice for an adventure of questionable nature.  Not one of the crew had been to this area, they ventured into the unknown, into the imagination of the mountain state of mind.

Sub alpine plateaus, mazes of rhoto-hell, cliff bands, rock scree fields and very few trail markers filled their arduous day.  Unsolved mysteries and hidden passages filled their day as they navigated aimlessly through the thick brush from one outcropping to another.


Fir Surfin' the Canadian Shield from Adventure Seen on Vimeo.

   

Women's Wednesday Ride

The SVBC Wednesday Women's road ride is an intermediate group ride for female cyclists in  Harrisonburg. Join us on Wednesday afternoons to ride 1-2 hours at a brisk but social pace, usually an average speed of 13-15 miles per hour and covering 20-30 miles. Come out and ride with us! We meet at Rocktown Bike Shop at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday afternoons.

Riding with the Red Wings

Reddish Knob in the clouds with Brain (far left) and Trent (far Right) from the Steel Wheels!

The early Saturday morning rains were not letting up when I jumped into my car and started heading to the Red Wings Roots Music Festival. The music festival rides were set to start at 8am, but I wondered who of the 80 registered riders would show up in the wet weather.  Just as the rain stopped at Natural Chimneys the riders started to trickel in from their campsites. I guess we were on, but there was not much talk of actually making it to Reddish Knob. 

A casual start to a fun ride!

The group of 20 or so riders rolled slowly and peaceful out of the campgroud and headed towards Briery Branch, from there we would begin the gentle climb to the Briery Branch Dam. Most riders where thinking that this would be the turning around point of the ride, but after a loaded rest stop of food and drinks, there was only talk of beginning the real part of the climb.  Not knowing what the weather would bring on the upper slopes of Shenandoah Mountain, most talk was about making it to the saddle and then turning around. Anyone who has climbed Reddish Knob knows that stopping at the saddle is like stopping at 3rd base when the ball has already gone over the fence, no reason to stop now.  

The clouds were engulfing the mountain so the views were limited but they only added to the scenic beauty at 4000+ feet.  It was great to see the whole ride make the climb to the top, I think everyone that left the campground 2 hours before certain they would not be standing on the highest point of Augusta County that day.  

Clouds rolling off the mountains at the Briery Branch Dam.

The ride was an awesome way to celebrate cycling which the Red Wings Music Festival promotes cycling through out the weekend event.  

Thanks to all the great SVBC volunteers (Kiki, Whitney, Kyle, Jason Etc..) for the ride support and to The Steel Wheels Band for putting on such a great festival (and riding too!!). 

Thomas

Why eat the bee pollen?

I get asked this a good bit. Well to start, it's yummy and light, and it tastes and feels like powdered honey. Bee pollen is nature's most nutritionally complete food, containing all 22 of the nutrients we humans needs. Half of the amino acids it contains can be used by the body immediately. They are quick to assimilate with the other amino acids we consume to provide our bodies with all the essentials. It takes a bee over 240 hours of gathering pollen from flower stamens and flying back and forth to the hive to produce one teaspoon of pollen. These potent little granules have a number of different health benefits since they are so packed with nutrients. Just a teaspoon a day helps with digestion, boosts your metabolism, and helps detoxify your body.

the pollen goes from here...

...to here :)

Tour de Burg 2015 Report from Lizzy Clawprong!

The 19th Annual Tour de Burg brought us some slight carnage and a few days of soggy shorts, but it all came out in the wash to be a fine five day slum fest with the best. Here is a rundown of the stages:

Day 1: MTB Hanky Lookout Time Trial/Narrowback Exploration - 35 miles & 4800 ft.
Day 2: MTB Long Run to Dichtums/Switzer to Oak Knob to Mud Pond - 63 miles & 8000 ft.
Day 3: ROAD Reddish Knob to Moyer's Gap to Shenandoah Mountain - 100 miles & 9000 ft.
Day 4: MTB Tomahawk Pond to Judge Rye/Great North Mountain - 40 miles & 6000 ft.
Day 5: MTB Wanaoze to Mud Hole Gap/Milford to Kennedy's - 40 miles & 6000 ft.

Instagram #Tourdeburg

Jeremiah Bishop and Cheryl Sornson took the Leader's jerseys, Chaz Michael Michaels the Sprint, Collin Vento the Super D, Dan Wolf the KOM, and Chris C. the DFL.

You can also catch up with some of the excitement on the Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tourdeburg

#tourdeburg

Foxxee doling out this year's swag.

The posse before the start of Day 1 at Stokesville Church.

Il director directing in between timed sections on Day 1.

Results after Day 1!

On the way to race all of Gnarowback.

Little Grill hosted us for two dinners during the Tour - Buck celebrating freedom and family.

Haircuts make you faster.

Court Square gruppetto on Thursday morning - mountain bikes from town!

It got chilly in the rain on Thursday.

Party pace over Switzer Dam. 

Ultra euro.

Rolling through the party pace section with Men's Leader Jeremiah Bishop after timing over Reddish Knob.

Nate (DFL contender) finishing the second timed section on the road day.

Little mudfest on the road day.

Prize table from Heritage Bakery!

Il director - thanks Dad!

This is bike racing.

 Thanks Chris Merriam, Allie Emerick, and Kari Carpenter for some of the photos!