New Ride and Event Calendar

The NRVBA website now has a new Ride and Event Calendar. From the Navigation bar at the top
just hover over Rides and then click on Ride Calendar. Rides are color coded according to level of
difficulty (speed, climbing and mileage). Mountain Biking and Bike Club Events are also included. At the
bottom of the calendar is a legend that allows you to filter out listings by color code as you wish.

For more information on each ride or event, just click on that listing. You will then have the option to
download that listing to your own Google calendar, or iCalendar, or Outlook or Yahoo.

For those who are interested, while the calendar supports iCals, it is not iCalendar based, or Google
based, but rather it is a proprietary software engine created and hosted by www.localendar.com

In the near future, we hope to have an on-line form if you wish to lead a ride. Did you know that there
are incentives for those who regularly lead rides?

If you…

• are an NRVBA member,
• lead at least 12 rides during a rolling 12 month period,
• post your ride to the listserv at least 48 hours before the ride, and
• have at least two people show up and ride,

then you can select one of the following:

• entry into MoM or $50 toward entry to any cycling event
• a $50 Downtown Merchants Gift Certificate/local merchant
• a $50 Gift Card to a local bike shop
• a club jersey (if available)

For additional information, or if you have a ride you would like listed, please e-mail rides@nrvbike.org.

3rd Annual Fix Fest and Bike Swap

If the last time you rode a bike was when Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake were a couple, then it might be time to get back in the saddle! What you say? Your bike is hidden behind a stack of boxes and covered in a layer of dust? Well, you’re in luck! The Third Annual Fix Fest is scheduled for Saturday, April 28th in downtown Blacksburg. Bring that dusty bike over to 110 Draper Road (a few steps from the Blacksburg Farmer’s Market) where the Bike Barn and East Coasters will be on hand to tune up your bike for free.

Biking is a great way to get around town (any town in the NRV), combining exercise with errands, and eventually supported recreational rides or bike commuting to work. How do you make physical activity a habit that will stick? A start is to set reasonable goals, build gradually, and keep your activity fun. The following are some easy ways you can incorporate physical activity into your daily routine:

• Bike one daily trip for which you’d normally drive the car.
• Get a cycling buddy or take a family ride after dinner.
• Bike with a child to school or participate in a Walk to School Day event.
• Ride through your neighborhood and rate it’s “bikeability.”
• Keep a daily activity log. Estimate the mileage you biked or the minutes you spent doing something active.
• Join a cycling club or form a cycling group with a regular schedule. There is encouragement in numbers.

So, get your bike out and get down to the Third Annual Fix Fest on Saturday April 28th. The event runs from 9 am until noon.

Bike Swap

On Saturday April 28th , from 9 am to 12 noon, The NRVBA is sponsoring The Bike Swap! to be held in Downtown Blacksburg on Roanoke Street across from the Farmer’s Market (in the parking lot behind The National Bank of Blacksburg, between the bank and the 7-11 convenience store).

This is an event in which anyone may sell, buy, trade , or barter gently used bicycle-related items. (Sort of like a community yard sale for anything bike-related). Items can include bikes, components, accessories, apparel, car racks,etc! Anything to do with roadbikes, mountain bikes, commuter bikes, recreational bikes goes.

If YOU would like to SELL items, refer to the Bike Swap Frequently Asked Questions for details.
If you only one or two items to sell, you still can participate!

If YOU want to browse, barter, exchange, or BUY please stop by on the morning of the 28th!
The Bike Swap! is a great opportunity to clear your closet of unused cycling gear, and/or find some needed cycling gear.

So come on out for this CYCLING EXTRAVAGANZA!!

Download the NRVBA Bike Swap Poster.

Bike Kitchen Raffle Winner!

The NRVBA Bike Kitchen congratulates Shawn Veltman, the raffle winner of the Jamis Allegro X Comp.  The bicycle was offered by Pulaski Bikes, located in the Pulaski Train Station.  A chance at the prize was offered through the purchase of raffle ticket sales throughout the region.  Shawn’s name was drawn at the Train Station on Friday, February 24^th.

When we contacted Shawn to notify him of the good news, he surprised us with a most generous response.   Shawn accepted the prize and then turned around and re-donated the bicycle with the request to run a second raffle!  So, that’s what we’re going to do.

Beginning in April and continuing through May, the region will see a number of Bike Month related activities sponsored by the NRVBA, Ride Solutions, Virginia Tech and Sustainable Blacksburg.  We’ll start the new raffle to coincide with these activities.

Finally, we want to thank everyone who participated in the raffle by selling tickets (a big shout out to Dan Maderic and Jerry Ford), by purchasing tickets, and of course by providing the prize (thanks, Mike McMillion!).

All of the proceeds from the raffle ticket sales will go directly to the Bike Kitchen’s capital and operations expenses.  Our progress is moving right along as we continue to partner with various community organizations in different ways.  We’re all excited about the progress and thank everyone for their support.

Vermont Bicycling Vacation 2012

Join us in Vermont this June for our annual bicycling vacation. We will be visiting the Northeast Kingdom section of the state from June 10-24, 2012. You may come for one week (June 10-17 or June 17-24) or stay for both weeks. We rent one home, and cycle daily routes from there. We prepare our own breakfasts and dinners and share in the food costs. We have been doing these trips for the past 10 years, and they have always been very inexpensive. This year, I anticipate an approximate cost of $250/person/week for room and board! That’s a bargain you can’t refuse.

The bicycling, camaraderie, and food and wine are hard to beat. We should also be able to sight a moose or two this year.

These are socially oriented trips that attract all levels of riders. We even have non-cycling participants attend, as there is a plethora of other activities in the area for your enjoyment.

Please contact Ed Hokanson (edh@email.com/540-552-7825) for the specifics.

Your 2012 Officers and Committees

At the last general membership meeting, the NRVBA members elected the new officers and committee coordinators for 2012.  You’ll see a few new names added to the list as our leadership group grows.

Your new officers and committee coordinators are as follows:

• President:  Curt Nuenighoff
• Vice President: Nancy Valett
• Membership Coordinator: Pam Forsyth
• Secretary: Elizabeth Hokanson
• Treasurer: Everett Peterson
• Program Coordinator: Laurie Hudgins
• Ride Coordinator: David Gifford and Lisa Tutela
• Advocacy Cooridnator:  Carol Colby
• Webmaster: Joe Liversedge
• Bike Kitchen Liaisons: Beth Lohman and Matt Pollmann, VISTA
• Mountains of Misery Liaison: Beth Kipp

 

VACX in Blacksburg: cyclocross video

Virginia Cyclocross Series comes to Blacksburg and the poetic Cole Harden and local photographer Mark Zhu give us a quick tutorial in their signature fashion.

Blacksburg Cyclocross 2011 from Mark Zhu on Vimeo.

Thanks to Montgomery County Parks and Recreation and East Coasters, the Virginia Cyclocross Series (VACX) officially arrived in southwestern Virginia on November 12th and 13^th for the 6th round of the prestigious state-wide series.

What is cyclocross, you say?  It’s been described as:  a steeple chase on bikes or “1 part road biking + 1 part mountain biking + [insert your favorite beverage] = cyclocross.”  Seriously though, cyclocross courses generally offer a mix of terrain including grass, pavement, hills, dirt, and barricaded portions to force riders into a partial run each lap. The race is extremely viewer friendly, as competitors ride around a closed circuit over a small area for about 45 to 60 minutes.

This year’s Blacksburg Cyclocross Spectacle (BCS) event was hosted in a new venue on the south side of Blacksburg. The venue so generously lent to the event is a particularly convenient piece of land owned by Montgomery County, yet situated right in the Town of Blacksburg. A simple piece of green space, this property is a great place for neighboring citizens to walk their dogs, go for a run, or simply sit and enjoy the beautiful mountain view.

While designing the extremely well-received track, organizers worked hard to take advantage of as much of the natural terrain features as possible. Not content to dumb-down the course in order to make it an easy ride, these designers instead mowed in a number of demanding technical turns and hairpins, utilized two exciting descents, and chopped in a devastating run-up. A pair of barriers were placed in such a manner as to require significant consideration as to the most speedy way to tackle them. The course drew nearly equally on technical skill, tactical ability, and brute fitness. In short, the course wasn’t friendly, it wasn’t lazy, and it wasn’t happy. Indeed, it was quite a cross course.

For those who were able to attend, the event may have planted a small seed of organic curiosity deep down in the dirt of your soul.  Or, if you were off nursing some other outdoor addiction and completely oblivious to the fact that VACX had arrived in town, a well-dressed devil roaming about the course, with a space-age camera setup and an eye for telegenic action, captured the action. This digitizing specter is a local legend, who goes by the name of Mark Zhu. Gleaned from the multifarious hours of footage collected, Mark has created a totally rad three-minute video perfectly matched with a particularly catchy song.  If you haven’t felt the organic curiosity rise in you yet, you will after viewing Mark’s video.

Be sure to stay tuned for updates regarding the upcoming two-day SUPERCROSS! Cyclocross Omnium here in Blacksburg on January 7th and 8th. If you’ve never had the opportunity to race a ‘cross time trial, this will be a mighty fine chance.

 

Zhu’s Reflections on Rowdy Dawg

Mark Zhu grabbed his camera, left his bike behind, and headed out to Pandapas Pond for two days of Rowdy Dawg.  Mark snapped some exceptional photos of the 2011 participants, and we asked him to reflect on his two days and share a few of those photos.  Enjoy!

Rowdy Dawg Day 1

It seems like it was just a few days ago when I could walk out my door in a T-shirt and shorts in the morning.  But on the first day of Rowdy Dawg, the temperature dropped to a staggering 35 degrees, and I was bundled up for a winter blizzard.

Thankfully by Saturday afternoon, mother nature knew we had a bike race going on and decided to take pity on us.  I arrived at the Gateway Trail, AKA Old Farm Saturday afternoon armed not with my two wheels mayhem, but rather my camera in hope of capturing the excitement.  As cheesy as it sounds, bombing down old farm may feel like a blur, but a photo will be remembered for much longer.

To those who have ridden or hiked on Old Farm, the trail is rough and technical and not intended for the faint of heart.  The steep gradient, single track is littered with deep rooted roots, teeth rattling rock gardens, and tricky switchbacks that will test the rider’s courage as well as their equipment.

I pulled into the parking lot and happened to run into Theresa, a proud mother of one of the racers who was also photographing the event that day.  We grabbed our gear and huffed up the trail to find our spots with clear view of the riders and good lighting.

At 4:10pm, the first rider set off for the descent followed by the rest at 1minute intervals.  There were at least 30 riders that day, so I prepared myself to sit on the side of the trail for a good hour or so.

As I waited for each rider to come by, I enjoyed the silence and tranquility of being in the woods between each run.  Taking in the cool, fresh mountain air and the beautiful colors that Virginia had to offer.  That silence would be interrupted every minute or so by cheering spectators followed by the rider bombing down the trail.  I’d frantically grab my camera, fire a few shots, then await for the arrival of the next brave soul to challenge the wrath of Old Farm.

 

Rowdy Dawg Day 2

The following day was the longest running, and one of my favorite MTB race here in Blacksburg, the Rowdy Dawg XC.  There are two main categories; XXC, and regular XC.  Regular XC riders tackle one, but quite challenging lap, while XXC riders have to do two excruciating laps.

I drove up the service road at the crack of dawn and located a spot to catch the XXC riders.  Mother nature had once again cooperated and granted us with another day of perfect riding weather.  Despite of the warm forecast, the morning air was quite chilly and finger numbing.  I parked my car on the side of the road, grabbed all my gear and entered the trail head leading to Trillium trail that’s located on the Brush Mountain side of Pandapas.  There’s something about being on the Pandapas trail in the early morning that makes the experience magical.  Aside from the occasional bird chirps and creaking trees, the woods was tranquil and saturated with crisp, morning air.

As the sun penetrated the thick woods and casted it’s warm beam onto the trail, the first rider appeared in the distance.  It turns out to be our local star Zack Morrey.  Moments later the remainder of the XXC riders rode past one by one.  Immediately after capturing pictures of the remainder riders, I packed up my gear, and headed to the next spot.

I chose one of my favorite spots, a double stream crossing on Poverty Creek.  It’s very unique due to the variety of terrain it has to offer within a span of 200 feet. The trail first drops on a short, steep descent, followed by a wheel locking hairpin right turn.  It then drops you down to one stream.  Up, immediate tight left turn, then another long stream crossing that’s littered with rocks.  After that, by now the soaking rider will ascend out of the stream into a rock garden that they will have to navigate with their slippery wet tires.

As I wrapped up the lighting and camera, the first rider rolled by and begun the exciting day of photographing both the XXC and XC riders.  Though my feet were soaked and almost frozen from standing there hours on end, it was well worth capturing the smiling faces of riders young and old.

Rowdy Dawg once again did not disappoint to those of whom took up the challenge.  For those of you whom have never had the pleasure of experiencing the amazing event, I’d highly recommend on checking it out next year.

Updated: German Cyclist Critically Injured

UPDATE:  Gathering of Sharing for the Sprick Family.

On Friday, Oct 28,2011 between 9:30-10:30am at Roanoke Airport upper lounge, friends and supporters are invited to a Gathering of Sharing and Caring. Alexandra, Michael’s sister, will depart for Germany. Our gathering will be simple. Folks can come to meet Alexandra and to bid her safe journey as she returns home to Germany. If you haven’t met her and want to share your support, please feel free to come. 

If you’re coming from the NRV, you may consider using the Smartway Bus to travel up and back as it stops at the Roanoke Airport. See the Smartway Bus schedule here. 

Original Post:

Michael P. Sprick was riding his bicycle on Highway 100 in Pulaski County, Virginia on Saturday, October 8, 2011, when he was struck by a Merita bread truck and thrown from his bike onto an embankment.

He was airlifted to Carilion Hospital in Roanoke, where he remains on full life support in the brain injury critical care unit.

Michael is from Germany and was touring the United States on bicycle. His sister flew to Roanoke from Germany to help tend to her brother’s needs, and has been the guest of Barbara and Gary Duerk in Roanoke during her stay.

The driver of the truck was charged with Reckless Driving. The hearing is set for December 6, 2011, at 8:30 a.m. in Pulaski General District Court, 45 Third Street, Pulaski. We will keep you informed of any changes and recommendations, in case you wish to attend this hearing in support of Michael and/or cyclists’ rights to share the rode safely.

The pastor of South Roanoke United Methodist Church has provided a mechanism for contributions to be received for Michael Sprick and his family. If you would like to donate, please make checks payable to South Roanoke United Methodist Church c/o Pastor’s Discretionary Fund for Michael Sprick. Checks should be mailed to:

South Roanoke United Methodist Church
c/o Pastor’s Discretionary Fund for Michael Sprick
2330 S. Jefferson Street
Roanoke, VA 24014

The pastor of South Roanoke UMC is Stan Wright.  The funds will be used to help cover family expenses related to Michael’s accident.

If you are a Facebook user, you can also follow developments on the Friends of Michael P. Sprick page  or the NRVBA page.

 

Draper Mountain Bike Trail – Now Open!

For the last three years, our friends down in Pulaski have put blood, sweat and tears into creating a mountain bike trail system on Draper Mountain.

Draper Mountain, named for John Draper and his family, is situated south of the Town of Pulaski.  The terrain is steep, rising up from the Town to the Draper Mountain Overlook that provides expansive vistas of the nearby mountain ranges and valleys.

The Town of Pulaski owns much of the north side of the Mountain and has opened the area up for mountain bike trail construction.  Since 2009, a group of dedicated cyclists have been out there with fire rakes, chain saws, pry bars and Pulaski axes, chiseling out a trail that winds back and forth in an effort to make the climb up the mountain accessible.  The core group, who has invested several years of sweat equity, includes Don Singleton, Dave Kinder, Gene Holt, Randy Ward, Mike McMillion. Support has come from other groups that deserve an honorable mention, including Josh Witherspoon and his Eagle Scout troops as well as the Department of Forestry.

Work is on-going to improve the initial trail and to create new spurs.  Singleton says, “currently there is only one main trail but the potential for offshoots are unlimited; those optional loops have not been worked out as of yet.” Dave Kinder gives us a preview of the trail in the above video. 

Describing the trail’s difficulty, Don Singleton states “right now the trail is very technical and certainly not for the beginner, but as we learn more about what is needed to make it better, we are dealing with it.”   Kinder adds “much of the work has been done on off-season days not suitable for riding, which offered us a chance to still spend time with cycling friends. It’s a nice experience to work on trails that seem so remote but a really just a mile or two from town.”  Efforts should to expand the trail will begin again in earnest as fall arrives.

The trail and the proposed spurs have not officially been named yet, but the trail builders have their own monikers like Cotton Candy, Rock Garden, The Saddle, and Dragon Tooth. Singleton says “those names have meaning to us and when we speak of them, we know where they are.”  The NRVBA donated $600 to the Town, and according to John Hawley, Pulaski Town Manager, the Town plans on using part of this money for signing the access points and the trail markers this winter.

If you want to ride the trail, you can access the area via two points.  Parking is available at Pulaski Bikes, owned by McMillion, and located at the Pulaski Train Depot. Ride up Valley Road just past the church where the access trail is on your left.  McMillion has printed instructions on how to get there.  The second access point is from the North Side Overlook where you can park and ride or walk down the trail.

If you would like to volunteer time to trail building, please contact Don Singleton at desingleton@comcast.net.

Interactive Web Survey: Blacksburg

The Town of Blacksburg and the VT Center for Geospatial and Information Technology has opened up an interactive web survey where you can map your preferred routes around town:

Survey address:  http://www.cgit.vt.edu/projectwebs/bikepedsurvey

As we have mentioned previously, a citizen workgroup, under the direction of the Town of Blacksburg’s Corridor Committee and town staff, is working on developing a Bike/Pedestrian Master Plan.  As part of the plan development we’re conducting several surveys to collect information to guide us in the development of the plan.  The first effort is the bike count on September 28th and October 1st, and the second effort is this interactive web survey.

Please take a few moments to add your route information to the survey as this is important to our efforts to develop the Master  Plan.  If you have any issues with inputting information, please contact Priscilla Cygielnik at pcygielnik@blacksburg.gov.

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