[AlmostHeaven]

does anyone ever come to ride here? i'm going to school in clifton forge which is less than 10 minutes from Douthat. I've been riding there pretty often since I moved here in august and never really seen anybody else riding. the Virginia State Champs were here this past weekend I think(when I rode today there were a bunch of arrow signs with VSC on them). any Monkeys race in that?

there are some really nice trails here that are fun as sh*t to ride. an XC bike almost isnt enough with the speeds you can get on some of the trails, but my kona stab is a little too much. it's still a good time to take a big(er) bike to the tops of the ridges but youre usuallly tired when you get there. rode/walked about a 4-mile loop today, here are a few pictures i stopped and took. some of the outlooks are sweet and can only get better with the leaves startin to change.

if youre interested in riding send me a PM or email. i'm always looking for new people to ride with.

 

[SK6]

Awesome! I'd like to one day get there.

 

[dan wask]

Wow those trails look clean as hell

 

[BIRDMAN111]

my friend went there he said it was awsome. unfortunatly i have like 2 weeks untill i can ride. i got stitches in my thigh today.

 

[mud'n'sweat]

Douthat is my second favorite location to Stokesville. I rode there just this last Thursday. Did the stoney run climb to middle mountain trail, down salt stump and back up to the other ridge line all the way over to the decent down Brushy. IMO one of the best loops in the state. A nice solid 26 mile stretch of impeccable single track. This is also the same loop used in the middle mountain momma race that is at the beginning of September every year. I'd love to get up and ride sometime as I usually come down by myself on my weekdays off. I'm off every other wednesday and thursday.

Rich

 

[AlmostHeaven]

A nice solid 26 mile stretch of impeccable single track.

haha wow. that is a little too much for myself right now at least. being used to riding 4 or 5 minutes at a time doesnt help on some of these horrendous climbs theyve got. i rode Ross Camp to Mountain Side to Mountain Top, walked probably 50% or more since i had a 35+lb bike and i was ruined when i got to the top!

 

[Castle]

word, I'll be up soon homey!

 

[mud'n'sweat]

I'll bring my single speed up then. It's good to walk up some of those long sustained climbs! :biggrin:

Hey Sean, I've got Steve working on a new niner build for me. Wheels are in the works and I'll be calling tomorrow to try and get the frame and fork rolling too. I think I got Steve interested in doing a on-one dealership set up. You guys f'n rock!

 

[VT Mtbkr]

I'll be up there for the MORE camping trip Oct 14-15. Some of the best riding in Virginia!

 

[Bearmntpicnic]

hey rich we should hit that up I havent riden xc In about two weeks, on account of my hand. Today im going rock climbing so we will see how my hand performs.

 

[novarider]

that place is incredible

 

[mud'n'sweat]

hey rich we should hit that up I havent riden xc In about two weeks, on account of my hand. Today im going rock climbing so we will see how my hand performs.

Right on, let me know when would be a good time to try and plan for. I've already been there a couple times since this thread was posted.

 

[skatetokil]

I was just at the homestead this weekend. Wish i'd been able to bring the bike cause it dried out this morning and was bagging to be ridden.

 

[Transfer]

So veeeery far away... Loved the area when I was out there back in May but didn't have my bike. Same story, staying at Homestead for a couple nights but no bikey.

 

[noname]

The club I'm in (EVMA) takes mtn bike oriented camping trips there, but I've yet to make one. Just too far away.

 

[jncarpenter]

...I would be down for some douthat action. My Turner Sultan will be here wed & douthat is the perfect place for that bike. Definitely post up if anyone is heading there...Sean? What say you? :biggrin:

 

[AlmostHeaven]

i ride at least 3-4 times a week, weekdays and weekends (if i'm in town). anytime someone wants to ride, just drop me a line.

 

[BUCKET]

i ride at least 3-4 times a week, weekdays and weekends (if i'm in town). anytime someone wants to ride, just drop me a line.

Well?

 

[AlmostHeaven]

i would be happy to take 'em off your hands but i don't have disc mounts! AH. what a miserable world. i despise v-brakes.

 

[mud'n'sweat]

...I would be down for some douthat action. My Turner Sultan will be here wed & douthat is the perfect place for that bike. Definitely post up if anyone is heading there...Sean? What say you? :biggrin:

I'd love to get a chance to see how the sultan feels. Since the interbike reviews to the negative came from a likely biased sourced, I'd love to give it a test

 

[jncarpenter]

I'd love to get a chance to see how the sultan feels. Since the interbike reviews to the negative came from a likely biased sourced, I'd love to give it a test

....see THIS X-POST.

 

[llkoolkeg]

So, is anyone riding Douthat this weekend?

 

[AlmostHeaven]

not sure yet, depends on if i'm in town or not.

i should know by this afternoon, i'll let ya know. planning on coming down?

 

[llkoolkeg]

not sure yet, depends on if i'm in town or not.

i should know by this afternoon, i'll let ya know. planning on coming down?

I'm certainly considering it. I wanna ride somewhere new but prefer having the safety net of a loc or two showin' me the ropes even though I have a GPS and can take care of myself. One previous experience of going OTB on a solo ride late in the evening and getting nearly knocked out(plus hearing about people breaking legs, etc.) has made me somewhat more cautious in unfamiliar wilderness areas. :biggrin:

 

[mud'n'sweat]

I'm certainly considering it. I wanna ride somewhere new but prefer having the safety net of a loc or two showin' me the ropes even though I have a GPS and can take care of myself. One previous experience of going OTB on a solo ride late in the evening and getting nearly knocked out(plus hearing about people breaking legs, etc.) has made me somewhat more cautious in unfamiliar wilderness areas. :biggrin:

If there is a place to ride solo, it's definitely Douthat on a weekend. Should you go down, it will only be a matter of minutes before more riders come along to help.

I recently went down up at Braley's pond and was knocked out for about a half hour. I never see anyone else out on the stokesville area trails so it was a bit scary. Had I been at Douthat someone would have been standing there next to me as I came concious.

I wish I was able to meet up with you this weekend myself. I'm actually on my honeymoon though and the ONLY reason I have been posting all day is because both my wife and I are severely sick. I'm finally starting to feel a bit better, but almost went to the hospital last night for severe dehydration. I hadn't been able to keep and fluids or solids down for 3 days straight. Al I can say about this is ****IN' A THIS BLOWS! :biggrin:

 

[llkoolkeg]

Congratulations and heal up, man; sick in bed is not how I'd like to spend my honeymoon!

 

[AlmostHeaven]

I'm certainly considering it. I wanna ride somewhere new but prefer having the safety net of a loc or two showin' me the ropes even though I have a GPS and can take care of myself. One previous experience of going OTB on a solo ride late in the evening and getting nearly knocked out(plus hearing about people breaking legs, etc.) has made me somewhat more cautious in unfamiliar wilderness areas. :biggrin:

sounds cool dood. I am gettin ready to go for a nice long ride today around Douthat, and I'll be around all weekend doing the same. Castle might come up from Roanoke but other than that, I'm rockin it solo! feel free to PM me or give me a ring at (540) 290-8580 (Sam).

and on the note of seeing other people riding at Douthat....since I moved here in August, I have seen a grand total of *drumroll* TWO people riding on the trails, and it was an older beginner couple from Texas visiting relatives at that. I have seen some tire tracks while hiking, but I don't know when other people ride because I'm there almost every weekend. dont let that scare you though, it really isn't THAT big of a place to begin with, and a slow limping walk out of the trails wouldn't last more than an hour if something happened. there are always people camping or doing something there, so help is not far away.

let me know, riding alone gets old!

 

[mud'n'sweat]

and on the note of seeing other people riding at Douthat....since I moved here in August, I have seen a grand total of *drumroll* TWO people riding on the trails, and it was an older beginner couple from Texas visiting relatives at that.

I'm surprised, on a weekend in the middle of sept. we saw a good 30+ people on bikes that were not part of a large group. One was a group of about 7 riders and the others were all groups of 2-3 tops. Come to think of it, I've never ridden at Douthat and not seen other riders even mid-week.

 

[wannabeabonedoc]

Mud'n'sweat, all I can say buddy is WELCOME TO THE CLUB!!!! First, congrats on getting married. Second, both my wife and I were also sick on our honeymoon. Not fun at all. Not to mention we were at snowshoe (it was february so no bikey). The only way we remember our reception is by looking at pictures b/c we were both blowing chunks the whole time. Suckfest 2004...Anywho, I'd love to meet up and ride douthat, but alas, I'm bikeless...so when you do ride up there, please look south at some point and say "Pete, this one's for you buddy"... Thanks

 

[AlmostHeaven]

I'm surprised, on a weekend in the middle of sept. we saw a good 30+ people on bikes that were not part of a large group. One was a group of about 7 riders and the others were all groups of 2-3 tops. Come to think of it, I've never ridden at Douthat and not seen other riders even mid-week.

yeah man thats a funny story. the same day i posted saying i've never seen anyone else, i go riding and see about 10 people in one ride! it was kind of ironic. good to know that people do ride here, it's too good of a place to keep to yourself!

 

[llkoolkeg]

The rocky trails, the fall colors, the nice fishing...all was most awesome. I froze my a$$ off camping Saturday night, but between my fire, that of my neighbors, some Evan Williams and a sacka Kilo Bravo, I managed to make it on through the night. :biggrin:

 

[mud'n'sweat]

Nice, glad you got to check it out. Definitely well worth it isn't it?

 

[llkoolkeg]

Absolutely. With all the time I spent in Blacksburg/Christiansburg/Radford, I don't know how I missed it for so long. Next time I come, I'll wanna do some of the ridgeline stuff and start out earlier in the day. Because the actual park campsites were sold out, I had to stay in the ones behind that ice cream store near the park's entrance and didn't start riding until after 1:00pm.

Many thanks to my patient guide, who had to wait for my shuttles-softened ass at the top of every hill. Also, thank God the waterfall(with rock recliner) provided a pleasant, sinsemilla-friendly vista for me to catch my breath(and a phat buzz) before getting to do the fun downhill-oriented parts.

 

[AlmostHeaven]

no problem dude, anytime! i am no endurance rider and if it wasn't in such close proximity to ride so often, i'd have been walking at the same speed. it was pathetic when i first moved down here and started riding!

for some reason i think they strategically placed that recliner with a certain demographic in mind....