One of the great things about Charlottesville is the outdoors activities which are easily accessible. This includes mountain biking, and suitable trails are scattered around town. My favorite place is Walnut Creek Park, which is just south of town off Old Lynchburg Rd. Fortunately, it is only ~10 miles away from my house…

So, this morning I headed out around 7:45 to hit the trails. After the 10 mile “warm-up” ride to get to Walnut Creek, I started by bombing down one of my favorite trails which features some nice technical turns as well as a stream crossing. Nearly two hours and 14 miles later, I emerged from the woods, almost totally wiped out. There are some great trails down there, most built by the Charlottesville Area Mountain Bike Club I believe. Lots of good climbs and rocky patches keep things interesting.

Almost 4 hours after I left, I returned home, only dragging a bit though. 35 miles under my belt and a great start to the week.

Given the absolutely gorgeous weather last week, I set up a mountain biking event for Sunday morning at Walnut Creek Park (just south of town). When Sunday morning arrived, it was just me left out of the 3 people going, but I set off anyways. I opted to ride to the trails instead of driving there. I hopped on my XC bike, pedaling south. It rained a bit as I started going, but fortunately cleared up after a few miles. On the way out there were lots of cars going by with road bikes inside and/or on bike racks. A few miles later I figured out where they were all headed. The Jefferson Cup Bike Race was going on! I didn’t encounter any of the racers on my way though, but saw a few warming up at the staging area.

After a little over 10 miles I finally reached Walnut Creek… (more…)