I Like To Play Outside: July 2013

The second edition of this epic road bike ride in the mountains of Virginia began with me picking John up at 4AM for the two hour drive to Front Royal. We arrived, kitted up, and were rolling before 7AM in an attempt to beat the heat. The route begins by taking you west into Fort Valley, following the valley floor for about 25 miles.

Headed through the pass into Fort Valley

Eventually we made a right turn onto Woodstock Tower Road and began climbing. After a few miles the road turns to dirt, as conveyed by this signage:

The road seemed smoother than it did last year; perhaps it was graded or improved since then, or maybe I just have poor memory. In any case, the climb was over before too long and we began the hairpin descent to Woodstock. This part of the dirt road is very serpentine. but not too steep.

John cresting Woodstock Tower Road

Hairpin corners the whole way down made things interesting

We stopped for water in Woodstock, and after a quick jaunt to the south, we began climbing Edinburg Gap. This is another good climb, about 500' in a mile and a half.

Edinburg Gap is paved the whole way

After descending at mach 3 down into Fort Valley, it was time for another climb up past Camp Roosevelt, through Edith Gap on the way to lunch in Luray.

Me at the overlook (now hang-glider launch!) on Edith Gap

Half of a turkey sandwich and a giant pickle? Delicious! West Main Deli in Luray, VA.

Luray is a cool little town

After Luray, we had a few miles of battling headwinds on Rt. 340 to help us digest lunch before we hit Tanner's Ridge Road. Tanner's Ridge is easily the toughest, most brutal climb I've ever subjected myself to on the bike. The first mile is a 13.3% grade, climbing 700'. I think I was able to climb most of that in a straight line. After that, I started to zig-zag back and forth across the grade to lessen the pain; something I've never had to do before. And after that, the road turned into dirt and kept climbing. Good times. Oh, and I forgot to mention that it was about noon, and the temperature hit 95 with super humid air on the way up. Ouch.

Stats for the climb. Bright green is speed, dim green is cadence, pink is power, magenta is temperature, red is heart rate, orange is elevation.

Once we passed through the hell of Tanner's Ridge, we were in Skyline Drive heaven for the rest of the ride. The air temperature, which had reached scorching levels shortly after leaving Luray, moderated down by about 15 degrees, and a light breeze was more of a pleasantry than an opponent. We stopped and refueled at the Big Meadow wayside, and then rode on through the rolling hills and un-ending vistas until the final descent to Front Royal. Here are some photos.