Blue Ridge Ramble

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  • June 12, 2014 at 12:55 pm #915472
    ctankcycles
    Participant

    Last April two friends and I spent five days riding from Pittsburgh to DC on the GAP and C&O. We stayed in motels and B&Bs along the way and total distance ended up being 352 miles with (according to Strava) 4,100 ft elevation. We wanted to step up our game this year and settled on six days riding/five nights camping through the Blue Ridge Mountains. The plan was to do a big clockwise loop starting at the North Entrance of Shenandoah National Park in Front Royal, riding south on Skyline Drive, exiting the park at the South Entrance near Waynesboro, continuing south into the George Washington National Forest along the Blue Ridge Parkway, eventually exiting the forest to the west, crossing I-81 at Raphine and making our way through the valley until entering the western swath of the George Washington National Forest at Goshen, VA. From there we’d make our way northeast until we reached Lost River, WV, at which point we’d ride east back to Front Royal. Sounds easy enough, right?

    Without a doubt, this was the most challenging experience I’ve had on a bike. Between the daily milage, elevation, and gear we were carrying, we were in for long days in the saddle. Total distance ended up being 387 miles with 28,973 ft of elevation. Zero mechanical issues or flats (none of us flatted on the GAP-C&O last year either)! My gear selection went something like this…

      Soma Double Cross w/mix of 9sp and 10sp Dura Ace and Ultegra, Avid Shorty Ultimate brakes, King headset and hubs, Velocity A23 rims, Thomson stem and post, Ritchey bar, Selle San Marco Regal saddle, Ruffy Tuffy tires, and Poler Stuff bottles.
      Tubus Tara front rack for Ortlieb Front Roller Classics
      Velo Orange Pass Hunter front rack with integrated decaleur for Swift Industries Ozette Rando bag
      Revelate Designs Viscacha seat bag
      MSR Hubba one-man tent
      Mountain Hardwear Phantom 45 sleeping bag
      Dry bags (2x 13L, 1 6L, 1 2L)
      REI Flash sleeping pad
      Etowah Outfitters sil-nylon waterproof tarp
      Snow Peak compact ti cookset
      Snow Peak Giga Power stove
      Camp plate, bowl, spork
      Dr Bronner’s, toothpaste, toothbrush
      Tools – Leatherman, Opinel utility knife, Allen multi-tool, chain tool, tire levers, tubes, repair kits
      Anker external battery charger (for charging iPhone and Garmin)
      Cycling apparel (lightweight merino is key)

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    My trusty steed along the Blue Ridge Parkway

    Day 1 begain in Front Royal at the Northern Va 4H Center (they allow AT hikers and other park users to park their car in their lot) and ended at Lewis Mountain Campground (Skyline Drive mile 57.5). Milage ended up being 63.8 with 7,310 ft elevation.

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  • June 12, 2014 at 12:59 pm #1003938
    ctankcycles
    Participant

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    More to come…

    June 12, 2014 at 2:19 pm #1003952
    DismalScientist
    Participant

    Do the all cool kids these days tour with front panniers and no rears? How’s this for at-speed maneuverability?

    June 12, 2014 at 2:55 pm #1003954
    ctankcycles
    Participant

    I ran the same setup last year for Pgh-DC minus the VO front rank and rando bag and found the more evenly distributed weight to be ideal for anything more technical than a sealed road (first day on Skyline Dr was the only day we didn’t ride any gravel roads). Plus I prefer to keep the weight off the rear wheel and with the huge seat bag that doesn’t necessitate a rack the overall setup is much lighter than running a rear rack and panniers. Honestly, the front end is super stable at high speed (40mph+ on numerous switchback descents) but the heavy front end took a little getting used to on the long, steep climb at the beginning of Skyline Drive. After a few miles of adjustment we became used to it and it was smooth sailing the rest of the way.

    June 12, 2014 at 2:56 pm #1003955
    ctankcycles
    Participant

    @DismalScientist 88199 wrote:

    Do the all cool kids these days tour with front panniers and no rears? How’s this for at-speed maneuverability?

    I ran the same setup last year for Pgh-DC minus the VO front rank and rando bag and found the more evenly distributed weight to be ideal for anything more technical than a sealed road (first day on Skyline Dr was the only day we didn’t ride any gravel roads). Plus I prefer to keep the weight off the rear wheel and with the huge seat bag that doesn’t necessitate a rack the overall setup is much lighter than running a rear rack and panniers. Honestly, the front end is super stable at high speed (40mph+ on numerous switchback descents) but the heavy front end took a little getting used to on the long, steep climb at the beginning of Skyline Drive. After a few miles of adjustment we became used to it and it was smooth sailing the rest of the way.

    June 12, 2014 at 11:34 pm #1004004
    ctankcycles
    Participant

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    June 13, 2014 at 3:33 am #1004013
    ctankcycles
    Participant

    Day 2 began at Lewis Mountain Campground (Skyline Drive mile 57.5) and ended at Sherando Lake Recreation Area, south of Waynesboro in the George Washington National Forest. 70 miles with 4,665 ft elevation.

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    June 13, 2014 at 3:39 am #1004014
    ctankcycles
    Participant

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    June 13, 2014 at 4:55 am #1004016
    JimF22003
    Participant

    Sounds like you had a great time! What was your route out of Goshen? Last weekend I rode in that area, going up Marble Valley and Deerfield Valley through Deerfield, up to west of Staunton. It was some incredible, peaceful, secluded scenery. I’m in the process of buying a house in Lexington. Next time you come through you can camp in my back yard :)

    June 13, 2014 at 3:35 pm #1004043
    ctankcycles
    Participant

    @JimF22003 88265 wrote:

    Sounds like you had a great time! What was your route out of Goshen? Last weekend I rode in that area, going up Marble Valley and Deerfield Valley through Deerfield, up to west of Staunton. It was some incredible, peaceful, secluded scenery. I’m in the process of buying a house in Lexington. Next time you come through you can camp in my back yard :)

    Thanks, it was a great time with perfect weather. We passed through Goshen near the end of the third day (http://app.strava.com/activities/145159748) and continued west on Maury River Rd which becomes Mountain Valley Rd (route 42/39). The next day (http://app.strava.com/activities/145159746) we continued west on Mountain Valley and then made a right on McClung Rd (629) which turns into Deerfield Rd. We were only on Deerfield for 6 miles before picking up Indian Draft (678). Indian Draft follows the Bullpasture River much of the way and was a great road with lots of nice rollers and almost no traffic. There’s also almost no water between Millboro and McDowell, about a 30 mile stretch. We ended up stopping into a Virginia State Fish Hatchery and the guy there was super nice and let us fill our bottles. In the future I’d take a small water filter for situations like this. Eventually Indian Draft turns into Bullpasture River Rd, which took us into McDowell where we hit the Stonewall Grocery (Stonewall Jackson is a local hero for winning a battle there), and then headed east on Highland Turnpike and eventually Hanky Mountain Hwy. This was probably one of the more challenging sections with two very steep, switchbacked climbs and a lot more traffic (including trucks) than we had for most of the trip.

    June 13, 2014 at 3:53 pm #1004046
    ctankcycles
    Participant

    The third day took us from Sherando Lake in the George Washington National Forest (swath east of 81), across Shenandoah Valley, and ended in western swath of the GWNF near Millboro, VA. This was one of two nights we camped in a private campground. Though not our preference compared to federal and state campgrounds, it was a nice spot along the Cowpasture River. The valley rollers (much of them gravel) were a nice change from the long, steep climbs from the first two days, definitely a highlight of the trip. We ended up with 62.8 mi and 4,338 ft elevation. The section through Goshen Pass near the end of the day was also pretty incredible riding and scenery.

    http://app.strava.com/activities/145159748

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    June 13, 2014 at 3:56 pm #1004049
    ctankcycles
    Participant

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    June 13, 2014 at 3:59 pm #1004051
    ctankcycles
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    June 13, 2014 at 4:02 pm #1004052
    ctankcycles
    Participant

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    June 13, 2014 at 4:05 pm #1004053
    ctankcycles
    Participant

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    June 14, 2014 at 4:44 am #1004108
    JimF22003
    Participant

    @ctankcycles 88293 wrote:

    Thanks, it was a great time with perfect weather. We passed through Goshen near the end of the third day (http://app.strava.com/activities/145159748) and continued west on Maury River Rd which becomes Mountain Valley Rd (route 42/39). The next day (http://app.strava.com/activities/145159746) we continued west on Mountain Valley and then made a right on McClung Rd (629) which turns into Deerfield Rd. We were only on Deerfield for 6 miles before picking up Indian Draft (678). Indian Draft follows the Bullpasture River much of the way and was a great road with lots of nice rollers and almost no traffic. There’s also almost no water between Millboro and McDowell, about a 30 mile stretch. We ended up stopping into a Virginia State Fish Hatchery and the guy there was super nice and let us fill our bottles. In the future I’d take a small water filter for situations like this. Eventually Indian Draft turns into Bullpasture River Rd, which took us into McDowell where we hit the Stonewall Grocery (Stonewall Jackson is a local hero for winning a battle there), and then headed east on Highland Turnpike and eventually Hanky Mountain Hwy. This was probably one of the more challenging sections with two very steep, switchbacked climbs and a lot more traffic (including trucks) than we had for most of the trip.

    Sounds wonderful. I’m just getting to know the roads up in that area, so that helps a bunch. You might be interested in the Mountain Mama century ride that starts in Monterey, over in that general area.

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