This is a stunning and quite challenging ride. Starting at the Humpback Rocks Visitors Center at milepost 6 on the Blue Ridge Parkway, the route heads south on the Parkway, climbs up to the Raven’s Roost overlook, then descends from Reed’s Gap down to the Shenandoah Valley at Sherando. A long loop along the borders of a section of the George Washington National Forest takes you to the town of Vesuvius and to a 2.5 mile, very steep climb back up to the Parkway and north to the starting point. Worth every bit of the considerable effort involved.
Stores: Mile 13 (Sherando); mile 33.5 (Vesuvius)
Alerts:
1. There is a steep, winding descent from Reed’s Gap down into the Valley starting at mile 8. Use caution.
Route page: Humpback Rocks – Vesuvius
Click on the image below for the RWGPS page.
* Please indicate you will attend by leaving a comment below. Be sure to have the route on your phone or bike computer, and/or have a map or cue sheet. Also, please check the ride comments the day of the ride if the weather is iffy.
Be sure to have the route on your phone or bike computer, and/or have a map or cue sheet.
For details on how group rides are categorized, check out the Ride Classification guidelines.
All riders are required to have a helmet; a taillight, Road ID and a rear-view mirror is strongly recommended. You are also expected to have adequate fluids and a road-worthy bicycle in good repair. Many rides, but not all, will include the opportunity to stop at a store to replenish supplies.
You should be prepared to fix a flat tire and perform other minor repairs on the roadside. If you are new to cycling and are not comfortable with these procedures, don’t let that stop you. However, you might want to talk to a more experienced member before the ride so the group is prepared to help if necessary.
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Smoke forecast looks to be tolerable at the start and improving over the course of the day.
I’m going to join the group for the hide.
Weather forecast still looks great. Smoke/air quality forecast is looking “iffy”. Hopefully the RAP and HRRR models will offer some clarity by later this evening. Fingers crossed for favorable smoke conditions!
Please see Vincent’s post below. Apparently VDOT does not have a designated way around the construction site as they sometimes do. Given that on official CBC rides members are covered by supplemental medical and liability insurance, and that doing something not sanctioned by VDOT might affect that coverage if someone were to get hurt, the club position will be that for this ride members will use the detour. Safety first. Thanks.
I very much appreciate the heads up on this route change! Thank you Vincent and Bill!
An updated version of the route with the detour around the closed section is available here: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/43296228
Comes out to 62.1 miles.
Forecast is mostly mid 60’s for the bulk of the route, rising into the low 70’s at the very end. Light cloud cover, winds out of the NW 8-11mph.
Will, thanks for the updated map … see you there!
Bill
FYI as of June 10 there’s a detour on Howardsville Tpk due to road construction, about 2 or 3 miles in. The sign said the road is closed until the end of June.
I’ve found the VDOT post about this road closure; they’re replacing a bridge. There is no way to tell if bikes might be able to get through short of going out there. The designated detour only adds about 2.5 miles to the route.
In case that’s too much, an alternative route would be to join the Humpback Rocks Out and Back ride (38 miles) which turns around at milepost 25. You could continue from there to milepost 27 and take Route 56 down to Vesuvius (a fun experience in its own right) then climb back up and return on the Parkway. This would come out to around 50 miles.
I cycled the route on June 10. I was able to cross over but it was pretty tricky.
Vincent: Thanks for checking into this. Please see my new post above.