# New River Trail



## carter1 (Aug 5, 2004)

Has anyone here ridden the New River Trail between Pulaski and Galax, Va? I've ridden from Galax out about 10 or 12 miles a couple of times, but not the entire trail. A friend and I are going to do whole trail out and back for a "dirty" century in a couple of weeks. I was just wondering if anyone has done it and has any advice.
Thanks,
c


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## KenS (Jan 28, 2004)

*Not yet*

I haven't done that yet but it is on my list to do this summer. I usually go from Galax to Fries, grab a lunch, and return. Post pix and a ride report. Good luck.

Ken


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## carter1 (Aug 5, 2004)

KenS,
You don't happen to know where to park on the Pulaski end, do you? My in laws live in Pipers Gap near the Galax end, but we've decided to do it out and back starting at the downhill end!
Thanks,
c


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## KenS (Jan 28, 2004)

*Directions can be obtained here.*

http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/new.shtml

I have seen the exit from I-81 but have not gone to the parking lot. When are you planning on doing the trip?

Ken


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## carter1 (Aug 5, 2004)

I think we're doing the ride on Friday the 25th. Probably start at the crack of dawn, as we want to take our time and get some good photos along the way. 
c


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## carter1 (Aug 5, 2004)

My buddy and I completed the New River Trail last Friday as planned. Weather was perfect-overcast and 75 degrees.

Ride stats:
113.11 miles
12.79 ave speed
78 ave cadence
8 hrs, 44 mins, 58 seconds of pedaling

I've ridden a few road centuries and done many 35+ mile mountain bike rides (mostly Pisgah type stuff) and this was the toughest ride I've ever done. There was absolutely zero coasting the entire day. We took our time, stopped for photo opportunities, ate plenty and kept hydrated. I purchased a Jandd med fanny pack a couple of weeks ago. I may have overloaded it a little, but it was still very comfortable (I even had an extra water bottle strapped to the top). I will use this pack a lot over the years to come, thanks for the recommendation MB1!

Oh yea, my bike rocks and so does Carl Strong!

c

c


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## Brick Tamland (Mar 31, 2006)

Sounds like fun. Any more pix?


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## KenS (Jan 28, 2004)

*Like he said -- more pix?*

Carter1, congrats on finishing the ride.

Is that first shot a few miles down the hill from Galax?

Ken


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## cyclust (Sep 8, 2004)

I've done the whole NRT [not all at once] and I agree with it being a tough ride. It's absolutely flat, and while that should make for an easy ride, you NEVER get a break from pedaling! All in all though, some really nice scenery. I also recomend the virginia creeper trail, about 60 miles south down I-81. Probably the nicest rail trail in the country!


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## carter1 (Aug 5, 2004)

The photo of Tim and I was taken at the Pulaski trail head. 
I'm sure Tim will post more photos after we get caught up from taking a couple days off. 
We rode the new Mathews State Forest mtb trails in Galax the day after the NRT ride. We then drove to Danville, Va Sunday am and met other friends from Raleigh to ride the Anglers Ridge trail system.
An awesome weekend of riding. 
c


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## tarwheel2 (Jul 7, 2005)

I've ridden parts of the NRT, from Galax to the New River and back, and from Fries along the river about 20 miles or so. It is a beautiful ride, and perfect for cyclists who don't like riding on roads. The only real downside is that there are few places along the trail to stop for food, water or supplies. It would be a great route for a bike camping trip.

BTW, did you hear about the woman who was killed last year riding on the NRT? She was hit on the head by a rock that broke loose from a cliff. Even though she was wearing a helmet, the impact killed her immediately Totally a freak accident.


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## carter1 (Aug 5, 2004)

tarwheel2, we read about the lady that was killed. It isn't hard to believe once you ride through a couple of those cuts. There are rocks falling off some of those cliffs all the time. 

We rode from Pulaski to the Fries junction, out to Fries for lunch, back to the junction, south to the Galax trail head, then the 52 mile "cruise" back to Pulaski. I left Fries with 2 full bottles, made the mistake of not walking across the street and refilling before the trip back to Pulaski. We made it back to the ranger station about 10 minutes after they left, so we basically rode about 20 miles without water. We used somebody's water spigot (with permission) to fill up in Allisonia, so it wasn't that bad. 

I've been exploring this area for a couple of years on bikes (my in-laws moved there from Oregon) and have wanted to do this ride for a while. I think my next big ride up there will include some of the Blue Ridge Parkway, part of the NRT, as well as some of local rural roads. The traffic is usually very light on the roads there. I've also done the Bikestock ride in Mt Airy a couple of times, also some very good riding (followed with some very good bluegrass bands). 

c


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## GeoCyclist (Oct 31, 2002)

*Great Rides!!!*

A few years ago my wife and I rode our tandem down the Virginia Creeper and the New River Trail. We were visiting a friend who lived in the area, and his wife was kind enough to drop us off at the top of each trail and pick us up at the bottom. The top end of the Creeper is a whole lot of fun, but mind the water breaks running across the trail. These water breaks are like speed bumps and become launching ramps when you pick up a bit of speed. I believe the grade on the Creeper is close to 8% at the top end. The second half of the Creeper is pretty flat. The Creeper trail ride was the beginning of the end for the rear wheel of my tandem. A few days after the Creeper ride the rear rim of my tandem came apart at the seam, and that was the end of cycling that summer. It took the remainder of my summer vacation to get a new 40 spoke rear wheel built up. I think I’d ride the Creeper the same way if I had it to do again; lots of fun!

If you are out in Idaho, the Hiawatha bike trail is a fun ride. There are a lot of tunnels to cycle through and trestles to cycle across. Check out the pic’s below.


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## GeoCyclist (Oct 31, 2002)

*Missing photos*

Check out the pic’s below.[/QUOTE]


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