SWVA INT-ADV MTB – Hometown edition

OVERVIEW

Are you hoping to ride some new trails in the Roanoke/Blacksburg area? Are you stoked to “camp” in Sujith’s basement and Haley’s backyard? Do you want to rip a descent that Sujith has been chased down by a bear? If so, this might be the trip for you.

We are planning on driving out to Blacksburg on Friday to get a quick afternoon ride in before the sun goes down at like frickin 4pm. We’ll camp at Haley’s place on Friday night and go for a longer Blacksburg area ride on Saturday (15-25mi, 2000-4500’). Here are some of the trails we might ride in the area:
https://www.mtbproject.com/trail/3821992/pandapas-pond-challenging-loop
https://www.mtbproject.com/trail/7066638/mcdonalds-to-gateway-loop

Saturday afternoon, we’ll head to Roanoke to cook dinner and crash in Sujith’s basement. On Sunday, we’ll do a ride at the Carvins cove area (again 15-25mi, 2000-4500’).
https://www.mtbproject.com/trail/97089/hi-dee-ho
https://www.mtbproject.com/trail/97145/the-gauntlet
https://www.mtbproject.com/trail/7026769/og-line
Sujith’s strava from last year: https://strava.app.link/Yf17FZ3EvEb

I’ve never ridden in Blacksburg, but Carvins definitely has some challenging technical descents and tricky climbs. These trails will also more than likely be super leafy, adding to the challenge. So, prior mountain biking experience is a must. No need to be a pro rider, but this shouldn’t be your first rodeo. If you have any questions feel free to text us (phone numbers on profile)

Here’s the non-biking plan: We plan to shop for groceries for fri/sat dinner and sat/sun breakfast. The trip fee is to have a communal budget for food and beverage, and there will likely be leftover funds that will be redistributed among participants. Bring lots of trail snacks/non perishables for riding. For camping gear, we’ll figure out tents with a group chat. 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.

Tentative plan:
Friday
12:45pm: meet at Shred Shack, load up bikes and gear, depart
4:15-5:45pm: ride, we’ll bring lights
6pm: band?, grocery, dinner/crash at Haley’s in Blacksburg

Saturday
Tbd: breakfast, more Blacksburg riding
4:30-5pm: back at the car, drive to Roanoke
6pm: dinner/crash at Sujith’s in Roanoke

Sunday
Tbd: breakfast, drive over to Carvins
4:00pm: pack up car, head back to cville (if 2 cars, we can have 1 leave later)
6:30pm: back in cville

You bring:
– Bathing suit/towel (hot tub??)
– Warm clothes & layers. It will definitely be chilly in the evenings. Bring quick-dry, non-cotton stuff. Be prepared for rain.
– 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
– Food: we will be doing dinners communally, but bring lots of trail snacks
– Sleeping bag and pad
– Headlamp
– Water: 2.5-4L capacity
– Bag to carry water and food
– Phone with MTBProject or Trailforks downloaded, with the Virginia region downloaded within the app

We’ll bring:
– Bikes/helmets
– Bike rack(s)
– Dinner/breakfast: well, kinda. We’ll be grocery shopping locally
– Pumps, tools, etc
– Bike lights
– Water jug
– Cooler

As always, hit us up if you have any questions (click on our profiles for our phone numbers)