This weekend I was down in Charlottesville, VA to see some old college buddies, and got a chance to sample the local hardpack. Good stuff, and there is plenty of it.
The local bike club has a page of gravel road rides on their website (my kind of club!). I chose a route that started in Madison, VA, and meandered through the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
This meant fabulous views of some big-time terrain (pardon the intrusion of the ziplock I carry my phone in!) - but no monster climbs - just lots and lots of hard rollers and shorter climbs.
The dirt roads were in great shape - no holes, hardly any washboard. Many appeared to have been freshly serviced with loads of small gravel - making the ride on my 25c tires a bit swimmy. Next time the red bike will be wearing 32s.
The biggest climb of the day was Whippoorwill Rd. Are there any roads called Whippoorwill that are flat? I don't think so. This one was very scenic, and had a lovely descent.
If you go, bring what you need. You'll pass farms, a few houses, several small churches with cemeteries - but the convenience store is a little behind the times.
At one point I passed an older couple walking three dogs. I bade them good morning, and as I rolled past the woman called out "Watch out for the wild and crazy…" at which point her voice was drowned out by the crunch of skinny tires swimming through gravel. I circled back and asked her to repeat the warning.
"Drivers! They're reckless, and young!"
I didn't doubt her at all, but I probably only saw a dozen cars the whole time.
No comments:
Post a Comment