I just got back from a 40-mile mountain biking trip on the Virginia Creeper Trail in western Virginia. A detailed map is available on this site.
Above: one of my friends riding on the trail last year
We left Durham around 6 or 6:30 Friday evening, and arrived around midnight. We camped on top of White Top mountain, which at an elevation of 5520 feet is one of the tallest mountains in Virginia, second only to Mount Rogers. When we got there, the weather was terrible. We camped on the very top of the mountain. Just to give you a picture of how bad the weather was, three people told me that this was the worst weather they have ever encountered while camping.
When we got there, we set up our tents and went to sleep. We woke up at 6:30 in the morning, and the weather had gotten worse. It was maybe 35 degrees, with 30 mile per hour winds and torrential rain. It was still dark, and it was so foggy that I couldn’t see 5 feet in front of me. We cooked oatmeal and bagels for breakfast, and then went back to our tents to wait until there was more light outside. Once the sun had come out, around 7:30, we took down our tents and put all our stuff away and got ready to ride.
It was cold and the weather was miserable, but I can’t say I didn’t expect this and I can’t say I wasn’t ready. This was the third time I had ridden the trail, and it was rainy last year as well. Dustin pretty much just took a duffel bag and brought his whole closet with him. I brought plenty of clothes, and I dressed in layers.
Above: photo taken last year of a small stream off the side of the trail
We rode from the top of White Top mountain to the start of the trail, which was about 7 miles. This was a steep downhill ride on the road that wound around the mountain all the way to the bottom. I started out, but found out that my brakes didn’t work because they were really wet. I tried alternating between my right brake and my left brake, and I found out that this allowed me to control my speed, but not stop. Read the rest of this entry »
I was reading some of my past entries, and I realized that I never properly explained what Routebuilder is and how it works.
Above: a map one of my friends drew using Routebuilder
Routebuilder is an online tool that uses the Google Maps API to allow users to map routes for cycling, hiking, and driving and calculate distances. One of my friends showed me this site when he was planning a ride, and I thought that it was really neat. You can use the pointer on the map to set your start location, and then click to create a line from the previous point to the current point. This creates many line segments which are stored as an overlay on the map, which can be viewed in three modes: map, satellite, and hybrid. Routebuilder then goes back and calculates the distance of the route.
It worked very well when I used it, but the only thing that we were unable to determine ahead of time was the traffic conditions. I guess we would have had to drive the route ahead of time. If you didn’t get a chance to see my previous maps, here are the links: the map from the ride through RTP and the map of the ride to Duke Forest.
Dustin and I had planned to go mountain biking with some friends at Little River Park near the Eno River on Sunday afternoon, but our trip was rained out. We also had a bike maintenance demonstration planned before the ride, and this was not rained out because it was indoors. Dustin and I gave this demonstration for some kids that we have been riding with during the past few weeks.
Above: Dustin showing how to change a tire
We used an old Mongoose mountain bike that Dustin and I had completely disassembled a few years ago. We laid the bare frame of the bike along with all of the parts on the table. Dustin and I took turns talking about what each part did, where it fit on the bike, how it could wear or break, and how to fix it if it did break. We’ve done a few of these demonstrations in the past, so we knew what we were doing and had it worked out. After we went through the parts, we talked about differences as far as parts and maintenance between road and mountain bikes, and then showed how to fix a flat tire. Finally, to wrap things up, we went over a short list of parts you should check before you go on a ride.
We talked about a few situations that we have been in where different parts have broken and we needed to make repairs. When we went over quick release tires and tire bearings, we talked about the time when Al had just finished the Tobacco Trail and was going to get lunch when he had a problem with his tire. His bike stopped, but his front tire kept on rolling. The problem was that he had recently changed tires and had incorrectly secured the tire’s quick release. (This was funny to watch, but not for Al)
While this demonstration was short and only went over basic maintenance tips, I think that everyone was able to learn something from it.