A Spring Camping Trip to Luray, VA

Last weekend Vin pitched the idea of a short camping trip to the GWNF outside of Luray, VA for the weekend, and I thought it a great idea. As it turned out we were the only ones that had any interest and didn't have other commitments. The plan firmed up during the week, and even though the weather forecast wasn't very propitious, we decided to carry through. I think we both were looking to get out of the city for a while and leave the stresses of daily life behind, and so even if we ended up sitting in a tent for most of the weekend reading to the sound of rain, it would have been worth going. Things turned out okay though, and I enjoyed the trip a great deal.

We left Vin's place in DC about 6:30 PM on Friday and stopped in Front Royal for a short dinner at a gas station/Blimpie sub. As we were leaving there it started sprinkling. By the time we left Front Royal behind for the last leg of the journey to Luray, it was pouring so hard our maximum safe speed was 35 mph or less. That continued for a good half hour or so, and I was wondering what the rest of the weekend had in store. If nothing else it would be a small adventure, something I'm always up for. The deluge petered out shortly before we got to Luray, but since it had just finished I was hoping to setup camp at Camp Roosevelt. That was unfortunately closed until May 1st, which was quite surprising. The alternative was a primitive campsite off of Crisman Hollow road I was expecting to be a mud pit. We arrived at a campsite we had used before, but while there was some mud, it wasn't as bad as I had feared it might be. We set about making camp and settled in to peruse some biking mags with a couple of beers for company.

The next morning Vin drove us into Luray, as I had forgotten an item of vital importance to mountain biking. I was both surprised and not, as I often forget things if I'm not working from a checklist. So we found ourselves at Walmart looking for a helmet that would fit me. I tried the adult and junior sizes but both were much too large for my very small head. It was looking bleak, but Vin finally spotted the "commuter" helmet with an adjustable head band, and while quite heavy, it fit okay. Back at camp we had a quick brunch and geared up for a ride. The day had turned gorgeous, one of the best of the year so far, and I was quite comfortable in just a short-sleeved jersey and shorts. The ride from the campsite to the ridge top of Massanutten mountain on the road was a nice warmup, and we passed some Harley riders taking a break up there who were impressed that we had ridden up the hill. In truth I was feeling fantastic; the legs were fresh, the day was warm and working it's way to sunny, and I was on the mountain bike taking a ride with a good friend.

The ride to Kennedy Peak was a great deal of fun. It's a very technical ascent, and though I didn't clean as much of it with the rigid fork as I might have with a suspension fork, I was having a blast. I think it's going to take a good year of riding the rigid fork before I'm as proficient with it as I was with the suspension fork, which is fine. Vin, on his Raleigh and also fully rigid (not a Redline like I was thinking in my last post -- two syllables, starts with an 'R'... I was close) was having a great ride as well, and cleaning sections I didn't. I attempted the last steep rocky climb to the peak, but finally gave up after a 50 yards, and turned the Gunnar downhill to start the steep part of the descent back to the road at the bottom of the mountain. Going down that technical descent was more fun than any riding I'd done in a long time. The less technical but bumpier and fast section that followed was the first extended downhill I'd done with the rigid fork, and I realized that I would probably never be as fast on rocky downhills with it -- it just gets to be too punishing on the hands, even with just 20 psi in a fairly fat front tire. While I'm thinking about that, the Mountain King on the front performed superbly on this ride, proving itself an excellent match to such rocky terrain. The Crossmark on the back I was less happy with, not feeling I was getting the traction on the rocks that I could have, the price I pay for a light, fast rolling tire with low knobs. Some of that I think was due to having put the handle bars down a little lower than I'd had them, which was taking some of the weight off the rear tire when I was out of the saddle. Anyway, I found that when I could let off the brakes, the hands were much happier with the bumpy ride. After the steeper downhill sections, it was just some really nice mountain biking, real mountain biking, back to the road, and I enjoyed that a lot too. Both Vin and I agreed it was a mighty fine mountain bike ride and a fantastic day for it. We spun our legs out a bit on route 675 into the valley, and arrived back at camp a good 2 1/2 hours after starting the ride.

Vin prepared a tasty and satisfying supper of red beans and rice with crab meat and shrimp that evening, and after some light after supper reading we were both ready to turn out the lights before 10 pm, helped along somewhat by a sharp drop in temperature and accompanying wind. We arose late the next morning to a dark day and overcast sky already spitting rain drops. We had planned another ride for today, but with the threatening sky and a day in such contrast to yesterday's magnificence, decided to just pack up and head back home. I didn't feel any disappointment at leaving a few hours early. With Saturday's great ride and hours and hours in a quiet and restful environment, the trip was a success. I arrived home at 4:05 pm and unpacked the car, and later had a good 45 minute zone 2/3 workout. Now it's time to turn out the lights on a good weekend, and bend my thoughts to preparing for next weekend's race, the season's first, the 13 hour Leesburg Bakers Dozen.