Advanced Mountain Biking at Carvins Cove

OVERVIEW

Calling all lovers of knobby tires:

Charlie’s back! Come join us for a 1.5 day exploration of Carvin’s Cove plus grilling+camping: Carvin’s Cove is a big trail network near Roanoke, filled with challenging climbs and thrilling descents, from rocky, rooty, technical stretches to built-up flow trails. We could write more but all you really need to know is that there’s a wide variety of outstanding singletrack to ride, and it’s absolutely 100% worth driving 2+ hours each way to check it out. We’ll head down Friday afternoon, get a few hours of riding in, and then drive to a campsite in the nearby National Forest. There, we’ll set up camp and get the grill going to feed hungry mouths. The next day, we’ll head back to Carvin’s for a big day in the mountains: big climbs, big descents, and big (s)miles (30-40 of miles, 5000-6000 feet of climbing). Check out the trails here: https://www.mtbproject.com/directory/8011599/carvins-cove-trail-system

***This is an advanced mountain biking trip. It is steep, rocky, and difficult riding. There can be areas without cell service if you need help. Please only sign up if you are an advanced rider and prepared for the challenge***

Still with us? Awesome. Here’s the non-biking plan: dinner will be communal. We’ll supply a grill and food for the grill (that’s where that trip fee’s going). We will not supply other meals (breakfast, lunch x2, snacks, Saturday dinner). Bring a hearty breakfast that will sustain you for a big day of biking (ie not just a banana) – feel free to text either of us if you’re unsure of what that might look like. We’ll also bring communal tents, a camp stove, and a water jug. You are responsible for other camping gear you need (sleeping bag/pad, hammock if you want, tent if you don’t wanna share, etc). As usual, we’ve got bikes and helmets for ya.

Rough time plan:
Friday 12:45pm: meet at Shred Shack, load up bikes and gear, depart
4pm: Arrive at Carvins
~2-3 hours of riding~
6-7pm: back at the car, load up bikes and drive to campsite
7-8pm: dinna

Saturday: wake up bright and early
Tbd: breakfast, drive over to Carvins
5:30-6pm: back at the car, load up bikes, depart
8pm: back in Charlottesville, with time for evening shenanigans

**You bring**
– Phone with MTBProject or Trailforks downloaded, with the Virginia region downloaded within the app
– Water: 2-3L capacity (we can put a bottle cage on each bike; let us know if you want this)
– Food: lunch x2, breakfast, snacks, saturday dinner or maybe money for sat dinner?
– Appropriate clothing and footwear: it can be cold this time of year, dress in layers suitable for riding — you should at absolute minimum have a lightweight, long-sleeved shirt or jacket with you in case we’re out past sunset
– gloves are recommended for keeping the fingers working in chilly temps and protecting your hands from scrapes if you fall – $10 Mechanix work gloves are great
– sunscreen?
– a bag to carry your water and food: the club has some daypacks and hip packs if you need one (let us know in the questionnaire)
– anything you need for camping other than a tent, water, and stove (sleeping pad, sleeping bag, change of clothes, etc)

**We’ll Bring**
– Bikes/helmets
– Bike rack(s)
– Pumps, tools, etc
– Bike lights (not planning to be out after dark, but you never know)
– Friday dinner + grill
– Communal tents, stove, water jug
– Cooler if you need to store food somewhere