On Friday, May 3, 2013 1:18:20 AM UTC-4, Seth Vidal wrote: > > Looks like a great way to spend the afternoon. Damascus has a very > different feel than Abingdon, that transition must be interesting by biking > through the woods. :) > > -sv >
You've not ridden the Creeper? I would've thought you had... I like it, when I can get there w/o the masses on it (I still enjoy it even then, but it's interesting how part of it can become so crowded (the Whitetop-Damascus downhill run), and other parts not (Abingdon to Damascus). The more notable difference is when you compare the Abingdon-Damascus half to the Damascus-Whitetop half. Abingdon has the usual mix of farm/ edge woods for the valley (the Tri-Cities area). Damascus is on the edge of the transition heading into the Mt Rogers area. It would be better to break up the Abingdon-Damascus half into Abingdon-Alvarado, and Alvarado-Damascus. The part from Abingdon to Alvarado goes from suburban park and golf-course to woods, then alternating between woods and farm, descending to Alvarado where you meet the river (South Fork of the Holston). From Alvarado to Damascus, while you are also alternating between farm fields and woods, it's a less noticable incline, but also happens to start to parallel the highway, which makes it feel different. Damascus, of course, is a notably small town that has 'boomed' with a cottage industry around the AT and bike shuttle businesses. Most people who ride the Creeper park in Damascus, take a shuttle van to Whitetop, then ride back down to Damascus, letting gravity do the work. (It's leisurely, have taken my family that way before). Usually, I park in Damascus myself, then ride out and back. Starting in Abingdon was a bit different than my usual. The Damascus-Whitetop half can be broken into the Damascus-Taylor's Valley portion, Taylor's Valley - Green Cove, and then Green Cove - Whitetop. The leg from Whitetop to Green Cove is the steepest stretch (but, as it was formal railroad grade, it isn't terribly steep...) I can ride up it, and usually do, but many (most) folks don't. The Whitetop area is Christmas tree farms, and has an annual maple-syrup festival (and a ramp festival, too). It's at a higher elevation than the Tri-Cities valley elevation. Green Cove has the remaining station (replicas have been built at Whitetop and Alvarado, but the Green Cove one was the actual one that Ol' Buc ran himself). (The house adjacent to the station, the Buchanan Inn, was his family home, which is part of my wife's family.) Green Cove to Taylor's Valley is winding down through numerous cuts and bluffs, alongside Whitetop-Laurel Creek. Taylor's Valley is a similar feel to Alvarado, where there is a niche of a couple of homes, cottages, and a store or two. Taylors Valley back to Damascus is similar in feel to the Green Cove-Taylor's Valley stretch, as it continues alongside Whitetop-Laurel. I like the Creeper. I would like to ride it more often. There's one fellow, an elderly gentleman, who rides it daily. That'd be a nice retirement.... -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en-US. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
