Leslie, Thanks for sharing great pictures of a great looking ride. I don't know Virginia but looks like beautiful terrain to ride through. And yes +1 on retirement activity.
Hugh On Friday, May 3, 2013 6:36:14 AM UTC-7, Leslie wrote: > > 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.
