[BussaFrame]

I'm moving down into C-ville in feb and wanted to start making some riding contacts. I have a Yeti 575 right now and a Surly 1x1.

So where are the trails and how are they? I have been to Douthat which is bad ass, but I haven't been to anything else in VA. Other than a few rides at the Furnace. I'm sure there will be lots of climbing, but how are the descents?

I'll definately be looking for people to ride with, so let me know who is down to ride.

 

[BIRDMAN111]

well you have to go to o-hill. its the best riding in cville. some people may argue that walnut creek is better, and it is fun to go to every once in a while, but ohill is where its at. its hard to explain where o hill is, but you should search on like map quest or wherever for the observatory (hence the 'o' in o-hill) and if you can get up to that theres a bunch of trails that go off of the road. that place is where i go like every day.

 

[Westy]

As stated above there is O-Hill right in town and Walnut Creek a bit outside of town. O-Hill is steeper and rockier Walnut has more trails and more flow.

There is also the Rivanna trail system, a loop that goes around the city, it does cross streets a lot so it isn't the easiest trail to link together but a great option for dirt commuting if you live/work in town.

About 30 minutes west of town is Lake Sherando/Big Levels the closest "mountain" type riding. Real fun stuff. Think Douthat with more rocks.

About 45 minutes west of town puts you into the GWNF and more trails than I could describe. Braleys Pond is probably the most popular.
In Crozet they are building more trails at Mint Spring

 

[BussaFrame]

Cool, these are all places I have never heard of. They all sound like good places to ride though, I'm going to have some serious exploring to do soon.

 

[Westy]

What part of town are you moving to?

 

[BussaFrame]

I would give you better details if I knew them. I have only been to the place a couple times, but it is right off of 29 by UVA's Research Facility I want to say. There is a target right there also.

I'll figure out the part of town when I get down there.

 

[Westy]

Forgot to add Wintergreen if you want some lift assisted riding.

 

[BussaFrame]

Word, I heard about that. But to hit up wintergreen I'll want a big bike. And I'm not even trying to purchase anouther bike right now. I'll just have to keep climbing and earning my descents, not that that is a bad thing.

 

[peter6061]

C'mon, man... Scott and I told you about our experience at Sherando.... Yeah, would be nice to go with someone who knew his way around next time. We were all about the climb with the 'switchbacks' but the descent would have been nicer had it been groomed in the past 10 years to clear away the brush enough to see the ground. (Torrey ridge I think? about 5 years ago?)

You know, you can always come up here and crash on the couch and ride,.... wak-o-tink. haha

Oh, and get in shape for the SM100. It's right in your neck of the woods. See you there...

 

[BussaFrame]

C'mon, man... Scott and I told you about our experience at Sherando.... Yeah, would be nice to go with someone who knew his way around next time. We were all about the climb with the 'switchbacks' but the descent would have been nicer had it been groomed in the past 10 years to clear away the brush enough to see the ground. (Torrey ridge I think? about 5 years ago?)

You know, you can always come up here and crash on the couch and ride,.... wak-o-tink. haha

Oh, and get in shape for the SM100. It's right in your neck of the woods. See you there...

Oh I might crash on the couch, but it will be when it's time to ride the shed. Definately not for wak-o-tink, but then again I'll still be up here at least once a week. So those weeknight rides can happen again.

 

[Westy]

C'mon, man... Scott and I told you about our experience at Sherando.... Yeah, would be nice to go with someone who knew his way around next time. We were all about the climb with the 'switchbacks' but the descent would have been nicer had it been groomed in the past 10 years to clear away the brush enough to see the ground. (Torrey ridge I think? about 5 years ago?)

You know, you can always come up here and crash on the couch and ride,.... wak-o-tink. haha

Oh, and get in shape for the SM100. It's right in your neck of the woods. See you there...

CAMBC has started doing some maintenance out there in past few years so the overgrowth isn't as much of a problem. Heading down Slacks is a very popular route and has no such vegetative issues. At least you didn't try climbing up via the fire road. 5 miles of loose babyheads and soft sand, it makes the switchbacks look easy.

 

[jaekormtb]

C-ville also has a free skatepark, if you're into that. The street BMX sceene is't too bad either.

 

[mud'n'sweat]

There is a **** ton of riding here.

Within 2 hours you have....

Walnut, O-Hill, Sherando/Big Levels, Stokesville area filled with great epic rides to keep you busy all summer, Douthat, Carvin's Cove, Explorer park, Elizabeth Furnace, Buttermilk trail, Poor Farm, Lodi farm, Wintergreen. Plenty of challenging road riding too. I love it here.

 

[BussaFrame]

Sounds good. I can't wait to hit some new trails.

 

[BIRDMAN111]

C-ville also has a free skatepark, if you're into that. The street BMX sceene is't too bad either.

haha i knew you would mention that

 

[BIRDMAN111]

Walnut, O-Hill...

dont you mean 'O-hill, walnut..."

 

[BIRDMAN111]

wait, westy you live in charlottesville?

 

[BussaFrame]

Sounds like there are a few monkies down in that area. This move might work out better than expected.

 

[mud'n'sweat]

dont you mean 'O-hill, walnut..."

No, I don't. O-Hill is okay for something in town, but it gets old with the quickness. Can't get in many miles before having to repeat trails. I'm not even that big on Walnut, but it's got more to offer than O-Hill. Once you start hitting places like Sherando, Braley's, Dowell's, Lookout, Douthat, Reddish (And I mean ALL of Reddish) etc. you'll see what I mean.

 

[BIRDMAN111]

true that sherando reddish douthat is way better than both ohill and walnut. but you can get a like 8 mile loop at o-hill. and in my humble oppinion quality is better than quantity. even though walnut has lots of fast single track i dont find it as challanging as ohill. and it seems that all of the middleaged bikers that are about the fashon of mountain biking. i dunno i just prefer all of the rocks at ohill. and they actually have jumps at ohill, which is nice to stop at and session halfway through a ride.

 

[Westy]

wait, westy you live in charlottesville?

Last I checked.

 

[fonseca]

the descent would have been nicer had it been groomed in the past 10 years to clear away the brush enough to see the ground. (Torrey ridge I think? about 5 years ago?)

All the trails are completely clear, and have been for several years. I've been riding it since 2002 at least a few times a year and haven't had that problem.

Unless you live in C'ville, O-Hill isn't worth riding IMO. Sorry locals! lthumbsdown: I'm sure it's great to have decent trails so close though, and if I was in C'ville I would be there whenever I had an hour to ride after work.

I ride Walnut Creek several times a month. It's well worth the drive from Richmond. The trails flow so well (some sections so perfectly routed that you know they were designed by bikers), the location is beautiful, and you can put some awesome loops together without repeating any sections. And no stoplights or city traffic.

 

[mud'n'sweat]

even though walnut has lots of fast single track i dont find it as challanging as ohill. and it seems that all of the middleaged bikers that are about the fashon of mountain biking.

Honestly, I'd venture to guess there are several techy sections of Walnut you've yet to see. Also, some of those "middleaged" bikers out there for the "fashion" of it could probably put a hurting on you if you tried to hang for any real length of time.

We were all about the climb with the 'switchbacks' but the descent would have been nicer had it been groomed in the past 10 years to clear away the brush enough to see the ground. (Torrey ridge I think? about 5 years ago?)

All of those ridge lines can become a mess in a hurry with high winds or ice. They are pretty well maintained though. I can bike to Sherando from my house so it's my regular spot. Downed tree's typically don't stay untouched for more than a couple weeks tops. It would be faster if the forest service was responsive to our offers to help out though.

 

[Westy]

Honestly, I'd venture to guess there are several techy sections of Walnut you've yet to see. Also, some of those "middleaged" bikers out there for the "fashion" of it could probably put a hurting on you if you tried to hang for any real length of time.



All of those ridge lines can become a mess in a hurry with high winds or ice. They are pretty well maintained though. I can bike to Sherando from my house so it's my regular spot. Downed tree's typically don't stay untouched for more than a couple weeks tops. It would be faster if the forest service was responsive to our offers to help out though.

Is Sherando still war zone full of hunters? I was thinking about playing hooky and riding out there today but wasn't sure if I wanted to get shot before the new year.

 

[mud'n'sweat]

Is Sherando still war zone full of hunters? I was thinking about playing hooky and riding out there today but wasn't sure if I wanted to get shot before the new year.

I was up there Tuesday and Wednesday this week and only ran into the usual beer tracking dogs in training. Figured most were out heavily before x-mas and took a little break right afterwards. I'd guess at least the slacks/white rock side is good'ol'boy free today.

 

[peter6061]

All of those ridge lines can become a mess in a hurry with high winds or ice. They are pretty well maintained though. I can bike to Sherando from my house so it's my regular spot. Downed tree's typically don't stay untouched for more than a couple weeks tops. It would be faster if the forest service was responsive to our offers to help out though.

Yeah, a buddy of mine and I went down on a whim and a recommendation from a coworker who camped there a bunch. We had no exact directions, so we took a map and a web suggested route.

The climb was good. The descent was completely overgrown with bushes overtaking the trail from each side at least 6-7 feet in the air. You could barely keep your head above the stuff. The sheer amount of vegatation kept us from even remotely seeing the rocky trail beneath us. There were a few close calls due to 'hitting' fallen logs the were obscured by the brush, and overall we came back with a sense that we should have just bombed back down the climb we came up.

We have not been back since, but many people have told me the trail has been cleared. I'll have to check it out again. I still need to get down there for a ride with Westy.

 

[Westy]

Yeah, a buddy of mine and I went down on a whim and a recommendation from a coworker who camped there a bunch. We had no exact directions, so we took a map and a web suggested route.

The climb was good. The descent was completely overgrown with bushes overtaking the trail from each side at least 6-7 feet in the air. You could barely keep your head above the stuff. The sheer amount of vegatation kept us from even remotely seeing the rocky trail beneath us. There were a few close calls due to 'hitting' fallen logs the were obscured by the brush, and overall we came back with a sense that we should have just bombed back down the climb we came up.

We have not been back since, but many people have told me the trail has been cleared. I'll have to check it out again. I still need to get down there for a ride with Westy.

The only problems, other than being short on talent, I've had on Torrey ridge is going to fast and coming around a blind corner to find a downed tree or black bear in the trail. For some reason a near miss with a bear really gets the adrenaline pumping.

 

[BIRDMAN111]

Honestly, I'd venture to guess there are several techy sections of Walnut you've yet to see. Also, some of those "middleaged" bikers out there for the "fashion" of it could probably put a hurting on you if you tried to hang for any real length of time.

and i know what technical sections you are talking about at walnut becasue ive biked all the trails at walnut creek. and dont get me wrong there is alot of good bikers that go to walnut but i have found lots of bikers at walnut that are decked out with riding gear and a nice bike that cant bike that well. i have not found that with ohill, now im sure that there are plenty of beginner bikers etc. at ohill but it seems that walnut is a more popular spot for the 'less experienced' riders because people claim it is the best around. i have a perfect example of this, my chemestry teacher mountainbikes alot but has never gone to ohill becuase they said 'its not worth it' now my teacher has told me stories about when theyve ridden at walnut and what trails they couldnt do that are pretty easy. she was assuming that ohill wasnt a good place to ride because walnut was more popular. i dont know if im making any sense at all, i just like ohill. whatever

 

[BIRDMAN111]

Last I checked.

do you live on middleton?

 

[Westy]

do you live on middleton?

No, I live in the sticks north of town.

 

[Bearmntpicnic]

fokey you make no sense, you are saying walnut is worse because there all more begginers there. Thats just dumb. I like o hill because its a two minute ride to the top from my house, and yes it is probobly more challenging than walnut. But when you go to walnut you can ride for say 6 hours and maybe repeat a couple of trails if your fast. If you wanted to ride for that long at ohill you would have to repeat every trail six times. Also Ohill isent very flowy, the trails dont link up very well and there are alot of walkers.

its the best biking in the city though...... and and if you are feeling adventurous and getting lost, you can link that up with the rivanna.

West are you a downhill monkey?

 

[mud'n'sweat]

fokey you make no sense, you are saying walnut is worse because there all more begginers there. Thats just dumb. I like o hill because its a two minute ride to the top from my house, and yes it is probobly more challenging than walnut. But when you go to walnut you can ride for say 6 hours and maybe repeat a couple of trails if your fast. If you wanted to ride for that long at ohill you would have to repeat every trail six times. Also Ohill isent very flowy, the trails dont link up very well and there are alot of walkers.

Exactly.

Althought the steep rock garden switchback on the outer loop at Walnut is much more strenuous than anything at O-Hill.

 

[Westy]

..............West are you a downhill monkey?

I dabbled in it a few years ago but decided I prefer to pedal both ways. Trying to unload my DH-ish bike now.

 

[BIRDMAN111]

fokey you make no sense, you are saying walnut is worse because there all more begginers there. Thats just dumb. I like o hill because its a two minute ride to the top from my house, and yes it is probobly more challenging than walnut. But when you go to walnut you can ride for say 6 hours and maybe repeat a couple of trails if your fast. If you wanted to ride for that long at ohill you would have to repeat every trail six times. Also Ohill isent very flowy, the trails dont link up very well and there are alot of walkers.

for one spell my name right ive told you before its FOKY, not fokey. two i did not mean that i dont want to ride where the beginners ride i was trying to say that i dont like walnut creek because it is the popular place for people to go. and all of the really good people i know ride at ohill (example-paul bushchi) i just dont want to ride where everybody else rides. and like charlie said its like two minutes away from my house.

 

[mud'n'sweat]

and all of the really good people i know ride at ohill (example-paul bushchi)

Yes, and Paul also rides at every single other locale I mentioned earlier including Walnut just as much as O-Hill.

 

[jncarpenter]

Althought the steep rock garden switchback on the outer loop at Walnut is much more strenuous than anything at O-Hill.

...TRU3!

I am having surgery to repair a torn labrum (shoulder) on Jan 18th & will be out for a few months & would love to hit up sherando once before that. My one atttempt at it was foiled by a massive creek crossing on a sub zero day a couple years ago...so I would love a local to scope out the best route. Any takers?

 

[mud'n'sweat]

...TRU3!

I am having surgery to repair a torn labrum (shoulder) on Jan 18th & will be out for a few months & would love to hit up sherando once before that. My one atttempt at it was foiled by a massive creek crossing on a sub zero day a couple years ago...so I would love a local to scope out the best route. Any takers?

Hell yeah, I'll go on a ride there with you. My days off before your surgery are Jan. 6th, 7th. I also have 10th and 11th off but am planning on going to Snowshoe.

 

[fonseca]

i have found lots of bikers at walnut that are decked out with riding gear and a nice bike that cant bike that well.

Come on now. That's a stretch. You find noobies on every trail (and hopefully you are friendly to them, the more mtbers the better). And even when there's 15 cars in the lot at the height of riding season, meaning there's at least that many riders, it's rare to run into more than a few on the trails during a three hour ride. And you don't have to wait on dog walkers and hikers all the time. And most importantly, you're not in an urban setting surrounded by noise and car pollution. One is an experience, the other is just exercise. They both serve a purpose.

I've ridden there half a dozen times since October, and I've had the place to myself almost every time.

 

[Westy]

With all this chit chat about Walnut I thought I might go for a ride there tomorrow. Anyone feel like joining my I'll be there around noon-4:00. I'll be the middle aged guy decked out in gear and a nice bike being generally fashionable. Cheers.

 

[mud'n'sweat]

With all this chit chat about Walnut I thought I might go for a ride there tomorrow. Anyone feel like joining my I'll be there around noon-4:00. I'll be the middle aged guy decked out in gear and a nice bike being generally fashionable. Cheers.

I'd love to break out my new fuschia (that spelling doesn't look right) pearl izumi peleton one piece leotard jersey and my new $14,000 Jeff Jones TI frame, but I have to work. DAMN YOU WORK!