# Va crooked road



## prschatt (Aug 19, 2007)

I can't figure out the lodging logistics of this ride. I'M not about camping. Is there a central gathering, then different routes every day from a central location or are there multiple launch points, through the week?. Sounds like fun, don't know where to stay or how to get the vehicle from place to place.


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## BVA Event Director (Feb 17, 2008)

*BVA Logistics*



prschatt said:


> I can't figure out the lodging logistics of this ride. I'M not about camping. Is there a central gathering, then different routes every day from a central location or are there multiple launch points, through the week?. Sounds like fun, don't know where to stay or how to get the vehicle from place to place.



Bike Virginia is a full service recreational cycling tour. It includes 5 days of fully supported cycling with multiple route options. The central location and the daily start and end point for the main route is the tent city that is set up at a high school in the host cities. For this year, the three host cities are Bristol, Kingsport, and Abingdon. Participants have several options for accommodations. Outdoor tent camping at tent city is the choice of roughly 55% of the participants. About 5% of participants choose to indoor camp in the tent city gymnasium. The other 40% stay in the hotels that Bike Virginia has partnerred with for luggage transfer. The list of hotels for each host city is located on the website under the "Accommodations" tab of the "Planning Guide". For more information about Bike Virginia 2008, please visit the website at www.bikevirginia.org/2008/index.htm.


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## andym (Oct 4, 2005)

I just checked the website but the route descriptions only show an elevation map. Any chance the route will be taking riders on some of our best roads like 421 from Bristol to Mountain City?


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## wim (Feb 28, 2005)

BVA Event Director said:


> Bike Virginia is a full service recreational cycling tour. It includes 5 days of fully supported cycling with multiple route options. The central location and the daily start and end point for the main route is the tent city that is set up at a high school in the host cities. For this year, the three host cities are Bristol, Kingsport, and Abingdon.


Thanks for the reply, but it still doesn't answer the question about how to get your vehicle from place to place—I'm curious as well.

And as noted above, why the elevation maps and no indication of where the ride will be passing through? It makes the event look like a a series of competitive hillclimbs rather than a tour for everyone.


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## andym (Oct 4, 2005)

wim said:


> It makes the event look like a a series of competitive hillclimbs rather than a tour for everyone.


Not to be smarta... but have you ever been in the area? Riding around here basically is a series of hillclimbs. The route I mentioned in my other post would have you leaving Bristol and hitting a 6 mile climb up Holston Mtn before descending 2.5 miles into Shady Valley. From Shady you would head across the 3 mile climb up Iron Mtn before dropping into Mountain City. Before I ramble about the route too much, my point is there is are alot of mountains in our area. Depending on the options they could take you on flatter routes but those are going to be your busier roads.


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## BVA Event Director (Feb 17, 2008)

On one of the century routes, we will be on 421 for a very short while, but we are heading to Shady Valley. The routes will not be released until the week before the event at the earliest. They are a work in progress until then.


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## BVA Event Director (Feb 17, 2008)

*Routes and Cars*

Andym is certainly correct about the flatter roads having more traffic. Most of the truly flat roads are not safe for 2,000 riders. The routes that we have developed take into account safety first, then low climbing elevation, scenic views, and sites of interest. The elevation profiles show that the routes do not have long climbs or many steep climbs. Yes, this year's ride is not as easy as the previous two extremely flat rides, but it is also not nearly as hard as the Bristol area BVA in 1993. As far as cars go, the majority of participants leave their car at the first tent city. Riding the routes on Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday, the participants travel from one tent city to the next. On Wednesday, they return to the first tent city and their cars. Bike Virginia provides a shuttle bus service for participants to get to and from tent city, the hotels, and downtown attractions when cars are not available.


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## BVA Event Director (Feb 17, 2008)

*Bike Virginia 2008 Blog*

This will be my last post on this forum. From here on out, I will be officially replying to posts on the Bike Virginia 2008 Blog. This is to ensure that all interested people and BVA participants get to see the questions and responses. The Bike Virginia 2008 Blog can be reached at http://bikevirginia2008.blogspot.com/.


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## prschatt (Aug 19, 2007)

andym said:


> Not to be smarta... but have you ever been in the area? Riding around here basically is a series of hillclimbs. The route I mentioned in my other post would have you leaving Bristol and hitting a 6 mile climb up Holston Mtn before descending 2.5 miles into Shady Valley. From Shady you would head across the 3 mile climb up Iron Mtn before dropping into Mountain City. Before I ramble about the route too much, my point is there is are alot of mountains in our area. Depending on the options they could take you on flatter routes but those are going to be your busier roads.


Sounds just like the Tour d'Virginia that I've been looking for.
I'M in Orange County, rolling but some decent ascents, but need some good mileage climbs to round out my training. Sounds like a blast!!


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## andym (Oct 4, 2005)

BVA Event Director said:


> On one of the century routes, we will be on 421 for a very short while, but we are heading to Shady Valley. The routes will not be released until the week before the event at the earliest. They are a work in progress until then.


421 to Shady Valley is a nice ~6 mile climb over Holston Mtn. For real fun you could take them on over Iron Mtn to Mountain City then hang a couple rights and cross Cross Mtn, talk about some nice views from there, then back down to Shady Valley and back across Holston Mtn. It would be very possible to turn this into a tough 100 miler.


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## wim (Feb 28, 2005)

andym said:


> Not to be smarta... but have you ever been in the area? Riding around here basically is a series of hillclimbs. The route I mentioned in my other post would have you leaving Bristol and hitting a 6 mile climb up Holston Mtn before descending 2.5 miles into Shady Valley. From Shady you would head across the 3 mile climb up Iron Mtn before dropping into Mountain City. Before I ramble about the route too much, my point is there is are alot of mountains in our area. Depending on the options they could take you on flatter routes but those are going to be your busier roads.


Well, I've driven through the area on I-81 and realize there are hills. But you missed my point, which was that publishing elevation profiles _without_ publishing travel routes seems at odds with the nature of the event. As a bicycle tourist, I'd like to know where I'm going first, then perhaps get some idea how steep and long a few of the hills are. _Racers_ need elevation profiles, but don't need route maps because they care nothing about seeing the sights.


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## prschatt (Aug 19, 2007)

I don't know if it would help, but google maps or mapmyride.com, could give an idea of the route


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## wim (Feb 28, 2005)

prschatt said:


> I don't know if it would help, but google maps or mapmyride.com, could give an idea of the route


Thanks, I'll try that. And LOL, I should have read your ". . . need some good mileage climbs to round out my training . . ." in your previous post—it answers my question why people want to see elevation profiles.


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