After the long and frustrating process of selling our catamaran and moving back to VA we decided to take a brake and dust off the wheels for long weekend in Roanoke VA. We had herd that the trails out that way were pretty well built and being claimed the “Mountain Bike Capitol if the East”, we thought was worth checking out.
After checking in to our hotel we decided to head out and ride the Mill Mountain trail system just outside of Roanoke downtown. We parked at Underdog Bikes just off Walnut street and grabbed a few things from them before starting the pedal on the greenway trail system to ride the mill mountain Full Pull. Link below to the MTB project app for the trails we rode:
https://www.mtbproject.com/trail/7024936/mill-mountain-full-pull
To say we were rusty on this ride would be an understatement. Although it hurt it fell so good to be back on the bike and burning the legs and lungs. After the ride we went to Big Lick brewing and had some delicious craft beer. So good so, we would make multiple visits throughout our weekend here in The Big Lick.
After a day in the office, (i.e. the Residence inn) we decided to head out for an afternoon pedal and ride a few trails out at Carvins Cove Natural Reserve. That afternoon we parked at the Timberview Trailhead and pedaled up Trough. From there we rode the fire rode to the top of Buck where we descended toward Hotel and the Bennet Springs parking lot. Buck was a fun downhill, not too technical but a great trail to keep knocking the rust off and feel the bike again. We hooked up with the trail Mid-Way Cruise over to the beginning of Hi Dee Ho trail. We climbed Hi Dee Ho, which was a pretty steep but not so technical climb back to the ridge. This was definitely a lung burner and really made us feel the last year on the boat. Once on the ridge, we descended down Gauntlet trail which was an awesome raw and natural downhill full of rocks and roots but had great flow. The dirt was velcro after the rain the night before. Here is a link to the loop on the Trail Forks app:
https://www.trailforks.com/route/carvins-cove-over-and-back-v1-0/
The next few days we rode the majority of the trails out at Carvins Cove, just trying to survive and push through the sore legs and butt. The most note-worthy trail for us was the decent down Royalty. Fast and rough but great flow with some nice jump lines, a true reminder why we loved and missed this sport so much. Springtime seems to be the perfect time to be riding out here. Minimal bugs, weather in the 60s and 70’s and the trails are not to overgrown or covered with leaves. Here are the links from trail forks and MTB Project to the other loops we rode:
https://www.mtbproject.com/trail/96807/upper-left-loop
https://www.trailforks.com/route/outnabout/
The riding in Roanoke is certainly noteworthy
and I don’t think this will be our only trip here. Great trails, good food and
beer are always a reason to revisit somewhere. Let the search begin for our
next adventure rig!
