Alpine Loop - Bicycling The Choice Dirt Mountain Roads

Abe and Nick rolling towards the questionable weather

Ryan Fawley having a REAL good time rolling down Rt. 33 west with JB right on his tail

Fultz Gap is super steep but sooo amazingly cool

Heading back over to Moreland Gap

Nick Waite gave the pro tour acceleration into Sugar Grove, it was impressive

Chris Scott enjoying a huge day in the mountains with these all-stars

Sugar Grove is where the climb up the backside of Reddish begins

Rolling down Rt. 924 from Briery Branch Gap (Reddish Knob area)

A quick hit into WV for the Alpine Loop
It really is sooooo good, but SUPER HARD!
Pedaling squares, rectangles, triangles.... every shape I could think of
Just to get back over the backside of Reddish Knob
Shenandoah Mountain is a doooozie
Nick Waite, Johnnnnny Youngdahl, Jeremiah Bishop, Abe Shearer, Ryan
Fawley, and I went over to the dark side (WV) for the big burley
loop. GOOD TIMES!

George Washington National Forest - Spring Trail Clearing

Holy cow, there is always an opportunity to get out and clear some trail in the George Washington National Forest. Just don't forget to do all the right things first - volunteer agreement, prior approval of specific projects and use proper safety gear with required certifications.

Some quality work on Shenandoah Mountain - 4 work days in already and I haven't even ridden from Rt. 250 to Scotchtown Draft since last year.

A collaborative project on Carr Mountain - what a cool connector!

Stribbling Springs is not looking soooo good - will add picture link soon

Dowell's Draft is tight - thanks Matt, Katy and Jennifer!

Beards and Little Mare for SDS - thanks Matt, Mike and Tyler!

Lots more to do, Eliotts in the am!

From Elliotts Crawford Chimney Hollow

Yes, it could be this cold up there again!

From Elliotts Crawford Chimney Hollow

It will surely be this sweet up there again, even with some rain!

From Elliotts Crawford Chimney Hollow

Dragon's Tale 2011

Early spring is a great time for bicycling on the dry ridgetops of the George Washington and the Jefferson National Forest's. North Mountain Trail is home to a great network of shared use trail in the Jefferson National Forest west of Roanoke, VA. These trails are cleared in Feb and March for use in the annual Dragon's Tale bicycle event.

Check out some of the amazing video's and photos below of the Dragon's Tale backcountry bicycle event.
Results from 2011 are HERE
A photo gallery is on FACEBOOK - higher res images are in our Picasa gallery below.
Lots of great video clips of the riding below too.

Sue Haywood is a smooth rider. Check out her confident riding along Broad Mountain and down into Ferrier Trail.




Sue gave another nice ride on the final roll in on Ferrier Trail. She is soooo smooth in the corners!



We got to follow Laura Hamm down Deer Trail too. She is fast and smooth. Her front brake stopped working early in the event so she was a little cautious on the switchbacks. She has solid backcountry ethics and wasn't going to skid around the corner just because her brake wasn't working. So she took it easy and walked it around the bend. Thanks Laura!


Doc George covered our backs yet again and made a great video to share with us all. Thanks DOC!



Here is a great slideshow from the event in the SMT Picasa Gallery



Kirby was a huge help with the course and logistics. Sorry about the flats Bro!

From Dragon's Tale 2011

Also huge thanks to Ben and the Brown family with the Moonstompers, the Tilson's, Suzanna, Doctor George, Joe Therrell, Gramham, the USFS and the community of New Castle, VA