Slate Springs Bikepacking

OVERVIEW

yeah, you read that correctly… BIKEpacking. Not backpacking. All the fun of biking, with all the self-reliance and minimalism of backpacking. And all while taking in so many beautiful views and soaking in the remote scenery of the Appalachian mountains. Over the course of two days, we’re going to ride a ~50 mile loop that circumnavigates and summits Reddish Knob on pavement, gravel, and jeep roads. Join us for an fun exploration of what the area has to offer!

Prerequisites:
– You must have been mountain biking at least a few times or have some other equivalent riding experience. There are no technical trails on this route, but you need to be comfortable handling the bike on a chunky dirt road with big puddles.
– We arbitrarily suggest you have at least three nights of backpacking experience. This will be equally as challenging as a backpacking overnight, with some additional challenge/complexity introduced by the bike element.

Some useful links for you; MANDATORY reading:
– The route: https://bikepacking.com/routes/overnighter-harrisonburg-va/
– Packing tips: https://bikepacking.com/bikepacking-101/

Here’s the plan:
– Wednesday evening (4/26), we’ll meet up at the Shred Shack and distribute bikes, bags, and shared gear to everyone. You will then be responsible for packing your gear for the trip into these bags, and whatever doesn’t fit into a backpack that is suitable for riding. If you wear a backpack, we strongly recommend one with a hip and chest strap to keep the load from bouncing all over your back.

Friday 4/28
– 9am: meet at Shred Shack, load up bikes and gear, depart
10:30am: arrive at the parking lot, get bikes set up
11:00am: rolling from lot
~pedal pedal pedal, approx 25-30 miles~
5pm: arrive at a campsite, post up for the night

Saturday 4/29
– wake up, breakfast, etc
~pedal pedal pedal back to the car(s), approx 25 miles~
~extra optional singletrack if we’re feeling into that~
4:00pm: pack up car(s)
5:30pm: back in cville, unload the car(s)
6:00pm: back to your regularly scheduled sunday evening activities

**You bring**
– Phone with MTBProject or Trailforks downloaded, with the Virginia region downloaded within the app. We’re not planning to be separated, but this will help you navigate back to the car if we do get lost
– Water: 3L capacity (we can put a bottle cage on each bike; let us know if you want this)
– Food: lunch x2, snacks, friday dinner, saturday breakfast. We’ll bring a communal stove if you need to boil water, but don’t plan on cooking a 3-course meal on the group stove please
– Appropriate clothing and footwear: it can be cold this time of year, dress in layers suitable for riding: synthetics and wool are much better than cotton in case you get wet. If you are unsure of what this might look like for the trip, we’re happy to chat, though you should have an idea from previous biking and backpacking experiences.
– a change of clothes to sleep in
– 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 (see note above about chest and hip straps): the club has some daypacks and hip packs if you need one (let us know in the questionnaire)
– sleeping system (bag, pad, tent/hammock): If you are comfortable sharing a tent with others on the trip, we’ll bring tents to share. Otherwise, you should bring your own. Consider weight and space limitations on the bike when choosing what to bring.
– anything else you’d normally bring backpacking, bearing in mind the space and weight constraints you have of being on a bike (toothbrush, spork, etc)

**We’ll Bring**
– Bikes/helmets
– handlebar bags, seatpost bags, frame bags, top tube bags for the bikes
– a few packs to wear (if you have one that is suitable for this trip, please bring it as we only have a few)
– Bike rack(s)
– Pumps, tools, etc
– Communal tent(s)
– Communal stove + fuel

***Driver(s) needed! Drivers get priority off the waitlist and gas reimbursement + 50% tip! Please let us know about your bike carrying abilities if you have a car, and please arrive with a full tank of gas.***