Saturday Mountain Ride - SRSP

This morning Gary and I met two customers (and friends of the shop) at Shenandoah River State Park for a quick mountain bike ride. They had been planning to camp at the park and caught a post Gary put on Facebook about our impending ride. Gary recently purchased a GT Zaskar 29" mountain bike. 29" is the diameter of the wheels on the bike, and I only point this out because for many, many years the standard was 26" (which I still ride). The larger wheel provides less rolling resistance and the ability to cross obstacles (like rocks and downed trees) easier. At least that's the general theory. I am fairly certain that Gary would agree with that theory. Today we primarily stuck to the fast, rolling trail that parallels the river. We did take one side trail that had a pretty nice little climb. Due to time constraints, we had to cut the ride short and head back to prepare to open the shop. Still lots more left for us to explore in the Park, to include the more "technical" single-track trails. "Thrive Outside"

Friday Trail Run - Thornton Gap - AT North

Friday found me free of any obligations involving hot tub deliveries to West Virginia, so six of us met for an early morning run on the Appalachian Trail. We parked near Thornton Gap and headed north on the AT. This time out we had Gary, Bob, Val, Linda, Andy and me, plus three awesome trail dogs. The weather was ideal when we started and rapidly approaching warm as we finished. From Thornton Gap the trail climbs steadily up to a smooth, fast rolling section, lined and shaded by Pine trees. About two miles in there is a marker pointing the way to Pass Mountain Hut, where we stopped for a quick group photo. Less than a half mile later we were taking a quick break at the Hut, giving the dogs and ourselves some water. On our way into the Hut, we encountered three AT hikers who had apparently spent the night there. A well groomed service road was what we chose as the return route back to Thornton Gap. The road meanders gently downhill for most of the way, so all you have to do is pay attention to your footing and let gravity do all the work. Everyone seemed to enjoy this trail and I would have to personally rate it as one of my favorites. Another fantastic Friday trail run under our belts. "Thrive Outside"

Kennedy Peak Trail Run 23 Apr 10

Hi everyone. This is Gary writing in the blog this time. Howard could not be with us because he was in West Virginia helping Joe and Cooter deliver a hot tub to a trailer. This morning we had a good crowd for our weekly trail run, six of us! Two new members, Don and Val joined us. Don ran with us last year but this was his first run with us this year. Val joined us for the first time and did very well. She had been training for a half marathon so she was pretty strong, just not used to the varied terrain. Linda and Andy are getting stronger all the time. The weather was a balmy 43 degrees and partly cloudy. The trail to Kennedy Peak is two miles up and two back. The trail is roller coaster with some rocky parts, it is the last half mile that is real sketchy, very rocky. The three guys and dogs went to the top and then caught up with the ladies on the way back. Up at the top of the peak is an observation tower that you can stand on to look out over the valley. Quite a picture! Bob is an animal! Strong and fast! The pace that Don and I were running at was not fast enough for him so he took off and we never saw him again until we arrived at the trail head! As you can see in the pictures most of us were wearing long sleeved t-shirts, a little overdressed because once you get started you warm up real quick. I do have to say though that the Golite shirt I was wearing was very light weight and I was very comfortable the entire run.
All of our runs are easy going, no one gets left behind. Anyone is welcome to run with us, so just check the Appalachian Outdoors Adventures facebook page to find out where we will be running next. In a future blog I will write about the gear we use and run in and what we like and don't like.

Saturday Road Ride - Stanley Loop

This morning Gary, Linda and I rode another one of our favorite road loops out to Stanley and back. The temperature was pleasant enough, but the wind was vicious! We were pummeled by it for most of the ride out to the turn around point. At least we were lucky enough to have the wind at our backs for a portion of the locally infamous "Ida Stretch." We decided to make a right on Valley Burg Road and climb a nice little hill on the way back to Luray. First there is a short, easy climb followed by a flat section with a slight downhill. After the downhill you round a corner and catch a glimpse of the next climb, which isn't really a killer, but it's enough to get the heart beating and legs burning a little. This is also part of the Luray Triathlon course and it always manages to illicit gasps, wide eyes and a few muffled expletives from the competitors when they round the bend and look up. I snapped a couple of shots of Gary and Linda approaching the top and I am pretty sure they both have smiles on their faces. From the top of Valley Burg back to Luray is mostly downhill and usually pretty fast, but the winds seemed to shift and nail us head on as we pushed the pedals back to town. Even with the strong winds, we love to start the day by touring the beautiful back roads of Page County aboard our bicycles. "Thrive Outside"

Friday Trail Run - Shenandoah River State Park 2

We enjoyed the trails at Shenandoah River State Park so much the first time we ran them that we decided to go back for more. Joining Gary, Bob and myself this time were Andy and Linda. As always, Athena, Lilly and Martha came along, tails wagging and smiling from ear to ear. Yes........our dogs actually smile, especially when anticipating a run through the woods. Gary decided to put Athena on a leash for this run because of two recent "disappearing" acts she pulled. In her defense, she is half the age of Lilly and Martha and fast as lightning! Hopefully her being forced to run close to us will provide positive results and she will be "off lead" again soon. The up-side to Athena being on the leash the entire time is that we were able to cover more distance (Instead of spending time looking for her). Gary was wearing a pedometer and we logged 3.4 miles in just under 1 hour. Despite this being the first trail run of the season for Andy and Linda, they both held their own and felt good afterward. Extra attention to the trail was required because of deep hoof prints left by recent horse traffic, which happens when equestrians ride on wet, muddy trails. All in all the run was great and we will no doubt continue to explore the trails more this summer. "Thrive Outside"

Monday Mushroom Hike

This past Monday Andy and I met Gary, Linda and CFM (Cindy from Montana) at Brookside restaurant for breakfast before heading over the mountain to hike the Hazel River trail. Congratulations to C.C. and John (Brookside owners) for being in business for 20 years! Our goal was to hunt for the ever elusive Morel mushroom. We were too late and the conditions were too dry, so not a single one was found. Honestly, we already knew that might be the case before heading into the woods. At the very least, we figured that we would get a good hike in, which we did. The Hazel River was running strong and Gary and I paused several times to scout spots to fish for native Brook Trout. The hike was relatively short (4 miles) and the trail rolls easily along, only requiring us to cross the Hazel once. Athena, Lilly and Martha also made the trip and loved every minute of it, as usual. It's funny to note that while Athena and Lilly love the water and go out of their way to make a splash when and wherever possible, Martha makes every attempt to avoid it, unless she needs a drink. I caught a couple of nice shots of Martha leaping from rock to rock to further illustrate this point. The weather was gorgeous and we all enjoyed a nice walk in the woods. "Thrive Outside"

Saturday Road Ride - SRO Loop

Another picture perfect day in the Shenandoah Valley. Another great road ride. This morning Gary & I took to the back roads with Shenandoah River Outfitters in our sights. We did pause briefly on Bixler's Ferry bridge to check out the South Fork of the Shenandoah River and snap a photo before continuing on Page Valley road to the Outfitters. (About the photos: For some odd reason, the camera on my phone inverts the images. I'm still trying to fix that, but have had no luck so far). Page Valley Road parallels the river, rolling and winding nicely, offering glimpses of the Massanutten ridge line to the West. Quick note here: During the busy season, this road will have a lot of fast moving traffic on it, making it unsuitable for inexperienced riders. The Redbud trees, Creeping Phlox and Lilacs were our constant companions for the ride, confirming that Spring has indeed sprung! After reaching our turn around point at Shenandoah River Outfitters, we stopped to chat with Nancy Goebel about the impending busy Summer season. SRO is going into their 40th year in business and this season promises to be another great one! As always, it was a great way to start the day. Tomorrow evening we will start up Sunday group rides. These rides are friendly (no one gets dropped) and depart from Ruffner Plaza in Luray at 5:30 P.M. "Thrive Outside"