Mt. Biking - Candler's Mountain, Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA

Got out for a ride after work in Lynchburg, VA at Liberty University on Candler's Mountain.  I'm not positive, but I think they only started really building trails here about 5 years ago.  You know Falwell's army of Liberty kids aren't out boozing on the town, so I guess they just build mt. bike trails instead.  Every time I ride here there are more and more trails built.  They are all named, well marked, and have a difficulty rating assigned  from beginner to expert.  The last time I rode this mountain, I about killed myself falling through a bridge made of railroad ties traveling at warp speed down a hill while being clipped into the bike.  When I woke up I didn't even know where the hell I was.  Ha.  This time I fared a little better.  Great little mountain to keep you busy all day with different trails and within 15 minutes of the in-laws.

JMU Virginia Mountain Bike Reunion

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.

 

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!

The bikes taking a rest

Diaz figuring out where to go....scary.

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.

Looking down the first 1/4 mile of trail and wondering if we made a bad decision?!

That is a recipe for pain
                                    



Pretty much the only way down



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.

The beer pavilion with about 30 tasty vendors