Climbing in Roanoke

The day of a much anticipated ride in Roanoke arrived and we left Lynchburg knowing we would ride up Mill Mountain and then on to Roanoke Mountain on the Blue Ridge Parkway. After warming up for couple of miles on the Greenway, we headed up the old Mill Mountain Road, through its restored toll gate, past the huge stone house with the magnificent view and on to the landmark (circa1949) that gives The Star City its name. The climb was steady but not too steep; a most enjoyable ride if you were born to climb like we were.

Back on our bikes, we rode up the connecting road to the Parkway where a quick jog to the left set us on a path climbing the four mile Roanoke Mountain Overlook loop. The first half mile was pretty steep but the remaining mile and a half to the top was not a bad climb at all. We arrived in time for lunch, 1,253 feet higher than where we began with the temperature still tolerable.

Heading down the mountain, we pedaled on to the Explore Park with the temperatures rising and heat emanating from the pavement. We exited the Park through a back entrance and headed over the mountain to Roanoke. Resting at the top of the steepest hill we encountered on the day, I was thinking what a great ride this is....I hope we put it into our annual repertoire. However, with David in the lead, we started to pedal again when only a few seconds later, a dog jumped out of a yard a bit David! So the addition of this ride will depend on whether David can tolerate the idea of riding the mountain we quickly named "Dog Bite Hill" again. The good news is the dog had his shots, David had his shots, and the bite seems at this writing to be not too severe. Hope it heals well with no complications, David.

A quick descent down a long hill brought us back to the Greenway which we followed to the Wasena Tap Room (31 beers and 1 root beer on tap). David treated Gary and I to a hoppy pale ale from Georgia and after a half hour in the air conditioning, we headed back out into the 90 degree heat to ride the five miles back to the car completing the ride with over 2000 feet of elevation gain!

Great ride David! The only question that remains is whether your psyche will allow you to put an annual trek up "Dog Bite Hill" on our riding calendar?

 

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