Road Trip

Posted by: Keith Doherty in Trip Reports, myblog on May 23, 2009

I was psyched to hear that everyone from Team WELD-NRB did so well at the Spencer race.  I wanted to be a part of it but work came calling.  Fortunately, work allowed for a nice road trip this week with the mountain bikes.

Monday, George and I road the 16 mile expert race course at Big Bear Lake.  It was fun to be out there so soon after the WVMBA race.  The trails had dried out quite a bit. I got to ride the extended part of the expert course for the first time which is a blast. It has a fast downhill and a nice climb that takes you right back to the Pine Trees. I think our pace, at least for the first half, was faster than my race day pace.  It's amazing how much more efficient you can be when you're not adjusting for other riders.

Tuesday, we stopped off in Harrisonburg, VA and went looking for new trails.  The guys at Shenandoah Bicycle Co. gave us the scoop and we headed out to George Washington National Forest. 

With quite a few options to choose from, we went for an 8 mile loop (Hearthstone Ridge- Trail 423 to 431).  With no expectations of what laid ahead, we pedaled up the trail, which turned into a steady 3 mile climb on a grassy logging road.  There are days when I think about making the conversion to single speed.  This was not one of them! A blinding evening sun bore down as we looked ahead, each turn wondering if we were going to hit the peak. After about twenty false peaks, we made it to the real one and the intersection we were looking for. Then we were rewarded for the climb.

Hearthstone Ridge is a fun, continuous downhill that features mostly single track and some great jumps at the bottom.  For the most part, the trail just flows, although we had to pay attention because there was an occasional boulder or downed tree hidden in the patches of tall grass.

With 15 minutes till dusk, we made it back to the truck and took off on some great country roads back to WV.  I motion that all work trips should include the mountain bike from this point forward.