Routes

Leaves from Shelburne Middle School — Our primary Saturday route, this is a scenic rural ride for those who like a bit of a challenge. It is a “rolling” up and down ride with the harder hills before lunch. There is a nice flat section after New Hope and then some hills coming back into Staunton. There are excellent views of the Alleghenies early in the route and superb views of the Blue Ridge later.

Leaves from Shelburne Middle School — This is a thoroughly enjoyable ride for those used to both the distance and hills. While we have included as many “flat” roads as possible, this route has hills throughout. Many of our 2011 participants found it to be quite challenging. Of all our routes this one offers the most bucolic countryside and the best views of our two mountain ranges. If you like doing centuries, you should definitely give this one a try.

Leaves from Shelburne Middle School — This route follows the pink route to lunch and then the yellow/century route back to Staunton. It has some of the best features of both and, like the New Hope Loop, is a “rolling” up and down ride with hills throughout.

Leaves from Mt. Horeb Presbyterian – This is a delightful rural ride. It includes some modest rolling terrain, a long flat section and a “for real” hill/climb after crossing the South River on the return.  The ride goes to Grand Caverns Park and back, for a while running parallel to the South River, with the return on the same roads — so, if it is getting too long for your family, just turn around. It includes a stunning view of the Blue Ridge on the way out.

Leaves from Mt. Horeb Presbyterian – As you can surmise from the name, this route has excellent views of the Blue Ridge throughout. It is primarily a rolling route although it does have some climbs that you will notice.

Leaves from Mt. Horeb Presbyterian – The first 24.7 miles of this route are identical to the Blue Route but then it separates and goes to Port Republic and later past Grand Caverns Park. This additional mileage, while not completely flat, is about as close to flat as this area has to offer. And the ride up to Port Republic on Lee Roy road is delightful, offering good views of the Blue Ridge.

Leaves from Shelburne Middle School — This is our primary Sunday route and includes a fantastic view of the Alleghenies early in the ride and views of the Blue Ridge before brunch. There is one 5 mile section early in the ride that is primarily uphill and a 3 mile climb before the descent into Middlebrook for brunch. But the 1.5 mile gentle, curving descent into Middlebrook offers as about as much fun as you can have on a bike. The route back to Staunton includes flat, rolling hills, climbs and more views of the Alleghenies.

Leaves from Middlebrook Community Center — This is close to a perfect family ride. After the initial climb out of historic Middlebrook, the majority of the route is on flat to slightly downhill rural roads with excellent views of the Alleghenies. The route ticks up a bit when it turns onto Mish Barn Road for the return to Middlebrook and picks up a few modest rolling hills.

Leaves from Middlebrook Community Center – After the climb leaving Middlebrook, this route offers some early, easy cycling and scenic vistas of the Alleghenies that are unsurpassed. The route then climbs to and through the tiny but historic village of McKinley (the highest point on any of our routes at 2034 ft.) After McKinley riders are treated to a delightful, mostly downhill and flat ride to the village of Newport. The next 5.8 miles on Newport Rd varies between up and down and the ups are probably the hardest of the weekend. There follows another 5 miles of relative easy cycling and then the 3 mile climb before the final descent into Middlebrook. This is the same descent that the Middlebrook Loop-Sunday Pink route does prior to brunch.

Leaves from Middlebrook Community Center – Approximately the first 6 miles of this route and the last 15.7 (from Newport) are identical to the McKinley Loop-Blue route. But in lieu of going through McKinley, the route passes next to it and then drops into the Walkers Creek drainage for a 10 mile section of downhill and flat, the first portion of which is fast and technical. This is followed by a delightful section next to Walker’s Creek which is different from any of our other routes in that vistas are limited but the ride is, nevertheless, gorgeous. There is some climbing involved getting back to Newport, but the climbs are more moderate than the descent into Walkers Creek would lead you to believe. Please note though, this route includes the 5.8 mile section on Newport Rd described in the Blue route.

Leaves from Middlebrook Community Center – FAT TIRE BIKE RECOMMENDED! A mostly GRAVEL route thru rolling countryside in southern Augusta and Rockbridge Counties. It includes very rural roads with minimal traffic and a number of GRAVEL sections.