The story below is from our March/April 2022 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!
There are plenty of fun options for two-wheelers in the region.
Over the past two decades, the Roanoke region’s reputation as a haven for bicyclists has reached new heights, in large part due to the emergence of the greenway system and the further development of off-road trails. Not to mention, slowly but steadily, the appearance of more bike lanes on busy urban thoroughfares, encouraging people to leave their vehicles at home for short jaunts around town.
Whether you are a road or greenway cyclist – preferring paved surfaces – a diehard mountain biking fan or somewhere in between, opting for gravel paths or fire roads that can serve as an off-road primer, the Greater Roanoke Valley and surrounding venues like the national forests present a wealth of opportunities. When the Roanoke River Greenway, the “spine” of the system, finally becomes a continuous link in the next few years, bicyclists will have an uninterrupted stretch of ten-plus miles.
Once they cut their teeth on the greenway some may want to explore off-road opportunities. Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge, which has branded Roanoke as “America’s East Coast Mountain Biking Capital,” says there are more than 400 miles of trails currently available for mountain biking. Several years ago, the International Mountain Biking Association (IMBA) designated Virginia’s Blue Ridge as a Silver-Level Ride Center™ and VBR officials plan to go for gold down the road.
That designation draws riders to the region, to check out venues like Carvins Cove, Explore Park, the more urban trails on Mill Mountain and (where permitted) the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests. Douthat State Park, Waid Park in Franklin County and Falling Creek Park in Bedford County also offer mountain biking opportunities. See visitroanokeva.com for a current list.
Kristine McCormick is now the Outdoors Experiences Manager, a newly created position for Virginia’s Blue Ridge. The past president of Roanoke’s IMBA chapter (which evolved into Blue Ridge Off-road Cyclists) helped attain that Silver-Ride designation before going to work for IMBA itself. Now Bike VBR is focused on the region’s “bike culture,” in a dedicated position she is helping to shape. “There are huge growth opportunities because we have such wonderful amenities for all of those disciplines,” says McCormick, including more access for residents to local trails they don’t have to drive to first.
The many miles of fire access and gravel roads in national forests is a gateway to mountain biking for beginners and a good way to get people off heavily trafficked roads. “There’s room for everyone [and] you do see a crossover.” VBR is developing a comprehensive list of local biking opportunities and maps at bikevbr.com they plan to have available this spring. “We want to make that much easier … to access these great places.” McCormick also volunteers with Star City Cycling, a non-profit dedicated to the growth of youth biking.
The greenways.org site maintained by the Roanoke Valley Greenway Commission also features an extensive listing of paved, natural surface and gravel trails, many of which are open to bicycles. Greenways Coordinator Frank Maguire succeeded Liz Belcher last summer after being recruited from his job as a Trails Program Director in Pennsylvania. Before that he was IMBA’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Director and came to Roanoke in that role, helping to form the local IMBA chapter. “I knew what was possible in this community,” Maguire said during his formal introduction to Roanoke City Council in December.
Maguire told Council that finding ways to strengthen the connections between neighborhoods and local trails/bike lanes will help encourage more people to try bicycling. That might include more wayfaring signage; alerting residents and visitors to where they can access a paved greenway or natural surface trail. He saluted the Pathfinders for Greenways volunteer crews that have been steadily adding to the mountain biking trail mileage count, including new segments under construction on Mill Mountain as part of a 10-year development plan.
The Roanoke Regional Partnership promotes local outdoor amenities as part of its ongoing campaign to attract businesses and new residents. Pete Eshelman, director of outdoor branding for the Partnership, also believes there is still room for growth when it comes to opportunities for biking. In order to reach the IMBA Gold Level as a mountain biking destination for example, creating more beginner-level trails was suggested.
In southeast Roanoke City, the Morningside Park trail and skills training course being developed with assistance from grant funding is one example of that taking place. The adjacent Boys & Girls Clubs of Southwest Virginia on 9th Street Southeast is helping lead the charge on that project. Local government recreation departments and outdoor retailers are teaching basic mountain biking skills and sponsor group rides at different skill levels.
There’s now a bike skills course at Waid Park as well and Explore Park in Roanoke County “is doing the same thing,” notes Eshelman. He also heads up the nonprofit Roanoke Outside Foundation that has been raising money via Project Outside to help maintain the region’s outdoor assets. Eshelman envisions building additional mountain bike skills courses adjacent to paved greenways in the city, where neophytes can test drive their shiny new rides before heading to natural surface trails for single-track riding. “How do you build this progression?” asks Eshelman, who says its also about getting people to leave their vehicles at home on a more regular basis for two-wheel transportation.
Gravel riding “is an up-and-coming discipline,” especially in localities like Floyd, Craig and Franklin Counties, where roads may be VDOT-maintained or located in national forests. Gravel bicycles look like road bikes but have fatter tires notes Eshelman. “It’s big out west and is coming this way as well.” Local bike shops and riding clubs are climbing aboard that trend. Mountain bikes work just fine on gravel roads, says Eshelman, where group events tend to be more social and less competitive. Eshelman also says that “most … but not all,” bicyclists are multi-discipline.
Whit Ellerman owns the two Cardinal Bicycle shops in Roanoke. He has noted the uptick in the nationwide numbers of people seeking to be outdoors in the Age of COVID-19 by buying bikes and taking part in group rides. E-bikes (disdained by some purists of course because they supply electric power), are showing up as well – including in retail shops. Cardinal service volume has also gone up, with many dusting off a bicycle that might have been in the garage for a while. Others were ready for an upgrade.
“We see a little bit of everything,” Ellerman says as to what surfaces his customers ride on. Mountain biking is big for all levels of riders, due in large part “to the happy accident of our terrain [and] where we are situated geographically.” Others prefer road or greenway riding, or maybe a stretch on the Blue Ridge Parkway. He is partial to Explore Park and Wolf Creek Greenway as a “place to get gravel close to home.” One discipline “tends to roll into another,” and a paved surface biking newcomer may become a gravel road rider or even a single-track mountain biker in time. See a list of rides and other events – including programs focused on women bikers – at cardinalbicycle.com. The East Coasters Bike Shop also offers group rides and regular free clinics on how to fix a flat tire (eastcoasters.com).
“We have a really big and robust and diverse cycling community,” says Ellerman. That assessment should be the norm for years to come as the region’s reputation – and the number of trails developed – continues to grow.
TWENTY24 Relocates to Roanoke
Now not only is Virginia’s Blue Ridge the “East Coast Mountain Biking Capital,” it is also the base of operations for the U.S. Women’s Pro-Cycling Team that will train for the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics and beyond. Virginia’s Blue Ridge Board chairman Lee Wilhelm said in mid-January they worked with the Virginia Tourism Corporation to get Team TWENTY24 to relocate here for at least the next three years from Idaho: “they will come in for training runs,” he said of the squad that will be chosen for the 2024 games. “We felt it was something the community would benefit from.”
Team members (including junior cyclists aiming for the 2028 Olympics) will also reach out to the local community with group rides and other special events. Team TWENTY24 General Manager Nicola Cranmer was a professional mountain biker in the late ‘80s and founded a women’s professional cycling team in 2004: “I think these country roads and the smaller communities are just incredible … beautiful. It reminds me of the English countryside and that’s where I’m from.”
The story above is from our March/April 2022. For more stories, subscribe today or view our FREE digital edition. Thank you for supporting local journalism!