I returned back to
Harrisonburg, VA to meet up with a couple former roommates that I wrestled with
at JMU. This year our group expanded and Diaz recruited a few of his friends
from Chicago, NYC, and DC and Kodish brought his younger brother. This was our
Second Annual mountain biking trip back to the Shenendoah Valley and Blue Ridge
Mountains where it all started. These guys rode Massanutten on Friday and on
Saturday I joined them to ride the Reddish Knob / Timber Ridge loop.
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| The crew is feeling great at Briery Resovoir BEFORE
the 6.5 mile climb. |
Right
out of the gate we climbed from 2000 ft to 4300 ft in 6.5 miles of windy paved
switchbacks that took much longer than when we did it 10 years ago. What a
climb. At the top, we stopped to take in one of the best views in Virginia and
give our bikes a rest - they needed it!
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| The bikes taking a rest |
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| Diaz figuring out where to
go....scary. |
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It's hard to see, but below that red arrow is Briery
Brach Resovoir were we started the climb.
|
The
only thing left to do when you go up is to come back down. This trail was rated
as difficult and it was true to its rating. Within the first 1/4 mile there is
a really rocky section that no one dared to try. This was a hell of a way to
start, especially for the guys on their first mountain biking excursion. A few
choice swear words could be heard from the crew on the 'awesome' trail
selection! Fortunately, this didnt last and we got into some manageable single
track. The first half of the ride was on Timber Ridge and was pretty rocky and
true to VA style riding. There were some sharp descents followed by stout rocky
climbs which added to the cumulative burn my legs were still feeling from the
trek up the mountain. The downhill runs really made me wish I had a full
suspension bike as the rocks and trail just beat the shit out of you going at
high speeds.
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| Looking
down the first 1/4 mile of trail and wondering if we made a bad
decision?! |
|
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That is a recipe for pain
|
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| Pretty much the only way down |
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| Ah, that's more like it. Classic single
track |
Once the trail headed off Timber Ridge, it turned
to more dirt / clay towards the bottom. This section was super fun and you could
really get some top end speeds riding around the berms and racing towards the
creek bottom. It took a little while, but everyone made the entire ride and
there was no major injuries.
Now
everyone loves a cold beer after a good tough ride and after this trip
we needed a whole beer garden. Look no further than Rocktown Beer Festival in
downtown Harrisonburg. Truth be told, last year we just happened to
accidentally stumble upon this beer festival we when stopped at Shenandoah Bike
Company after our ride. This year it was no accident and was strategically
planned ahead of time. It's also probably how Diaz and Kodish were able to
convince a few more of their friends to show up. We rolled into the festival
about 4-5 hours after it started and it was easy to see the damage that day
drinking strong micro brews had on the local crowd. People were flat wasted and
dropping like flies. It was a pretty entertaining scene and a great evening.
Looking forward already
to next year's trip. We expect even a bigger ride.
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| The beer pavilion with about 30 tasty
vendors |
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