Skyline Drive, Shenandoah, VA

I found this cool website listing just one great ride in each U.S. state. Of course, I want to do every one of them! I was thinking, hmmm, maybe 2 a year? Then I realized that would take 25 years, which would make me 75 when I finish! God that is a huge drag. I hope I'll still be riding when I'm 75, but I don't think I should count on it. That means I need to get cracking on this list! I also figured I should do the harder ones sooner rather than later, right?

So I looked at VA and discovered I hadn't even done that ride yet: Skyline Drive. It's 105 miles long, includes a 6 mile climb of over 1,500 feet at the beginning if you start at the beginning. Here's what RootsRated says:

From north to south, there are 18 categorized climbs. Two are Cat. 2s, seven are Cat. 5s, and the others are Cat. 3s and 4s. From the south, the road climbs roughly 13,400 feet over 19 categorized climbs.

Yikers!

I'd like to pack my bike and ride between campgrounds, which would amount to only about 30 miles per day.  But before I give that a whirl, I figured I should get out there and see what it's like without my bike packed. So Laurie's trainer, Julia, agreed to let me tag along with her and her cycling friends. 

We started about 4.5 miles into the park (and up most of that first climb) at Dickey's Ridge Visitor's Center. There were bathrooms here for future reference. 

Here's Julia and a friend of hers at our first stop. I wasn't too far behind for this one.

After that we had a short downhill where I got behind, then I was really behind for the next ascent. Here's everyone waiting for me at the next overlook. They are pinpricks! I didn't feel too bad because I saw them just arriving as I rounded the corner, so I know they weren't there too long, but still!

 At mile 20, we stopped at a grocery. This group is more about racing than touring and taking pictures, so I didn't dare take a pic of the grocery store, but it was cute. There were backpackers there from the Appalachian Trail, bathrooms, and a bike station out back with a floor pump and bike tools. Nice!

At this point, Julia and her husband decided to log a few more miles (7.5 out and back for an extra 15). I felt good but wasn't sure how long that would last, so I opted to return. That meant turning around and climbing 3 miles up the hill we just raced down. Part way up I ran into a bear on the shoulder. I only saw it before running into it because a car stopped to look. I'd been riding with my head down not noticing what was up ahead. I hid behind the stopped car for a minute, then took off when the bear headed up the bank. Wew!

This is me at the top of that first 3 mile climb after turning back. Not sure where the other pictures are from. I was really happy here because I knew if I could get up that hill without dying, I was going to make it. Riding back by myself was actually nice because I could go my pace (not that anyone but me was making me feel like I couldn't before) and enjoy the view.

The ride concluded with a nice downhill - always love that!

In the end, 40 miles total but a dismal 11.6 something mph on average. I was slow up those hills! Usually 5-8mph, but then around 35 on the way down the downhills. My odometer says max speed was 39.1. Rats! I wished I'd noticed that. Would have liked to have hit 40!

Now, on to those other states!