Tuesday, October 13, 2009
If You Build IT
They Will Come........
3 days of riding - Friday through Sunday.
No registation fee, no race numbers, no stopwatch, just a bunch of people that love2ride. Rodney even sent word around to the local "mountain folk" and got some of the VaTech team to show up.
It's a 100 mile jaunt through the Blueridge that entails close to 10,000 feet of climbing. Into Skyline Drive at Front Royal, drop out at Thornton Gap and down to Luray for lunch. Then a short, but brutal climb up Massanutten mountain and 25 miles back to Strasburg through the Shenandoah Valley.
Until we peaked at Hogback mountain......
That climp (up Fort Valley Road) was short but BRUTAL. The last 1.25 miles has a pitch that steadily increases ... and doesn't let up until you get to the very top. It sure helps to have a great group of people cheering you on at the top.
About seven years ago 4 guys ventured from the flatlands of Tidewater to the mountains for a weekend of riding. It became an annual trip. Word of a good thing tends to spread .......
This year the group had close to fifty.
3 days of riding - Friday through Sunday.
No registation fee, no race numbers, no stopwatch, just a bunch of people that love2ride. Rodney even sent word around to the local "mountain folk" and got some of the VaTech team to show up.
It's a 100 mile jaunt through the Blueridge that entails close to 10,000 feet of climbing. Into Skyline Drive at Front Royal, drop out at Thornton Gap and down to Luray for lunch. Then a short, but brutal climb up Massanutten mountain and 25 miles back to Strasburg through the Shenandoah Valley. We stayed and started in Strasburg. That adds about 20 miles and at least a few more feet of climbing to the classic "classic". A quick 15-20 mile warmup and we're into Front Royal for some last photo-ops.
The early part of the day was cool, misty/drizzly, and overcast. Really great riding conditions as long as you had the right layers to adjust for the downhills.
Then the climbin' started. 1500 feet in the first 4 miles up Dickey Ridge. That'll get your blood flowin'.
And the road kept goin up and up ......
And the road kept goin up and up ......
Until we peaked at Hogback mountain......Which offered some incredible views to those that choose to look back at from whence they came ........
15 miles of rollers led to a SW-E-E-E-E-T 4 mile decent into Lu-ray (that rhymes with Blu-Ray). It made me quickly forget about grinding all those miles uphill.
A quick lunch stop where local custom dictates you must eat your soup with a straw....
Then a few miles to get the blood back in your legs to tackle the climb up Massa-Nutten (from now on known as Massa-Sumthin).
That climp (up Fort Valley Road) was short but BRUTAL. The last 1.25 miles has a pitch that steadily increases ... and doesn't let up until you get to the very top. It sure helps to have a great group of people cheering you on at the top.Big thanks to Rodney and Rose (and everyone else that ran the SAGs) for puttin this thing together.
All in all it's a classic way to get your
RideOn
JB
