Shakedown Cruise: A Short, 108 Mile Bike Tour

As part of our training for our upcoming bike tour, we went out on a shakedown cruise this weekend. This was a chance to test our physical condition - whether we could push the bikes plus gears up the mountain grades that we will encounter on our big trip - and to make sure we have the right combination of gear.

We started at our usual spot at the north entrance of Shenandoah National Park under overcast skies. At the entrance gate, we were warned about fog beyond mile 12. We knew that might be an issue, but the forecast called for it to burn off and it was going to take us quite a while to reach mile 12 (we also all had lights). Then the climbing began. The first hill is 6 miles long, 1500 of elevation gain, and only the beginning. It was hard, but it was doable. By the time we reached Hogback Mountain at milepost 21, I was starting to think that this just might be possible. We had lunch and milkshakes at Elkwallow Wayside. We also saw a yearling bear who wandered into the parking lot!

The least pleasant part of the trip was from Thornton Gap to Skyland Resort. It is the busiest part of the Skyline Drive and, while most people were patient, there were a few people for whom a few extra seconds waiting behind us for an oncoming car ruined their day. Even with the traffic, though, it was still a very nice ride. After Skyland (and and iced mocha), it got better and, soon enough, we were at Big Meadows campground, our destination for the night.

Sunday's ride back to the car was really nice. We had clear weather, if a little hot (it is June, after all) and the park wasn't nearly as busy as it had been on Saturday. We had two crazy wildlife incidents. I was descending off of Hogback Mountain, moving along pretty fast. All of a sudden, two Indigo Buntings flew right at me. One of them passed right in front of me. The other must have decided it couldn't make it because it executed a hairpin turn right beside me. Michael said he was sure it was going to end up in my spokes. A few miles later, we were grinding up a hill and I heard something along the lines of, "Holy crap!" from Michael and our friends behind me.  Apparently, as we were biking by, a frog, fleeing a black rat snake that was in hot pursuit, jumped through Michael's bike frame. At that point, the snake gave up and returned to the other side of the road. I didn't actually see it all happen, just the end result of a disappointed snake.

We rode 51 miles and climbed approximately 9400 feet on Saturday with all of our gear on the bikes. On Sunday, we got up and rode back to the car, for a total of 108 miles. The return trip only involved approximately 4,000 feet of climbing. It was an amazing ride. The official verdict of the group: We are ready for the two week tour and this bike touring thing is pretty awesome.

 Our friend pedaling at milepost 5 under cloudy skies.

 A butterfly on red clover.

Grass and Old Rag in the distance from Pinnacles Overlook.

Taking a hard earned break at Pinnacles overlook. The climb from Thornton Gap up to Pinnacles was the second longest of the trip. It was a lot more fun to ride down it on Sunday!

The clouds breaking up in the afternoon on Saturday.

My bike loaded down at the entrance to Skyland Resort.

Amianthemum muscitoxicum (Fly Poison) at Skyland.

Platanthera psycodes (Small Fringed Orchid). This is a new-to-me species of orchid.

An Indigo Bunting at Old Rag Overlook. This isn't a great picture, but it was a nice test of my zoom lens.

This sign was a welcome sight after 51 miles.

Michael sorting gear on the bear box at our campsite. My bike is doubling as a clothesline.

Sunset at Big Meadows was spectacular. Michael and I have camped at Big Meadows a number of times, but always for Old Rag Mountain Stewards Training. We had never really been out into the meadow, let alone at sunset (training always runs late). I'm so glad we got the chance to check it out on this trip.

The sun peeked out from behind the clouds for a few minutes as it was setting.

 A. muscitoxicum (Fly Poison) in the meadow at sunset.

 There was so much Fly Poison blooming that I took a number of photos of it.

Just before turning it, I went to the campground restroom to brush my teeth. On my way back, the bike tires caught the light from my headlamp, which made for a pretty neat picture.

On Sunday, the weather was clear and hot. No complaints, though. We had a nice ride back to the car.

Riding Skyline Drive

We rode Skyline Drive on Sunday, taking advantage of the only sunny day in the last two weeks. We had a really nice ride, even if it was a bit windy and cool up high. It was a nice break from the two weeks of rain we've had.

The Peak from Hogwallow Flats Overlook, where we stopped for lunch.

Michael near milepost 19.

Looking east from Little Devils Stairs Overlook.

 Looking west from the top of Hogback Mountain

My loaded bike. I was carrying about 25 pounds on the back of the bike.

Michael and one of our friends finishing the last climb of the day, earning a well-deserved six mile descent.

Skyline Drive: Two Days, 160 miles, 18,000 feet of climbing

Our last big training ride before our vacation was this past weekend. We rode Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park from Front Royal to Loft Mountain on Saturday, a distance of 80 miles, with over 11,000 feet of climbing. It was hot, with temperatures in the 90s. The park was busy and drivers were pretty impatient, unwilling to wait the ten seconds for oncoming traffic to clear before passing. But wildflowers were blooming all along the side of the road and there were lots of butterflies. When we entered the South District, we left the hard climbing and the traffic behind. The very end of Saturday was a struggle since I got a bit dehydrated, but we did it.

We camped at Loft Mountain and Sunday morning, got up and rode back to Front Royal. Eighty more miles and 7,000 feet of climbing. Sunday was even hotter than Saturday, but I had a pretty good day. There was less climbing and more importantly, less traffic. Pedaling along in the south district before people started coming into the park was about as pleasant and peaceful as it gets. Just south of Skyland, we were lucky enough to see a bear turning over rocks in the woods beside the road. Overall, it was a great ride in spite of the heat and a few impatient drivers.

Pictures (click to enlarge):

Lilium superbum (Turk's Cap Lily) along the Drive.

Old Rag from Pinnacles Overlook, 35 miles into Saturday's ride.

A meadow full of flowers near Big Meadows, with Old Rag in the distance.

My bike in front of the meadow.

A butterfly on Monarda media (Purple Bergamot)

The last 15 miles to go on Saturday.

Sunday morning from an overlook in the South District.

Looking north from one of the last overlooks in the south district. The haze made for a very pretty view.

Daucus carota (Queen Anne's Lace)

Final mileage at the car.

A Ride on Skyline Drive and a Walk in Patuxent Wildlife Refuge

We have another big bike trip planned this year, so Saturday, we did our first mountain ride of the year on Skyline Drive. The weather couldn't have been better: bright, sunny, and highs in the 70s at higher elevations. We didn't realize it was a fee-free weekend in Shenandoah National Park, but we should have know because we got the last parking place in the lots just before the north entrance. There was definitely more traffic than usual and there were more cyclists than usual. We chatted with one of the fee station rangers that we know at the end of the day and he said they had nearly 50 cyclists ride through that gate. In spite of all of the people, almost everyone was considerate on the road, so I really can't complain about the crowds.

Little Devils Staircase overlook  and Old Rag in the distance.

The bikes resting at the top of Hogback at milepost 21.

Looking south from Range View overlook at milepost 17. Spring is creeping up the sides of the ridges.

Sanguinaria canadensis (Bloodroot). Pretty flowers are as good a reason as any to take a break from climbing hills.

Redbuds blooming with Compton Peak in the background.

Apple blossoms.

Sunday morning, we drove up to the north tract of Patuxent Wildlife Refuge near Laurel, Maryland. As often as we've visited and ridden in the south tract, we had never made it up there. It is so much quieter. We saw fewer than ten other people there. We were only there for a couple of hours because we needed to get some work done in the garden, but we definitely plan to go back and explore further.

 Bailey Bridge Marsh

Claytonia virginica (Spring Beauty)

 Mertensia virgnica (Virginia Bluebells)

A cool fungus on a downed log

 Erythronium americanum (Trout Lily)

 Dicentra cucullaria (Dutchman's Breeches)

We were lucky enough to see an osprey. If you click and enlarge the photo, you can see it near the center of the photo. It isn't the best picture of an osprey that I've ever gotten.

Riding Skyline Drive: Bear Cubs!

I wasn't going to put up a post about our ride on Saturday. We've ridden Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park a lot and even thought it is one of my favorite places to ride, there isn't much more to say about it. We usually stop at the same places, so I don't even get particularly different pictures. Well, we stopped in the shade to rest briefly on a long climb and I saw this lady hanging out on the side of the road about 25 yards ahead of us:

She stood on the road, looking back and forth. A car came by and she sort of ducked back into the woods. We figured she was gone, but we were pretty thrilled to have gotten the chance to see her. Then, a minute or two later, she came back out and started looking back and forth again. She must have decided it was safe because she looked back and then decided to cross the road.

She was followed by these two little cubs! They were so cute (click to enlarge). I wasn't quite quick enough to get a picture of them on the road. They moved pretty fast. They had to run to keep up with their mother. It was impressive to see how careful she was about crossing the road.

The summer flowers were impressive on Saturday as well. Summer wildflowers are in full bloom on the roadside in the park.

Lilium michauxii (Turk's Cap Lily). These lilies are stunningly beautiful. The ones that I saw on Saturday were nearly six feet tall, growing up over the rest of the underbrush.

Another example of L. michauxii

 Coreopsis verticillata (Whorled Coreopsis).

Helianthus divaricatus (Woodland Sunflower)

 Rudebeckia hirta (Black Eyed Susan)

Impatiens pallida (Pale Jewelweed)

Monarda media (Purple Bergamot)